According to PointsBet Sportsbook, the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams are tied for the best odds (+190) to win the NFC West in 2021. They are followed by the Seattle Seahawks (+260) and the Arizona Cardinals (+600). How competitive is the division? No one would be shocked to see any of the four teams finish on top. It will make divisional matchups very significant.
Chris Simms feels the 49ers should stand alone as the favorite to win the NFC West, though. The NBC Sports analyst is high on the team's chances of being very competitive this season, no matter who takes snaps at quarterback. You can argue that, right now, each of the other teams has an advantage when it comes to the most important position in sports.
"It's not all about the quarterback," Simms argues. "There's more to the team than the quarterback. And, yeah, I think (if) the 49ers stay healthy, (with) Jimmy Garoppolo, even Trey Lance (playing), they'll be fine. To me, it's all about health. They are the best team in the NFC West, in my opinion. But we've seen [two of the last three years], they've had the injury bug a little bit. So, that will be big for their football team."
Many felt that the 49ers would suffer a massive free-agent exodus this offseason due to limited salary-cap flexibility. But San Francisco found the money and re-signed several key players. Names like Trent Williams, Kyle Juszczyk, Jason Verrett, K'Waun Williams, and many others.
The team endured a league-high number of injuries last year, but much of the Super Bowl roster from the 2019 season will be returning. The 49ers look to prove that last season, not 2019, was the aberration.
"But I think when you just look at talent, high-end talent on the starting 22, depth -- I mean, I know the 49ers were hurt a lot last year," Simms continued, "but let's not forget, they were never out of the playoff conversation until like the last two weeks because they had pretty good depth behind it to [keep] things going.
"And then you add the coaching and the creativity of (Kyle) Shanahan, and everything like that, yeah, to me, they're in the leader house for me."