Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals had a great offseason by taking care of their needs and filling holes, getting this team to be ready for a strong regular season was important. The Cardinals offensive line has been abysmal for many years, and they started their fix by selecting Jonathan Cooper in the 2013 draft, but with his injury he didn’t get the time he needed. With him coming back, and the excellent signing of Jared Veldheer, the Cardinals offensive line should be better than average entering this season, which is better than it’s been in the last 5 years.
The Cardinals selected Deone Bucannon to help solidify their secondary, which could easily become one of the league’s best. By adding Troy Niklas the Cardinals gave themselves a receiving threat at tight end that they have been lacking.
The big hits for the team this offseason was the departure of Karlos Dansby and the suspension of Daryl Washington with little to fill the void except Kevin Minter who only saw a single snap during the 2013 season.
San Francisco 49ers
The big story with the 49ers offseason wasn’t their draft or their free agency signings, it was their player’s troubles. Between Chris Culliver and Aldon Smith the team made some mistakes, mistakes that will likely cost them come the regular season as suspensions will be handed down and they aren’t first time offenders.
The 49ers added several players to their secondary, not like they had a choice though as the team did see three starters walk in free agency. Several players were added for the future and for now in the draft, such as Chris Borland, Marcus Martin, and Jimmie Ward. The team also made a trade for Steve Johnson who joins a rather loaded group of receivers. The receiving core will definitely not be a weak point in 2014, barring injury.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks did practically nothing in free agency, electing to re-sign some of their own players rather than bring in new ones. The team also made several cuts to their defensive line, moves that were made in order to create cap room to keep those other players. Part of the reason their defense was so dominant was their heavy rotation along the line, which kept players fresh and rested, so releasing the likes of Red Bryant and Chris Clemons while letting others walk is questionable.
The Seahawks also had what many consider to be a bad draft, by selecting lesser players early, and skipping on the better talents. Many can consider it to be a bad draft, but with how they’ve drafted in recent years, and they’ve always been questioned on their drafts, they may be perfectly fine.
St. Louis Rams
The Rams had a very strong offseason by adding talent on both sides of the ball, primarily through the draft. The Rams upgraded both their offensive and defensive lines early in the draft. If the Rams defensive line wasn’t scary enough, now it has Aaron Donald to help bring pressure from the middle and limit opposing quarterbacks from stepping up to avoid the rush from Robert Quinn, and Chris Long.
Now with the probably the best defensive line in the league, the Rams added several other players. Greg Robinson will step in and play guard right away for the Rams and open up running lanes for whoever is taking carries for them this season, still likely Zac Stacy. The real kicker after adding such impressive talents is adding a playmaker to the back end of the defense in Lamarcus Joyner, who immediately upgrades a very average secondary.
The Rams were loaded with draft picks entering this offseason, they stayed quiet in free agency, and possibly had the best offseason in the NFL, let alone the NFC West. Everything rides on Sam Bradford now.
Overall
The Rams had a stellar offseason and could likely be a playoff team this season because of it. Every team made moves to better themselves, save maybe the Seahawks, and the NFC West, which was already seen as the NFL’s best division, will only be better in 2014.