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Los Angeles Rams biggest competition isn’t who you think it is

By Jason Reed

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 03: Safety Budda Baker #36 of the Arizona Cardinals tackles wide receiver Pharoh Cooper #10 of the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of the NFL game at the University of Phoenix Stadium on December 3, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 03: Safety Budda Baker #36 of the Arizona Cardinals tackles wide receiver Pharoh Cooper #10 of the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of the NFL game at the University of Phoenix Stadium on December 3, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Rams enter the 2018-2019 season as the favorites to win the NFC West. LA’s biggest competition next season will surprise many.

The Los Angeles Rams are easily the best team in the NFC West and are the most likely team to walk away with the division crown next season.

And while the fate of the division seems predecided, the NFC West is still one of the most interesting divisions in football next season.

The San Francisco 49ers enter the year with a new and promising quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, leading the charge. Although the rest of the roster has not improved drastically, the addition of Garoppolo alone has made the San Francisco 49ers a playoff contender.

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Then there are the Seattle Seahawks, who were the best team in the division for much of the past five seasons while even winning a Super Bowl in that span. However, despite still having Russell Wilson leading the charge. the Legion of Boom is no more. Seattle could either shock everyone and contend or completely fall flat.

Then there are the Arizona Cardinals, who many are already writing off before the season even begins. Arizona is under new head coach Steven Wilks with elite running back David Johnson returning healthy and a new quarterback situation with rookie Josh Rosen and veteran Sam Bradford.

In fact, it will be the Arizona Cardinals that are the Los Angeles Rams’ toughest competition next season. Not the 49ers, definitely not the Seahawks. Arizona is going to surprise many people next season and actually be in the playoff hunt as the season goes along.

First and foremost, the Cardinals are going to be just fine at quarterback regardless who is getting the snaps. Bradford is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in football when healthy and Rosen was the most NFL-ready quarterback coming out of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Arizona has a sneaky good receiving corps led by veteran Larry Fitzgerald for the quarterbacks to throw to. Even better, though, is the pressure that Johnson is going to take off by running the football. Johnson is one of, if not the, best running backs in the game. That obviously is going to help the passing game as well.

Defensively the Cardinals are pretty stout as well. Although the team lost Tyrann Mathieu, Arizona still has Patrick Peterson in the secondary and NFL sacks leader Chandler Jones on the defensive line.

The Cardinals had a good showing in the 2018 NFL Draft and have some young pieces in the defense that will blossom next season. 2017 first-round pick, Haason Reddick, had a relatively small role last season. He is bound to improve next season.

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All in all, the Los Angeles Rams still win the overall roster battle and will more than likely still win the division. However, the Arizona Cardinals actually pose an interesting threat, regardless of what many fans may think.

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