|
|
| Justin Fields actually has a supporting cast. A year after actively avoiding legitimate offensive upgrades, Bears management prioritized more close range toughness with RB D’Onta Foreman and TE Robert Tonyan, better protection with OT Darnell Wright and OG Nate Davis, and most importantly a No. 1 pass catcher in DJ Moore. Their young quarterback has yet to prove he can excel as a decision maker, but he shouldn’t always gotta play Superman now. |
|
|
| Sean Payton means business. The longtime Saints coach didn’t leave his comfortable TV job to play loosely with star QB Russell Wilson, whose influence seemed to lead to his own flop of a Broncos debut in 2022. Payton already seems to be gearing up for a return to a run-first, play action-intensive approach, which often helped Wilson in his Seattle days. |
|
|
| The passing attack seems deeper. Nick Chubb remains an underrated centerpiece of their attack, but we all know that Kevin Stefanski and Co. depending on Deshaun Watson returning to Pro Bowl form under center. A year after leaning heavily on Amari Cooper, the former Texan QB now has ex-Jets prospect Elijah Moore on the outside, along with rookie Cedric Tillman Jr. and veteran speedster Marquise Goodwin as rotation options. They need all the firepower they can get in a brutal AFC North. |
|
|
| A bountiful draft awaits for 2024. Technically this extends even beyond the 2023 season, but with QB Kyler Murray on the mend and the rest of the roster porous on both sides of the ball under new coach Jonathan Gannon, they are a popular bet to contend for the number 1 choice. next year. Couple that with a first-rounder they also got in a draft day trade with the Texans, and Arizona may well have a few early Day 1 selections next offseason. |
|
|
| Finally, in the long run, there is an upside below the midpoint. After years of betting on mediocre and/or aging veterans, Indy has arguably the most dynamic raw talent of the 2023 QB class in Anthony Richardson. His lack of polish as a passer could mean a stint on the bench, or them a year out of contention, even in an open AFC South. But even his super-sized athleticism as a scrambler should make the Colts tougher than expected. |
|
|
| Sam Howell has quite the lineup. We know next to nothing about Howell the NFL QB, who comes in as an almost undisputed QB1 after a single start in Week 18, but he’s got better guns than some youngsters. Terry McLaurin is an alpha on the outside, Jahan Dotson should be better and the O-line now has ex-Chiefs starter Andrew Wylie. Combine that with Ron Rivera’s always solid defensive front, and you might be able to coax yourself into another wild card push. |
|
|
| They did everything they could to cover up the QB situation. Call them a more aggressive version of the commanders, who also rely on an entirely unproven young signal caller. RB Bijan Robinson, WR Drake London and TE Kyle Pitts form a nice offensive base in the skill spots, and S Jessie Bates III heads a revamped “D.” Maybe, just maybe, Desmond Ridder’s development as a legitimate passer won’t matter if Arthur Smith can lean almost entirely on the run again. |
|
|
| They follow Tom Brady’s blueprint of the Buccaneers. As in, go all in to acquire a gray future Hall of Famer, then make him unofficial general manager in hopes of an immediate title run. Listen, Aaron Rodgers is a short-term renter who’s 40 years old, and he was a shell of his MVP self in a sluggish Packers Finals, but he’s a huge – and, perhaps more importantly, motivated – upgrade to a vital position. As captain of a playoff-caliber lineup, he has the arm and vision to run. |
|
|
| Both sides of the ball are more explosive. After becoming NFL darlings in 2022 for playing year-end spoiler, the Lions got busy addressing the secondary and ended up with at least three feisty new starters in Cameron Sutton, CJ Gardner-Johnson and Emmanuel Mosley. Then, in an unorthodox draft, they added juice in the backfield with RB Jahmyr Gibbs. As long as they can keep QB Jared Goff upright and comfortable to fuel a deep WR group they should be playoff bound. |
|
|
| The pressure of a title run is off. No, that’s not what anyone in Green Bay wants to hear, but with Aaron Rodgers, the only real focus had been getting over the hump alongside Matt LaFleur. With Jordan Love finally taking over, there should be grace for such a young gunfighter (and young guns, like Christian Watson and Jayden Reed) to grow into their own. |
|
|
| The program is finally in the right direction. Previous coach Matt Rhule preached patience when he arrived and predicted a renewal of the entire franchise, but new coach Frank Reich has been there, has been, coming from respected stops in Philadelphia and Indianapolis. More importantly, his No. 1 pick, Bryce Young, has all the tools you want in a QB, except for prototypical dimensions. Having a signal caller with such wisdom beyond his age will go a long way. |
|
|
| Patience can even run out on offense. We know that Bill Belichick can have his defense ready to compete, especially with tempting rookies like Christian Gonzalez and Keion White on board. But this is clearly an offensive league, and the return of Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator, as well as the steady whisper of Belichick’s discontent with former first-round QB Mac Jones, suggests that New England will explore other options under center if Jones can’t elevate a run-first attack. |
|
|
| Jimmy Garoppolo is just as, if not more, capable of a playoff push than Derek Carr. Unfortunately, that’s kind of where the good news ends. While a very useful figurehead, the fragile Jimmy G is now behind a worse O-line than he had in San Francisco, and the team’s new weapons (i.e. Jakobi Meyers, Austin Hooper, Michael Mayer) are essentially a sideways movement of Darren Waller. They pray for an immediate return on their defensive investments. |
|
|
| They can’t be much more injured than in 2022. Everyone from Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp to Aaron Donald missed out on extensive action with medical issues, and now, even though Los Angeles has stripped its roster of expensive but proven veterans in the name of a quasi-rebuild, Sean McVay should at least have a more predictably queuing up. |
|
|
| Derek Carr will be motivated to win over his new city. At the end of the day, New Orleans is probably just buying another wild card run or two by delaying a real rebuild; it’s not like Carr is joining an all-star lineup a la Matthew Stafford with the Rams in 2021. Still, after nine brave but mostly disappointing years in the Raiders organization, the veteran needs to be strengthened to prove Las Vegas made a mistake feeding Chris Olave and, hopefully, Michael Thomas. |
|
|
| Few young QBs are better suited for a jump than Kenny Pickett. The sophomore man still has a lot of room to grow after a rookie year that was marked more by late-season guts than dazzling play. But the Steelers have a better line, now with ex-Eagles starter Isaac Seumalo, as well as an underrated skill group that includes Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, Allen Robinson and Pat Freiermuth. If Mike Tomlin’s ever-tough “D” is also intact, it’s not crazy to think that this team could be a sneaky playoff contender. |
|
|
| They finally have fundamental investments in premium positions. CJ Stroud at QB and Will Anderson Jr. at pass rusher represent the biggest long-term bets this team has made since he sat down Deshaun Watson – and then shared the polarizing QB – during what amounted to a forfeited 2021-2022 slog. They’ve still gone a little heavy with the free agent remnants to fill out the lineup; Stroud’s protection and weapons are just so-so. But at least there is hope for the future, especially with the fresh mind of DeMeco Ryans at the helm of the staff. |
|
|
| At least they have one eye on the future. After all, you don’t trade to draft a QB at No. 33 overall if you don’t also like a split from aging expensive leaders like Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry. To be fair, under Mike Vrabel those guys are always more competitive than you would think. They’ve probably reached their peak as well. New GM Ran Carthon may not be quite ready to go all in on the rebuild just yet, and who knows if newcomer Will Levis will be ready to take over under center in the near future, but it’s okay, in a division where other clubs are wisely resetting, which they are also considering tomorrow. |
