8 of 8

Alex Gallardo/Associated Press

Arizona Cardinals

If there's a team in the NFL best positioned to come between the Miami Dolphins and their collision course with the first pick in 2020, it's the squad with the No. 1 overall pick in 2019. After one disastrous three-win season, head coach Steve Wilks was shown the door in favor of Kliff Kingsbury, who lost more than half of his games at Texas Tech last year.

There's growing chatter that the Cardinals will similarly punt on quarterback Josh Rosen after one season in favor of drafting Oklahoma's Kyler Murray with that first pick. Murray's an intriguing prospect and incredibly athletically gifted, but if he does wind up in the Valley of the Sun, he's going to find out the hard way something Rosen already knows: There's not a lot on the roster around him.

Prediction: 4-12

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams won 13 games and the NFC Championship Game last year, but all is not sunny in La La Land this offseason. The last time we saw the Rams in action, the New England Patriots offered up a blueprint for how to shut down L.A.'s high-octane offense. Todd Gurley's balky knee has become a major area of concern for the team. And the Rams' longest-tenured player, guard Rodger Saffold, was one of several offseason departures.

The schedule helped the team out a bit at least. In addition to two matchups with the Seahawks, the Rams face four more 2018 playoff teams this season—three at home. That sets up a Week 15 trip to Dallas for a playoff rematch with the Cowboys as a game that could have significant ramifications.

Prediction: 10-6

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers entered the 2018 season as one of the more hyped teams in the NFL They ended it as a 4-12 dumpster fire thanks to a series of injuries so complete and devastating that it might have been caused by an ancient Egyptian curse. Players like quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and tailback Jerick McKinnon are healthy now (or getting there), and general manager John Lynch was aggressive again this offseason in adding talent like linebacker Kwon Alexander.

If those players can stay healthy, the 49ers are one of the better bets to outperform expectations in 2019. A September slate that includes three games against teams that missed the postseason in 2018 followed by a Week 4 bye will go a long way toward determining whether that bet has any chance of paying off.

Prediction: 8-8

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks were a pleasant surprise in 2018, getting back to the postseason after a one-year absence. And in franchise-tagging defensive end Frank Clark and making quarterback Russell Wilson the NFL's highest-paid player, Seattle spent big bucks making sure the team didn't lose any significant contributors from that playoff team.

Seattle's two games against the Rams will no doubt be big ones, and the Seahawks play three more games against 2018 playoff squads. But two of those games are at home, and just four of Seattle's games in 2019 come against 10-win clubs—including those two go-rounds with the Rams in Week 5 and Week 14.

Prediction: 10-6