If there was ever a year in which all of California’s NFL teams, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers looked all sorts of good coming into their new season, 2021 is officially it. If you’re a California native, NFL football fan, especially one who likes to keep up with all the latest NFL picks against the spread, keeping an eye on all three of Cali’s teams will definitely be a must.
With the Rams bringing in all-star QB Matthew Stafford from Detroit to give their offense a much needed face lift, the Chargers ready to ride with Justin Herbert at QB as he looks poised to make this season one where he makes the leap to football stardom and the 49ers starting more and more to count on what their new rookie sensation Trey Lance will do for them on offense, 2021 definitely seems like it will be a football action packed season for fans of these three teams alike.
With this said, we bring you our initial predictions of what the upcoming 2021 NFL season might have in store for the Chargers, Rams and 49ers.
For the LA Rams, It’s Time To Break Out Again
Imagine you have a team that’s coached by one of the best offense driven, modern thinking, young football minds in the league like Sean McVay. Add to that a defense that’s commanded by one of the best defensive players in the league, if not the best in Aaron Donald and a secondary that’s led by all-star cornerback Jalen Ramsey. And in case that wasn’t enough, you have one of the absolute best talents at QB, who will be out to play to show everyone that he does deserve to be considered one of the most complete and all-around best players at his position in the game in Matthew Stafford. Well, that’s basically what fans will be getting with this season’s LA Rams.
The Rams shipped Jared Goff to Detroit and landed all-star QB Matthew Stafford in return. No offense whatsoever to Goff and his talents, but the Rams and coach McVay specially can brag about hitting the lottery here. Stafford is the kind of QB that with the right tools, motivation and push can lead a team into the playoffs and why not, the Super Bowl. Given that he’ll have a receiver core with the likes of Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and DeSean Jackson, you know Stafford will have a field day playing for LA. The one thing that this offense needs to take care of is the running back situation, given that they lost Cam Akers to a season ending torn Achilles injury, but that should be taken care off before the season starts. On the defensive side of the ball, the Rams can easily brag about having at least a TOP 5 defensive line with Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey as their main weapons.
It’s because of all this and McVay’s coaching talents that Rams fans can expect this team to have a great season, winning the NFC West division and making a true push for a strong postseason run that could end up leading to at least an NFC Championship game matchup.
Herbert Is Ready, The Chargers Are Too
Unlike other years where the Chargers felt like a doubt filled cloud was hovering over them, this year feels different. Be it that new head coach Brandon Staley has brought in a much needed breeze of fresh air to the Chargers roster or the fact that this could easily be the year in which QB Justin Herbert proves why he was awarded with the Offensive Rookie of the Year award last season by putting up some stellar numbers all around, the Chargers are looking all sorts of good.
On the offensive side of the ball, Herbert will have a truly stacked group of players to back up his stellar QB performances. With receivers like Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Tyron Johnson, rookie receiver Josh Palmer, running back Austin Ekeler, and tight end Jared Cook, the Chargers can expect greatness out of this offense from day one. Now when you talk about defense, well just like in offense, stacked is the name of the game. The Chargers could potentially be sitting on one of the best defenses in all of the NFL when fully healthy. Guys like Derwin James and Joey Bosa will surely once again rise up as the main leaders of a Chargers defense that will do wonders for a defense driven coach like Staley.
While beating out the Chiefs might be a stretch, if Justin Herbert can make the plunge into QB superstardom you can never know. If the Chargers are able to stay healthy and strong throughout the season, a playoff bid, at least through a wild card entry, is surely in the books for the volts.
San Francisco 49ers
Kyle Shanahan and his San Francisco 49ers have been trying to find an honest and decent reason to get rid of former Patriots backup QB and momentary star in the bay Jimmy Garoppolo. Well then, enter rookie QB sensation Trey Lance. While Shanahan is still on the fence about having to see Jimmy G leave the bay it is clear that with Lance being around now, the QB spot is his for the taking. Lance has shown serious signs of promise and aligning him next to receivers Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Mohamed Sanu Sr., TE George Kittle and FB Kyle Juszczyk will only help San Francisco rake in as many offensive rewards as possible. If that’s not enough, keep an eye on rookie RB Trey Sermon because this man will do wonders for the Niners running game from the get go.
On the defensive side of the ball, this 49ers defense can perfectly be an elite unit if no injury scares get in the way. Having a healthy defensive line with the likes of Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, Fred Warner, Dee Ford, D.J. Jones and Javon Kinlaw automatically spells out danger for opposing offenses.
This year Shanahan has the perfect squad to go big or go home and if he does decide to favor Lance over Jimmy G then expect great things from San Francisco, including a race for their division and a strong postseason run.
