LA Rams: NFC West Power Ranking after latest frenzy of moves
By Jason Reed
2. San Francisco 49ers
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Key Additions: Richard Sherman, Jerick McKinnon, Weston Richburg
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Key Losses: Carlos Hyde
Everyone is in love with the San Francisco 49ers right now. The 49ers made the brilliant move of trading for Jimmy Garoppolo, who is a superstar in the maxing and is the rightful face of the franchise for many, many years. The 49ers made Garoppolo the highest paid player in football this off-season, cementing him as a 49er.
Even before the 49ers made any moves this off-season they were regarded as the “dark horse” to make a deep playoff run (is it really a dark horse if everyone is saying it?). Now, with two lesser moves and one massive move, the 49ers are a lot of people’s favorites to win the NFC West.
Signing Richard Sherman was the biggest move for San Francisco. The 49ers now have a face on defense to go along the face of the offense. Sherman is still one of the best corners in the game and instantly makes the 49ers secondary respectable. However, he is coming off of an Achilles rupture, which should lead to some understandable question marks.
Weston Richburg adds help at center and was an overall good signing for the 49ers. Finally, the 49ers are replacing Carlos Hyde, who is going to the Browns, with Jerick McKinnon from the Vikings. McKinnon was not the feature back in Minnesota, however, he shows a ton of potential of being a great back alongside Garoppolo in the backfield.
With the tenth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the 49ers are going to only get better. While I think they will be a playoff team, they still have some work to do to catch up with the LA Rams.