Training camp is rapidly approaching, with the kickoff of the 2026 NFL season this September not far behind, which is the perfect time to take stock of the talent across the league that will define this season’s Super Bowl chase.

Each Tuesday, through camps opening in mid-July, we’ll be breaking down the five best players in each division, continuing today with the NFC West.

Additionally, I asked a veteran AFC Personnel Executive his choice as the one non-quarterback that he would choose first from this division to build his team around.

Here’s an in-depth look at the NFC West, and the players who will likely set the tone for the season.

There are difference-makers, and then there are players who revolutionize the way the position is played in the modern era of the sport. Somehow, George Kittle defines both of those categories as one of the most vital players to this era of the San Francisco 49ers.

Kittle, 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, is a menacing presence when running routes over the middle of the field or stretching it vertically on the perimeter, and a matchup nightmare for opposing linebackers, cornerbacks, and safeties tasked with limiting the damage he’s able to inflict. Last season, despite battling through some nagging injuries, Kittle still caught 57 of his 69 targets for 628 yards and seven touchdowns … in just 11 regular-season games.

Even in what many would consider a “down” year for Kittle, his impact on the 49ers’ passing game was undeniable. It didn’t matter if it was Brock Purdy or Mac Jones behind center last season, Kittle finished second among tight ends across the league with his quarterbacks producing a nearly perfect 141.7 passer rating when targeting him, and he’s more than capable of stretching the field, as illustrated by his 7.1 Yard Average Depth of Target.

It is anyone’s guess how long it will take Kittle to get back on the field and back up to full speed for the 49ers’ offense, after tearing his Achilles tendon in a playoff victory over the Philadelphia Eagles back in January. But, once Kittle’s available, his production has the potential to skyrocket thanks to Mike Evans’ presence and Ricky Pearsall’s continued development towards becoming a No. 1 receiver worthy of significant attention from opposing secondaries.

In today’s NFL where the scales are tipped so heavily in favor of prolific passing offenses, and rosters built around elite wide receiver play, truly dominant cornerbacks have never been more vital to a defense. Or, as the Seahawks illustrated in a Super Bowl shellacking, to championships.

Cornerbacks have become as valuable as left tackles, wide receivers, and nearly to the level of quarterbacks, and Witherspoon may be the premier player at the position in the entire sport.

Witherspoon was Mike MacDonald’s heat-seeking missile in the Seahawks’ Super Bowl win over the Patriots, sent on exotic and explosive blitz packages off the edge, where he sacked Drake Maye once and posted a tackle for loss, and in coverage where he broke up a pass, on his way to a performance that put him in the Super Bowl MVP conversation.

While the Super Bowl may have been the nation’s introduction to Witherspoon as a disruptive force and game-altering weapon, he’s quietly built a reputation as one of the most dominant erasers on the perimeter anywhere in the league.

Last season, Witherspoon lapped the competition as Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded cornerback, with an elite 90.1 overall rating, while holding opposing quarterbacks to a pedestrian 99.8 passer rating when targeting him as receivers managed just 46 receptions in 447 coverage snaps.

While Witherspoon effectively and consistently takes away an entire side of the field, he shines as a pass rusher, where he led all cornerbacks with 10 total pressures. The scary thing for the rest of this division, and offenses around the NFL, is that at age 25, Witherspoon’s prime is only just beginning.

Five years after his retirement, and maybe even just six years from now, Trent Williams will walk across the stage at midfield of Tom Benson Stadium as a First Ballot Hall of Famer, and the standard bearer at one of the most vital positions across a roster.

Even at age 37, Williams is still widely viewed as the premier left tackle in the sport, and he is vitally important to all facets of the 49ers’ offense; from Purdy’s development to Christian McCaffrey’s consistent assaults on 1,000-plus-yard seasons, as the road grader who paves the way for Kyle Shanahan’s scheme to fire on all cylinders.

Proving that he’s still a few steps ahead of Father Time, Williams posted an elite 92.0 run-blocking grade at Pro Football Focus last season, instrumental to McCaffrey’s resurgence as one of the game’s most dominant running backs, and while he allowed four sacks, the fact that he played 593 snaps in pass protection is meaningful context.

According to Pro Football Focus, only the Detroit Lions’ Penei Sewell, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Tristan Wirfs graded out higher among offensive tackles last season across the league.

Playing in a division that now houses Myles Garrett, in addition to the Seahawks’ attacking horde of edge rushers, Williams’ importance may be reaching a crescendo as the 49ers aim to reload towards cashing in one of the strongest eras of sustained success the franchise has seen into Shanahan’s first Lombardi.

Matthew Stafford is the byproduct of marrying one of the NFL’s most consistently efficient pocket presences and vertical threats with arguably the most innovative offensive mind in the sport.

Los Angeles’ Stafford-Sean McVay partnership is already responsible for one of the Lombardi Trophies proudly on display at Rams Village, and the franchise is gearing up to make a legitimate run at another in the season ahead.

Stafford ran away with MVP honors last season, while completing 65 percent of his passes for 4,707 yards with 46 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. In the postseason, the 38-year-old somehow elevated his game to an even loftier level, passing for 936 yards with six touchdowns to just one interception in the Rams’ three playoff games.

The only thing holding Stafford back from taking home the top honors in these rankings, is that it is difficult to separate his singular impact on the Rams’ bombastic offense from that of a supporting cast that includes All-Pro receivers Davante Adams and Puka Nacua, and a worthy running back duo of Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, who are each far more than mere cylinders in McVay’s offensive sports car.

Still, Stafford is one of the more feared quarterbacks by defensive coordinators and the conductor who turns the Rams’ firepower into a brilliant symphony, one that just may finally have a defense capable of serving as a worthy complement in a chase for the Super Bowl.

There’s a reason the Rams traded an emergent star edge rusher in Jared Verse, a first-round pick, a second-round pick, and a third-round pick over the next three years to acquire Garrett, who very well might be Los Angeles’ missing piece to winning a second Super Bowl on their home turf at SoFi Stadium.

Garrett is arguably the most dominant and disruptive player walking the planet, and is fresh off his second Defensive Player of the Year Award, after setting the single-season record with 23 sacks. No longer tolling away on the Cleveland Browns’ defense, Garrett becomes the versatile chess piece and foundational building block of Chris Shula’s defense and scheme.

Even in Cleveland, Garrett wasn’t just compiling stats, he was bulldozing the competition, on his way to a league-best 28.5% Pass Rush Win Rate, according to ESPN. Just imagine how impactful Garrett is going to be as the centerpiece of a genuine Super Bowl contender’s defense.

In addition to his sacks last season, Garrett added 84 quarterback pressures, producing a league-high 93.3 pass rush grade from Pro Football Focus, he also flashed his versatility by posting 26 tackles against the run. Now in the NFC, where the road to a Super Bowl goes through the likes of Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, Josh Jacobs, among others, having an edge presence as dominant against the run as he is at wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks could prove vital for the Rams.

Dropping Garrett into the Rams’ defense doesn’t just add a sledgehammer to an already potent defense, but eases significant pressure off Stafford and the offense by potentially keeping points off the board and handing McVay additional series each game to try to light up the scoreboard.