NFC West power rankings: Can the 49ers get back to the Super Bowl?

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 19: Nick Bosa #97 of the San Francisco 49ers runs onto the field prior to the start of the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

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GLENDALE, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 15: Kenyan Drake #41 of the Arizona Cardinals scores his fourth rushing touchdown against the Cleveland Browns during the fourth quarter at State Farm Stadium on December 15, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. Cardinals won 38-24. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

3. Arizona Cardinals

There is an Arizona Cardinals’ team that has finished dead last in the NFC West two years in a row and the team still has a lot of work to do in many facets. But it is also a club that made a little bit of noise at the end of 2019.

Under first-time NFL head coach Kliff Kingsbury and 2019 first-overall pick Kyler Murray, the Cards went from the worst offense in the league to one that improve steadily as time wore on.

Another key cog proved to be running back Kenyan Drake, acquired via trade from the Miami Dolphins in midseason and a player that would get hot in the month of December. This offseason, general manager Steve Keim was able to swing a deal to get wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Houston Texans to pair with ageless Larry Fitzgerald.

But if Arizona is to make any kind of move in the NFC West, the league’s 32nd-ranked defense from a year ago must make some major strides.

Despite one of the better pass rushers in the league in outside linebacker Chandler Jones (19 sacks), the Cardianls surrendered 38 touchdown passes, more than half of them not to wide receivers. Hence the first-round addition of Clemson University standout defender Isaiah Simmons, whose athleticism will come in handy.