49ers Open as Favorites to Win NFC West; Can They Defend Their Divisional Crown?

• The 49ers have opened as the favorite to win the NFC West at -125
• The San Francisco 49ers won the NFC West in 2019 with their Week 17 win over the Seattle Seahawks
• See the opening odds for all teams to win the NFC West in 2020 below

The San Francisco 49ers went from 4-12 and having the second overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, to going 13-3 and winning the NFC. They’ve opened as a favorite to win the NFC West in 2020 but are they a good bet to do so? This is one of the tightest divisional races with three teams at +375 or shorter in NFC West odds.

 2020 NFC West Odds

Odds taken Mar. 3.

49ers Go From Outhouse to Penthouse

It was generally felt across the NFL last offseason that the 49ers were in for a rebound season in 2019. At one point, their odds to win the NFC West were beyond +500 last spring and summer. Once the season started, though, and they kept winning, the odds never came back down.

Heading into 2020, we should expect the 49ers to maintain a level of their success – even if they don’t win 13 games again – and challenge for the division crown. They really don’t have a lot of free agents to worry about as they’re looking at Emmanuel Sanders, Jimmie Ward, Arik Armstead and Ron Blair. There are others but these will be the biggest.

The 49ers have ample depth at wide receiver to let Sanders walk but they could re-sign him if he’s up for a reasonable deal. Ward and Armstead are both coming off career years as Armstead led the team in sacks (10) and Ward was a dependable safety who had eight passes defended with 60 tackles and a sack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj48m7i8uso

Armstead is the big one and they’ll probably do what they can to keep him. Everyone else is probably gone. Even if they are, this will still be a very strong team on both sides of the ball. It’s not as if they’re getting pillaged here.

Can the Seahawks Contend Again?

The Seahawks have already been active in free agency as they signed tight end Greg Olson to a deal. However, their roster is likely to be hurt by free agency much more than San Francisco’s.

The Seahawks will probably waive goodbye to Jadeveon Clowney, who is one of the main pieces on defense. Ezekiel Ansah, Mychal Kendricks, Al Woods, Quinton Jefferson, Jarrad Reed and Neiko Thorpe are all free agents. This is a huge chunk of the defense – especially Clowney, Jefferson and Reed. That will be a lot to overcome.

This team always seems to reload on defense and find value, but this is a unit that’s already been hurt by departures in recent years. Unless they can keep or replace this talent, they’re going to fall off a lot.

Forget the Rams

The Rams are still a good team but one that’s in decline. It’s clear that quarterback Jared Goff can’t carry this team – he needs lots of help – and Todd Gurley is not who he used to be. That duo is chewing up the Rams salary cap quite a bit. With a shaky offensive line, a deteriorating defense and a lack of draft picks, this team is going to be mediocre for a while.

What’s the Best Bet?

I do like the 49ers to win the division at this point. I probably wouldn’t bet it right now as I don’t see a ton of value with the NFC West odds at -125 but they’re the best team. They’ll have the most roster consistency year-over-year of the four teams in the division, they’re well-coached and they have plenty of young guys who should continue to improve.

Seattle should be right there with them – assuming they can retool the defense – but I’m not expecting the Rams or the rebuilding Arizona Cardinals to be competitive. As of now, I’d expect the 49ers to win this division in 2020.