Best and Worst 2017 offseason moves by every team: NFC West

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AFC
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Arizona Cardinals

Best: Continuing diversification of defense through draft

The Cardinals already had one of the most versatile, unique defenses in the league with several key players able to line up at different positions. Grabbing athletic linebacker Haason Reddick, who can play as a pass-rusher or an off-ball backer, and safety Budda Baker, who can play deep or as a slot corner just like Tyrann Mathieu, will make them even harder to score on.

Worst: Not drafting a quarterback

While the team was able to upgrade defensively, Carson Palmer is 37 years old and needs to be replaced soon. Arizona is still in a position to not have to rush the development of a young quarterback, but it missed out on drafting one after boasting about the passers in this class, and may need to find a new starter in 2018.

Los Angeles Rams

Best: Hiring Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator

The Rams got crazy lucky that Phillips was available after getting so much out of Denver's defense the last two seasons. As the team looks to recover from the ever-boring Jeff Fisher era, Phillips should be able to whip a few wins out of the Rams' talented defense regardless of the state of the offense.

Worst: Hiring Sean McVay as youngest head coach ever

Just a heads-up, guys: Making someone the youngest head coach in NFL history has not been a good move in the past (see Lane Kiffin). This seems very much like a move to counter having Fisher, aka Mr. 7-9, as head coach for the Rams' first season in Los Angeles, but hiring coaches for PR purposes is bad.

San Francisco 49ers

Best: (Surprisingly) hiring John Lynch as general manager

When first announced, this move was a head-scratcher at best - and a fall-on-the-floor-laugher at worst. However, Lynch had a productive free-agency period, has maintained a solid relationship with head coach Kyle Shanahan, and arguably won the 2017 NFL Draft. Not bad for a dude with no prior front-office experience.

Worst: Making Kyle Juszczyk NFL's highest-paid fullback

Overall, Lynch's tenure has been solid, but he's got a blemish or two on his record, one of which was giving fullback Kyle Juszczyk a four-year, $21-million contract. It was one of his first signings and made Lynch look like he was going to lose a lot of battles in the negotiating room.

Seattle Seahawks

Best: Drafting Malik McDowell in 2nd round

Again, the Seahawks traded away their first-round pick, and again, they still got a player of first-round talent. Adding McDowell to the mix with Michael Bennett, Jarran Reed, Cliff Avril, and Frank Clark seems a little unfair to opposing offensive lines.

Worst: Pretending Richard Sherman might be traded

Not addressing the major concerns on the offensive line was bad, but the weeks of unnecessary controversy about maybe, possibly, conceivably trading Sherman? Come on, man. No one was going to offer that asking price, nor did anyone actually believe that arguably the best cornerback in the league was going to be traded with Seattle still in Super Bowl contention.

NFC
EAST | NORTH | SOUTH | WEST

AFC (Thursday, May 11)
EAST | NORTH | SOUTH | WEST