Quick thoughts on NFL teams before Organized Team Activities (OTA’s)
Arizona – Last year I said the Chicago Bears would be the worst team in the NFL, my pick this year is the Cardinals. Kyler Murray will be coming off an ACL injury, DeAndre Hopkins is gone and their new head coach is the Philadelphia Eagles former defensive coordinator. One good thing I can say is they fleeced the Houston Texans into giving them a 1st and 3rd rounder next season.
Atlanta – The Falcons defense was atrocious last season and they didn’t address it until the 3rd round. This team had no trouble running the ball last season but took RB Bijan Robinson in the 1st round which doesn’t make sense to me. With a defense this bad this team will spend a lot of the 2nd half passing ball. Speaking of passing, I’m still shocked Desmond Ridder is starting in the NFL. There was nothing about him playing in college at Cincinnati especially against Alabama in the playoffs that screamed NFL QB.
Baltimore – This team has always been a Super Bowl pretender to me. As much coverage as the Lamar Jackson situation received no one bothered to report he’s only won 1 playoff game in his career. Adding WR Zay Flowers and an often injured WR that hasn’t made a Pro Bowl in 7 seasons Odell Beckham does not equal deep playoff run for the Ravens. This team has always been about running and defense With Lamar at QB and that won’t change.
Buffalo – I thought the Bills had bigger needs than drafting a TE in the 1st round such as offensive line and RB but what do I know. I can’t put my finger on it but something is off with this team, I don’t expect them to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender this upcoming season.
Carolina – Bryce Young is the only reason why I will watch this team. He looked small standing against college players, I hope his body holds up for 17 games.
Chicago – No more excuses for Justin Fields and his supporters. If the Bears can’t make any noise with Aaron Rodgers out of the division, another decent draft and a supporting cast that’s better than the NY Giants which made the playoffs last year then the Bears need to find another QB.
Cincinnati – The Bengals might lose some offensive pieces next year due to paying Joe Burrow so this is the year the Bengals have to find a way to put it all together and win a Super Bowl. I thought they would address offensive line in the draft but admittedly this wasn’t one of the better o-line drafts.
Cleveland – The Browns who now own the dumbest contract in the history of NFL, the fully guaranteed Deshaun Watson deal. It makes sense to give him as much help as possible. WR Cedric Tillman drafted in the 3rd round from Tennessee will be a mid-round fantasy football pick for me.
Dallas – Dak Prescott’s albatross contract, WR depth issues and Mike McCarthy calling plays isn’t a recipe for Super Bowl contention but this is what the Cowboys season hinges on.
Denver – The Broncos only had 5 draft picks, the only thing that stand out to me is it was reported when Sean Payton took over Broncos WR’s were available by trade. No team bit on this but Denver drafted WR Marvin Mims Jr with their first pick. He should be a lock to start.
Detroit – The media darling this year are the Lions. Can they finally make the playoffs in a weaker NFC and weaker NFC North division.
Green Bay – The Packers draft means nothing because this season is all about Jordan Love. I’m of the opinion he’s not an NFL starting QB but we’ll see. If the Packers go at least 8-9 and are competitive in most losses I can see them giving Jordan Love at least another year. The Packers are doing their part to help him by drafting 2 TE’s and 2 WR’s in rounds 2 through 5.
Houston – As unpopular as this sounds I am not a fan of the Texans top 2 draft picks. CJ Stroud at #2 is a reach to me, life in the NFL isn’t like quarterbacking at Ohio State. Stroud threw to a receiver that was drafted #20 in the 1st round and another receiver who could be the first receiver taken in next year’s draft while going against Big Ten corners. Alabama defensive players don’t seem to have a big impact in the NFL. It doesn’t help that Will Anderson got completely shut down by the Chicago Bears #1 pick Darnell Wright.
Indianapolis – The Colts have been trying to get it right at QB since Andrew Luck retired due to injuries. Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan…..nothing has worked so they decided to draft one early this year, Anthony Richardson. The odds say based on college tape and performance this won’t work but if it does the Colts will be viable for a decade.
Jacksonville – Picked this team to win the AFC South last season and they didn’t disappoint. My favorite pick of their draft was Auburn RB Tank Bigsby in the 3rd round. He could look better in the NFL that he did playing at Auburn and is a sleeper fantasy football pick.
Kansas City – The Chiefs won the Super Bowl last year with 6 rookies getting significant playing time. If I had to guess where DeAndre Hopkins ends up, I say it’s with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.
LA Chargers – I thought WR Quentin Johnston from TCU could’ve been had later but he was the Chargers 1st round draft pick and first of 3 players from TCU. Interested to see if JC Jackson actually plays this upcoming season and how 3rd round pick LB Daiyan Henley fits on this team. He’s played QB, WR, S and LB in college.
LA Rams – It seems this team hasn’t drafted in the 1st round in years but they had 14 picks in rounds 2 thru 7 which included Georgia’s 26-year-old QB Stetson Bennett. The Rams definitely need a young QB on the roster but I never saw Bennett as an NFL QB. To put Bennett’s age in perspective, he’s 3 years old than Trey Lance of the San Francisco 49ers.
Las Vegas – Only thing required from the Raiders in this draft is to draft all defense with the exception of a TE to replace Darren Waller. They followed this for the most part but also drafted a WR and QB. The AFC West is stacked and the Raiders downgraded at QB with Jimmy Garoppolo, it will be hard for this team to win 7 games.
Miami – The Dolphins only had 4 picks in the draft but no matter who the Dolphins drafted the upcoming season hinges on Tua not getting tackled. Tua does not have to be hit hard on tackled aggressively to be injured and miss games or concussed. One more concussion could be the end of Tua’s NFL career.
Minnesota – The Vikings had some thrillers last season especially against the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts. Though Addison is viewed as an undersized NFL WR he should have some impact to take some pressure off of Justin Jefferson. The weakness of this team is the same as last season, defense…which didn’t get better after this drafted. All of the Vikings draft picks were from 3-letter schools: USC, LSU, BYU and UAB.
New England – The Patriots should have a competent offense this upcoming season with former Alabama offensive coordinator and Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien calling plays. Because of Bill O’Brien’s tenure as Texans GM people lose sight that he’s a good OC. Slightly concerning the Patriots only drafted 2 offensive skill players, both in the 6th round.
New Orleans – The Saints are my pick to win the NFC South solely based on having underrated Derek Carr at QB in a weak division. Dennis Allen is not an NFL head coach but having Jon Gruden as a consultant should help. Ironically I think QB Jake Haener from Fresno State who the Saints drafted in the 4th round was an underrated college QB.
NY Giants – Only thing I have to say is Daniel Jones threw 15 TD’s last season (less than 1 a game) and received a 4-year $104 million guaranteed contract. Expect this team to not make the playoffs this upcoming season.
NY Jets – The guy I predicted on draft day 2-years ago to be a super bust was QB Zack Wilson and he didn’t disappoint, he was truly awful. The Jets were desperate to get Aaron Rodgers so they wouldn’t have to start the season with Wilson under center. Knowing Aaron would be on the team I thought they would get him more offensive line and offensive skill position help.
Philadelphia – It looks like if you were a good player on an SEC Championship team that won the National title the same year, chances are you will end up on the Eagles. The biggest question mark with this team going into next season is how will Jalen Hurts perform with a new offensive coordinator and harder schedule. Don’t see this team getting the #1 seed next season.
Pittsburgh – Apparently the Steelers only watch the Georgia Bulldogs and Big Ten football, all 7 of their draft picks came from the Big Ten conference and the national champions. If my favorite player in the draft last season George Pickens had a more talented QB, he could be a Pro Bowler.
San Francisco – Nobody liked the 49ers draft. In all honesty this roster was stacked before the draft so it’s unrealistic to think 9 college guys would make the 53-man final roster. The 49ers did address the TE position which is an issue that’s rarely talked about. Kittle needs to be involved in the passing game more which means at least one TE is needed to help with in-line blocking, the 49ers drafted two. This should help Kittle put up decent fantasy numbers like he did when Purdy took over at QB.
Seattle – The Seahawks draft was about surrounding Geno Smith with as much talent as possible so he won’t be leaned on to win games or carry the team. Geno had 34 TD’s and 37 INT’s going into last season where he threw 30 TD’s 11 INT’s. I expect regression statistically from the QB position this upcoming season but having a WR like Jaxon Smith-Njigba from Ohio State can help prevent this.
Tampa Bay – Baker Mayfield is the Buccaneers QB and Todd Bowles is the coach. Nothing else to say about this team.
Tennessee – The Titans aren’t going anywhere with or without Derrick Henry. Tannehill should’ve never got extended and Malik Willis was reach period. Based on his draft status Will Levis will be the next man up but something tells me Tennessee needs to tear this down and build it back up.
Washington – Interested to see if 1st round pick Emmanuel Forbes can play in the NFL. It’s also interesting the Admirals, Cadets, Sergeants, Majors, Colonels or whatever they’re calling themselves these days didn’t pickup Chase Young’s 5th year option. The day he was drafted I said he would be a bust as the #2 overall pick from Ohio State solely based on his lack of production the last 3 games of his college career against guys that will play in the NFL. But the only thing interesting about this team in most people’s mind is the change in ownership.
