Who Poses the Biggest Threat to Rams' NFC West Title?

According to Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame, the Cardinals' defense is the reason fans in the Grand Canyon State should be excited and why Rams' fans should be concerned in 2025.

"The Cardinals were formidable on offense last season, ranking 12th in points and seventh in yards per play," wrote Verderame. The defense was another story, checking in 25th in yards per play and 27th in pressure rate." 

"In an effort to fix those issues, Arizona added Sweat before drafting Nolen to start alongside a potential burgeoning star Dante Stills (more on him below)."

"Sweat brings talent and experience, notching 25.5 sacks and 61 quarterback hits over the past three years, with his career year of 2022 coming under Gannon’s tutelage. Then there are the auditions of defensive linemen Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell, giving Gannon’s defense more power along the line of scrimmage."

The Cardinals' defense looks good on paper and if they improve and the offense maintains the status quo, Arizona has a shot at winning the NFC West altogether. They play a third-place schedule, have a defensive line that mirrors Gannon's sack-inducing unit he had in Philadelphia back in 2022, and the potential steal of the 2025 NFL Draft in Will Johnson.

“Great kid first of all. Has to stay healthy. More of a split safety corner who likes to jump routes and has great hands.”—Former NFL defensive coordinator on Johnson

All news coming out of Arizona is that Johnson is as good as advertised, and before injury concerns, he was advertised as a top-five pick.

The last time Kyler Murray had an offense with weapons and a strong defense, the Cardinals were the number one team in the NFL. That was until the Cardinals suffered injuries to key players.

The Cardinals smacked the Rams around in Arizona, and if not for a heroic effort by Chris Shula's defense, they would've defeated the Rams again in Los Angeles last season.

Murray's healthy, he seems happy, and unlike others, I still believe in him. When he wants it, there is no player harder to stop than Kyler Murray, and it looks like the Cardinals may be peaking once again.