At the end of the Super Bowl, NFL fans are generally left disappointed with the lack of things happening during the offseason. This time, however, there has been plenty of excitement.
Over the past month or so, we have already seen several coaching changes take place in the league. We have witnessed the NFL Combine and are now in the middle of free agency and player trades.
The team rosters have seen significant changes with departures due to cap space, retirement, or trade for draft compensation. And that means it is now time to take an early look at what the odds have to say on which team has the best chance of winning the NFC West in the 2026-27 NFL season.
2025-26 NFC West Recap
Let us first go back in time to the previous season to get a quick recap of how the NFC West fared, to get a better understanding of where these teams finished.
The Seattle Seahawks had one of the best seasons in franchise history. Leading the league in scoring defense and an overall balanced roster, the Seahawks marched all the way to a Super Bowl win. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the league’s best wide receiver, and Sam Darnold continued exactly where he left off in Minnesota. Seattle dropped just 3 games all season long en route to lifting the Lombardi Trophy.
The Los Angeles Rams were close behind the Seahawks, not just in terms of the overall record, but even in terms of gameplay. The Rams had the league’s best offense, but their pass defense was their major weakness. Matthew Stafford ran away with the league MVP as LA finished second in the division with a 12-5 record and eventually lost to the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game.
If you were a 49ers fan last season, you would have been frustrated and surprised at the same time. Starter after starter suffered injuries throughout the season, with key players such as Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and Mykel Williams suffering season-ending injuries.
Many others, like George Kittle, Brock Purdy, and Brandon Aiyuk, missed significant portions of the season. Yet, the 49ers, led by RB Christian McCaffrey, finished 12-5 and made the playoffs, only to lose to the Seahawks in the Divisional round.
And lastly, the Arizona Cardinals were the only NFC West team to be nowhere near playoff contention. The Cardinals finished with a terrible 3-14 record with dull performances on the field, in spite of winning the first two games of the season. Arizona went on two separate losing streaks: a 5-game losing streak at the start, and a run of 9 losses to conclude their season.
NFC West Division Winner Odds 2026-27
The Los Angeles Rams are currently ahead in the NFC West as the team with the best odds to clinch the divisional crown for the 2026-27 NFL season, as per the odds on FanDuel. The table below represents the latest division winner odds for the NFC West ahead of the upcoming season.
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The NFC West might have the best WR Duos in the NFL 😤
🏈 JSN & Cooper Kupp 🏈 Puka Nacua & Davante Adams 🏈 Mike Evans & Ricky Pearsall 🏈 Michael Wilson & Marvin Harrison Jr.
2026-27 NFC West Key Changes, Strength of Schedule, and Draft
Let us now understand some of the key offseason changes the NFC West teams have undergone up until now, along with the strength of schedule and draft picks of all four teams for the upcoming season.
Key Offseason Changes
Coming to the offseason changes for the NFC West, we start with the Los Angeles Rams, who have gone all out to improve their secondary. Despite being a leading contender for another Super Bowl run, the Rams came up short last season, with the main issue being the coverage on pass plays.
Thus, LA traded for former Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie and also signed former Chiefs CB Jaylen Watson in free agency. Going one step further, the Rams also re-signed S Kamren Curl to boost the defensive backs room. The Rams have also extended TE Tyler Higbee for an additional 2 years. Some key losses include CB Darious Williams (retirement), WR Tutu Atwell, and CB Cobie Durant.
Moving on to the current Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks have preferred to re-sign most of their players rather than splurge in free agency or trades. Key players no longer on the squad include Riq Woolen (CB), Boye Mafe (Edge), and the most recent Super Bowl MVP, Kenneth Walker III (RB).
There has been a lot of movement in the 49ers camp this offseason. For starters, the wide receiver room has seen Brandon Aiyuk being cut, Juaun Jennings and Skyy Moore leaving the team as free agents, while Mike Evans and Christian Kirk become the new additions. DE Bryce Huff announced his retirement, while other players such as WR Kendrick Bourne, DL Jordan Elliott, C Matt Hennessy, and DL Kalia Davis have all signed elsewhere.
On the signings front, apart from Evans and Kirk, the Niners have also traded for DT Osa Odighizuwa, LB Dre Greenlaw, OT Vederian Lowe, and CB Nate Hobbs.
And that brings us to the final team in the NFC West, the Cardinals. Arizona has also had a busy offseason, starting with new head coach Mike LaFleur in place of Jonathan Gannon. Further, the Cardinals releasing QB Kyler Murray was also a huge deal.
The incoming talent includes RB Tyler Allgeier to add depth in the backfield, former Steelers guard Isaac Seumalo, WR Kendrick Bourne, S Andrew Wingard, and defensive linemen Roy Lopez and Andrew Billings.
Strength of Schedule
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, things here aren’t getting any better. In fact, Arizona (.538) has the toughest schedule within the division and the third most difficult in the league for the upcoming season.
The Rams (.516) and Seahawks (.514) are just one behind the other, right near the middle of the pack. Los Angeles’ schedule is ranked as the 13th most difficult in the league, whereas Seattle comes in at number 14.
The 49ers (.497) will enjoy the easiest schedule within the division, but they are not too far behind the Seahawks. San Francisco’s schedule is ranked number 18 on the list of the toughest schedules for the 2026-27 NFL season.
Starting with Los Angeles in the NFC West, the Rams hold 7 draft picks in the upcoming 2026 NFL draft. Despite losing in the NFC Championship round, the Rams still possess a high first-round selection via the Falcons. Los Angeles will pick number 13 overall. They then have picks 61 and 93 in rounds 2 and 3, respectively.
The defending Super Bowl champions, the Seahawks, currently hold only 4 draft picks in this draft. As the reigning champs, Seattle gets the last pick in round 1, that being pick number 32. Their final three selections are picks 64, 96, and 188 in rounds 2,3, and 6, respectively.
As has been the case with the Rams and Seahawks, the 49ers also have fewer picks. They have just 6 in total, with 4 of them coming in round 4 alone. Their first two selections are overall picks 27 and 58 in rounds 1 and 2, respectively.
And last but not least, the Arizona Cardinals are currently set to enter the 2026 NFL draft with 7 picks of their own. They have one pick in each of the 7 rounds of the draft, with their top selections coming at picks 3, 34, and 65 in rounds 1,2 and 3, respectively.
Early prediction: The NFC West was a very tight division last season, and we expect nothing less in 2026-27 as well, especially from the Seahawks, Rams, and 49ers.
The Rams and 49ers have addressed their weaknesses, while the Seahawks have kept their winning formula more or less. It is a tough one to call, but we are slightly inclined towards the 49ers to reclaim the divisional crown, provided they can stay healthy enough.
(The above odds are sourced from FanDuel. Use FanDuel to ace your betting game in all sports!)
I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!
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