The NFC West features some of the best quarterbacks in the league and the expectations for their respective units is certainly high. There are a couple quarterback battles taking place in the division, but we’ll gauge our focus as to who we believe will be the man under center in Week 1 for each team.
Let’s dive into the early outlooks for each starting quarterback in the NFC West.
Arizona Cardinals: Kyler Murray
Kyler Murray has had two very good seasons as the starting quarterback for the Cardinals and I think his third season will prove to be his best one yet. I think Murray has a legitimate shot at winning in the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award in 2021, and the staff that Arizona built around him could make the Cardinals a very scary team to play.
Murray is excellent at throwing the ball and can do damage on the ground as well. If I had to predict a stat line I’d say Murray wins 14 games, completes 67.3 percent of his passes, tosses 4,157 passing yards, scores 36 touchdowns through the air, throws just six interceptions, and tacks on another 574 rushing yards with four rushing touchdowns on the ground as well.
Los Angeles Rams: Matthew Stafford
The Los Angeles Rams made a power play when they traded away Jared Goff to land Matthew Stafford, but it could be the move they most desperately needed to make. Stafford is an experienced veteran at the quarterback position, and he could be the arm that gets the Rams over the hump in the NFC West.
Stafford will finally have elite weapons to throw the ball to and he could have a great stat line in 2021. I can picture Stafford winning anywhere from seven to 10 games while completing 66 percent of his passes. Stafford could also toss about 4,200 passing yards, 32 passing touchdowns, and could throw around nine interceptions.
Seattle Seahawks: Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson has been involved in some offseason speculation this year, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll remain a Seahawk throughout the entire 2021 season. Wilson has been one of the best mobile quarterbacks in the league for years and nothing will change in that aspect in 2021.
I don’t think the Seahawks will make the playoffs or win the NFC West in 2021, but I do believe Wilson will continue to play at a dominant level. My projected stat line for Wilson has him winning anywhere from five to seven games while completing 67.3 percent of his passes for 4,194 passing yards and a touchdown to interception ratio of 37 to 10.
San Francisco 49ers: Trey Lance
The San Francisco 49ers traded up to the number three pick of the 2021 NFL Draft and selected former North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance with the pick, and I’m a firm believer that he’ll start. It’s always really difficult to gage how a rookie quarterback will perform, but I will give it my best go.
I believe that Lance will be a good quarterback, but I don’t think it will be in his rookie season. A realistic stat line for Lance in my opinion is an 8-9 record, 3,574 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions.
