NFC West preview: Will the Arizona Cardinals finally make some noise?

The NFC West is wide open in 2025, but don't take my word for it

Every coach in the division during training camp has talked about the goal of winning the title

Even the San Francisco 49ers, who finished with just six wins last season

One look at how it went down last year and you can see why. The Los Angeles Rams had to go to the fourth tie-breaking procedure

strength of victory, to beat out the Seahawks and make the playoffs

The X factor for the NFC West this year may be the Arizona Cardinals

Arizona led the division in scoring last year and finished second in points allowed

The front office used the first five picks in the draft to improve that defense even more

They also signed free agents Josh Sweat and Calais Campbell. On offense, quarterback Kyler Murray is 100% healthy and will run more

And so will his receivers, according to Michael Wilson. Just stating objective facts, I think the last two years we've been sort of on the bottom tier of generating explosives in the passing game

And so that's going to be an emphasis for our receiver core is not only getting vertical and being a threat down the field, but also getting yak yards in

Who will provide the yards after catch for San Francisco? Debo Samuel's gone

Brandon Ayuk and Jawan Jennings are injured and Jennings wants a new contract

It's a good thing the Niners revamped their defense after losing several players to free agency

They also brought back former Jets head coach Robert Sala to beat the D.C

In Seattle the best defense in the division is ready to take the next step Can new quarterback Sam Darnold keep pace He takes over for the departed Geno Smith and will rely on steady receiver Cooper Cup who came over from the Rams

But it's third-year receiver Jackson Smith and Jigba who could be the game-breaker

That's why he tops our list of players who could break out in 2025

Smith and Jigba led the team in receptions and receiving yards last year

Now he's number one with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett gone. The Rams are hoping for a big season from running back Kyron Williams

The Niners' number one pick, Michael Williams, will be counted on right away, rookie or not

And ready for a big second season is the number four overall pick from a year ago, Arizona's Marvin Harrison Jr

Speaking of the Rams, they might lean more on Kyron Williams now that Matthew Stafford has yet to practice in training camp with a sore back

L.A. also signed Devontae Adams in the offseason to help Stafford out, but the two have yet to work together

Head coach Sean McVay says there's no urgency to rush him back. Let's keep a positive mindset and let's continue to attack this thing to try to be able to get our hands around it

so that he can feel as good as possible when we open up against Houston. I do think it's important to be able to get some work in, but not at the expense of following the plan that we've talked about

And so I think the truest thing is stay one day at a time

Everyone is taking it one day at a time in the NFC West

With a lot of unknowns, it wouldn't be a surprise if it was another roller coaster ride

that saw all four teams in contention at some point during the season

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis