NFC West Divisional Podcast Recap for 2026 (Fantasy Football)
As we charge closer to draft season, it is important for fantasy managers to get the full scope of all the changes we may have missed during the offseason for each team. Luckily, the Ballers are doing the hard work and walking through each division to take a deep dive through all 32 teams!
Last but not least on that trek is the NFC West – one of the most competitive divisions in the entire league that featured three teams who won 12+ games in 2025. Over the last two seasons, the NFC West has the second-most wins in the league and last season became just the second division in the last 25 seasons to send three teams to the NFL Divisional Round of the playoffs.
With the 2026 season on the horizon, let’s dive into the NFC West!
A reminder: August is right around the corner, which means the show ramps up to five episodes a week through the end of the NFL Season!
Tune in to The Fantasy Footballers Podcast on all your devices!
Check out the full version of the episode on YouTube!
Let’s Get Divisional – NFC West
Seattle Seahawks (14-3)
- Player Additions: Emanuel Wilson (RB), Harrison Bryant (TE)
- Player Subtractions: Kenneth Walker III (RB), Cam Akers (RB)
- Rookies: Jadarian Price (RB)
- 2026 Vegas Projected Win Total: 10.5
- 2025 Offensive Ranks
What better place to start than the Super Bowl champs?
Seattle’s 2025 season was historic, winning the most regular season games in franchise history en route to their second-ever Super Bowl victory. On their way to the top of the mountain, the Seahawks were one of the healthiest teams in the league, with the third-fewest “games lost” in the league.
As we enter the 2026 season, things will look different for the defending champs, especially on offense, where they are replacing Klint Kubiak, who left to take the Head Coaching job in Las Vegas. Taking over the play-calling for Seattle is former San Francisco run-game coordinator Brian Fleury. Fleury should be able to run a similar scheme to the one that heavily featured Jaxon Smith-Njigba last season and saw him finish as the WR2 overall.
JSN was absolutely electric for fantasy rosters last season, becoming the first player to lead the NFL in receiving on a team that finished bottom three in the league in pass rate. As a reminder of how great Smith-Njigba was in 2025, his season saw a 73% catch rate and led the league in completions of 20+ air yards.
While JSN is clearly the top receiving option in Seattle, there should be some expectation to see Rashid Shaheed take a step forward in this offense this season. Shaheed came to the Seahawks after a trade from the Saints last season and was never really able to have an impact for fantasy rosters as he did for real NFL purposes. With Seattle making Shaheed a priority in free agency, he will likely be more involved this season.
If it is not Shaheed who emerges as the other receiving option in Seattle, the options are fairly limited, with only the aged Cooper Kupp and Tory Horton as real options on the roster. Kupp’s decline hit pretty hard last season and was really never a consistent option for fantasy managers to consider. Horton, meanwhile, had some really fantasy-impactful weeks during his rookie season before getting injured. In the just eight games that Horton played, he finished as a top-24 WR three times and caught five TDs, so he could be worth a late-round dart throw at the end of drafts.
One of the keys to continuing the success JSN has seen for fantasy over the last two seasons comes along with the resurgence of QB Sam Darnold. Darnold joined the Seahawks as a free agent last offseason and posted his career-highs in completion percentage (68%) and yards per attempt (8.5). The Seattle offense was the perfect situation for Darnold to flourish, with a running game threatening enough to keep teams honest, allowing Darnold to finish as the QB13, despite being a tad inconsistent (graded an F in the Ballers’ consistency grading) and throwing 14 INTs. In 2026, Darnold should return to being a decent streaming option for fantasy managers.
There isn’t much change in the passing game for Seattle, but that is not the case for the RBs. The departure of Kenneth Walker III in free agency and the late-season injury to Zach Charbonnet really have this RB room turned upside down for fantasy managers. Seattle spent a first-round draft pick on Jadarian Price to help fill the void left by Walker, but fantasy managers might be leary of what the rookie can do for their fantasy roster. Over the last decade, there has only been one other RB who finished their last collegiate season with fewer than 700 rushing yards and was drafted in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft outside of Price.
Sep 7, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown during the first half against San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
While Price may be a question mark for fantasy managers, the return of Zach Charbonnet may be the biggest wrench thrown into the RB dynamic for the Seahawks. Charbs tore his ACL in January, but once he is cleared to return, he could return to the RB1-A spot for this offense. In the meantime, some combination of George Holani and free agent addition Emanuel Wilson will fill the void alongside Price for what we believe will be a run-heavy scheme in Seattle.
The RBs may be a wildcard for Seattle’s offense, but maybe a bigger wildcard comes in at TE for fantasy purposes. AJ Barner was the leading TE option for the Seahawks last season, finishing second on the team in targets and bringing some streaming value as the TE14 on the year. While Barner could provide some value at times, he was reliant on TDs, with only two of his seven top-12 TD finishes coming without getting into the end zone. Fantasy managers should at least be conscious of second-year TE Elijah Arroyo’s involvement early in the season. Arroyo brought a great athletic skillset into the league, but was not used much as a rookie. Any step forward in the passing game for Arroyo could make him an interesting streaming option at the position.
Seahawks Starting Schedule:
Los Angeles Rams (12-5)
- Player Additions: —
- Player Subtractions: Jimmy Garoppolo (QB), Tutu Atwell (WR)
- Rookies: Ty Simpson (QB), Max Klare (TE)
- 2026 Vegas Projected Win Total: 11.5
- 2025 Offensive Ranks
From the defending Super Bowl champs to the 2026 Super Bowl favorites, the Los Angeles Rams come into this season with the highest of expectations. Coming off a season where they were just one win away from returning to the Super Bowl, the Rams were a fantasy manager’s dream last season, finishing first in points scored per offensive drive, drives ending in a TD, and drives reaching the Red Zone, according to Warren Sharp.
Turning the page to 2026, those high expectations all start with the continued health and elite play of QB Matthew Stafford. The reigning MVP has high expectations to return for fantasy managers after finishing as the QB2 last season, the highest of his career and his first top-12 QB finish for fantasy since 2021. Stafford likely has some TD regression coming his way after 33 of his 46 TDs came in the red zone last season and his career-high 7.7% passing TD rate helped him turn in epic fantasy numbers.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Tied directly to the awesome fantasy output for Stafford are a pair of great fantasy WRs for the Rams in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. Puka was great yet again for fantasy rosters in 2025, finishing as the WR1, leading the league in receptions. While Puka has had some off-field issues that could be concerning since the Rams stopped playing in January, as long as he is on the field, he should continue to be one of the best WRs to have on a fantasy roster. Adams’ first season in LA was not to the level of Puka’s but was still impressive in its own right. Davante was a TD machine, with 14 total receiving TDs and a staggering 12 red zone TDs. When the Rams got near the goal line, Adams was the clear first option in the offense, with 16 targets inside the five, the most targets that close to the end zone since targets became a stat in 1992.
Outside of their two star WRs, fantasy managers will have to do their best to find which of the many TEs the Rams implement could be an impact for fantasy. Los Angeles was the trend-setter with 331 plays last season that featured three TEs on the field. For reference, the next closest team in 3TE personnel was the Steelers with 145. The Rams return Colby Parkinson, Tyler Higbee, and Terrance Ferguson for 2026 with the addition of rookie Max Klare. While Parkinson and Higbee have been stalwarts at TE for the Rams for several years, the high-end receiving upside of Ferguson could be an intriguing name to keep an eye on if he can get on the field more consistently in 2026.
The biggest mystery for fantasy managers with this Rams offense may be much more straightforward than we always tend to make it out to be with the RB room. Kyren Williams and Blake Corum are poised to lead the LA backfield once again in one of the more coveted fantasy backfields over the last handful of seasons. It feels like every offseason the demise of Kyren’s lead RB role in this offense is at hand, but he is consistently one of the more sure bets in fantasy with at least 1,300 total yards and double-digit TDs in each of the last 3 seasons. Corum, meanwhile, established himself as one of the premier handcuffs in the league last season, seeing a huge uptick in carries and finishing as a top-24 RB in four of his last six games. Fantasy managers will have to decide whether they think Corum can eat away at Williams’ work, which was a 25-75 split last season. If the work got a little closer to level, this may prove to be a frustrating situation for fantasy managers.
Rams Starting Schedule:
San Francisco 49ers (12-5)
- Player Additions: Mike Evans (WR), Christian Kirk (WR)
- Player Subtractions: Brian Robinson Jr. (RB), Kendrick Bourne (WR)
- Rookies: De’Zhaun Stribling (WR), Kaelon Black (RB)
- 2026 Vegas Projected Win Total: 10.5
- 2025 Offensive Ranks:
Another offense in the NFC West that fantasy managers want pieces of comes in the form of the 49ers. The offensive brains in San Francisco stayed put at the top with both Kyle Shanahan and Offensive Coordinator Klay Kubiak returning to lead an offense that led the league in third-down conversion efficiency, EPA per play on third-downs inside FG range, and red-zone offense.
The engine that really makes this offense churn starts again with Christian McCaffrey, who returned to his league-winning level of performance last season. CMC led the 49ers with 129 targets and 311 rushing attempts, so the workload was heavy for a guy who missed most of the 2024 season due to injury. There were few questions about who was getting the ball when the 49ers got near the end zone, with CMC seeing 75 red-zone rushing attempts, the most since Jonathan Taylor in 2021 and the second-most since 2012. The question for fantasy managers around CMC is completely about whether or not he can stay healthy to deliver the fantasy gold that he is proven to be whenever he is consistently on the field.
If McCaffrey were to miss time, there could be a debate as to who should be the preferred handcuff at RB between Jordan James and rookie Kaelon Black. James only saw three total snaps during his rookie season, but brought an interesting production profile into the league that we’re still uncertain if it will translate at the next level. The rookie Black, meanwhile, was a bit of a surprise selection in the third round by the 49ers out of Indiana. Black was in a timeshare for the National Champions in 2025 and doesn’t really profile as a great pass-catcher with just 8 total receptions during his collegiate career. With plenty of worry around CMC’s health for 2026, either Black or James is worth the dart throw late in drafts as a premium handcuff in a great offensive system.
Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
Speaking of injuries, the TE spot in San Francisco has long been one of the more consistent spots for fantasy relevance, but with George Kittle still recovering from injury, it is uncertain exactly how much impact can be had from that spot heading into 2026. When he was on the field last season, Kittle finished as a top-eight TE in seven of the 11 games he played. If Kittle is ready to go to start the season, he could be one of the best values at TE in drafts this fall.
The biggest changes to the 49ers’ offense come in the WR room, where the team really lacked a presence last season and vacated 143 targets from 2025. Free agent addition Mike Evans could be a real answer at WR for San Francisco. Evans is coming off his worst season as a pro, and the first year in his 12-year career that he did not eclipse 1,000 receiving yards. Still, Evans could prove to be a great value for fantasy managers, currently going in the fifth round of drafts in an offense that is desperate for a real receiving threat.
Alongside Evans will be some combination of Ricky Pearsall, free agent addition Christian Kirk, and surprise second-round rookie pick De’Zhaun Stribling. Pearsall was all the rage last offseason in the 49ers offense, but could not stay on the field to follow through with the high hopes fantasy managers had for him. When Pearsall was on the field, though, he had three top-24 finishes just to tease us yet again. Stribling is the biggest unknown at WR for the 49ers, bringing a great size-speed combination out of Ole Miss, but there are questions around how much he will be used as a rookie.
While the passing game has its concerns, one of the more consistent threats in this 49ers offense has been the play of QB Brock Purdy. Since taking over the starting job in San Francisco, Purdy has been a steady force for fantasy managers, and while he is not going to put up prolific numbers, he can operate this offense well enough to be a consistent streaming option for fantasy rosters or maybe the best QB2 in SuperFlex leagues.
49ers Starting Schedule:
Arizona Cardinals (3-14)
- Player Additions: Gardner Minshew (QB), Tyler Allgeier (RB), Kendrick Bourne (WR)
- Player Subtractions: Zay Jones (WR), Greg Dortch (WR), Emari Demercado (RB), Michael Carter (RB)
- Rookies: Jeremiyah Love (RB), Carson Beck (QB), Reggie Virgil (WR)
- 2026 Vegas Projected Win Total: 3.5
- 2025 Offensive Ranks:
The punishment for getting to talk about three-straight good offensive situations is having to talk through the Cardinals offense heading into 2026. Arizona was so bad their offense was interesting last season, bringing some fantasy goodness down the stretch with an offense that averaged 40 passing attempts per game in their last 12 games and had the 9th-most attempts per game over that stretch of the season since 2017.
Arizona’s new Head Coach, Mike LaFleur, could temper down the passing volume a bit. LaFleur comes from the Sean McVay tree and is the brother of Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur, both of whom are known for really balancing out offensive schemes from the pass-heavy attack that we saw from the Cardinals last season.
Easily the greatest beneficiary of the massive passing volume was TE Trey McBride, who finished as the TE1 on the season. McBride’s 2025 season was magical, setting the single-season TE record for receptions with 126 passes caught while running a whopping 696 routes – the most for any position last season. While McBride is an awesome option at TE for fantasy rosters, the question for fantasy managers will come down to the draft cost and whether or not a new-look offense lowers the ceiling for TE this season.
While McBride is a known commodity, that is about where it ends for the offense in Arizona this season as far as certainty goes.
The RB room for Arizona is muddied after the Cardinals draft Jeremiyah Love with the third-overall pick in the NFL Draft. That’s after bringing in Tyler Allgeier in free agency and keeping James Conner on the roster. Love brings a great overall production profile to the table for the new regime in Arizona and could develop into one of the premier RBs in the league once LaFleur has time to build things in the desert. The rookie could be a bit of a trap for fantasy managers, though, with both Allgeier and Conner capable players still potentially in the mix. Love’s current draft price in the second round of drafts feels a little similar to Ashton Jeanty’s high cost last season that left fantasy managers disappointed despite a solid rookie season.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
There are not any new faces in the WR room for Arizona, but the truth is fantasy managers do not really know what to make of the duo of Marvin Harrison Jr and Michael Wilson. Harrison has failed to deliver on the high hopes that came with being drafted fourth overall just three years ago, finishing as the WR28 and WR50 to start his career. There is still hope that Harrison can take a step forward with a new offensive mind coming to town, but another disappointing season may end any hopes of the fantasy greatness we once dreamed of coming to fruition. Wilson, meanwhile, broke fantasy last season, averaging 17.7 fantasy points per game from Week 11 through the end of the season last year. The only player who outscored Wilson from Weeks 11-18 last season was Puka Nacua. With both Harrison and Wilson going in the same range in drafts, fantasy managers will have to call their shot on which player they think is the true top receiving threat alongside McBride in this offense.
All the talk around the WRs could be a moot point if the Cardinals cannot convince Jacoby Brissett to get back on the field. Brissett was the engine that pushed the high-powered fantasy production for McBride and Wilson down the stretch of 2025. From Weeks 6 – 15 last season, Brissett finished as a top-12 QB each week, tossing 18 TDs and averaging 300 passing yards per game. It is unlikely that Brissett will repeat his 2025 fantasy output, but if he can be an effective passer yet again, he can go a long way in supporting the many interesting pieces in this offense for 2026.
Cardinals Starting Schedule:
Fantasy Footballers NFC West Prediction
Andy: Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals
Mike: Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals
Jason: Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals