North: QB Aaron Rodgers was contemplating retirement if he wasn’t traded or was able to give his input on drafting/moves for the Packers, but guess what he is still here and he can only take this team as far as the talent around him.
They had to resign RB Aaron Jones because he takes pressure of Rodgers and the passing game by being a top RB, but they lost a key offensive lineman in Corey Linley which weakens the offensive line as they have some holes to fill. Rogers still has other weapons in wide receivers Devante Adams, Devin Funchess and even got back WR Randall Cobb to appease him, but again the defense isn’t special enough to help him win another super bowl but this division is theirs to lose.
The Vikings are always that team has a gluttony of “B & “C” players which means good to solid players but not great players as they found a star in WR Justin Jefferson to replace Stefon Diggs last year, still have WR Adam Thielen and RB Dalvin Cook all top skill players.
Their defense which is HC Mike Zimmer’s specialty and they added veterans CB Patrick Peterson and S Xavier Woods to add to their core of S Harrison Smith, linebackers Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, and DT Sheldon Richardson. The thing that always will hold this team back is their offensive game plan, do they run the ball too much or not enough with Cook despite having good receivers, which falls on QB Kirk Cousins who might be on his way out as they drafted a QB in the third round in Kellen Mound. They also have a bad offensive line even with their first round pick being a top offensive lineman in Christian Darrisaw, as this might hold them back from the playoffs but are a wild card contender.
The Bears still have a good defense because of the core of LB Khalil Mack, DT Akeim Hicks, LBS Robert Quinn, Roquan Smith, safeties Eddie Jackson, Desmond Trufant, but they have been wasting their prime all of these years with a subpar offense/QB enter Andy Dalton or Justin Fields. Dalton is the type of QB that if you got a good defense and they do, a run game which they do in RBs David Montgomery, Tarik Cohen, Damien Williams, have good receivers which they do in Allen Robinson, Marquis Goodwin, TEs Cole Kmet, Jimmy Graham, Jesse James and have a good offensive line to keep him upright.
Well the issue is they have one of the worst offensive lines and even with a few draft picks it will not make that much of difference, which will be good for rookie Fields as he is a dual threat QB so he can run away from pressure unlike Dalton. They are not a playoff team but are going in the right direction as I see Dalton starting until he takes too many hits or if the team is losing too much at the start of the season as Nagy/Pace’s job are safe for now.
The Lions fired their head coach, general manager and traded their starting QB which means they are starting over again as they hired former Dolphins interim HC Dan Campbell as the coach on a six year deal and got QB Jared Goff in the Matthew Stafford trade. They have a top 10 offensive line which only got better as they drafted the best one in Penei Sewell, but the question will be can Goff be good with McVay in his ear or is this the QB that we saw in his rookie year.
They also lost their two best WRs in Kenny Galloday and Marvin Jones and their starting kicker Matt Prater, so that doesn’t bode well for Goff so they will have to rely on RBs De’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams. Their defense is where most of their draft picks went to. They are in it for the long run with Campbell but last place will be their home for a very long time.
East: The Washington football team surprised everyone by winning their division even with a losing record because of how bad every other team was, but also because of their defense led by HC Ron Rivera. Their defense will again carry them this season as it is led by defensive ends Chase Young, Montez Sweat, LB Jon Bostic, CB William Jackson and S Landon Collins. They went through multiple QBs in Alex Smith, Kyle Allen, Taylor Heinicke, as they had to rely on their defense and improving offensive line.
They drafted an OT in the second round and signed Charles Leno from the Bears this offseason. They even added to their skill players in WRs Adam Humphries and Curtis Samuel to help Terry McLaurin. The major difference will be with their signing of QB Ryan Fitzpatrick who might bring stability but also a rollercoaster of a ride for the season. They are the team to beat in this division.
The Cowboys were without QB Dak Prescott, Dalton, and key offensive linemen all due to injury for most of the season last year causing their offense to look horrendous. With Prescott and those key offensive linemen back their offense should be on track.
They went all in on defense in the draft with their taking LB Micah Parsons for example to help fellow linebackers Jaylon Smith and Leighton, Vander Esch, and defensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory. They probably have the best WR core in the NFL in Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup, but the thing that will hold them back from making the playoffs will be the health of Prescott’s ankle, their offensive line, their defense and how good RB Ezekiel Elliott who has been in decline for the past few years.
The Giants were without RB Saquon Barkley for pretty much the whole season and with a bad offensive line, the opposing defenses knew they were looking to pass which didn’t make QB Daniel Jones’ sophomore year any easier. The other issue last year was that Jones never had his top three wide receivers Darius Slayton, Golden Tate and Sterling Sheppard, TE Evan Engram and Barkley on a consistent basis last year to see how good he can be, so it will help that they brought in Kenny Golladay who is a real #1 WR and John Ross.
It will again be on the defense to try to carry this team which is led by DT Leonard Williams, safeties Jabrill Peppers, Logan Ryan and DE Dexter Lawrence. The New York faithful need to give Jones more time with HC Joe Judge since he now has improved/healthy weapons, but can’t fault him for having the worst ranked offensive line and didn’t use their top picks to fix that hole as they drafted another WR instead.
The Eagles were a disaster last year with QB Carson Wentz and HC Doug Peterson but even with both of them gone. They will be a mess again this time with QB Jaylen Hurts and HC Nick Sirianni who most people never heard of. The team has talent on both sides of the ball as their offensive line is always ranked well and gets most of the injured players back from injury to help C Jason Kelce.
They have big time names on defense in CB Darius Slay, DT Fletcher Cox and DE Ryan Kerrigan but struggled as a unit last year. They drafted WR Devonta Smith a top WR in the draft after drafting a WR in last year’s draft in Jalen Reagor. They still have two good TEs in Dallas Goddert and Zach Ertz who are both back after injury plagued seasons, and a RB tandem of Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard. It could be a fire sale as they to build around Hurts so those veterans who we know might be elsewhere, and if Hurts struggles they can turn to Joe Flacco or Nick Mullens.
South: The reigning Super bowl champion Buccaneers pretty much have the same team as last year with QB Tom Brady, wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, tight ends OJ Howard, Cameron Brate, Rob Gronkowski and running backs Ronald Jones Jr., and Leonard Fourtnette on offense.
On defense they still have NT Ndamukong Suh, NT Vita Vea, linebackers Jason-Pierre Paul, Lavonte David, Shaquil Barrett and S Antoine Winfield Jr. All the selections they made in the draft are good depth pieces to the offensive line and linebacking core plus the potential Brady replacement. This division is theirs to lose but they have a good chance of repeating as Super Bowl champs.
The Saints said goodbye to QB Drew Brees who retired so now the question is can either Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill lead this offense going forward because they still have WR Michael Thomas, RB Alvin Kamara, and boast a top five offensive line.
They leaned heavy on defense in the draft as they knew the offense might not carry them going forward since the three leaders on defense will need help in CB Marshon Lattimore, safety Malcolm Jenkins and DE Cameron Jordan. I don’t see this team being a playoff team unless Winston plays really well which will mean all eyes are on HC Sean Payton to win without Brees.
The Falcons hired another head coach in Arthur Smith for QB Matt Ryan and drafted him the top TE prospect in years in Kyle Pitts. That would be great for a reboot on offense if you still had your top WR Julio Jones but you traded him, so again taking a step back plus the offensive line is not great and they have no run game.
It will all fall on Ryan to lead this team to a winning record despite no running game, a bad offensive line, and no defense. You would think they would be in rebuild mode but they did not trade Ryan or draft a QB, it will be a long year.
The Panthers will have another QB to open the season after they said goodbye to Cam Newton last year and this year traded Teddy Bridgewater after one season-enter Sam Darnold from the Jets. The issue will be is they do not have a good offensive line which was an issue in New York, RB Christian McCaffrey their best player barely played last year to due to injures and they lost their #1 WR in Curtis Samuel in free agency.
They do have a good defensive core in LB Shaq Thompson, Hasson Reddick, Denzel Perryman and rookie 1st round pick CB Jaycee Horn going forward, but another bad season and they could draft a QB in the first round next year.
West: The Rams are going all in with after trading away QB Jared Goff for QB Matthew Stafford thinking that is the hole they have and the rest of the team is great, which is a huge gamble in the best division in all of football. They still boast a top 10 offensive line led by T Andrew Whitworth, a good core of wide receivers Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, TE Tyler Higbee, and a good defense led by DT Aaron Donald, LB Leonard Floyd, and CB Jalen Ramsey.
The issue will be the RB position as they lost their starting RB Cam Akers to a season ending injury in training camp. Maybe they sign Todd Gurley because that might make the difference between wildcard and division.
The Seahawks added TE Gerald Everett, resigned RB Chris Carson, and drafted a speedy WR D’Wayne Eskridge to pair with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, which all helps out QB Russell Wilson who has now a middle of the pack offensive line after it being bottom tier.
The defense isn’t on the level of their “Legion of Boom” but still has a top LB in Bobby Wagner, safety Jamal Adams, and DE Carlos Dunlap of the veterans you know. It will be between them and the Rams on who wins this division and who gets the first wild card spot.
The 49ers get back QB Jimmy Garoppolo from injury but also traded up for Trey Lance so the question will be who finishes the season as the starter going for a wild card berth. They already have a top 10 offensive line but added C Alex Mack in free agency and drafted a guard in the second round to make it even better. The defense is still led by defensive ends Nick Bosa, Dee Ford and safety Jimmie Ward, plus still have kicker Robbie Gould making them a solid team top to bottom.
The thing that might hold them back is of course Garoppolo’s health, Lance’s readiness, and the RB position as Raheem Mostert missed most of last year due to injury.
The Cardinals are the best 4th place team in all of football that if they were in another division they might be a playoff team because of how good QB Kyler Murray keeps getting.
They gave him DeAndre Hopkins last year, this year they added WR AJ Green and RB James Conner to an already good offensive line, which means the question will fall again on the defense. They added DE JJ Watt and CB Malcolm Butler to help out LB Chandler Jones and S Budda Baker hoping that makes up for the loss of CB Patrick Peterson. This could be their division in a few years.
North: The Ravens added to their receiving core of WR Marquise Brown and TE Mark Andrews by drafting two wide receivers in the draft, signed WR Sammy Watkins, plus have a solid running attack with RB JK Dobbins. They also brought in two offensive linemen in Alejandro Villanueva and Kevin Zeitler to solidify an already top tier offensive line. They still have a great defense with DT Calais Campbell, DE Derek Wolfe, linebackers Justin Houston, Pernell McPhee, and cornerbacks Marcus Peters, Jimmy Smith and Marlon Humphrey.
The last ingredient to this team is they still have QB Lamar Jackson who is only 24 and will only get better as this division is theirs to lose.
The Browns had a winning record last season and made the playoffs which they will repeat this year as they still have the same core returning in QB Baker Mayfield, running backs Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, wide receivers Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham Jr. back from injury, and tight ends David Njoku and Austin Hooper on offense.
While on defense they still have DE Myles Garrett and CB Denzel Ward but added DE Jadeveon Clowney, DT Malik Jackson, CB Troy Hill, S John Johnson, and drafted two top defensive players in the draft. Mayfield has all the ingredients including by some the best offensive line as well. This year could be the last year for him or the year that gets him that contract that most players get when they show they have improved.
The Steelers had the best record/were undefeated for a long stretch last year but crumbled in the second half losing in the first round. The thing that will hold them back again is the play/health of QB Ben Roethlisberger. Their offensive line also took a hit with Maurkice Pouncey retiring and losing Villanueva in free agency, leaving them with a lower tier offensive line. RB James Connor left in free agency too, so they are relying on their first round pick to lead them in rushing. Their defense will have to carry them again as they still have DT Cameron Heyward, DE Stephon Tuitt, linebackers TJ Watt, Melvin Ingram III, Devin Bush, CB Joe Haden, and S Minkah Fitzpatrick, but losing Bud Dupree might hurt.
They again will have to rely on the passing game as WR JuJu Smith-Schuster resigned to pair with Charles Claypool, Diontae Johnson, TE Eric Ebron, but relying on a 39 year old injury prone QB for your offense doesn’t seem like a smart predicament to be in.
The Bengals have hope with QB Joe Burrow but need to do a better at protecting him as he was hit throwing a pass during a game tearing his ACL & MCL losing him for the season.
You would think they would draft Sewell the best offensive linemen in the draft to protect Burrow for years, but they couldn’t pass on taking WR Ja’Marr Chase if he is the real deal being a #1 WR with Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins as supporting receivers-then it will all be worth it plus they still have RB Joe Mixon. They added two veterans to their defense but one is a draft bust in CB Eli Apple, and they did draft an offensive linemen in the second round but still have a lower tier offensive line which will be the their issue if they cannot protect their franchise player to take advantage of his talents.
East: The Bills won their division and made it to the AFC championship game-their first division title in years as this will be their division for years to come if QB Josh Allen keeps playing the way he has been. After adding WR Stefon Diggs last year they added WR Emmanuel Sanders this offseason to help out WR Cole Beasley, but the question will be who gives them production from the RB spot as both Zach Moss and Devin Singletary struggled, so they brought in Matt Brieda to help.
They focused on their defensive line and offensive line with their first four picks to help with depth as the offensive line is already a solid unit and their defense just gets better. It still has S Micah Hyde, CB Tre’Davious White, linebackers Matt Milano and Termaine Edmunds leading them to be a balanced team on both sides of the ball. Their issue is who they lost to in that AFC championship game being in their way.
The Dolphins had a winning record last just missing the playoffs due to the strength of their HC Brian Flores‘ expertise-which is defense as they have cornerbacks Xavien Howard, Byron Jones, DE Emmanuel Ogbah, plus they used their other first round pick on top LB in the draft.
That defense will help QB Tua Tugovailoa continue to grow as they shouldn’t be down by so much so he can play with confidence, and now they have three good receivers in DeVante Parker, Will Fuller and first round pick Jaylen Waddle plus TE Mike Gesicki. The offensive line being lower tier doesn’t help out with Tugavolia’s development, but if he has that stable of weapons to throw to and he uses his dual threat game he might be able to survive, but that is what will hold them back from being a playoff team again.
The Patriots might have some players back from opting out of last season due to concerns of Covid19 and spent heavily in the offseason/drafted well, in some experts minds, but this team is just not as good as it used to be to cruise into the playoffs. It will be a fight for a wild card spot. They still have S Devin McCourty, cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore, JC Jackson, linebackers Kyle Van Noy, and Dont’a Hightower leading the way, plus they traded for T Trent Brown for their offensive line that is already top three.
They signed WR Nelson Agholor, tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith which kind of solves their receiving core but they didn’t draft a WR in the draft to help out and both of those tight ends have an issue staying healthy. So again they will rely on their three headed RB tandem of Sony Michel, James White and Damien Harris. The key will be can QB Cam Newton do more with these weapons as they had no weapons last year, or will rookie QB Mac Jones take over and prove to be better running the team’s offense.
The Jets are starting all over again with a new head coach in Robert Salah(former 49ers DC) and again drafted a new QB in Zach Wilson with the second pick which means their success will be on Wilson going forward.
So they drafted an offensive lineman with their second pick, both a WR and a RB with the next two picks to help support Wilson and the rest on defensive players. They brought in veterans RB Tevin Coleman, wide receivers Corey Davis and Keelan Cole to pair with Jamison Crowder to give him competent weapons. On defense they have LB CJ Mosley, DL Quinnen Williams, added defensive linemen Sheldon Rankins, Carl Lawson and S LaMarcus Joyner to give them a good enough core to work in Salah’s system.
South: The Colts are one of the best well run franchises in all of football top to bottom. It starts with GM Chris Ballard building his team through the draft to have a top offensive line and a great defense to support QB Andrew Luck before he retired a few seasons ago, so the team is well built. Last year they used Phillip Rivers who is close to 40 and they made the playoffs, so this year they traded for QB Carson Wentz hoping that HC Frank Reich can right the ship for him as they worked together in Philly before. The thinking is that the QB is the final step to winning a Super Bowl which could be possible besides them having a lock on the division. They have a top three offensive line even with Anthony Castonzo retiring because they added Eric Fisher to pair with G Quenton Nelson and C Ryan Kelly, plus have a solid run game with Jonathan Taylor, Jordan Wilkins and Marlon Mack. It will also be WR Michael Pittman’s second year where he will improve on his rookie to pair with TY Hilton and Zach Pascal.
Their defense is led by LB Darius Leonard, DT DeForest Buckner and CB Xavier Rhodes, plus drafted a few defensive linemen with their first two picks.
The Titans are always that team will finish with a .500 record or hovering just about meaning they are an average team who can compete for a wild card spot but probably will not make it. QB Ryan Tannehill found the magic in “the Music City” but he has been an average QB his whole career and so is their offensive line, but what is not average is their running game with RB Derrick Henry and WR AJ Brown being freakishly talented at their positions/looking it.
They added WR Julio Jones a future hall of famer but didn’t do much in the draft to address the depth at WR, and didn’t fix the whole Smith made at TE as Delanie Walker isn’t walking through that door. Their defense is also average even with them adding LB Bud Dupree and DE Denico Autry to the mix as they loss cornerbacks Malcom Butler and Adoree Jackson.
The Texans no matter if QB Deshaun Watson suits up for them or if he gets traded this team will be bad because even with Watson last year they were one of the worst teams in all of football. Due to the former GM/HC Bill O’Brien trading away all of their picks that by the time the third round came they did their best by drafting a WR, a TE, so there are some weapons, two defensive players and QB in Davis Mills to compete with career backup Jeff Driskel and journeyman Tyrod Taylor.
They have a below average offensive line which has gotten Watson almost killed a bunch over the years. They did their best getting Marcus Cannon and Justin Britt plus they still have Laremy Tunsil. It is the same with the defense; they still have Whitney Mercilus from when they had a good defense but said goodbye to JJ Watt and brought in DE Shaq Lawson and CB Desmond King. On offense they lost WR Will Fuller after losing Hopkins last year, so they are relying on concussion prone Brandin Cooks and a four headed RB system of injury prone Phillip Lindsay, David Johnson, Rex Burkhead and Mark Ingram who lost his job last year.
The Jaguars are starting over again with an all time great college coach in Urban Meyer, but it is his first time coaching in the NFL and drafted QB Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick. They used their other first round pick on a RB which didn’t make sense as they have RB James Robinson who had a good rookie season and veteran Carlos Hyde. It should have been used on the offensive line as they are in the lower tier of teams or the fact they have no tight ends! Their wide receiving core is solid with incumbents DJ Chark, Laviska Shenault, and brought in Marvin Jones and Phillip Dorsett. They did bring in CB Shaquill Griffin to help lead the secondary and still have LB Josh Allen, but that is another thing that Myers will have to fix.
West: The Chiefs almost won another Super Bowl last year but QB Patrick Mahomes was running for his life the whole game as he was without two key offensive linemen. Well they released Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz, but Joe Thuney, Kyle Long, Orlando Brown are in and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is back from working the front lines during Covid19 making them a top 10 offensive line.
If you have Mahomes and HC Andy Reid this team will compete for not just the division and the conference but the Super Bowl every year. You cannot top their stable of speedsters at WR in Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, DeMarcus Robinson, plus they have RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire and the top TE in Travis Kelce. The defense which is still good is led by defensive ends Chris Jones, Frank Clark and S Tyrann Mathieu leading the way.
The Chargers made some moves this offseason that will keep their franchise QB Justin Herbert upright and protected by drafting Rashawn Slater and signing C Corey Linsley to make their offensive line vastly improved from last year.
Rookie of the year Herbert still has wide receivers Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and running backs Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson, plus TE Jared Cook to replace Henry. Drafting CB Asante Samuel Jr. helps out Chris Harris, Derwin James in the secondary and they still have Joey Bosa and DL Linval Jospeh leading the way upfront. With the improvements and better health plus a new HC in Brandon Staley it looks like Herbert can lead this team to a wildcard spot.
The Raiders lost three key offensive linemen which won’t help keep QB Derek Carr healthy even with them drafting one in the first round and lost Tyrell Williams and Nelson Aguilar in the offseason, as they replaced them with Willie Snead IV and John Brown.
They do have a good TE in Darren Waller, WR Henry Ruggs and a good RB in Josh Jacobs, but decided to sign Kenyan Drake who is good enough to be a starter so that made no sense. They added DE Yannick Ngakoue and CB Casey Hayward to help this defense, plus drafted a few safeties but didn’t address the defensive tackle position.
The Broncos didn’t have a great season last year nor will they this season as they went through at least four QBs due to injuries or the Covid19 outbreak. Drew Lock hasn’t lived up to his potential which is why they traded for QB Teddy Bridgewater instead of drafting a QB. They lost Lindsay in free agency and added Mike Boone which doesn’t do much, but still have Melvin Gordon/drafted a RB in the second round and their offensive line is middle tier but will improve on last year with them drafting an offensive linemen in the third round. Their strength is their receiving core of TE Noah Fant, WR Courtland Sutton and WR Jerry Jeudy.
The defense isn’t on the same level it used to be as they wasted their defense over the last few years with bad offensive player, but they still have linebackers Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, CB Ronald Darby, drafted Patrick Surtain, and signed Kyle Fuller to shore up the cornerback position. If they finish in last place which they probably will it will be Vic Fangio’s job and the end of Lock in Denver.