Ten most valuable players in the NFC West

[kearly]

This is just my opinion, feel free to list your own.

Here are some guidelines for how I made this: I considered how much losing a player to injury would hurt his team, or how much pure value he brings through his level of play. I also forced myself to name at least one player from each franchise, kind of like the all-star game in baseball.

#1: Russell Wilson - Easy call. Wilson is a present and future MVP candidate.
#2: Colin Kaepernick - With Alex Smith traded, Kaepernick is now the player SF can least afford to lose.
#3: Justin Smith - SF's defense kind of embarrassed itself after Smith got hurt last year. I knew he was good. I didn't know he was that good.
#4: Chris Clemons - We've known for years that without Clemons, we're screwed. Then the got confirmation during the Atlanta game.
#5: Earl Thomas - Without Thomas we are probably in big trouble, but until he misses a game, we won't know exactly how much.
#6: Richard Sherman - Someone smart figured out that Sherman's 2012 performance was worth $16 million. That much value from a corner is ridiculous.
#7: Chris Long - He's even better than Chris Clemons, but the Rams (tied for league lead in sacks) depend on him less.
#8: Patrick Willis - He's on a HoF trajectory, though the 49ers could probably survive his absence.
#9: Aldon Smith - He probably isn't as bad as he was after Justin Smith went down last year. He's not elite, but he's still a big time asset for SF.
#10: Dave Zastudil - Arizona's present and future team MVP candidate. His name also kind of sounds like "Disasterville", which is pretty cool.

 

[Stoned Cold]

Not one offensive lineman, interesting.

 

[bestfightstory]

Nor Running Back. The Niners without Gore would be hosed.

And then there is Marshawn. The guy was only second in the entire league in rushing yards last year and much of Wilson's success came via play action and the dual threat read-option.

 

[The Radish]

An MVP list without Rockhawks name on it?

:roll:

 

[Scottemojo]

Wilson. has to be one, I'm a Hawks fan.
2. Kaepernick. I may think he is a skeezer chasing douchebag wannabe hood rat religious fraud, but the guy can ball.
3. Larry Fitzgerald. I am so curious to see how Palmer does with Larry.
4. Jake Long. Can he be the difference for Bradford?
5. Chris Long. I honestly should list the entire Rams D-line here. Anybody notice that the teams that beat us last year all had good d-lines in common?
6. Earl Thomas.
7. Sherm. I have always thought press corners get miscast as shut down corners, but I think Sherm is a shutdown corner miscast as a press corner. I think he is getting to where he could line up anywhere to take away one guy.
8. Jim Harbaugh. I know, not a player, but without him the QB magic will end.
9. Patrick Willis.
10. Percy Harvin. He is going to open the offense for others.

 

[dontbelikethat]

No Fitz?!?

 

[ImTheScientist]

Not one offensive lineman, interesting.

That is the first thing I thought....I would have put Unger on the list.

 

[Tical21]

I love Russ, but without him we're still a playoff team.

Marshawn has to be #1, and it isn't even really close IMO.

 

[onanygivensunday]

Like others, my #1 and #2 are Wilson and Kaepernick. And since the Hawks and the Whiners are favorites to win the division, my top 10 MVP players in the NFCW will be top-heavy with those teams' players.

1. Wilson - the Hawks are on the verge of something special... and MR. SPECIAL is invaluable in leading this team deep into the playoffs.
2. Kaepernick - without Crabtree and with a stable of question marks in their WR corps for this year, Kaepernick must take the Whiners on his shoulders and carry them throughout the season. This year will tell us a LOT about Kaep and his leadership.
3. Earl - he's the key to Sherman and Browner playing press coverage, not letting up the huge play and Pete's overall defensive scheme. The cupboard is bare behind Earl.
4. Gore - without Gore, the Whiners will likely have no running game. He's a must to stay healthy this year for the Whiners to get to 10+ games in the win column.
5. Miller - with no established back-up TE, the Hawks can ill afford to lose Zach Miller. The run game, the passing game and red zone offense would suffer.
6. Marshawn - he's the team's identity. he'd be a huge loss from that perspective alone.
7. Unger - the loss of the anchor of the Oline would be huge in both the running and passing game.
8. Fitzgerald - who is Palmer to throw to if Fitz is lost for the season? They need Fitz to win at least 6 games this year
9. Bradford - as Bradford goes this year, so go the Lambs. Their D is solid but they may struggle scoring points unless Bradford steps up his game.
10. Justin Smith - with Crabtree gone, the Whners season will hinge of the stoutness of their D and Smith, when healthy, wins the Guinness Stout Man of the Year, hands down

 

[Johnny]

Nor Running Back. The Niners without Gore would be hosed.

And then there is Marshawn. The guy was only second in the entire league in rushing yards last year and much of Wilson's success came via play action and the dual threat read-option.

Lynch was third in the league in rushing last year.

#1 - AP - 2,097 yds
#2 - Alfred Morris, 1,613 yds
#3 - Lynch, 1,590 yds

But, Lynch could have been second in the league if it wasn't for the couple blowout wins we had at the end of the year were he only played in the first half of those games.

 

[bestfightstory]

Nor Running Back. The Niners without Gore would be hosed.

And then there is Marshawn. The guy was only second in the entire league in rushing yards last year and much of Wilson's success came via play action and the dual threat read-option.

Lynch was third in the league in rushing last year.

#1 - AP - 2,097 yds
#2 - Alfred Morris, 1,613 yds
#3 - Lynch, 1,590 yds

But, Lynch could have been second in the league if it wasn't for the couple blowout wins we had at the end of the year were he only played in the first half of those games.

I stand corrected.

 

[Johnny]

Really Kaepernick #2?

I think Gore is just as important to the 49ers offense as Lynch is to our offense... The only other team in the league last year that ran the ball as much as the Hawks did last year were the 49ers..

My top ten list of NFC West players would have to look like this:

1. Marshawn Lynch - He is the tone setter on our offense, He is what make our offense tough.
2. Frank Gore - Same goes here about Lynch
3. Russell Wilson - Without Wilson we are NOT a Super Bowl contender.
4. Justin Smith - As the OP stated, Smith is the biggest key to success for the 49ers defense.
5. Larry Fitz. - The guy is a stud and he has done it for years without a good QB, he is the Cards offense.
6. Earl - He is a big part of the reason we can do some of the stuff that we do on defense.
7. NaVorro Bowman - The guy is a great LB, and is better than PW right now. IMO.
8. Clem - If we had Clem vs. the Falcons, We would've been playing the 49ers in the NFC Champ Game.
9. Chris Long - Just because he is a relentless/high-motored player and I like those kinda guys.
10. Max Unger - He was a big part of Russell's development last year, ever good QB needs a great Center.


This was tougher than I expected, There were guys I left off the list like Richard Sherman, Patrick Willis, Russell Okung, Joe Staley, Daryl Washington, and many more, but I feel the top ten I picked are the most important players for their teams.

I left Kaep off the list based on the fact that the 49ers went to the NFC Champ Game with Alex Smith the year before and then the Super Bowl the next, and Kaep only started 7 games last year.

 

[-The Glove-]

Yeah I don't see how Kaep is that valuable when Alex freakin Smith led the Niners to the NFC Championship game the year before.

 

[Tical21]

You know what, re-thinking this, I just might put Kaep at #1. Colt McCoy is that bad.

 

[Fuzzman55]

1. Russ
2. Kap
3. Justin Smith
4. Brandon Mebane
5. Calais Campbell
6. Justin Long
7. James Laurinaitis
8. Okung
9. Staley
10. Earl Thomas

The NFC West teams are built through their lines and front seven, and my list reflected that. As important as Lynch and Gore are, I don't think they're the same without the pro-bowlers up front.

 

[nanomoz]

Lots of great mentions, Kip. I think Clem is underrated, but for me, Earl is the most important player on the defense. I'd put him top 5 in the division.

 

[GeekHawk]

I love Russ, but without him we're still a playoff team.

Marshawn has to be #1, and it isn't even really close IMO.

Were you here year before last, when we had pretty much the same players as now but without Wilson? You remember T-Jack, right? No playoffs. Therefore, your premise is false and all conclusions based on it are also false.

 

[kearly]

A couple follow up thoughts.

Why no linemen? Hutch proved just how much of an impact losing a great lineman can have back in 2006, but I don't feel there is a single lineman in the division that is close to that level. Unger, Okung, and Staley are very good, but none of them are a can of whup'ass like Hutch and Walt were. Further, those older Seahawks teams had terrible O-line depth, whereas the 49ers and Seahawks have strong offensive lines with enviable depth. Lemuel Jeanpierre may not be an all-pro, but he's starter caliber. Paul McQuistan could handle left tackle if needed. The 49ers have depth too. Both teams have mobile QBs, which helps. In the case of Seattle, they have a QB who is almost better when forced to scramble.

No running backs? Lynch almost made it, but I didn't include him because I think starting Michael could end up a blessing in disguise. Lynch is more rounded and tougher to bring down, and is a better athlete than a lot of people know. But Michael is one of the most explosive backs I've ever scouted and his upside is 2000 yard season territory. I think Turbin could probably start as well and do a solid job. Losing Lynch would make me nervous, but I'm not even sure it would be a bad thing. Frank Gore is 30 and was just okay in 2012. His backups aren't terrible, though they did disappoint last season. SF's running game is very good for a variety of reasons, but it's not particularly because of Frank Gore.

No Fitz? Fitz had a terrible season in 2012. He was near the bottom of the NFL in yards per target after being near the top in yards per target catching passes from nearly the same QB group the year before. Maybe it was a fluke, and maybe if Palmer can somehow stay healthy we'll see a bounce back from Fitz. Fitz is 32 years old though (edit: turns 30 in August), and his body language last year might be summarized as "I'm tired." Maybe he's physically wearing down, or maybe what he's tired of is all the stupid shit he's had to deal with at QB. Arizona is pretty bad at WR beyond Fitz, but really, I expect Arizona to have a below average passing offense with Fitz or without him. Palmer doesn't have the arm to do the kind of vertical offense Arians insisted on at Pittsburgh and Indy. It could get ugly down there.

I wanted to include Harvin; maybe I should have. A lot of smart people think he could be a catalyst. I left him off because we were FO's #1 offense last year without him.

 

[Bus035]

1. Russell Wilson
2. Justin Smith
2a. Patrick Willis
3. Colin Kaepernick
4. Sam Bradford
5. Darnell Dockett
6. Earl Thomas
7. Richard Sherman
8. Mike Iupati
9. James Laurinatis
10. Frank Gore
10a. Larry Fitzgerald

 

[Tical21]

I love Russ, but without him we're still a playoff team.

Marshawn has to be #1, and it isn't even really close IMO.

Were you here year before last, when we had pretty much the same players as now but without Wilson? You remember T-Jack, right? No playoffs. Therefore, your premise is false and all conclusions based on it are also false.

I know, 'cause none of our players have improved at all since 2011, besides:

Chancellor
Thomas
Sherman
Browner
Wright
Wagner
our DE position
our TE position
Golden Tate
addition of Harvin and Rice
Lynch
Turbin
Michael

But besides that it is pretty much the same thing.