Time to put Aaron Rodgers only having 2 TD passes to a 1st Rd pick narrative to bed

I get everyone thought that the Packers should’ve drafted a WR in the first round of the 2020 draft, I would have loved to see that as well. Am I mad about them not getting a WR in the first round? Not really. Do I think they should’ve at least drafted one this year? 100%. The last receiver the Packers drafted in the first round was Javon Walker in 2002. Now getting to the task at hand, it has been getting a lot of run lately that Aaron Rodgers only has two passing TD’s to former first round picks (both to Marcedes Lewis). Nevertheless, he has had some really good pass catchers over the years: Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Jermichael Finley, James Jones and Davante Adams. Jennings, Nelson, Cobb and Adams are all second round picks. Jones and Finley are both third round picks. Donald Driver is the real outlier being a seventh round pick, and Rodgers only had him for the tailend of his career.

Now let’s go through the Packers first round picks since Rodgers was drafted in 2005. We’ll look at the pick, the WRs taken in that round (who were available when they drafted), and make a case if those WRs should’ve been taken by them.

• 2006: AJ Hawk: Santonio Holmes: Packers drafted high this year and took Hawk who was a mainstay for a longtime on defense, I’m sticking with the pick.
• 2007: Justin Harrell: Dwayne Bowe, Craig Davis, Robert Meachum, Anthony Gonzalez. In hindsight, I would take any of these guy over Harrell. He made zero impact and was injured most of the time, probably the worst pick in that draft but doesn’t get enough shit because of Jamarcus Russell.
• 2008: No pick
• 2009: BJ Raji, Clay Matthews: Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin, Percy Harvin, Hakeem Nicks, Kenny Britt. They traded back into the first round to get Clay, who is now their all-time sack leader. Now Raji was big during the Super Bowl run and made a pretty good impact, but did retire out of nowhere for family reasons. You could make the argument for Crabtree, Maclin and Harvin, but with the receivers on the roster at the time I would stick with the original picks.
• 2010: Bryan Bulaga: Dez Bryant. Here is another case of having good recievers on the roster and needing to draft a tackle with Clifton and Tauscher coming to the end of their career. I am sticking with Bulaga.
• 2011: Derrick Sherrod: Sherrod was the last pick in the round but I would’ve taken someone else in hindsight.
• 2012: Nick Perry: AJ Jenkins. Jenkins did nothing in the league so this is an easy pick.
• 2013: Datone Jones: DeAndre Hopkins, Cordarrelle Patterson. Big miss here, D-Hop was taken right after Jones, and Patterson has shown to be a versatile player.
• 2014: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix: Kelvin Benjamin. I would stick with the pick here, Ha Ha was a good player in the first two years with the team. Benjamin had a good rookie year the ended up tearing his ACL and just wasn’t the same after.
• 2015: Damrious Randall: No reciever taken after in the first.
• 2016: Kenny Clark: No reciever taken after in the first.
• 2017: No pick
• 2018: Jaire Alexander: DJ Moore, Calvin Ridley. Jaire has been one of the top young corners in the league. Would I like a player like Ridley or Moore? Yes, but at the time the CB position was thin. I would stick with the pick.
• 2019: Rashan Gary, Darnell Savage: Marquise Brown, N’Keal Harry. Gary has started to play more this year and is looking good. Savage has started since he’s been drafted and playing well. Brown had a decent rookie year and Harry played very little so far. I am sticking with the picks.
• 2020: Jordan Love: No reciever taken after in the first.

So when we look back at it the Packers missed out on Hopkins and a few other guys. In my opinion, I am keeping the majority of the first round picks that they made. The first round of the draft is such a crap-shoot, guys don’t workout more often than you would think. When you are drafting good receivers in the second and third round, why reach for guys in the first. Hopefully they are done bringing this up, but everytime Lewis catches a TD all the networks will bring back up and drive it into the ground. This just gives a little perspective on the subject.

NFL Awards Predictions

Here are my predictions for the MVP, OPOY, DPOY, OROY, DROY, and Comeback Player of the Year. Odds are current FanDuel odds as of 09/10/2020/

MVP- Russell Wilson (+700). Wilson will be their offense yet again this season, the team’s success hinders on his success. I picked the Seahawks to go back to the playoffs and he will be the one leading the charge.

OPOY- Alvin Kamara (+5500). He’s a bit of a long shot but he is looking to get paid and if the deal doesn’t get done before the season starts look for him to put up big numbers in that high powered offense.

DPOY- TJ Watt (+1400). After coming in at 2nd last year, look for him to comeback and keep playing at the high level that he has shown.

OROY- Joe Burrow (+230). Burrow is the overall favorite and will have some nice pieces around him on offense to help him in his first year.

DROY- Isaiah Simmons (+550). As the most versatile and athletic defensive player to come out of this years, he’ll make a big impact on a defense that needs play makers other than Chandler Jones.

Comeback Player of the Year- Ben Roethlisberger (+260). All Ben is going to have to do is bring the Steelers back to the playoffs and he’s going to win this. It might not be fair but that’s probably what will happen.

Here are a few some other good value picks these awards:

1. Dak Prescott MVP (+1200)
2. Christian McCaffery OPOY (+1300)
3. Myles Garrett DPOY (+1700)
4. Jonathon Taylor OROY (+950)
5. Patrick Queen DROY (+1200)
6. Matt Stafford Comeback Player (+700)

NFL 2020-2021 Playoff Predictions

The NFL starts this Thursday night with defending Super Bowl Champions Kansas City Chiefs facing the Houston Texans in Arrowhead. Along with the new CBA, there is a new playoff system that is in effect starting this year. Seven teams from each conference will be in the playoffs, with only the number one seed receiving the first round bye. This is the first time that the playoffs have been expanded since I have given my division predictions, now I will give my playoff predictions.

AFC

1. Kansas City Chiefs
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Buffalo Bills
4. Indianapolis Colts
5. Pittsburgh Steelers
6. New England Patriots
7. Tennessee Titans

Not too many changes for the conference this year. I KC will continue their offensive dominance and get home field and the first round bye. Baltimore will not surprise anyone this year but they will still have a solid year. Buffalo will continue their climb by winning the East and making a deep run in the playoffs. Indy will benefit tremendously with consistent play of Rivers and a solid young defense. If this system was in play last year Pittsburgh would’ve been in the third wildcard spot, they are going to come back with Big Ben and be contending for the North. New England has lost a lot on defense with opt outs and lose the mind of Brady but gain the athleticism of Cam. Tennessee will continue to ride Henry to another playoff run. My pick for the AFC Championship game is KC v. Buffalo, with KC being your AFC representative in the Super Bowl.

NFC

1. Dallas Cowboys
2. New Orleans Saints
3. San Francisco 49ers
4. Green Bay Packers
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6. Seattle Seahawks
7. Atlanta Falcons

Little bit of a shake up in this years NFC playoffs. The only thing holding Dallas back last year was coaching, McCarthy is a Super Bowl winner and has come back from a year off with a new outlook on his offense, watch out for the Cowboys. New Orleans has been pretty solid the past few years, and Brees would like to ride off in the sunset with one more Super Bowl. San Francisco went from worst to first last year and should have another solid year. Green Bay has not lost much during the off-season and drafted more depth this year, they are going to fight for the North and be the only team to come out of the division. Is there any team that has ever had a better off-season than Tampa, cutting down on the turnovers will put them in contention for the South and they will end up in the first wildcard spot. Russel Wilson will continue his great play and will be enough to bring them back to the playoffs. Atlanta added some more offensive pieces and Dan Quinn is coaching for his job next year, if he doesn’t make the playoffs he’s out. My pick for the NFC Championship game is Dallas v. New Orleans, with New Orleans being the NFC representative for the Super Bowl.

Kansas City v. New Orleans for Super Bowl LV. It’s really the dream for the NFL to have both these teams, I would imagine it would be the biggest point total in Super Bowl history. Obviously this year more than ever it is important to have minimal turnover on your roster, both teams are returning pretty much all of their key guys and added players where they needed to. KC is returning most of their starters, Mahomes, Kelce and Jones have signed for the future, and added play-makers in the draft. New Orleans is another team that hasn’t lost many starters from last year and have added a couple of other pieces to bring them to the top. It took them 50 years to win another championship but they won’t have to wait that long for another. It hasn’t happened since the Patriots in 03 and 04, but the Chiefs will pull off back to back Super Bowl championships.

Top spots for Leonard Fournette

With a surprising move the Jaguars have waived Leonard Fournette, their former first round pick in 2017. He is coming off a season where he rushed for the most yards (1152) and caught the most passes (76) in his career. This move comes at an odd time, with the season being two weeks away. The Jaguars have now either cut, traded or did not re-sign their first round selections from 2011-2017, all top-10 picks which have not made it to a second contract with the team. The Jaguars have now either cut, traded or did not re-sign their first round selections from 2011-2017, all top-10 picks which have not made it to a second contract with the team. They now sit with little experience in the backfield and Chris Thompson being the number one option. If Fournette clears waivers and is free to sign with any team here are the top teams that I think would benefit from his skills:

1. LA Chargers: Austin Eckler has now taken the reigns as the lead back in LA. Behind him they have Justin Jackson and rookie Joshua Kelley. He would bring an element of a power back to the offense, with Melvin Gordon gone they are missing that in the backfield. Jackson and Kelley are both unproven and this would be a good piece the Chargers to add.
2. Philadelphia Eagles: No more Jordan Howard and a backfield that has had injury history this seems like a good fit. Miles Sanders has taken over as the guy but then there are a few guys behind him that have yet to prove anything. Again, he brings power to the backfield which is a need for Philly.
3. Seattle Seahawks: Another team with injuries at the position, so the more depth the better. Chris Carson is a guy who has issues with ball security, if Fournette comes into that room he will be competing for the lead back spot. It’s a running back crowded room in Seattle but this team is top five in run/pass ratio, (48.2%).
4. Chicago Bears: You might think well they have David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen, they’re good. Unfortunately, Montgomery suffered a groin injury in camp, something like that could linger throughout the year. The Bears could use all the help they could get on the offensive side of the ball, with as good as their defense is a solid running game would help them control the clock.
5. Atlanta Falcons: Pair him with Todd Gurley, who has an issue with his knee, and you have a pretty good 1-2 punch in ATL. Not only that but with the other weapons that they have, you could be looking at the best offense in the NFC. The best part about this is that you can take the workload off both players, giving them both a chance to stay healthy the entire season.

Fournette is still a young guy with a lot of gas left in the tank, there is going to be a lot of suitors for him. In today’s NFL you need a good stable of backs for the entire season and the deeper you are the better you are.

Top 5 landing spots for Antonio Brown

On Friday, the NFL announced that WR Antonio Brown would be suspended for the first eight games of the 2020 season, due to multiple violations of the NFL’s personal conduct policy. He would be allowed to participate in training camp with whatever team signs him. This comes a short time after he took to social media and demanded that he have his punishment be made known to him. To be fair, the NFL did seem to drag their feet when it came to figuring out his punishment. It could be because he was a free agent and their were no teams interested and they put it on the back burner, that’s one thing I can think of but who knows what really goes on there. Now that teams know what they have to deal with from an availability perspective, there should be some interest in the free agent WR. Here are the top five teams that I think could benefit from signing him:

Balitimore Ravens- Why not? Jackson and Brown have done some workouts together during the off-season, the WR group is probably the weakest position group on the team, and Harbaugh has already said he wants to throw the ball down the field more this year. The Ravens went out and drafted two WRs in this years draft, Hollywood Brown, Miles Boykin and Willie Snead are the top options at receiver currently. A lot of what they do is predicated by running the ball and throwing in the middle of the field utilizing the TE. You add Antonio Brown he becomes the first option in passing game for Jackson. This is one of the teams I can legitimately see signing Brown.

Green Bay Packers- With Devin Funchess opting out of the season, the Packers are now siting with Adams being their only proven receiver. They have a group of young guys who still have a lot to prove, with the addition of Brown he would easily be the number two option behind Adams. This also could mend the relationship between Rodgers and the front office, by not drafting a young receiver it caused a rift in the fan base and took Rodgers by surprise. It was apparent last year that Packers needed a trustworthy second passing option, especially when Adams went down, Brown could be the guy to help with the second half of the season and a playoff run.

LA Rams- Brandin Cooks and Todd Gurley are gone, they still Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods. If they can get Brown to help replace some of the offense that they lost over the off-season, it could be enough to for a late season playoff push. Brown with Kupp and Woods would be in the conversation for top 5 WR group in the league, if not number one. McVay is considered an offensive genius, if anyone can find a way to best utilize Brown’s talents it’s him.

Philadelphia Eagles- If there is one thing that the Eagles needed to add this off-season it’s at the WR position. It would actually work out pretty good for them, at the end of last year Wentz had mainly back-ups and practice squad guys to throw to. Alshon Jeffery is currently on the PUP list to start training camp and Marquise Goodwin opting out of the season only leaves DeSean Jackson and first round pick Jalen Raegor as the top targets in camp. Inserting Brown into the equation would definitely give the Eagles more talent but he is a guy that has not missed many games due to injury, and the Eagles need guys who can stay on the field.

Seattle Seahawks- Pete Carroll has already expressed interest in bringing Brown in. Russell Wilson has already done some workouts with him this off-season. So it seems like a good fit, in my opinion he would be the number one option in front of Metcalf and Lockett. This is also a team that loves to run the ball, top 5 in the league in running percentage, so I would be worried how much they would use him. Could adding Brown to the passing game be enough to get Carroll to start passing more? Maybe, when it gets late in the year and you have close games you would want to put the ball in Wilson’s hands right?

All but the Rams were playoff teams last year, I think it would be wise for teams who have a legitimate playoff shot to go after Brown this year. With the new playoff system this year a team that could be on the fringe of a wildcard would really benefit from him coming in fresh for the second half of their schedule.

Is now the perfect time to change the CFP system?

With the Big Ten and Pac-12 moving to only in conference play this upcoming season, there is an opportunity to look at the current 4-team system and make a change that will make more sense. If I had to guess by the time the season starts at least the power 5 and group of 5 conference teams will go to only in conference play.

To preface this even before the pandemic I was in favor of the them expanding the playoff system. But now with the possibility of only playing games in conference, their will not be significant non-conference games such as, USC v. Bama, OH. St v. Oregon, WI v. ND, Mich v. Wash and Penn St. v. VA Tech. This is still a long way off but when it comes to the playoff they should making it eight teams instead of four. One argument against expanding it right now is the amount of games that they are playing, with non conference games canceled that they now have more weeks to work with.

The way to see who makes the playoff doesn’t need to be complicated, if you the NCAA wants to put all of this stock into being in the Power 5 then they need to show it. Give automatic bids to the conference champions from the Power 5 (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, PAC-12), make three more “at-large” bids that the committee chooses, then choose how they should be seeded in the playoff. This way you put some real stock into winning your conference championship and give schools in the Group of 5 or a different school a chance to play for the National Title. With this you are not taking anything away from anyone, you give the talking heads on ESPN more things to argue about, you can keep the New Years Six bowl games in play, and college football fans have more games to look forward to. Also, if your team loses a second game right now with the current system you can pretty much kiss the playoff goodbye. With this system you are giving fans hope deeper into the season, if your team can make it to the conference championship game you still have a shot at the playoffs.

Bowls games are huge for the NCAA, both in viewership and money. The New Years Six bowls are considered as the best bowls in games. Currently, they pick two of those bowls each year to be in the playoff and rotate them out each year. You would still be able to do that with this system, you could make the first four games bowl games and then just have the semi-final then championship. Or you could make all six games bowl games, yes two schools would have two bowls in one year but it’s just another option. This is something that can also be worked out by the committee.

Why is March Madness so exciting? It’s the upsets, the chance that a small school can take down one of the blue bloods. Now, football is a lot different when it comes to smaller schools beating bigger schools. Although it has happened in the past, think of Appalachian St over Michigan, North Dakota St over Iowa, so it has happened before. If you have the top team from the Group of Five playing the PAC-12 champ, that is going to be a very competitive game. Eight teams will be more competitive, more fair when it comes to who should get in and overall better to watch for fans. The season could be on hold with the pandemic, so I think the brain trust of college football should be getting together to discuss these options.

NFL Predictions 2020-2021 (AFC West)

Denver Broncos– Broncos record in 2019-2020 was 7-9 and 3-3 within the division. Key Additions– RB Melvin Gordon, OG Graham Glasgow, CB AJ Bouye and DL Jurrell Casey. Key Losses– CB Chris Harris JR, OL Conner McGovern, S Will Parks and DL Derek Wolfe. Top Draft Picks– WR Jerry Juedy, WR KJ Hamler, CB Michael Ojemudia, OL Lloyd Cushenberry and DL McTelvin Algim. Nothing but upside when it comes to the Broncos. Could they finally have their franchise QB in Drew Lock? Fans seem to think so. The last five games that Lock started he went 4-1 and looked pretty good. So what do you do when you have a young QB? Get him some weapons! Bringing in Melvin Gordon to pair with Phillip Lindsay to enhance the run game is a great thing for young QB. To go with that they draft two receivers in the first two rounds. The offense could be top 10 in the league but you are asking for a lot of production from young players, Gordon and Lindsay are easily a top 5 RB tandem in the league. Defensively they still have Von Miller and Bradley Chubb coming off of injury, they also are trying to replace Chris Harris with AJ Bouye. It very well could be an exciting year in Denver, they had a good end to their season so that is something they can build on. I could see them sneaking into the playoffs this season.

Kansas City Chiefs– Chiefs record in 2019-2020 was 12-4 and 6-0 within the division. Key Additions– OT Mike Remmers, DE Taco Charlton and RB DeAndre Washington. Key Losses– OT Cameron Erving, CB Kendall Fuller and DE Emmanuel Ogbah. Top Draft Picks– RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire LB Willie Gay Jr. and OT Lucas Niang. It only took 50 years but they won their second Superbowl. The good thing is they haven’t lost major production from either side of the ball. Offensively they have arguably the best QB in the league and one of the best offensive minds in the league. Mahomes and Reid are a perfect pair, in just two years since starting they have an AFC Championship appearance and a Superbowl ring. Honestly, I thought Andy Reid was going to retire after their Superbowl, it was the only thing left that he was chasing in his coaching career but maybe he is thinking they can get one more before he rides off. Chris Jones and the Chiefs are no where near a contract extension, he’s their best pass rusher but Mathieu is probably the heartbeat of that defense. As long as they can put up almost 30 ppg, they will always have a really good chance to win any game they are in.

Las Vegas Raiders– Raiders record in 2019-2020 was 7-9 and 3-3 within the division. Key Additions– LB Cory Littleton, LB Nick Kwitkowski, S Jeff Heath and WR Nelson Agholor. Key Losses– LB Tahir Whitehead, CB Daryl Worley and S Karl Joseph. Top Draft Picks– WR Henry Ruggs, CB Damon Arnette, WR Lynn Bowden, WR Bryan Edwards and S Tanner Muse. (Chris Berman voice) The Raiders are trending up in a division with what looks to be some pretty potent offenses. Adding speed has always been at the top of the Raiders list, Ruggs ran the fastest 40 at the combine with a 4.27. It remains to be seen if Carr is their QB for the future, bringing in Mariota doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t trust him but I think it’s a good motivational move to make him step his game up. Josh Jacobs will look to improve after a great rookie year and being snubbed from being the Rookie of the Year award, in my opinion. Defensively they added some solid LB’s in the middle of the field to captain the defense. Maxx Crosby also had a stellar rookie year with 10 sacks, 16 TFL and 4 FF. Having two rookies that were in the conversation for OROY and DROY is the best thing that any team can have. They are building a good young core of player under Gruden and Mayock, with the way that they are going they should be contending for a wildcard spot this season.

Los Angeles Chargers– Chargers record in 2019-2020 was 5-11 and 0-6 within the division. Key Additions– CB Chris Harris Jr., OG Trai Turner, OT Bryan Bulaga and DT Linval Joseph. Key Losses– QB Phillip Rivers, OT Russel Okung, RB Melvin Gordon and LB Thomas Davis. Top Draft Picks– QB Justin Herbert and LB Kenneth Murray. It’s a repeating thing for the Chargers, big expectations that they don’t live up to. Rivers didn’t do the team any favors with 20 int’s and 3 lost fumbles. Now they are in a rebuild, Justin Herbert is their QB of the future but he may not be the day one starter. Tyrod Taylor is a suitable stater, in Buffalo he rarely turned the ball over and brought them back to the playoffs after a long stretch of not making it. Eckler has now taken over as the lead back with Justin Jackson and rookie Joshua Kelley to back him up. Keenan Allen is a guy that gets overlooked as one of the better receivers in the league, the past three seasons he’s had over 1,000 yards receiving and two 100 receptions seasons. Defensively with the the addition of Chris Harris Jr. they have one of the best secondaries in the league. Derwin James should be fully back from his injury that held him out of the first half of last year. Anthony Lynn might be on the hot seat this year, they have the talent but their QB situation might hold them back this year.

The AFC West has been dominated by the Chiefs and Broncos the last ten years, here’s how I think it will go:

1. Kansas City
2. Las Vegas
3. Denver
4. Los Angeles

Not much of a change coming into this year, KC has control of this division with their high powered offense. Las Vegas will be in the mix for a wildcard spot and if they can keep hitting in the draft they will improve this year. Denver has a ton of upside offensively but when can they put it all together. LA will need to get their QB situation figured out if they want to have any success this year. It’s clear what the Broncos and Raiders tried to do during the draft, offense is going to be huge in this division for years to come.

NFL Predictions 2020-2021 (AFC South)

Houston Texans– Texans record in 2019-2020 was 10-6 and 4-2 within the division. Key Additions– RB David Johnson, WR Brandin Cooks and WR Randall Cobb. Key Losses– WR DeAndre Hopkins, CB Jonathon Joseph, RB Carlos Hyde and S Tashaun Gipson. Top Draft Picks- DT Ross Blacklock and DE Jonathan Greenard. Could you have a more criticized off-season than the Texans? You send Hopkins to the Cardinals and you don’t get a first round pick for him? David Johnson hasn’t been good for a couple years now!! Trade for Cooks?!?! All of the gripes from the fans and the media are justified. Bill O’Brien as a coach is good, as a GM, they are probably better off finding someone else for that job. Cooks, Cobb, Fuller and Stills are the top four receivers and none of them played all sixteen games last season. Also, JJ Watt has on been healthy for one full season since since 2015. Deshaun Watson has also been dinged up recently, and continues to be one of the most sacked QB’s in the league. Health is the biggest question for the Texans, all the talent is there but how many games is everyone going to be together?

Indianapolis Colts– Colts record in 2019-2020 was 7-9 and 3-3 within the division. Key Additions– QB Philip Rivers, DT DeForest Buckner, CB Xavier Rhodes and CB TJ Carrie. Key Losses– TE Eric Ebron and K Adam Vinatieri. Top Draft Picks– WR Michael Pittman Jr., RB Jonathon Taylor and S Julian Blackmon. The NFL world was shocked when Andrew Luck retired in the preseason. They then had to turn the reigns over to Jacoby Brissett, who wasn’t terrible, but is no Luck. The offensive line is now one of the better ones in the league, lead by Quinton Nelson they only let up 32 sacks last year. Now they bring in Philip Rivers, who is going to be the starter, he brings in a lot of experience and a very competitive personality. With this possibly being his last season, he’ll want to do everything he can to get to a Superbowl. Reich and Ballard have built themselves a good young team that could achieve that. Defensively they have added some veterans in the secondary and traded for Buckner, that should be enough to boost them into the top 10. Everything put together could mean that the Colts could be a dark horse team for the Superbowl.

Jacksonville Jaguars– Jaguars record in 2019-2020 was 6-10 and 2-4 within the division. Key Additions– LB Joe Schobert, TE Tyler Eifert, CB Rashan Melvin and DE Rodney Gunter. Key Losses– DE Calais Campbell, CB AJ Bouye and QB Nick Foles. Top Draft Picks– CB CJ Henderson, EDGE K’Lavon Chaisson, WR Laviska Shenault Jr. and DT DaVon Hamilton. Tank for Trevor? Currently they are the “favorites” to finish with the worst record in the league. Gardner Minshew is the starter currently, he has swagger, is an interesting player to watch but is he going to be their franchise QB? They have drafted defense in the first round 4 out of the last 5 years, only three years ago they were in the AFC Championship game. Doug Marrone was on the verge of being fired but he convinced the front office to let him stay, at least this year. This is a team that could either be middle of the road or at the bottom of the conference.

Tennessee Titans– Titans record in 2019-2020 was 9-7 and 3-3 within the division. Key Additions– EDGE Vic Beasley, CB Jonathon Joseph and S Ibraheim Campbell. Key Losses– OT Jack Conklin, QB Marcus Mariota, CB Logan Ryan and LB Wesley Woodyard. Top Draft Picks– OT Isaiah Wilson, CB Kristian Fulton and RB Darrynton Evans. The Titans had quite the playoff run, knocking off the Patriots and Ravens, then lost to the eventual Superbowl Champion Chiefs in the AFC Championship. They rode Derrick Henry and a good defense, Ryan Tannehill was 15-29 for 160 yards in the first two playoff games. Now they have Tannehill as their QB for the next few years and Henry on the tag for this year. Mike Vrabel has got this team playing some old school ball, run the ball and play defense. It took them deep into the playoffs but can they get the same amount of production this year?

Another competitive division, Houston has won the division 4 out of of the last 5 years. Here is how I think it will go:

1. Indianapolis
2. Tennessee
3. Houston
4. Jacksonville

Indy will have some better play out of the QB position this year and make a deep run into the playoffs. Tennessee will turn it on late in the year when Henry gets rolling. Houston will take a big step back this year, you can’t lose the talent of Hopkins and be better than you were. Jacksonville will struggle again this year, they have young players on defense but I’m concerned with where their offense will come from. Tennessee will be battling for the last wildcard spot, we’ll see if they make it.

NFL Predictions 2020-2021 (AFC North)

Baltimore Ravens– Ravens record in 2019-2020 was 14-2 and 5-1 within the division. Key Additions– DE Calais Cambell, DE Derek Wolfe and OL DJ Fluker. Key Losses– OG Marshall Yanda, LB Patrick Onwuasor and DT Michael Pierce. Top Draft Picks– LB Patrick Queen, RB JK Dobbins, DL Justin Madubuike, WR Devin Duvrenay, LB Malik Harrison and OG Tyre Phillips. Along with the Vikings, I feel the Ravens had the best draft. Lamar Jackson is going into his third year and will look to improve on his MVP season. Harbaugh has already said that they want to improve on the their passing deep down field, which was the one part of the offense that wasn’t that impressive. With Marshall Yanda retiring it leaves a big hole on the offensive line, they brought in Fluker as well as drafting a couple guys to try to replace him. Defensively they are always going to be solid, they added some good veterans and then some good prospects in the draft. It will be hard for any other team to unseat the Ravens as the top team in the north, but this has been a very competitive division over the years.

Cincinnati Bengals– Bengals record in 2019-2020 was 2-14 and 1-5 within the division. Key Additions– CB Trae Waynes, CB Mackenzie Alexander, S Vonn Bell and DT DJ Reader. Key Losses– QB Andy Dalton, LB Nick Vigil, TE Tyler Eifert and CB Dre Kirkpatrick. Top Draft Picks– QB Joe Burrow, WR Tee Higgins and LB Logan Wilson. It will be a tough go for the Bengals again this year. Not that they don’t have talent but when you were as bad as they were last year, it’s really to go from worst to first. Luckily, the Bengals were able to get their franchise QB. Joe Burrow is the story that you want, hometown kid, college national champion, and has the confident swagger you want out of your QB. He’ll have a good group of skill position players to lean on in, Green, Boyd, Mixon and Higgins. On the defensive side they have added some vets in the secondary and drafted young linebackers. I still think they have more holes on the team, we’ll see some more improvement under Zach Taylor but it will be a couple more seasons before we see some real success.

Cleveland Browns– Browns record in 2019-2020 was 6-10 and 3-3 within the division. Key Additions– TE Austin Hooper, OT Jack Conklin, S Karl Joseph and DE Adrian Clayborn. Key Losses– LB Joe Schobert, LB Christian Kirksey, CB TJ Carrie and S Damrious Randall. Top Draft Picks– OT Jedrick Wills, S Grant Delpit, DT Jordan Elliot and LB Jacob Phillips. Should we start another hype train for the Browns again this year? A big thing that could hold them back this year is Baker’s development. Not saying he can’t be good but Kevin Stephanski is going to be his third head coach going into his third year. For a young QB that is not a recipe for success, but that is just what the Browns do. Their skills position group is one of the most talented in the league, especially adding Hooper into the mix. OBJ, Landry, Chubb, Hunt, Njoku and Hooper, any other coach would kill for that group of guys. They have addressed the offensive line, which was towards the bottom of the league last year. Defensively they need to get some production, that was lost with Schobert, from young players like Wilson, Harvey and Takitaki. Typically, first year head coaches don’t have a lot of success but they have talent on each side of the ball they just need to put it together.

Pittsburgh Steelers– Steelers record in 2019-2020 was 8-8 and 3-3 within the division. Key Additions– TE Eric Ebron, DE Chris Wormley and OG Stefan Wisniewski. Key Losses– CB Artie Burns, S Mark Barron and DT Javon Hargrave. Top Draft Picks– WR Chase Claypool and LB Alex Highsmith. Injuries, that was the only thing holding the Steelers back last season. Big Ben was injured in Week 2 then needed surgery and was out for the year. Their back-up situation was not great, everyone remembers the Rudolph situation, and Hodges is just better suited as a back-up right now. JuJu Smith-Schuester had a down year being the number one target, but that could have a lot to do with the shaky QB play, I expect him to bounce back this year. They have never had to worry about their defense, even last year they were borderline top 5. Minkah Fitzpatrick was traded for in the middle season and was somewhat in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year, TJ Watt was also heavily in the conversation. Pittsburgh would’ve made the playoffs last year with the new playoff format that is coming this year. Mike Tomlin shows that he can handle big personalities in the locker room, I think it was amazing that they went 8-8 last year with their injuries.

This is another very tough and competitive division, the Steelers and Ravens have been at the top for a few years. Here’s how I think it will shake out this year:

1. Baltimore
2. Pittsburgh
3. Cleveland
4. Cincinnati

Baltimore will have another stellar season as Lamar Jackson looks to repeat his MVP season. Pittsburgh will improve as long as Big Ben bounces back from his injury and can start for most of the year. Cleveland has added the pieces on the offensive line to help protect Baker and added another weapon in Hooper. Cincinnati just has too many holes to fill in one year, Burrow might struggle at first but he’ll find his grove toward the end of the year and be able to build on that for next season. I don’t see a change as far as standings, however I do think Pittsburgh and Cleveland will improve their record and both make the playoffs.

NFL Predictions 2020-2021 (AFC East)

Buffalo Bills– Bills record in 2019-2020 was 10-6 and 3-3 within the division. Key Additions– WR Stefon Diggs, LB AJ Klein, CB Josh Norman and LB Mario Addison. Key Losses– LB Lorenzo Alexander, DT Jordan Phillips and DE Shaq Lawson. Top Draft Picks– DE AJ Epenesa and RB Zack Moss. No one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills. They are in prime position to take the top spot in the east with Tom Brady leaving the Patriots. Josh Allen needs to take a big step in his third year as a stater. He has shown promise but still has a tendency to make some bad decisions. Brandon Beane made the trade for Diggs, that should give the offense the deep threat that they were missing last year. On the other side of the ball they still have a lot of talent, Edmunds, Hyde, White, Poyer all top that list. Edmunds is also going into his third year but will only be 22 this season, he’ll likely be the captain of the defense. The only hump the Bills couldn’t get over was Brady and the Patriots, now are they able to take advantage and be the top dog for years to come? We will see.

Miami Dolphins– Dolphins record was 5-11 and 2-4 within the division. Key Additions– CB Byron Jones, LB Kyle Van Noy, DE Shaq Lawson and OL Ereck Flowers. Key Losses– S Reshad Jones and CB Aqib Talib. Top Draft Picks– QB Tua Tagovailoa, OT Austin Jackson, CB Noah Igbinoghene, G Robert Hunt, DT Raekwon Davis and S Brandon Jones. Do not sleep on this team. On paper they have been doing their rebuild perfectly, stocking high draft picks, adding in free agency talent and getting their franchise QB. The “Tank for Tua” model worked out for them, even though they didn’t get the first overall pick. Brian Flores didn’t have much to work with in his first year as a head coach but now it seems like he is building something there. Fitzpatrick will most likely be the starter while Tua figures out the offense, and the team will want to make sure he’s healthy enough to go. I don’t know if they put it all together this year, it could still be another year down the road before they have a playoff contender.

New England Patriots– Patriots record in 2019-2020 was 12-4 and 5-1 within the division. Key Additions– WR Marquies Lee, DT Beau Allen, FB Danny Vitale and S Adrian Phillips. Key Losses– QB Tom Brady, LB Kyle Van Noy, LB Jamie Collins and C Ted Karras. Top Draft Picks– S Kyle Dugger, LB Josh Uche, LB Anfernee Jennings, TE Devin Asiasi and TE Dalton Keene. Life after Brady will be interesting to see. Belichick’s system is always going to be next man up, either Stidham or Hoyer will be the next man. How long will that be? If it’s Stidham, he will need to show that he can be the guy for years to come or else Bill will go get his guy. Defensively they lost some key pieces but were able to get some depth in the draft. Belichick traded out of the first round to get more picks in the middle of the draft. I am more scared of him having multiple picks in the second and third round than if he had a first round pick, even if he had multiple first round picks. Without Brady the Patriots have had success so I will not count them out yet.

New York Jets– Jets record in 2019-2020 was 7-9 and 2-4 within the division. Key Additions– OL George Fant, C Conner McGovern, OL Greg Van Roten and LB Patrick Onwuasor. Key Losses– WR Robby Anderson, CB Darryl Roberts and OL Brandon Shell. Top Draft Picks– OT Mekhi Becton, WR Denzel Mims, DB Ashtyn Davis and DE Jabari Zuniga. The Jets finished the year going 6-2 in their final 8 games. That could be something to build on and with Darnold going into his third year he will need to take another big step in his development. Their defense is captained by Jamal Adams, who has now requested a trade. If I’m the Jets I do what I can to keep him, there is not guarantee that you get another all-pro player caliber if you get draft picks for him. CJ Mosley, who was out most of the year, will have to show that he is worth the big contract he was given last season. Same goes for Leveon Bell, a lot of money for not a lot of production. Can the Jets build off the strong second half of last season?

Since 2001 thisdivision has been won by the Patriots 17 times and twice by the Dolphins. Here are my predictions:

1. Buffalo
2. New England
3. Miami
4. New York

I think Buffalo has what it takes to win the division. Josh Allen will take that next step and help lead them there. New England will take a step back, you can’t lose a hall of fame QB and think they are going to pick up where they left off. Miami will eventually turn the offense over to Tua, their defense could be in the top 10 with their additions in the off-season. New York will probably trade Adams and their defense will go down hill. Darnold lost his best receiver and the o-line will need some more time gel. With the new playoff format I think we will see the top two teams in the playoffs again this year.