Can the San Francisco 49ers bounce back to win the NFC West in 2025? Our football experts Chris Raybon and Stuckey break down their predictions for the entire division, plus a couple of NFL futures bets they like.
Continue below for their favorite NFC West NFL futures predictions, which include long-shot picks on the Arizona Cardinals to win the division, as well as a Super Bowl bet on the 49ers.
NFL Futures — NFC West Predictions
| NFL Futures Picks |
|---|
| Cardinals to Win the NFC West |
| 49ers to Win the Super Bowl |
Cardinals to Win the NFC West (+575)
I don't necessarily think I'm selling the 49ers, but I'm definitely not buying.
Instead, I'm very interested in buying the Cardinals.
I'm buying the Cardinals across the board. I played them to make the playoffs, win the division, and I bet their win total over.
The 49ers' situation is volatile. Matthew Stafford and the Rams also appear to be volatile. And I think the Seahawks will likely take a step back, although there are some things I really like about Seattle.
This is year three for an Arizona coaching staff that I really like, and I think it is poised to make a big leap from a DVOA perspective.
The Cardinals had the most improved defense in 2024, especially when you look at their schedule and adjust for difficulty. They were bottom five in adjusted games lost due to injury the last two years on defense.
Can they actually stay healthy on defense? The defensive line was not good last year after being decimated by injury.
So, what did they do? They went out and they addressed the issue, and it's probably one of the most improved defensive fronts in the NFL.
You add Josh Sweat, Calais Campbell, and Dalvin Tomlinson. You draft Walter Nolen III, who I love. We'll see when he gets healthy. Darius Robinson also comes back from injury.
They basically lost them all last year.
I love Garrett Williams, it looks like Will Johnson is going to be healthy. We'll see if Cody Simon can win that linebacker battle, but I love their draft and love what they did in free agency.
They went out and spent $180 million and their first five draft picks on defense.
I love Jonathan Gannon and Nick Rallis; they do so many unique schematic things defensively. I think they do some of the most interesting things in the league with their three-high looks.
They were a bottom-five team in pass rush win rate last year, and they're going to be improved there. The run defense will also improve with better health and better personnel. I think this is a top-10 defense and a league-average offense or better.
They had a top-10 offense last year, and because they ran the ball so well, their offensive line remains intact, and basically their entire offense remains intact. Marvin Harrison wasn't very good, and we may see a leap from him.
I'm not saying it's going to be the best offense in the league or anything like that, but if they can maintain that level and Harrison makes a jump, the run game is going to be really good, the Cardinals could be very dangerous.
The bigger question is whether they can avoid the fall off late in the season with Kyler Murray.
Can Murray improve his his deep ball? Can Murray win them a few big games late in the season?
That's the tough part.
49ers to Win the Super Bowl (+2200)
I like the idea of buying the dip on the 49ers' long-shot futures, such as San Francisco to win the Super Bowl in the 20-to-1 range.
I'll take that, because if they do stay healthy, I still think they have enough upside to get to the NFC championship game and potentially the Super Bowl.
We expect the Eagles to take a step back, regression schedule, turnovers, etc. The Lions will be good again, but I think we will see them also take a step back.
I think we are getting this price on the 49ers right now because there are dealing with a bunch of injuries at the same time, but they always go through this, and they were a top-10 team last year before all the disastrous injuries. They still have a good roster, and things can only get better from here, right?
For example, Jauan Jennings is probably fine. Brandon Aiyuk is expected to come back mid-season.
I don't know if we can count on him, but you know, we're seeing the backup running backs getting hurt, backup receivers getting hurt, likely carrying little consequence. And then, there's just a lot of new faces on the defense, bringing some uncertainty.
This is my preferred way to buy low on San Francisco. This could be exactly the reboot and retooling it needs, and it's the perfect year for them with a wide-open NFC.
