1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It's rare that the best team in all of football returns all 22 starters after hoisting the Lombardi trophy. Tampa Bay's quest towards back-to-back championships is going to be a long road that will require supreme health, but they have all the talent in the world to do it again. Everywhere you look on the field, there are superstars.
If you were to build a grocery list out of every team in order to find the highest quality recipes to cook up a championship roster, then Tampa Bay's would be the tastiest:
- The best receiving core in the league with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Scotty Miller, Rob Gronkowski, and O.J. Howard.
- The most talented defense from front-to-back with a front-seven that makes opposing quarterbacks stutter
- Tom Brady
As long as they can remain moderately healthy, Tampa Bay is this year's Thanos-- they are inevitable.
2. Green Bay Packers
I'll just put it out there right now-- I'm taking Green Bay to win the Super Bowl. They've made it to the NFC Championship game two years in a row, they have the reigning MVP back with a vengeance, and their skill position players are only getting better.
Their defense remains one of the best units in the league led by Jaire Alexander, the "Smith Brothers," and Kenny Clark, but their safeties-- Adrian Amos, who is always solid, and Darnell Savage-- will be one of the best duos in the league this season.
3. Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City is entering this season with more questions than answers. What happens if Kelce or Hill goes down? Can their defense patch things up? What in the actual hell is this offensive line going to look like by Week 18? But above all else, the biggest question still remains: Can anybody keep up with them in a shootout? Mahomes is the best quarterback in all of football and consistently makes magic out of messiness, but the rest of the AFC is starting to nip at their heels more and more each season.
4. Cleveland Browns
Cleveland may have the most talented head-to-toe roster outside of Tampa Bay. Myles Garret's the second-best defensive player in the league behind a guy who frequently gets put in the same conversation as Lawrence Taylor, Denzel Ward's a dynamic cornerback who can give any number one option fits, John Johnson's a coach-on-the-field type safety who will elevate the backend defense to immeasurable levels, and we haven't even talked about their offense yet.
The Browns have the best offensive line in the league who are proud to pancake defenses in order to build holes for two of the ten best running backs in the league. Head coach Kevin Stefanski demonstrated a command of the offense by prioritizing the run and leaning on Baker Mayfield's talents in play action. Their wideouts aren't too shabby either. We'll see what OBJ can bring to the table after yet another injury, Jarvis is always a reliable and versatile option that plays all over the field, Donovan Peoples-Jones has flashed star potential, and Anthony Schwartz might be the fastest person I've ever seen not named Tyreek Hill or Usain Bolt.
5. Buffalo Bills
Is there going to be a more exciting offense in 2021 than the Buffalo Bills? Josh Allen throws the ball like it curb-stomped his father, Stefon Diggs just might be the best wideout in all of football and they've added Emmanuel Sanders to the mix to complement the rest of the receiving core. Their offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll, will likely be hired as a head coach next season, so his experimentation this season's going to be fascinating to watch. Last year he only scratched the surface, this year he's going to bring the backyard football mentality to the forefront even more.
6. Los Angeles Rams
Sean McVay's going to have so much fucking fun this year. I can't wait to watch him sprint up and down the sidelines as he watches Sony Michel burst through a hole that definitely shouldn't have been there considering some of their offensive line's struggles. Scheme God is going to bless all of us wannabe football nerds with zone run after zone run, only to sneak in a Stafford play-action toss to Cooper Kupp for a 48-yard dot.
The biggest question in LaLa Land is what will the Rams do without Brandon Staley as their defensive coordinator? Well, it's a good thing they still have Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd, and Jordan Fuller to work with. Their new DC, Raheem Morris, is going to be the biggest X-Factor for them, but he has the talent to work with to keep them in the top five defense region of the league.
7. Baltimore Ravens
The same questions still remain in Baltimore: what the hell is going on with their passing attack? Can it be lethal enough to at least supplement an otherworldly rushing attack? Will they run more play action from under center or pistol sets? Can Bateman, Brown and Watkins elevate Lamar's ceiling? We know how forceful their defense is going to be, but this year's going to be about Greg Roman's willingness to modernize the offense with more dynamic passing concepts.
8. Los Angeles Chargers
Anthony Lynn is out and Staley Season is officially underway. Justin Herbert's ready for his second-year leap under Joe Lombardi's guidance. Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler are poised for career seasons. And that defense headlined by Joey Bosa and Derwin James is looking awfully tasty. The only concern with the Chargers all-new coaching staff is going to be able to succeed at a playoff-caliber level. The talent is there, but can they go from 7-9 to 11-6 or 12-5?
9. Seattle Seahawks
It seems like we've been singing the same song with Seattle for so long. How different will things look in a Shane Waldron offense versus a Brian Schottenheimer-led one? Can they solve a two-high-safety defensive scheme this season? Can Russ play at an MVP level for an entire regular season? Their defense made some enormous strides in the second half of last season, so can they sustain that momentum? There are questions and concerns everywhere, but at the end of the day, they still have Russel Wilson, D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Chris Carson, Bobby Wagner, and Jamal Adams. Will that be enough to win a tightly contested NFC West?
10. Tennessee Titans
Arthur Smith is an enormous loss for Tennessee, but this is still a team that features the best running back of a generation in Derrick Henry, the best receiver of a generation in Julio Jones, and two All-Pro players in Ryan Tannehill and A.J. Brown. They're going to be fine offensively. They'll pummel through a weak division despite having a lackluster defense. Can they win a Super Bowl? Well, I don't know about all of that, but if there's anything we learned from the last few years-- anything can happen in this league as long as you remain healthy.
11. San Francisco 49ers
I have the 49ers ranked lower than just about everybody on the internet. It isn't because I don't love Kyle Shanahan and think that he's perhaps the most valuable play-caller in all of football outside of Bill Belichick, because I do. I really like their defense, but it isn't the same unit as their breathtaking 2019 one. And Shanahan's scheme doesn't call for a Julio Jones caliber wideout, but it'd be nice to have one when Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk may only play a combined 20 games this season. But my biggest concern is an obvious one-- it's the quarterback position.
Jimmy GQ hasn't been able to stay on the field. He's started 30 out of 64 games for them in the last four years, and I don't have tremendous confidence in a 20-year old Trey Lance when he has to go up against defenses like the Rams twice a year.
12. Miami Dolphins
We understand how good the defense can be, and the fact that they added a lot of speed on the outside to help out Tua. But he remains their biggest concern. This is a team that's tested the Deshaun Watson waters on several occasions, so my confidence level in their respective confidence in Tua is dwindling. I think he's going to be fine, but not the all-world talent we projected him to be coming out of Alabama.
13. New England Patriots
They're baaaaaaaaaaaaack. Last year was a bump in the road for the best sports organization of the 21st century, but teams like New England relock and reload at will. I'm not one of those guys who can't stand the Patriots because I appreciate excellence at all levels. And what they've managed to do in just a year's time since losing the face of their franchise is impressive, so I fully anticipate them making a run into the playoffs under the behest of Belichick and Josh McDaniels.
14. New Orleans Saints
I don't care, I don't care, I don't care. Jameis Winston is going to ball the fuck out this season. Sean Payton is the best rehab specialist in all of football and he'll mold Jameis into the perfect pocket quarterback that will lead the Saints to several division titles over the next 7-8 years. They lost some talent on the defensive side of the ball and won't have Michael Thomas for the foreseeable future, but New Orleans is an institution that just continues to churn out wins at a very effective rate.
15. Washington Football Team
They may not have the best defense in football, but it's definitely my favorite. Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Da'Ron Payne, Jonathan Allen, and Matthew Ioannidis is the most elite pass rush in all of football. And that's in a league that has a team that features JPP, Shaq Barrett, Vita Vea, and Suh. This season's going to be about whether or not Ryan Fitzpatrick can elevate this offense to an average one. If that's the case, then they could very well sweep their division and make a decent run into the playoffs.
16. Dallas Cowboys
Dallas has perhaps the most dynamic and exotic offense in all of football, as long as Kellen Moore is the permanent play-caller and Mike McCarthy has literally zero input. What can Dan Quinn squeeze out of this uninspiring defense? Will Micah Parsons be more like Devin White or Fred Warner, or falter like Patrick Queen? There's a lot to be seen with Dallas this year, but it's the stuff that will fly under the radar that will differentiate them from the rest of the NFC East.
17. Pittsburgh Steelers
Will Pittsburgh remain reluctant to run the ball despite spending a first-round pick on Najee Harris? Will Ben still refuse to run play action? I'm excited to find out, but I'm even more excited to watch Minkah Fitzpatrick and T.J. Watt ball the fuck out this year.
18. Arizona Cardinals
If I were the owner of the Arizona Cardinals, I would be double, even triple-texting Lincoln Reilly and Brian Daboll every other hour over the next 250 days. Kingsbury is an Abercrombie model turned Big 12 head coach, nothing more.
19. Las Vegas Raiders
Who the hell knows what's going on in Vegas? Not Jon Gruden, that's for damn sure. Henry Ruggs looks like he could be the new-and-unimproved John Ross and that defense is as up-and-down as Gruden and Carr's relationship struggles.
20. Indianapolis Colts
If Andrew Luck was still playing, the Colts would be a top ten team in the league. Even if he were to just come back right now as a somewhat withered-down version of Andrew Luck, they'd still be a top ten team. I cannot wait to watch Darius Leonard and DeForest Buckner wreak absolute havoc on opposing offenses.
21. Denver Broncos
Denver's floor is 4-13, but their ceiling is the 2006 Bears with Teddy Bridgewater instead of Rex Grossman, who are literally the inverse of one another. This defense is going to be stifling and their skill players are tantalizing. It's all going to come down to Teddy, the offensive line, and Vic Fangio.
22. Atlanta Falcons
Is this team going to do anything to shore up their defensive woes? No? Okay, then let's just replace Julio Jones with a much younger, much worse version of Julio Jones. Who needs Patrick Surtain or Micah Parsons anyways?
23. Minnesota Vikings
I'm prepared to eat my own words for having them this low, but I'm also convinced that half of their team is going to miss half of the games because of their unvaccinated rate. Justice for Justin Jefferson, he deserves better.
24. Carolina Panthers
Sam Darnold's rehabilitation begins, and I for one am really eager to see how it plays out. He couldn't have been in a worse spot to start his career, and now he gets an opportunity to learn from two bonafide winners in Matt Rhule and Joe Brady while having a superior group of skill players around him. Also: watch out for Brian Burns this season because he might just be the next guy to jump into that Von Miller, Khalil Mack, T.J. Watt, Myles Garret group of edge rushers.
25. Chicago Bears
I am in a tremendous amount of pain because of you, Matt Nagy. I want you to know that, you filthy cuckold.
26. Cincinnati Bengals
Rashawn Slater is going to be a better pro than both Penei Sewell and Ja'Marr Chase. And that's going to be a scary sight for the Bengals front office. (You guys already had Tee Higgins who is a ball-winner and super solid X receiver, why'd you need another? You should never draft a receiver in the top five of an NFL Draft unless they look like Calvin Johnson Jr. or Julio Jones.)
27. Jacksonville Jaguars
Urban Meyer's going to struggle with not playing against Indiana and Rutgers every week. Welcome to the NFL, where even the worst teams can still bust your ass for 45 points if you have a shitty week of practices. I can't wait to watch Trevor though.
28. Philadelphia Eagles
Can Jalen Hurts be a franchise quarterback? Just how good will Devonta Smith be? I'm under the impression that both of them can be 12-15 year starters in this league, but the rest of that team is a pretty brutal case study of how to not build an NFL roster.
29. New York Giants
Their defense is brilliant, while their quarterback is atrocious. Welcome to the life of a Chicago Bears fan, Giants faithful.
30. New York Jets
I'm not sleeping on the Jets, I'm hibernating on these dudes.
31. Detroit Lions
I love football more than anything outside of basketball, perfect movies, and some hip-hop artists. But if you would've offered me the option to watch a Detroit Lions versus Houston Texans game in the middle of August, when I was most itching for football season to come back, I would've opted to rewatch Phantom Thread instead.
32. Houston Texans
See you in April of 2022, Houston. Just don't draft Spencer Rattler, he is not your savior.
Opmerkingen