Arizona gets Carson Palmer, Seattle gets Kevin Kolb and the one change I wanted to make was St. Louis trades for Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers instead of Chad OchoCinco. Smith has already stated he wants out, and while Smith is not drama free, he won't be as much a distraction as 85 and would provide a receiver that would fit perfectly with Sam Bradford. Also will add a trade the 49ers could explore in addition to a Free Agent signing.
Arizona Cardinals
Barrett Ruud - Middle Line Backer
The Cardinals added a franchise QB in Carson Palmer in my projected trades that need to happen. That along with the addition of RB Ryan Williams in the draft should go a long way to improving the offense. Now lets take a look at the defense. The Cardinals have one of the more talented secondaries in the NFL, and pro-bowl caliber lineman in Darnell Dockett. While Dockett is a vocal leader, they really need a strong presence in the Middle of the defense. With the departure of Karlos Dansby, there was a clear lack of talent at the linebacker position. Ruud, in my opinion, is perfectly suited to play in this defense, he racks up tackles and can make plays with INT's. One of the more underrated players in the NFL and could vault the Cardinals defense in to one of the better ones in the NFC. With adding Palmer and Ruud, the Cardinals would be a perfect candidate for bounce back team of the year. Something I also touched on in a previous post.
San Francisco 49ers
Jonathan Joseph - Corner Back
In the draft, the 49ers were hoping and praying that someway, somehow, LSU CB Patrick Peterson would fall to them at 7. This was not to be as the Cardinals took Peterson with the 5th overall pick. The 49ers did select talented sack artist in Aldon Smith. Now what the 49ers need is a top end CB. While the only 2 true shutdown CB's in the NFL are Darrelle Revis and Nnamdi Asomugha, Joseph would be an excellent addition to the 49ers defense. Joseph gets overlooked playing for the Bengals and playing beside Leon Hall, but he is one of the better CB's that doesn't get talked about.
While the Pass Rush was a problem for the 49ers last season, their secondary was the major weakness of the defense. By adding Aldon Smith and Jonathan Joseph, the defense under new coordinator Vic Fangio would get a huge talent injection, to go along with other excellent players in Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Aubrayo Franklin (who the 49ers need to re-sign) and Takeo Spikes.
49ers trade 5th round pick to Tampa Bay Buccaneers for QB Josh Johnson
The reasoning behind this trade? 49ers HC Jim Harbaugh was Josh Johnson's college coach, and thus Johnson would be familiar with Harbaugh's offense. While I am not expecting Johnson to start, his impact would be more in helping the other QB's (Colin Kaepernick and Alex Smith) in learning Harbaugh's offense. With the shortened offseason the 49ers QB's will need all the help they can get and having a guy in the locker room who spent years with Harbaugh would be invaluable. Not only this, but it was in Harbaugh's offense which put JJ in the position to be drafted where he was, and I think back in this offense he would make for a solid backup QB in the long term behind Kaepernick. Also acquiring JJ means no more David Carr which is always a good thing for any team.
Seattle Seahawks
Logan Mankins - Offensive Guard
It appears to me that Mankins is not committed to staying with the Patriots, it also looks obvious that he is after a big payday. Well it just so happens that Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen is one of the richest men in the World and when it comes to his Seahawks he is not afraid to spend money. Recently Seattle has invested high draft picks to shore up the Offensive Tackle positions (Russell Okung at LT and draftee James Carpenter at RT), but questions still remain in the interior of the O-Line. By adding Mankins, Seattle would be regaining a LG and LT combo with the potential to be as dominant as Steve Hutchinson and Walter Jones were for years up in the Pacific Northwest.
If we take my projected trades, Seattle would have added Kevin Kolb, who would immediately become the franchise QB. Not only would adding Mankins help Kolb in the passing game, but he would be a vital piece in establishing an effective run game. Seattle's biggest problem on offense in 2010 was consistency, at times look great, and at times look awful. Improving at the QB position and adding 2 major additions to the O-Line (Mankins and Carpenter) would go a long way to making the Seattle offense that much more consistent.
St. Louis Rams
Darren Sproles - Running Back/Kick Returner
The future in St. Louis is all about Sam Bradford and putting him in the best position to succeed. Trading for Steve Smith, gives Bradford a legit pass catcher and by adding Sproles, the Rams would get a change of pace back who would compliment Steven Jackson perfectly. Sproles is a home run hitter in the run game, while Jackson is more of a bruiser who excels at pounding the defense for gains of 5-10 yards. Sproles will also be a huge help in the return game, putting Bradford and the Rams offense in better field position consistently.
The NFC West has essentially been the laughing stock of the NFL the last few years, highlighted last year by the winner having a pathetic 7-9 record. The first time ever a division winner having a losing record. I believe that with the trades and free agent signings made, that would go a long way to improving this division and bringing it back to respectable.
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