“All-Division” Teams – NFC Edition

You’ve seen how the AFC teams would look if the divisions were split into 1 team, now lets see how the NFC stacks up. Here is a look at the “All-Division” teams in the NFC.

NFC East

Offense

QB: Tony Romo- People may be calling for my head because Romo has been the NFL choke artist of the decade. He has messed up in big situations multiple times, and that can’t get overlooked. That being said, Romo has statistically been a top 7 QB in the NFL throughout almost his whole career. He completes a high percentage of passes, throws for a lot of yards and his TD-INT ratio is pretty damn good. I’ll take him over an inconsistent RG3, a seemingly spiraling downward Eli Manning or a promising but somewhat unproven Nick Foles.

HB: LeSean “Shady” McCoy- LeSean McCoy has become one of my favorite football players to watch in the last few seasons. He makes cuts that no human should ever be able to make, and is in the perfect offensive system under Chip Kelly for his style of play. I’m looking for him to have a monster year, and possibly surpass AP as the best running back in football after this season is over.

LT: Jason Peters- Trent Williams is also a very good choice here, but in the end I had to go with Peters. Jason Peters has been playing at a high level for quite some time, and has 6 Pro-Bowls to his name (one of them being last year), he doesn’t look to be slowing down, so although the gap is very, very small, I give him the slight nod over Williams in this battle.

LG: Evan Mathis- The Philadelphia Eagles have their left side pretty much shored up it seems. Mathis is coming off his first Pro-Bowl season, and although he has been in the league for a little while, that is a very good sign. Look for him to be productive for another 3-5 years on the offensive line, a great left guard choice no doubt.

C: JD Walton- The NFL doesn’t have to many elite players at the C position. JD Walton has been a consistent player, starting every game he has played in throughout his career. He isn’t going to be making the Pro Bowl any time soon, but look for him to continue the consistency.

RG: Chris Chester- Eventually, I believe this will go to Zack Martin, a rookie out of Notre Dame drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, but other than Clowney I will put no more rookies on any of these teams. Brandon Mosley of the Giants is unproven, and Todd Herremans is somewhat inconsistent. I went with Chester here because although he doesn’t play at a HOF level, he still gets the job done and has been doing it consistently for the last couple years.

RT: Doug Free- Doug Free started his career off good, then he got really bad, but has recently shown that he is back on track to getting good again. Lane Johnson is suspended, and neither Tyler Polumbus nor Justin Pugh has really done anything to merit getting this position. I realize Free has been inconsistent at times, but when he is playing his best, he is the best RT in the NFC East.

WR1: Dez Bryant- Dez has somewhat of an injury history, but when he is on the field, he is a top 5 WR in the NFL. Hopes are high for him to have a big season this year, and if he can stay healthy the whole season that wouldn’t surprise me one bit. I think he’s the runaway pick here.

WR2: Desean Jackson- Jackson might be a little better at the slot position, which would technically be WR3, but I’m putting him here because he can play the outside, and is coming off his best season as a pro. Some of that might be due to Chip Kelly’s offense, but we have no reason to take this position away from him yet, look for him to have another good season.

WR3: Pierre Garcon- Pierre Garcon is coming off of a 1,300 yard 5 TD season. The Redskins have also added D-Jax this year, so look for a little of the pressure to be taken off of Garcon. I thought about putting Victor Cruz here, but with Garcon’s recent surge and Cruz’s somewhat of a fall off, I think it’s only fair to give this spot to the Frenchman out of Mount Union.

TE: Jason Witten- Witten has been one of the best TE in the game for the last 8 years, and before Jimmy Graham came along, he probably was the best TE in the NFL. He is coming off of an 800 yard, 8 TD season, very good by any measure. His age is starting to become a factor, but look for him to put up a good 2-4 more solid seasons.

Defense- Another tie, going with the 3-4 here.

LDE: George Selvie- Selvie got injured in last weeks preseason game, but he is quoted saying that his shoulder is “good”, so for now I will assume that he is OK to play. Selvie is coming off of a 7-sack season, not elite, but definitely productive. Also, there aren’t many LDE in the NFC East to compete with, so look for him to take his game up one more notch this year to really solidify his spot in this position.

RDE: Jason Pierre-Paul- JPP is coming off of a disappointing season, but then again, so is almost every NYG out there. Last season was a disaster for the Giants, but look for them to have at least a slight bounce back this year. I expect Jason Pierre-Paul to be back to form this year, barring injury.

NT: Cullen Jenkins- Jenkins plays in a 4-3 defensive scheme with the Giants, but I believe he is the best DT in the division, that’s why he gets the nod here even though he doesn’t technically play NT. Jenkins is coming off of a 5-sack season, not bad for a DT, and was one of the brighter spots on the NYG last season. Hopefully he will keep his play at a high level.

LOLB: Ryan Kerrigan- The OLB battle in this division was a very close 3 way battle between Kerrigan, Trent Cole, and Brian Orakpo. I’m putting Kerrigan here because not only did he have 66 tackles, but he also had 8.5 sacks and 3 FF to his name last year. He is still young, and poised to have a good season again this year.

ROLB: Brian Orakpo- Leaving Trent Cole off of this team was such a hard decision to make, but in the end I had to go with Orakpo. Brian has had some injury history, but he did tally 10 sacks and an INT last year, compared to 8 sacks by Cole with 3 FF. The performance is almost identical, and they are both amazing players, I hated to leave Cole off this team but in the end the Redskins get the OLB sweep.

LILB: Mychal Kendricks- Kendricks is coming off of a ridiculously good outing in 2013. He tallied 106 tackles 2 FF 3 INT’s and 4 sacks. Basically, Mychal was all over the field on seemingly every play. Kendricks is also only 23 years old, so look for him to continue to improve on this Philly defense.

RILB: Demeco Ryans- This came down to Ryans and Perry Riley. They both had pretty good seasons last year, but after looking at some stuff, it is pretty clear that Ryans had a slightly better outing. He posted 127 tackles with 4 sacks and an INT. Demeco has been a solid LB for many years in the NFL, and I don’t seem him slowing down. Eagles lost out on the OLB battle, but end up sweeping the ILB lineup in the division.

LCB: Deangelo Hall- The NFC East is filled with CB’s who are very serviceable, but not quite playing at an elite level. Hall put together a pretty good season last year, and although he isn’t what he used to be, he can still get it done on the field. I don’t see Hall getting any better, as he is definitely on the backside of his career, but he should have another solid season.

RCB: Bradley Fletcher- This might not be a name everyone expected to show up, with guys like Brandon Carr, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Prince Amukamura playing in the division, but I think Fletcher deserves the honors. He is coming off of a 70 tackle 2 FF and 2 INT season, so he did it all last year at a decent level. He is in his 6^th season, but I think there is still some room for improvement, look for him to do just that this year.

SS: Antrel Rolle- Rolle is coming off a pretty good season. He had 98 tackles with a FF and 6 INT’s and 2 sacks to go along with all of that. Brandon Meriweather isn’t a bad choice here, but he is suspended as of yesterday and I think Rolle is the better player anyway.

FS: Barry Church- Church had a good 135 tackle season last year, with 3 FF and an INT to go along with it. Ryan Clark was another option here, but I think this is Church’s position to lose on this hypothetical All-Division team, I’m sure that’s the only thing he will be focused on this season, not losing a spot on a fake team.

Summary: The NFC East was pretty weak last year, outside of the Eagles, but it looks like they could put together a pretty formidable All-Division team. The pass rush looks a little suspect with no elite DE on the roster, but with guys like Kerrigan and Orakpo at the LB position, I think we would see a lot more sacks from this team than how it looks on paper. The Offense would be very scary, and if Romo couldn’t win with this team, then it seems as if he is truly a lost cause.

NFC North

Offense

QB: Aaron Rodgers- Yet again, another easy QB choice, thanks for that A-Rodg!

HB: Adrian Peterson- Peterson might fall off in a couple of years, but it won’t be this year. He is still the best HB in the league, and although “Shady” McCoy is creeping up on him, he won’t go down without a fight.

LT: Matt Kalil- The Vikings picked Kalil with the thought of him being a franchise LT for years to come, and he has not disappointed. He already has a Pro-Bowl to his name, and he is looking to improve even more under a new coach in Minnesota.

LG: Josh Sitton- Sitton is a year removed from his only Pro-Bowl selection, but he hasn’t dropped off significantly. Sittion still provides the protection that GB desperately needs, and he is one of the lone standouts on that Packers offensive line, I’m looking for him to have another productive season, hopefully someone else will show up on the GB o-line as well.

C: John Sullivan- Sullivan had a decent year last year, not as good as his All-Pro year in 2012, but definitely nothing to be ashamed of. There aren’t any standout C in this division, as seems to be the case with most divisions, but Sullivan is definitely a viable option and would be more than able to get the job done.

RG: Kyle Long- Kyle is the son of Howie Long, one of the best DE ever to play in the NFL. Kyle plays on the other side of the ball, but if his rookie season is any indicator, he might be on the right track. Kyle Long made the Pro-Bowl in his rookie season, and looks to build on that with another strong outing. This was an easy pick.

RT: Bryan Bulaga- Bulaga is coming off of an ACL tear, but before that, he was showing signs of becoming a pretty good RT in this league. He isn’t elite by any means, and we haven’t seen how he will come back from this injury yet, but he showed promise, and is still only 25 years old.

WR1: Calvin Johnson- This was one of the easiest picks I’ve made. Johnson is a freak of nature, and it doesn’t look like he plans on slowing down any time soon, why would he? He’s only 28.

WR2: Brandon Marshall- Marshall is coming off of another huge 100-reception 1,300 yard 12 TD season. Brandon is one of my favorite NFL players, and he now has Alshon Jeffrey to go along with him. Can’t wait to see another year of these two guys making ridiculous catches in the end zone.

WR3: Jordy Nelson- I’m putting Jordy Nelson here, because this would most likely be the slot position, and I don’t see Jeffrey playing that near as effectively. I hate to leave Alshon Jeffrey off this team, as he is one of my favorite young players (I really wanted Jacksonville to draft him), but Nelson fits better here, and he shores up what would probably be the best receiving trio the NFL has ever seen.

TE: Martellus Bennett- Bennett had a good season with the Bears last year. He posted numbers of 750 Yards and 5 TD’s, these are solid for a TE, especially when you also play with Marshall and Jeffrey on your team. He had a little fight in practice, but I still look for him to continue to be a key contributor to this new high-powered Bears offense.

Defense- 4-3 here as we are back to the majority rules factor

LDE: Ezekiel Ansah- Technically he plays on the right, but I think he is a top 2 DE in this division. It came down to either Ansah or Lamarr Houston, and I really wanted to type Ansah’s name over and over so that’s why I chose him. In all seriousness though, I believe Ansah will continue to grow as a player even more so than Lamarr Houston.

RDE: Jared Allen- How did I leave Julius Peppers off of this team? He has been one of my favorite players for quite some time, but he is getting pretty old (34) and while his arrow is pointing downward, Ezekiel Ansah’s is pointing up. Allen is also getting older (32) but he posted 11.5 sacks and 2 FF last season compared to Peppers 7 sacks. This was a tough choice, but I think I made the right one leaving Peppers off this team.

LDT: Ndamukong Suh- Suh is not only a scary dude, but he is also one of the best DT’s in the NFL. He is coming off of a 50 tackle, 5.5 sack season, which is about what he does every year. He does a lot more than the numbers show though, and I don’t mean stepping on people, he provides a boost in the run defense, and puts a lot of pressure on the oppositions offensive lines to keep him in check, making room for guys like Ansah (god I love saying that last name) to get to the QB.

RDT: Nick Fairley- The Lions get the sweep on the DT front, and take ¾ on the whole defensive line. Fairley has really grown as a football player in the last year or two. He tallied 6 sacks last year, that’s 11. 5 sacks between just the DT on the Lions, a very good number. Him and Suh are still very young, and it looks like the Lions could have their DT spots locked up for quite some time.

WLB: Clay Matthews- Matthews had 3 FF and 7.5 sacks last season, which was actually somewhat of a down year for him. Don’t look for the downward trend to continue though, there are a lot of good WLB in the division, and technically Matthews plays LOLB, but there is no way he gets left off of this team to due his position name.

MLB: Stephen Tulloch- This was a battle between Tulloch and AJ Hawk. They both had pretty good years last season, and they have both been very consistently above average throughout their careers. Some people may argue Hawk here, and like I said, there are plenty of reasons to put Hawk on this team, I just think Tulloch is a little younger and has a little bit more growing to do while Hawk is 30 years old and is probably not going to get to much better.

SLB: Nick Perry- Two of the SLB in the division are rookies in Anthony Barr and Kyle Van Noy. I believe both of them will be studs in this league, but I’m sticking to my rule. Nick Perry isn’t a bad option, and although he plays in a 4-3 and is technically a ROLB, he still deserves this position if I can’t give it to Barr or Van Noy. Perry is in his 3^rd season and is coming off of a 3 FF and 4-sack season. Look for him to continue to improve, I don’t think he will be elite but he definitely won’t be a weak spot on the Packers defense.

LCB: Tim Jennings- There is 4 CB’s worthy of these 2 spots in this division. Jennings, “Peanut” Tillman, Tramon Williams and Captain Munnerlyn. I’m putting Jennings here because Tillman is getting older and it showed last year, and the other two aren’t quite good enough to be put as the best. Jennings is coming off a very solid season, and although he is 30, he still has a couple good years left until Kyle Fuller starts to take over.

RCB: Tramon Williams- This is a tough move for me, as I think Charles Tillman has been one of the better CB in the league for the past 5-7 years, but his stats just weren’t there last year. Williams posted basically the same FF and INT numbers, with 45 more tackles. Tillman is at the end of his career, while Williams is right in the prime of his. This was a tough decision, and I don’t want to take anything away from what Tillman has done, but this position had to go to Tramon.

SS: James Ihedigbo- Ihedigbo is a solid SS, not one of the best in the NFL, but solid nonetheless. He posted 101 tackles 2 FF and 3 INT’s last year, and he is easily the best SS in the division, which isn’t saying much.

FS: Glover Quin- The Lions somehow manage to sweep the safety position in this division, which is very sad. I think Ha Ha Clinton-Dix will be the best FS in this division sooner rather than later, but that rookie rule has me sticking with Quin here. Quin is decent at best, but the FS position is very weak in this division, so therefore the Lions end up sweeping the safeties somehow someway.

Summary: First off, let me say that the offense on this team would be absolutely unstoppable. The offensive line would be decent, and you would have a top 3 QB, RB and 2 of the top 5 WR in the NFL on your team. Defenses wouldn’t be able to stop this high-flying offense, I really wish this team could come true; I would do almost anything to see them play together. On the defensive side of the ball, the d-line would be very good, but the secondary would be a little suspect. I think they would be able to hold up though, because that offense would be putting up more points than we could ever imagine. This team would be scary.

NFC South

Offense

QB: Drew Brees- Cam Newton is the only one who really comes close to Brees in this division, and it’s not even that close.

HB: Doug Martin- All of the NFC South HB had terrible years last season. None of the starters eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark. Martin had a monster rookie season out of Boise State, and with new coach Lovie Smith in town, look for the best of Martin to come out once again.

LT: Byron Bell- There aren’t any elite LT in the NFC South either. Byron Bell is young though (25), and he has improved every season. He is moving from the right to the left this year, I’m looking for another steady improvement.

LG: Ben Grubbs- Grubbs may not be a huge name outside of New Orleans, but he probably deserves to be. Grubbs is 30 years old, but he has made 2 of the past three Pro Bowls, and one of them came last season. I’m not sure if he will get any better, but even if he stays a consistent Pro Bowl caliber player, I think the Saints will be just fine with that.

C: Ryan Kalil- Matt isn’t the only Kalil with ridiculous offensive line skills, this one just happens to play a different position. Ryan Kalil is an all-pro C, he has made the Pro Bowl in 4 of the last 5 years, and he is only 29 years old. Look for him to have another solid season, I don’t see him digressing any time soon.

RG: Jahri Evans- Once again, another offensive lineman who probably doesn’t get near as much credit as he deserves. The average football watcher has probably never heard of Evans, yet he has made the Pro Bowl 5 years in a row now. Evans deserves a little more recognition, so I’ll give it to him by giving him the honor of being on an imaginary team, you’re welcome Jahri.

RT: Jon Asamoah- He got the honors because he has the coolest name, seriously, that’s the only thing that stood out about the RT in this division.

WR1: Vincent Jackson- Julio Jones will probably take this spot from Jackson if he was healthy last year, and I expect him to come back as good as new this season. Jackson is no slouch though, he has always put up big numbers, and last year was no different with Jackson having 1,200 yards and 7 TD.

WR2: Julio Jones- When Jones was healthy, he was slowly becoming one of the best WR in the NFL. His last healthy season he had 1,200 yards and 10 TD, and many people have been saying he looks as healthy as ever in the offseason. I can’t wait to see how his year turns out.

WR3: Marques Colston- I wish I could have put Roddy White here, but he is getting older and is definitely past his prime. His injury riddled season kind of scared me as well, I’m not sure if we will see much of the old Roddy anymore, although I hope we do. Colston is a big, great receiver, who probably wouldn’t ever be a slot receiver, but we are going to put him here anyway; I don’t think he will mind.

TE: Jimmy Graham- Graham is the best TE in the game, and it’s not even close until Gronk shows the world if he still has it, he has gone through a magnitude of injuries, and he now has something to prove if he wants to be back on Grahams level. Jimmy Graham is a beast, coming off of a 1,200 yard 16 TD season, and they said he wasn’t considered a WR… you kiddin’ me?

Defense- Back to 3-4

LDE: Cameron Jordan- Jordan plays on the right side with his team, but the right side is being saved for someone else, and I couldn’t leave him off the team. Cameron Jordan is coming off of a 12.5 sack season, and he is only 25 so look for him to continue to trend upward for the time being.

RDE: Greg Hardy- I’m keeping Hardy here, because it is exactly where he plays on the Carolina defense, and he is the best DE in this division, hopefully he will avoid any more legal trouble. It was tough leaving Charles Johnson off of this roster, but with guys like Hardy and Jordan, it would also have been tough to put him on it.

NT: Gerald McCoy- McCoy is only 26 years old, and is just coming off of a 9.5 sack season as a DT. McCoy is one of the best DT in the NFL, and the scary thing is, he may get even better.

LOLB: Lavonte David- David is coming off a great season. He recorded 7 sacks 2 FF and 5 INT’s, and he is only 24. Lovie Smith knows a thing or two about successful linebackers with his tenure with the Bears and their devastating LB corps, so look for him to help Davis hone his skills even more, and potentially become one of the better OLB in a league with a lot of good ones.

ROLB: Osi Umenyiora- Umenyiora is 32 years old, and his elite days with the NYG are long gone, but he still produces. Osi tallied 7.5 sacks and 3 FF last year, but I’m not sure how much he has left in the tank, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him fall off in the next year or two.

LILB: Luke Kuechly- With 156 tackles 4 INT and 2 FF; Kuechly has officially made his mark on the NFL. Kuechly is only 23 years old, and he is already one of the best, if not THE best, MLB in the NFL today. This kid could turn out to be something special, he will be a great story to watch these next couple of years.

RILB: Curtis Lofton- Lofton is no HOF player yet, but he is only 28 so he may have a couple years left of improvement, but that doesn’t mean he is a joke either. Lofton is coming off of a 121-tackle season, but he had no INT’s and only 1 FF. If Lofton can be a little better at creating turnovers, we might see a mini-star in the making, but I’m not sure that will happen. In fact, I doubt it.

LCB: Alterraun Verner- The fact that Verner is the best CB in this division is nothing to be proud of, although I wouldn’t mind having him on my team. Verner is only 25 years old, and is coming off of a 5 INT season, bringing Lovie Smith in should help a lot of these young defensive players to perfect their craft.

RCB: Keenan Lewis- Lewis is a solid 50 tackle 4-6 INT CB. He probably won’t make to many breathtaking plays such as Pat Peterson or Richard Sherman, but you know what you’re getting out of him, and he has been reliable throughout his career. Last season was by far his best season, so maybe he can improve on that a little under Rob Ryan.

SS: Mark Barron- Barron improved slightly from his first to his second year. Look for his third year to be a better improvement, I keep saying this, but I am very excited to see a lot of these guys work with Lovie Smith, they are going to be happy he took over the helm in Tampa Bay.

FS: Jairus Byrd- Byrd is coming from Buffalo, so while we aren’t exactly sure of how he will fit in to this system, it would seem that Rob Ryan gave the approval to add him to the defense as they paid a pretty penny for his services. Byrd deserves it though, he is one of the better FS in the game, his injury history is a little scary but hopefully he can break that bug this season.

Summary: Out of all the teams this one is the most balanced. They don’t have any crazy elite areas such as the NFC North’s WR corps, but they also don’t have any weakness that I can see. There are genuinely solid players all across the board on this team, and I think they would do a lot better than most people would predict. This would be my sleeper team if I had to choose one out of all the division teams.

NFC West

Offense

QB: Russell Wilson- Wilson is easily the best QB in this division, sorry 49ers fans, Kap has nothing on him (I’m not even a Seahawks fan). Wilson is one of the most surprising players in the last few years. I’ve liked Wilson since seeing him play at Wisconsin, I always thought he could be a good fit somewhere in the NFL. I’m sad that Jacksonville didn’t get him, but we had that really important punter we needed to draft just a couple slots ahead of Russell. Wilson is set to have another good year, just think what he could do if he actually had good receivers.

HB: Marshawn Lynch- Just face it, you are going to be seeing a lot of Seahawks players on this team, but you should expect that, they are coming off of one of the most lopsided Super Bowl victories ever, they are bound to have many elite players. Beast mode is getting a little older, but I don’t see him slowing down. I honestly see Frank Gore slowing up before Lynch does, although Gore does have a couple extra miles on his body. Everything points to Zac Stacy fighting for this position at some point too, he has shown good signs of life throughout his short career.

LT: Joe Staley- Russell Okung has been a very good LT for Seattle, but Joe Staley has been elite. Making the Pro Bowl in the last 3 consecutive years, Staley seems to take his play to a new level every season. Staley is 29, so he has plenty of time left to keep playing at this level.

LG: Mike Iupati- After this is all said and done, you’ll realize that the 49ers offensive line is pretty damn good, probably the best in the NFL. Iupati has made the last 2 Pro Bowls, and he has a damn good chance at making another this year.

C: Max Unger- The Seahawks and the 49ers being on the same team together? I can’t see it, but if you paid them enough I’m sure they would all become best buds. Unger has a couple Pro Bowls to his name, and he is also part of a Super Bowl champion team, he is due for another big season, to bad there is no use for the C position in fantasy football.

RG: Alex Boone- Boone doesn’t have any awards or honors to his name, but he has been a very consistent part of this 49ers o-line, and there isn’t really any one else that deserves to be put ahead of him in this division. Putting him on this list is a mixture of acknowledging his consistency, and still accepting that in most other divisions, he would probably be 2^nd best.

RT: Anthony Davis- I literally only put him because I wanted the Hawks and 49ers to exclusively make up the offensive line, oh yea, and there was no one else deserving this position in the entire division.

WR1: Anquan Boldin- Boldin is looking as young as ever, he went off for 1,100 yards and 7 TD last year for the 49ers, who literally stole him away from the Ravens. He may be getting a little bit on the older side, but he still seems to have a couple good years left. Boldin has always been extremely tough, and I think that will make him a solid WR for the next couple of years.

WR2: Larry Fitzgerald- Larry and Anquan are playing together again, hypothetically. That Arizona Cardinals team was extremely fun to watch, whether you had Larry leaping over someone or Bolding using his body to make CB’s look like twigs. I was very upset when the Cardinals let Boldin go, I never understood it and I still don’t to this very day.

WR3: Michael Floyd- Floyd had a sub-par rookie season, but bounced back in a huge way last year to become one of the better young WR out there. Floyd tallied 1,050 yards and 5 TD last year. These aren’t elite numbers yet, but this will only be his third year, and all indicators point to him having a bigger year under second year head coach Bruce Arians.

TE: Vernon Davis- I met Vernon Davis once at a hotel I used to work at in Miami, and 6’3” 250 lbs. seemed like a major understatement. He was in with his brother Vontae (a CB for the Colts), and he made him look weak (he’s not weak). Davis is 30 years old, but he is showing 0 signs of slowing down. At 850 yards and 13 TD last year, Davis is still a top 3 TE in the NFL until he shows me something otherwise.

Defense- We will do 4-3 for our last one because once again, symmetry is key.

LDE: Chris Long- Chris Long and Robert Quinn absolutely stole the show last year, posting a ridiculous 27.5 sacks between the two of them, they made opposing QBs lose a lot of sleep thinking about having to face them. Look for the duo to continue to grow, they added Aaron Donald in the draft this year and that St. Louis line is looking scarier and scarier with every glance.

RDE: Robert Quinn- Robert Quinn was a top 3 DE last year, and the fact that he is only 24 makes this an even crazier discussion. Coming off of a 19-sack season, Quinn looks to somehow build on that. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Quinn push for 20 sacks this year, I also wouldn’t be surprised to see him reach that number.

LDT: Kendall Langford- After reading this article, you will be aware of many things, one of those things being just how good the Rams d-line is, it’ll be even scarier when you realize how young they are. Kendall Langford is 28 years old, and he is one of the oldest members of the front 4. Coming off of a 5-sack season, I think the Rams have got to be pretty happy with where they are on this front.

RDT: Michael Brockers- Yes, the Rams just swept the entire d-line, and yes, the average age of their defensive line starters is about 25-26. What I’m trying to say is, from the looks of it, they are here to stay for some time. The funny thing is that this list doesn’t even include Aaron Donald, who was selected 13^th overall this year by the Rams, having him as a backup means this line is far to good.

WLB: Aldon Smith- Aldon Smith may have only had 8.5 sacks last year, but he also only played in 11 games due to his many off the field issues. The last two full seasons he has played, Smith has tallied 14 and 19.5 sacks respectively. If he can stay on the field without getting himself into trouble, Aldon Smith is arguably the best OLB in the NFL today, here’s to hoping he can keep his focus on football.

SLB: John Abraham- Abraham is a lot older than Smith at 36 years old, but from the looks of things, he still has something to give. Abraham is coming off an 11.5-sack season with 4 FF. I’m not sure how long this will last, but I’m sure Bruce Arians will get the best out of him for as long as he can, I think we will soon find he has a knack for doing that with any talent that he has on the field.

MLB: Patrick Willis- The NFC West is stacked with great MLB’s, guys such as Navarro Bowman, Bobby Wagner, Larry Foote and James Laurinaitis are all above average, if not great, MLB. This one came down to Willis, Bowman and Wagner; with Bowman out still with the terrible injury he suffered I had Willis rated a bit higher than Wagner when really looking at it. Willis has been playing at an elite level for his entire career of 7 years, and he has been the cornerstone of this defense. I think we will see a lot from Willis this year, but then again, don’t we every year?

LCB: Patrick Peterson- I think the Peterson/Sherman argument is somewhat of a moot point. Anyone in the NFL would be extremely happy to have either of these guys on their team; some of them might not even have a preference. Sherman has some slightly better numbers, but Peterson does it all, and he does it all at an extremely high level. I won’t choose sides on this one, I think Sherman and Peterson are 1 and 2 in the NFL at their positions (in no given order) and they just so happen to play in the same division.

RCB: Richard Sherman- Richard Sherman is one of my favorite football players. People say he has a loud mouth, which he does, and people say he is cocky, which he is. One thing that people don’t understand is that Sherman isn’t just some loud-mouthed moron who doesn’t know when to shut up, actually, he is quite the opposite. Sometimes he may get a little out of control, but for the most part, Sherman knows exactly what he is saying, he knows how being provocative can get you far in the NFL, and he has always backed up his trash-talk with extremely good play on the field. Whether you like Sherman or not doesn’t matter, any true football fan should recognize the effort he delivers every week and the intensity he plays with, it might be unmatched when it comes to CB’s.

SS: Kam Chancellor- Chancellor might be the best SS in the NFL. I have had discussions with people about this, and names like TJ Ward and Eric Berry are thrown around, but Kam is an extremely hard hitter with a knack for finding the ball. Also, Kam has proven to be extremely tough and is rarely injured, a pretty good feat for a SS as most of them are oft injured. I won’t deem Chancellor the next Polamalu, but it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he came close to reaching that level.

FS: Earl Thomas- Anyone who is surprised that the Seahawks nearly swept the secondary category in this division needs to go back and watch some NFL football from the past couple seasons. Earl Thomas may be little, but he is one of the hardest hitters in football. I didn’t even have to look at any other FS from around the division, I think it is pretty clear that Thomas is by far the best FS in this division, and he could very well be the best in the entire NFL.

Summary: I saved this team for last, because honestly, it is the best team out there. There is no weak area on this team, and I could almost go as far as saying that every area on this team would be a strength. The WR position is probably the most suspect, and it includes extremely good receivers, it just looks bad in relativity because of how exceptionally good the rest of the roster is. This defense would probably give up about 0.4 points per game in the regular season, and I’m not kidding. The entire 11 man defense is elite, there is no position of weakness… wouldn’t that be something to watch?!

Wrapping It Up

I’m not going to rank these teams because I think they would all be extremely good. I will say that I’m almost positive that the NFC West would be the best team out of the whole lot, but after that I won’t put a ranking on any of them, that is up for you to decide. If you feel I’ve made any mistakes on some of the players I’ve put on these teams (or left off), then feel free to let me know I’m always open to feedback, even if I may or may not agree with some of it. On a final note, although these teams will never become a reality, it can never hurt to dream.