Sean McVay says at the start of every offseason that each year stands on its own and there's no guarantee your team will be good based on how it performed the year before.For the and the rest of the NFC West, that means building a new identity as teams finish OTAs and look to the beginning of training camp at the end of July.For the past two years, the path to the top spot in the division has gone through the . And the expectation is that it will not be any different in 2024, with the 49ers a betting favorite to advance to the Super Bowl again.However, each NFC West team can point to a path to the postseason if everything goes as planned. And all four teams have a key player who can be instrumental in getting them there. Here, we look at that key player on the hot seat for each team.ADVERTISEMENT Arizona Cardinals, QB Kyler MurrayCardinals GM Monti O senfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon could have moved off Troy Brown Jersey of Murray in their first season in Arizona. Instead, the leadership duo embraced the team's uniquely talented quarterback, surrounding him with more playmakers with the hopes of getting the Cardinals back to the postseason.And Murray has taken the team's approach to heart, recommitting himself to his craft and taking on more of a leadership role as the highest-paid player on the team. At age 26 and fully healthy after ACL rehab, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft should be entering the prime of his career.Last season, he completed 65.7% of his pa ses for 1,799 yards, with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. The Cardinals finished 3-5 with Murray under center after winning just one game in the first half of the season. Arizona averaged 22.4 points per game with Murray at quarterback, and 16.8 points per contest in the first nine games when he was sidelined.Along with drafting receiver ., running back and tight end , the Cardinals signed offensive Raul Neto Jersey tackle , center and receiver in free agency.And with second-year offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, the Cardinals have created an identity of running the football and using play-action with one of the most dynamic playmakers at quarterback.Now, it's up to Murray to play to his potential in leading the Cardinals back to the postseason for the first time since 2021. READ MORE: Cardinals expect explosive offense with healthy Kyler Murray, rookie weapons Los Angeles Rams, DT Kobie TurnerYes, Aaron Donald has retired, and Turner can't be expected to be a one-for-one replacement for one of the best defensive linemen to ever play the game.Still, Turner led the team with nine sacks last season and is the team's best interior pa s-rusher Bradley Beal Jersey returning. He's expected to move to a 3-tech defensive tackle, and the Rams will undoubtedly try to game plan to get Turner one-on-one matchups, similar to how they tried to free up Donald during his decade of dominant play.Turner already got a little of the Donald treatment as a rookie: According to Next Gen Stats, Turner was double-teamed on a league-high 54.1% of his pa s rushes last season. He finished second in pre sures against double teams last season (22) and tied for the most pre sures by rookie defensive tackles in 2023 with 47.The Rams selected products and with the idea of juicing the team's pa s rush, adding them to second-year pros and Turner.In the end, however, Turner will be the one who's expected to lead this team up front defensively. READ MORE: The Rams can't replace Aaron Donald. But Chris Shula, grandson of Don, has a plan San Francisco 49ers, Deebo SamuelThere's been plenty of talk nationally about the po sibility of San Francisco trading Samuel or because of the cost of keeping both of them around while eventually having to pay when he's eligible for a new deal.Samuel has two years left on a three-year, $71.55 million contract and, at 28 years old, he's working toward another splashy deal. He understands that 2024 is an important season for him to prove his value once again. He changed his jersey back to his college No. 1 and appeared slimmed down during offseason work at the team's facility.And he's been working hard on his own in Florida to get back to the player he was in 2021, when he earned the term "wide-back." That season, Samuel finished with 1,770 scrimmage yards and 14 total touchdowns, earning first-team All-Pro honors.No, Samuel is not the most polished route-runner, but he's a tone-setter for San Francisco's offense. And there's little doubt that the 49ers operate at a higher level when the product is playing at peak form. According to FOX Sports Research, San Francisco is 54-24 (including the postseason) in games Samuel has played and 8-9 without him. The 49ers lost both Ian Mahinmi Jersey games he mi sed during the regular season in 2023.Seattle Seahawks, Jaxon Smith-NjigbaExpectations were high for the first receiver taken in last year's draft. And while Smith-Njigba had a slow start, he came on in the back half of his rookie season something he should build on in his second year.From Week 6 on, Smith-Njigba had 51 receptions for 566 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 75 targets. Yes, 's rookie season was far superior, but Smith-Njigba was a bigger part of Seattle's offense during the second half Trevor Ariza Jersey of the season.He also should benefit from new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb taking over as Seattle's offensive coordinator. Last year, as the offensive coordinator for the , Grubb engineered one of the top pa sing offenses in the country.Grubb should find innovative ways to use Smith-Njigba's unique skill set on a weekly basis. The Seahawks were 14th in pa sing yards (230 per game) and 16th in scoring (21.4 per game) last season. finding Smith-Njigba more often should improve those numbers in 2024.Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.