NFC West power rankings after J.J. Watt signs with Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals’ signing of J.J. Watt has the potential to dramatically alter the NFC West landscape in 2021.

The Arizona Cardinals and general manager Steve Keim have been among the most aggressive franchises in the NFL the past two offseasons, and that continued Monday with the addition of J.J. Watt to a defense that just might propel the most exciting team in the league to the top of the NFC West.

Two years removed from pulling the ripcord on first-round quarterback Josh Rosen after just one season and selecting the electrifying Kyler Murray No. 1 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft and pairing him with All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins last season, Keim scooped up Watt for a two-year deal with $23 million guaranteed.

Signing Watt was a necessary move to keep pace with the quarterback arms race in the NFC West, a worthy counter-punch to the Los Angeles Rams trading for quarterback Matthew Stafford, and a step closer to finishing off a defense that is a worthy complement to head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s pinball offense.

Watt isn’t the same player that he averaged 17.5 sacks per season from 2012-through-2015, but he remains among the top-15 defensive linemen in the league. Last season, according to Pro Football Focus, Watt produced 29 pressures last season and has the versatility to line up at either defensive end or defensive tackles.

Will Watt lift the Cardinals from 8-8 to division champion? Can the Seahawks survive what is setting up to be a contentious offseason?

Here’s a look at how the NFC West is shaping up in 2021 after the Cardinals’ signing of Watt: 

Injuries wreaked havoc on the San Francisco 49ers last season, but so too did wildly inconsistent quarterback play, underscoring the pressing need to upgrade from Jimmy Garoppolo.

Playing much of the season without Nick Bosa, Richard Sherman, Dee Ford, Javon Kinlaw, Dion Jordan, Ezekiel Ansah, and Jordan Willis left the 49ers’ defense a skeleton crew for much of the 2020 season.

When healthy, the 49ers have one of the most talented front-sevens in the NFL, as illustrated by the fact that San francisco still held opponents to 314.4 yards of total offense, fifth-fewest in the league, despite their myriad injuries.

Offensively, George Kittle is one of the NFL’s premier tight ends, and Brandon Aiyuk showed promise as a rookie, catching 60 of 96 targets for 748 yards and five touchdowns. But, this offense feels limited so long as Garoppolo is the quarterback.

General manager John Lynch enters the offseason with $12.5 million in cap space, and could look to upgrade the quarterback position, or significantly bolster the supporting cast around Garoppolo. But, with so much talent on defense in this division, it could be a long climb out of the NFC West cellar for the 49ers, just two years removed from a loss in Super Bowl LIV.