Cardinals

of their three rivals in the NFC West, who like themselves, will look a little bit different in 2017.

Here’s a look at how the offseason has gone for the Cardinals’ three division nemeses: 0-7 as a starter last season as a rookie. McVay told azcentral sports during league meetings in the Valley this spring that Goff has shown an amazing grasp of the team’s new offensive scheme and that Goff’s competitive nature will help him succeed.

The Rams signed a pair of veteran offensive linemen to help ensure that – left tackle Andrew Whitworth and center John Sullivan. A beefier O-line should also help restore the confidence of running back Todd Gurley, who had an abysmal sophomore season and was said to have been losing faith in the franchise.

There is optimism moving forward considering how well they handled the draft. In addition to hoodwinking the Bears into parting with two third-round picks and a fourth-rounder just to move up one spot to get a quarterback it didn’t want, San Francisco drafted the player it wanted all along in Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas. The 49ers then used the fourth-round pick to trade back into the first round and select Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster, whom most draft experts rated as a Top 10 pick.

Of course the biggest concern with the 49ers is how they will handle the quarterback situation. At one point this spring, they didn’t have a single one on their roster as they walked away from Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder and Thad Lewis and let Colin Kaepernick opt out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent. In their place, they signed free agents Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley and drafted C.J. Beathard. Hoyer is expected to be the starter. to a minimum, Seattle – on paper – has the talent and tools to hold off the Cardinals and claim the division for a second straight year.

A few key things must change for that to happen in reality, however.

The running game, which ranked 25th in the league a year ago, needs to return to greatness and there is no guarantee that occurs with the highly unreliable Eddie Lacey as the featured back. For starters, his weight has always been an issue. He’s also been injury-prone, which might also become Thomas Rawls’ reputation after his past two seasons in Seattle.

Quarterback Russell Wilson, meanwhile, can’t keep getting knocked around like he did in 2016, when he was forced to play through multiple injuries because of an ineffective and inept offensive line. Bringing in Luke Joeckel on a one-year deal and drafting Ethan Pocic, a center they hope to convert to starting tackle, can’t make Wilson feel any safer.

They did manage to re-sign defensive lineman Michael Bennett to a three-year extension and it appears injured safety Earl Thomas, recovering from a broken tibia, might actually be ready for the start of the season.