The NFC West got all shuffled up over the offseason, but there’s potential for that to create value in betting markets. When it boils down to the right combinations of talent, coaching and experience, two contenders still stand out to me in the division — the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams.
DraftKings Sportsbook offers a very cool “Division Special” market, in which you can bet on which teams will finish the top-two spots in the division, regardless of order. That’s exactly where we’re going with this play, so let’s breakdown the division in full to get there.
The Seattle Seahawks won a surprising 10 games last season to match the Rams’ win total. That said, a near complete overhaul of crucial offensive pieces could make that tough to repeat. This team hit its stride late in 2024, winning six of its final eight games. However, Geno Smith, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett have been replaced with Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp. In short, I’ll bet on Darnold’s miraculous season in Minnesota being a product of a better supporting cast and the world class quarterback coaching of Kevin O’Connell. I’m expecting major regression for Seattle offensively.
While the Arizona Cardinals finished with a losing record last season, I’d consider them the more likely team to finish in the top half of the division, compared to the Seahawks. After Jonathan Gannon won four games in his first season as head coach in Arizona, he doubled up to eight wins in 2024. The Cardinals used six of their seven draft picks on defense, but I still feel this team is a year away from contending. The defense will need a season to develop, and the offense is fully reliant on the health of Kyler Murray — which we know can be an issue, given his size and style of play. The high ceiling of Arizona is one of the more concerning paths to losing this wager, but if the Rams and Niners are at their best, the ceilings are higher.
The Rams were the division winners last season, and we saw that this team truly is a contender. Sean McVay’s team was the only squad to actually test the Eagles in the postseason, and nearly pulled the upset. The Rams have a strong, young defense in place, leaving the season to really come down to veteran offensive pieces staying healthy. Matthew Stafford loses Kupp, but replaces him with DaVante Adams to go alongside Puka Nakua. Clearly, the firepower in the passing game has elite potential.
That leaves us with the 49ers, who are off a dreadful 6-11 season. Is worst-to-first in the mix for the 49ers? Despite eight starters and 20-plus players departing, the Niners are slight favorites to win the NFC West in 2025. While this is a rebuild of sorts, San Francisco kept it’s most important core players in-tact — Brock Purdy, Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, etc. Even while Brandon Aiyuk takes his time to get healthy, the receiver room is in good hands with Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings. This team is built to bounce-back from a down year and contend for not just the division, but a trip to the Super Bowl.
Given the landscape of the division, I’m comfortable betting the Niners and Rams to finish in the top-two spots in the NFC West in some order. With prices as low as +140 for that result in the market, we’re getting a tremendous number at +200, which is better than betting either team on their own to simply win the division.
Division Special Play: NFC West Top-2 “SF 49ers/LA Rams” (+200) – 1-unit
