2020 NFL Preview: NFC South

 Atlanta Falcons

2019 Record: 7-9 (2nd in NFC South)

Head Coach: Dan Quinn (6th season)

Notable Additions: RB Todd Gurley, DE Dante Fowler, TE Hayden Hurst

Notable Departures: TE Austin Hooper, RB Devonta Freeman, CB Desmond Trufant

Notable Opt-Outs: None

Biggest Reason to Get Excited: Their Offense is Still a Powerhouse

As much as there is to criticize about the Falcons organization and their inability to remain a contender after their infamous collapse in Super Bowl 51, the viability of their offense has never been a problem. They've remained a reliable, explosive offense that can rack up chunk plays and probe into the redzone with regularity-even as they've tumbled down from the top to the middle of the NFL hierarchy over the past couple of seasons.

Entering 2020, there's little reason to believe that their days as a offensive powerhouse are going to end right now. Matt Ryan can still sling the ball downfield with precision at 35, Julio Jones has racked up 1,350+ YDS every season since 2014, Calvin Ridley seems poised to shoot up the list of most dangerous WR's in the league in year 3 after missing the final 3 games of the year killed his chances of earning his 1st 1,000+ YD season, and Hayden Hurst, who had a relatively limited role with the Ravens over the past 2 season, is an intriguing replacement for Austin Hooper at TE whose speed/pass-catching skills make him a great fit for this vertical-driven offense. Throw in the wild card of Todd Gurley producing at a level that even somewhat resembles his pre-arthritic knee days after the Rams unceremoniously dumped him 2 years after giving him a huge extension and you have a group that should be able to rival the vast majority of their foes in the NFC.

Biggest Question Mark: Quality of the Defense

If you were to chart out the Falcons defensive rankings over the past several years, you'd see the football data equivalent of an entire theme park's worth of roller coasters. Since Dan Quinn took the job in 2015, they've finished everywhere from 8th (2017) to 14th (2015) to 27th (2016) in scoring defense. Making these erratic finishes even more puzzling is that Quinn played a role in the building of the vaunted Legion of Boom-era Seahawks defenses prior to taking this gig and they've had mainstays during this time (defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, inside linebacker Deion Jones, safety Keanu Neal) that are among the finest players in the league at their respective positions.

While injuries have absolutely contributed to their woes with the likes of Neal, Jones and the now departed Desmond Trufant all missing significant stretches of time over the past few seasons, it's mostly just been bad luck and having some liabilities at key spots be exploited extensively at times (Robert Alford, De'Vondre Campbell and Vic Beasley, who are all no longer with the team, top the list) responsible for their seesaw play.

2020 looks like it has the potential to be another wild, unpredictable year for the Falcons D. Jarrett, Jones and Neal are still in the anchor spots, free agent signing Dante Fowler-who is replacing Beasley on the edge-is coming a career-high 11.5 sack season that may be a case of the #3 overall pick in the 2015 Draft finally starting to realize his potential or just a contract year fluke and their corner group has the potential to be very shaky as they're rolling out a 3rd year player who struggled mightily as a starter last year (Isaiah Oliver), a rookie (A.J. Terrell) and middling veteran who just signed with the team a month ago (Darqueze Dennard) in the top starts to start the year. About the only certainty that exists for this group is that a bottom 10 finish without a playoff spot to show for it would greatly increases the odds of Quinn receiving his walking papers.     

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Avoiding A Massive Losing Streak

Extensive cold streaks have been a troubling trend since Quinn has been with the Falcons. In the 3 seasons they failed to make the playoffs during his tenure, they've went on 5+ game losing skids during a point of the season that have completely ruined their ability to make the playoffs. Even when that long run of losses is proceeded by a dominant stretch of play like it was last season (their 6-2 finish tied them with the Saints for the best 2nd half record in the NFC), digging that steep of a hole is something that needs to be avoided at all costs. In a year where Quinn is on the hot seat and Tom Brady is taking over the lone team that wasn't a constant threat to win the division over the past decade, they can afford to stoop that level of unacceptable play less than ever. If history repeats itself and they do indeed avoid a prolonged losing streak, a playoff berth, which would be their first since 2017, will be in their future. 

Bottom Line:

Their continued defensive uncertainty paired with the strong likelihood of the Buccaneers ascending makes it feel like the Falcons are in store for another middling season.

Carolina Panthers

2019 Record: 5-11 (4th in NFC South)

Head Coach: Matt Rhule (1st season)

Notable Additions: QB Teddy Bridgewater, T Russell Okung, WR Robby Anderson

Notable Departures: ILB Luke Kuechly (retired), QB Cam Newton, CB James Bradberry

Notable Opt-Outs: None

Biggest Reason to Get Excited: Christian McCaffery and D.J. Moore Are Some of the Most Electric Playmakers in the League

Having a single high-octane, highlight reel machine on offense is a valuable gift in today's NFL. Having a pair of them like the Panthers do in McCaffery and Moore have almost feels like cheating. These guys are both elusive, agile speedsters who can make plays in situations where it appears like there's none to be made by putting defenders on skates and fighting through contact to gain extra yards. 

The scariest part of all is that they're 24 and 23 respectively, and put up monster numbers with Kyle Allen under center for most of last season-so the potential for them to do even more damage as they continue to develop their games and get a chance to play with a quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater that is at the very least a more efficient/capable game manager than Allen was seems very high.    

Biggest Question Mark: Their Plan to Replace Luke Kuechly

Kuechly's surprise retirement at 29 was absolutely gutting to the Panthers organization. This was a guy who not only consistently played at an All-Pro level at a crucial position for 8 seasons, but a model leader that alongside Cam Newton and Ron Rivera gave the Panthers one of the strongest locker rooms in the league for much of the past decade. Asking anyone to replace Kuechly's ridiculous on-field production and strong presence behind-the-scenes isn't fair, but what this new regime has cooked up for a replacement in 2020 is pretty disconcerting.

Picking 7th overall in the draft, there was a golden opportunity to select Kuechly's heir apparent in Isaiah Simmons. Simmons had the combination of exceptional athleticism, instincts and football IQ that arguably no inside linebacker prospect since Kuechly has possessed and felt like the best possible replacement they could've hoped for. Instead, the Panthers opted to take Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown and Simmons ended up landing with the Cardinals at #8. Perhaps even more surprisingly than passing on Simmons in the 1st round, they avoided drafting a linebacker with any of their 7 picks (all were defensive players) and will instead turn to veteran Tahir Whitehead to man Kuechly's old spot this season.

To say the absolute least, Whitehead is a severe downgrade from Kuechly. He's a below average player on his best day and over the past couple of seasons with the Raiders, has been horrendous in pass coverage and run support-which led to the team releasing him in March. Behind Whitehead, will be journeyman Adarious Taylor-who has mostly played on special teams during his 6 year career. It's  bizarre and almost reckless to put so little stock in a position that has been such a strength of theirs for so long and don't be surprised if this decision proves to be costly for the overall quality of their defense.      

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Matt Rhule Being as Advertised

Despite being kind of an off-the-board pick that has just 1 season of NFL experience as the Giants assistant offensive line coach back in 2012 and a college head coaching record of 47-43, football pundits have largely swooned over the hiring of Rhule. From 2013-19, he brought a pair of college football programs (Temple, Baylor) back from the dead and guided them to 10+ win seasons within 2 years of taking over the program. Taking over a 5-11 team that finished a distant 4th in a tough division, Rhule's alleged golden touch will be put to the test right away in Carolina.

This Panthers team have no real strengths outside of the McCaffery/Moore tandem and a lot of questions that need to be answered right away. In addition to the aforementioned inside linebacker mess, Rhule will be tasked with promptly figuring out what corner (incumbent #2 Donte Jackson, free agent pickup Eli Apple, rookie Troy Pride) is going to draw top receiver assignments now that James Bradberry is gone, what the WR hierarchy (Curtis Samuel, Robby Anderson, Seth Roberts) behind Moore is going to look like, how the interior line-which struggled quite a bit in 2019- can hold up with a confirmed bum like John Miller replacing Trai Turner at left guard and building an almost completely new edge rotation (2019 1st rounder Brian Burns and career backup Marquise Haynes are the only returning pieces) after all of their vets either retired (Wes Horton) or bolted to join their old DC Sean McDermott in Buffalo (Mario Addison, Vernon Butler). Think of it as the NFL equivalent of taking over a 2-win Baylor team, except that the ultimate goal will be much higher than sneaking into the Sugar Bowl after beating no ranked opponents and losing to Georgia by double digits.  

Bottom Line:

McCaffery, Moore and Bridgewater are the only things keeping the Panthers off the list of contenders for the worst team in football.

New Orleans Saints

2019 Record:  13-3 (1st in NFC South)

Head Coach: Sean Payton (14th season)

Notable Additions: S Malcolm Jenkins, WR Emmanuel Sanders, QB Jameis Winston

Notable Departures: QB Teddy Bridgewater, G Larry Warford, S Vonn Bell

Notable Opt-Outs: None

Biggest Reason to Get Excited: All of the Key Pieces are Back and Healthy to Make Another Title Run

The Saints dreams of bringing home ring #2 of the Brees/Payton era were crushed yet again last year as they got upset by the Vikings in the Wild Card Round. Well, the good news for Saints fans is that all of the heavy hitters from that squad (Brees, Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, Terron Armstead, Ryan Ramcyzk, Cameron Jordan, Demario Davis, Marshon Lattimore, Marcus Williams) that made this team a well-rounded threat on both sides of the ball are back and healthy heading into the season.

 Maintaining such a high degree of continuity is a luxury that teams aren't typically afforded and with Kamara, Williams and Davis all hitting free agency after this season and Brees' viability as a starter potentially going away at any moment (more on that in the next section), it's not one they're going to have again-making this their last best chance at a title.   

Biggest Question Mark: Drew Brees vs. Father Time

Brees has every reason to be excited for 2020. His already terrific offensive line received another boost by adding rookie mauler Cesar Ruiz at guard, Kamara is back at full health after playing through injuries that slowed him down significantly in 2019 and the addition of a steady, reliable running mate for Thomas in Emmanuel Sanders should make this offense even better than last year when they ranked 3rd in the league. This is of course all contingent on one burning question: Can the 41-year old fight off the undefeated Father Time for another year? 

On one hand, he did bounce back seamlessly from the thumb injury that sidelined him for 5 games last season and hasn't declined at all from an accuracy/efficiency standpoint in recent years. On the other, he's at an age where guys start to decline out of the blue (while clearly not even close to an apples-to-apples comparison, Brett Favre ultimately hit a career-ending wall in his year 41 season after a terrific season at 40). Particularly with no preseason to draw predictions from, we're going to be completely in the dark about Brees' viability for 2020 until he takes the field on Sunday afternoon against the Buccaneers.   

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Not Choking in the Playoffs

Little known fact: Brees and Payton are just 4-6 in the playoffs since winning the Super Bowl in 2009. Joe Flacco and John Harbaugh won 7 games including a 4-win run to their title in 2012 during that same stretch and no one is going to remember them with the same reverence as the Saints duo.  

As much as the Minneapolis Miracle and the no-call pass interference against the Rams in the 2018 NFC Championship are cited as unlucky breaks, the reality is that the Saints have had several opportunities to put those games in the bag and lacked the mental fortitude/clutch playmaking spark to do so. This team is too good to make excuses for anymore and breaking this cycle of underwhelming postseason play this season is the only way they're going to exit their current place alongside the mid-to-late 80's Bears and late 90's/early 2000's Rams as the greatest failed dynasties in the history of football.

Bottom Line:

If Brees can still play at a high level, the Saints are going to be high on the list of contenders for a fourth straight season.  

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

2019 Record: 7-9 (3rd in NFC South)

Head Coach: Bruce Arians (2nd season)

Notable Additions: QB Tom Brady, TE Rob Gronkowski, RB Leonard Fournette

Notable Departures: QB Jameis Winston, WR Breshad Perriman, OLB Carl Nassib

Notable Opt-Outs: None

Biggest Reason to Get Excited: Tom Brady

There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about signing Tom Brady to be your quarterback in 2020. He just turned 43, has regressed in completion % and yards per completion in 3 straight seasons and is coming off a quiet 2019 campaign that ended in his first one-and-done playoff run since 2010. 

Concern aside, the Bucs are still exchanging arguably the most volatile quarterback of all time in Jameis Winston for arguably the greatest of all time in Brady and that's pretty fucking exciting for a franchise that hasn't been to the playoffs since 2007. No one knows how Brady is going to fare at this stage of his career, but a team with a deep stockpile of offensive weapons that includes Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Ronald Jones, his old friend Rob Gronkowski and Leonard Fournette, who just signed with the team last Thursday after his surprise release by the Jaguars, is going to give him as good of a chance to continue adding to his legacy as anywhere else in the league.

Biggest Question Mark: Bruce Arians' Ability to Adapt to Brady

After the Bucs landed Brady, the buzz immediately turned to how much he was going to pop under the direction of a brilliant offensive-minded coach in Arians. There's one convenient fact that's been left out of this months-long fawnfest: the system that has brought Arians so much success throughout his NFL career isn't going to fly with Brady.  No amount of pliability would be able to save a 43-year old man from the brutal adverse physical effects that stem from Arians' "drop back, chuck deep balls down the field and repeatedly take huge shots from the defense to make explosive plays" approach (ask Andrew Luck, Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger how they feel about the scars playing under Arians left them with) to offense- especially with an offensive line that's as up-and-down as the Bucs is.

Considering the schematic fit and respect Brady commands, Arians is going to be forced to adapt to the way his new quarterback plays. The quick hitting short-to-intermediate passing game with some runs mixed in system that Brady thrives in couldn't be anymore different than what Arians is used to doing and what makes him such a dynamic offensive mind could end up being stripped away in the process. The cliché of "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" has a tendency of being true in the NFL and Arians' drastic philosophy change (RIP "No risk it, no biscuit") could easily prove to be the latest victim of it.   

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Not Allowing a Zillion Points Per Game

As expected considering his track record, Todd Bowles did a lot of great work in his 1st season as Bucs DC. He dramatically improved their rush D from 24th to 1st, established a legit pass rush (47 sacks) headed up by Shaq Barrett (league-leading 19.5 sacks) and got numerous young players to take huge steps forward (Vita Vea, Carlton Davis) or start their career on positive notes (Sean Murphy-Bunting, Jamel Dean). Despite all of those efforts, they were still incredibly vulnerable against the pass (30th in the league) and allowed a ton of points (28.1 ppg, 29th in the league). While part of those woes were due to the constant offensive turnovers spearheaded by Winston's historic 30 INT season, they also had a number of players on the middle/back end of their defense put up dismal performances (Devin White, Andrew Adams, Jordan Whitehead, Mike Edwards, Vernon Hargreaves-who was cut in mid-November) that made them easy to attack despite the standout performances of others.

Heading into 2020, Bowles will look to put his old DB coach skills to work to help solidify that same pass defense that got them in trouble a year ago. Rookie Antoine Winfield Jr, who is replacing Adams as the starting strong safety, is a potential ballhawk that could help solve their coverage/takeaway problems, White- who was a star in coverage at LSU-should be in a better place to show off his potential now that he has a better understanding of the ropes of the position in the pros and the impact of having Dean and Murphy-Bunting start for a full season on the overall productivity of their corner group will be something worth watching closely. Asking Brady to pull off shootout victories every week isn't feasible at this point of his career and the only way that happens is if this defense improves to the point where they're not allowing their opponents to erupt for 30+ points on a weekly basis.

Bottom Line:

With Tom Brady joining the fold, there's a good chance that the Buccaneers 13 year playoff drought comes to an end.   

Projected Standings:

1.New Orleans Saints (12-4)

2.Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-6)

3.Atlanta Falcons (8-8)

4.Carolina Panthers (4-12)

2020 NFL Power Rankings: Week 1

 Note: Power Rankings will be dropped every Tuesday following this week.

1.Kansas City Chiefs

2.San Francisco 49ers

3.Baltimore Ravens

4.New Orleans Saints

5.Green Bay Packers

6.Tennessee Titans

7.Buffalo Bills

8.New England Patriots

9.Seattle Seahawks

10.Minnesota Vikings

11.Philadelphia Eagles

12.Tampa Bay Buccaneers

13.Houston Texans

14.Dallas Cowboys

15.Pittsburgh Steelers

16.Indianapolis Colts

17.Los Angeles Rams

18.Atlanta Falcons

19.Denver Broncos

20.Chicago Bears

21.Las Vegas Raiders

22.Cleveland Browns

23.Arizona Cardinals

24.Los Angeles Chargers

25.Detroit Lions

26.Carolina Panthers

27.New York Jets

28.New York Giants

29.Miami Dolphins

30.Cincinnati Bengals

31.Jacksonville Jaguars

32.Washington Football Team 

2020 NFL Preview: NFC North

 Chicago Bears 

2019 Record: 8-8 (3rd in NFC North)

Head Coach: Matt Nagy (3rd season)

Notable Additions: QB Nick Foles, DE/OLB Robert Quinn, TE Jimmy Graham

Notable Departures: G Kyle Long (retired), OLB Leonard Floyd, ILB Nick Kwiatkoski

Notable Opt-Outs: DT Eddie Goldman, S Jordan Lucas

Biggest Reason to Get Excited: Return of Akiem Hicks

Contrary to some narratives that detailed their demise, the Bears had another good defense in 2019. They ranked 9th in the league against both the run and pass and allowed just 18.3 points per game (#4 scoring defense). The top thing that prevented them from hitting the elite form they displayed in 2018 was their struggles to generate a pass rush and the early season injury to Akiem Hicks was a large reason why they failed to reach those heights.

While Khalil Mack is the face of this group, Hicks is every bit as pivotal to their overall success. Hicks is a top-tier interior disruptor who blows up plays in the backfield and makes quarterbacks deeply uncomfortable (he registered an impressive 24 sacks and 53 QB hits from 2016-18). Without his presence for nearly 12 games last year, the Bears lack of secondary pass rushing skills got exposed and they could essentially neutralize their ability to get after the quarterback entirely if they just threw all of their free blockers on Mack (no one aside from Mack and Nick Williams finished the season with more than 3 sacks).

Hicks coming back presumably healthy could have huge ramifications on the entire defense. Lanes could open up for guys like Roy Robertson-Harris, Bilal Nichols and big ticket free agent signing Robert Quinn to make plays in the backfield, Mack wouldn't have the damn near impossible job of trying to fight through a quarter of the guys on the field to make plays and perhaps most importantly, their secondary that features a pair of new starters (rookie corner Jaylon Johnson, safety Deon Bush) would have a somewhat easier time doing their job. If Hicks can put up a vintage performance, a return to something that resembles the dominant form they displayed in 2018 could be in the cards.

Biggest Question Mark: Being Able to Get a Quarterback That Can Produce

The biggest question with the Bears isn't who is going to win the quarterback battle between Nick Foles and Mitch Trubisky, it's can they actually get some production out of the position. This team has enough defensive firepower and skill position talent (Tarik Cohen, Anthony Miller, Jimmy Graham, Ted Ginn and of course, their disturbingly underrated top WR Allen Robinson) to be in the hunt if they had a guy under center who was even somewhat reliable.

What's interesting about this QB competition is that both of these guys are desperate to impress in what could be their last chance to grab hold of a starting quarterback gig in the NFL. Foles is hungry to prove that he knows how to play the position somewhere outside of Philadelphia while Trubisky is looking to break free of his reputation as the working stiff that got drafted before royalty Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. 

There's also slight glimmers of hope poking through the thick clouds of doubt surrounding both of them (Foles' ballsy play with the Eagles, Trubisky's knack for making big time throws at key times) that makes their quest to make an unexpected breakthrough seem possible. The entire fanbase will be eagerly awaiting to see who Matt Nagy picks to get the first crack (it appears like it's going to be Trusbisky) to possibly turn both their own and this long quarterback-plagued franchise's destinies  around. 

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Offensive Line Play

The area of the Bears offense that I feel hasn't gotten nearly enough criticism for their horrible play last season is their offensive line. After being a generally competent group in the prior few seasons, the group pretty much imploded right out of the gate in 2019. Things got a bit better down the stretch when James Daniels switched from center to left guard in mid-November, but they were still unacceptably bad, particularly in the run game (see David Montgomery's 3.7 YD and Tarik Cohen's 3.3 YD per carry average), for most of the season.

While keeping all five starters from a group that struggled so much would usually be reason for alarm, there's a strong enough track record with this group (outside of 4th year guard Rashaad Coward-who was a huge liability in his 10 starts last season) to believe that a rebound is possible. Daniels actually graded out as one of the best guards in the league for the last 8 games of the season last year according to PFF, Cody Whitehair had been a good-to-great center prior to his career-worst campaign in 2019 and their tackle tandem (Charles Leno Jr, Bobby Massie), despite the occasional brutal lapse, have been solid enough on the whole to be able to trust in most situations. You can't give your quarterback a chance to succeed or cover up poor quarterback play with a rushing attack like they did in 2018 if the guys upfront can't create lanes, so don't be surprised if the play of this group is what ultimately dictates the fate of this team in 2020.

Bottom Line:

There's a path to excellence for Bears if a few things fall into place, but knowing this franchise, they'll another 6-8 win season is far more feasible.   

Detroit Lions

2019 Record: 3-12-1 (4th in NFC North)

Head Coach: Matt Patricia (3rd season)

Notable Additions: CB Desmond Trufant, T Halapoulivaati Vaitai, OLB Jamie Collins

Notable Departures: CB Darius Slay, G Graham Glasgow, T Ricky Wagner

Notable Opt-Outs: C Russell Bodine, WR Geronimo Allison

Biggest Reason to Get Excited: A Healthy Matthew Stafford

Stafford's impressive ironman run of 16 game seasons from 2011-18 came to an end when he was diagnosed with fractures in his upper thoracic spine that caused him to miss the final 8 games of the season. In his absence, the dream team of Jeff Driskel and David Blough caused the offense to completely flounder and won a combined total of 0 games.

With Stafford returning, the Lions will look to get back into the hunt in the NFC North. Outside of  2012, the Lions have won at least 6 games in the seasons where Stafford has started every game and especially considering the weapons he has at his disposal right now (Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr., T.J. Hockenson, rookie running back D'Andre Swift-who could finally put a stop to the post-Barry Sanders hex the Lions have had at the position), he could even be primed to have one of the best seasons of his career at 32. In a division where Kirk Cousins has to play quality opponents more than twice a year, Aaron Rodgers may be aging out of dominance and the Bears continue to look for a guy who can complete a quick slant on 3rd and 3 in the 1st quarter with some degree of consistency, Stafford could end up being the best QB in the NFC North and willing this team to a surprising division title run in the process . 

Biggest Question Mark: Matt Patricia's Job Security

The beginning of Patricia's head coaching career hasn't gone well to say the least. After inheriting a 9-7 team from Jim Caldwell, Patricia has come in and made a team that had been competitive the prior 4 seasons much worse. A combination of his hardo Belichick-lite mentality that has alienated the locker room, poor situational awareness that has cost the team close games and an almost comical failure to improve the defense has resulted in Lions securing back-to-back last place finishes in the division including a miserable 2019 season where they lost 12 of their last 13 games following a 2-0-1 start. There was even reportedly some internal debate to cut him loose after last season, which is pretty wild since no Lions coach has been canned after 2 seasons since Marty Mornhinweg put up a 5-27 record from 2001-02.     

Pair all of those problems with the heightened expectations to win now with Stafford in a strangely wide open NFC North and Sheila Ford Hamp taking over ownership control from her mother Martha Firestone Ford, and we could see a quicker than usual hook from the Lions if Patricia struggles yet again.

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Defense Keeping Them in Games

No one can dispute the Lions offensive firepower. They have some of the league's most lethal vertical threats in Golladay and Jones Jr. and even last year with Stafford missing half of the games, they still ranked 18th in scoring offense. However, that offensive prowess doesn't mean much if your defense keeps allowing you to finish on the wrong s de of a shootout, which is exactly what happened last year when the shaky play of their 26th ranked scoring defense resulted in them dropping a lot of close games (9 of their 12 losses were by 10 points or less).

With Stafford back and running out of time to capitalize on his prime years, Patricia is going to have to finally put that decorated defensive pedigree that earned him this gig to use. Being the nice friend that he is, GM Bob Quinn went on a full-on blitz to stock the cupboards with as much talent as possible in the offseason to try and improve a group that was particularly bad against the pass (dead last in the league) and getting after the quarterback (28 sacks-tied for 2nd least in the league). They replaced disgruntled veteran Darius Slay with rookie Jeff Okudah-who is a tough, disciplined corner with true lockdown potential, added some much-needed depth pieces to their defensive line (Nick Williams, Danny Shelton, rookie Julian Okwara), brought in some more solid ex-Patriots (Duron Harmon, Jamie Collins) that have enjoyed success in Patricia's system in the past to join last year's big additions Trey Flowers and Justin Coleman and replaced Paul Pasqualoni at DC with Cory Undlin-a veteran DB coach with a solid track record who most recently worked with the Eagles. 

While there's some potential for huge hiccup spots including inside linebacker-where Jarrad Davis and Christian Jones were flat-out awful last season, and real danger in trusting a rookie in Okudah and oft-injured Desmond Trufant to be the top corners, there's also no question that this is the deepest and most skilled defensive group Patricia has gotten to work with since he's been in Detroit. As long as he can get this group to be respectable, Patricia should be able to save his job. 

Bottom Line:

The Lions are a talented crapshoot of a team that could win anywhere between 4 and 12 games that I choose not to trust because I think Patricia is an incompetent bozo..

Green Bay Packers

2019 Record: 13-3 (1st in NFC North)

Head Coach: Matt LaFluer (2nd season)  

 Notable Additions: T Ricky Wagner, ILB Christian Kirksey, WR Devin Funchess

Notable Departures: T Bryan Bulaga, ILB Blake Martinez, TE Jimmy Graham

Notable Opt-Outs: WR Devin Funchess

Biggest Reason to Get Excited: Their Defense is on the Cusp of Being Elite

After 3 straight finishes in the bottom 12 of scoring defenses, the Packers finally came to life in a big way in 2019. The Smith Brothers (Za'Darius, Preston) gave them the fearsome pass rush they'd lacked over the prior few seasons, Kenny Clark put together another quietly productive season (62 tackles, 6 sacks) that raised him further up the defensive tackle hierarchy, Jaire Alexander further realized his shutdown corner potential (17 pass breakups, 2 INT's, 56.1 CMP % allowed) in year 2 and their new safety tandem (Adrian Amos, Darnell Savage) stepped up and made plays at all levels of the field. The collective efforts of these players was enough for them to finish 9th in the league in scoring defense (19.6 ppg allowed), which provided them with a huge lift during a season where there offense was middling-to-decent. 

With all of their aforementioned key pieces and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine returning, another leap forward seems likely. Every member of their corps is 28 or younger and both Clark and Alexander appear to be at the point of their careers where they ascend from promising young players to full blown stars. Really the only things standing in their way of becoming an uncontested top-tier defense is relying on ex-Brown Christian Kirksey-who has alternated between being sidelined with injuries for extended periods of time and playing very poorly since 2017-to replace the middling yet reliable Blake Martinez at inside linebacker and Kevin King continuing to get picked on at the other corner spot alongside Alexander. Even with those couple of potentially glaring weak spots, the future of this defense appears to be very bright. 

Biggest Question Mark: Was Last Season's Success a Fluke?

The 2019 Packers were odd to watch. While they were a 13-3 team that made it all the way to the NFC Championship that pulled off some impressive feats including a season sweep of the Vikings and a huge road victory over the Chiefs, they never played like a team with such an excellent record. They often won close games in the ugliest ways imaginable, Aaron Rodgers was the most mortal he'd looked since his debut season as a starter back in 2008, Matt LaFluer never came across as a particularly impressive coach and as good as their defense was, they had some holes that could be exploited (i.e. what the 49ers did to them on the ground in both of their meetings).

As I sit here and try to prognosticate the 2020 season, I think it's fair to question whether or not this team is a perennial contender. They got a lot of lucky breaks (top example: That aforementioned win over the Chiefs came during Patrick Mahomes' 2 game absence with a hyperextended knee) last year, their refusal to further invest in the receiver position in the offseason outside of Devin Funchess-who missed all of 2019 with a broken collarbone and has since opted-out of the season because of the 'Rona-is just baffling and LaFluer's vanilla offense feels like it could hit a wall at any time. These concerns are only intensified by the fact that they play in a gauntlet of a division that has had a different champion in each of the last 5 seasons and are tasked with playing a pretty difficult schedule that includes tilts with the Saints, Eagles and their tormentors in San Francisco. Getting out of that opening pre-bye week stretch (Vikings, Saints, Falcons, Lions) with a winning record could go a long way in figuring out if this team is for real.     

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Aaron Rodgers Putting Together a Vintage Season

We saw an oddly restrained and conservative Aaron Rodgers last year. He didn't let the ball rip downfield very often and was often an afterthought as Aaron Jones led the way on offense. These changes in tendencies and usage led to Rodgers posting some of the lowest TD (26) and yardage totals (4,002) he's ever had in a season that wasn't significantly shortened by injury.

It's easy to believe that this is the new normal for Rodgers. He's going to be 37 in December and unlike many of his elite peers that have fought off Father Time for so long, he's had a bunch of injuries and relies on his athletic gifts to make plays-so a transition to a more conservative style makes sense as he enters the final stages of his Hall of Fame career. However, there is one thing that could fuel him to throw this strategy out the window. 

The Packers stunned the football world when they selected Jordan Love in the 1st round of this year's draft and as much as they've downplayed the move, using a high draft pick on a QB indicates that the organization believes Rodgers is on the last legs of his career. The belief from the team that he's washed could give Rodgers the juice to dig deep and relive his deep ball-ripping glory days. 

Rodgers strikes me as the kind of guy who can rid petty motivation to a resurgence and there'd be no better way to prove them wrong by exploding with a passing attack led by Davante Adams, Jones and a bunch of unproven spare parts they found on the league's metaphorical scrap heap (Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, Equanimeous St. Brown, Malik Turner). Jimmy Garoppolo's arrival in New England in 2014 is believed to have brought Tom Brady back to life after a bit of a skid (by his standards) in the early-2010's and I can absolutely see the same thing happening to Rodgers.

Bottom Line:

With a middling coach and talented yet not overly imposing roster, it's hard for me to buy the Packers as a viable contender.

Minnesota Vikings

2019 Record: 10-6 (2nd in NFC North)

Head Coach: Mike Zimmer (7th season)

Notable Additions: DE Yannick Ngakoue, DT Michael Pierce, WR Tajae Sharpe

Notable Departures: WR Stefon Diggs, DE Everson Griffen, CB Xavier Rhodes

Notable Opt-Outs: DT Michael Pierce 

Biggest Reason to Get Excited: The Late Addition of Yannick Ngakoue

Adding players late into training camp, especially during a year with a shortened offseason, is usually a risk that doesn't pay off. However, in the last couple of seasons, we've seen Khalil Mack and Jadevon Clowney go onto to thrive despite not participating in camp and being with their new team for about a week before the season started. Ngakoue, who was acquired from the Jaguars earlier this week, will look to be the next guy to pull this quick transition off.

Ngakoue is a downright fantastic addition to this Vikings front. Not only does he make up for the lost production of Everson Griffen, the burst and power that has made him a consistently threatening pass-rusher (37.5 sacks, 85 QB hits, 14 forced fumbles in 4 seasons) since he entered the league paired with his still developing skill set at the age of 25 represents a notable upgrade over the longtime Viking staple at a key spot. Throwing him next to the rising star Danielle Hunter, who registered 14.5 sacks in 2019 (tied for 4th most in the league) suddenly puts the Vikings in contention for the most lethal edge tandem in the league. Good luck to the brave souls who have to try to contain this pass rush.

Biggest Question Mark: Cornerback

By releasing Xavier Rhodes after another terrible season and letting Trae Waynes and Mackenise Alexander walk in free agency, the Vikings are in the unique position of being without their top 3 corners from the previous season. Due to cap problems preventing them from pursing any veteran help in free agency, they turned to the draft to round out their CB room selecting Jeff Gladney, Cameron Dantzler and Harrison Hand in the 1st, 3rd and 5th rounds respectively. The rookies will fight for immediate playing time along 3rd year players Mike Hughes and Holton Hill-who are projected to start  Week 1.  

 What makes this situation scary is that there's no proven veteran options to fall back on. Hill and Hughes are the group's de facto elder statesman at the age of 23 with a combined 9 NFL starts between them. Gambling that all of these guys are ready to play despite their inexperience would be fine if this was a rebuilding squad, but this is a nearly perennial playoff team that's trying to win a title now and can't afford to have a group of corners that can be easily exploited. Young players with tantalizing upside won't mean shit if they're getting crucified by the likes of Davante Adams, Kenny Golladay and Allen Robinson every week. Getting this group to not break the backs of this otherwise talent-rich defense will be among the most difficult challenges Mike Zimmer has faced in his entire career.    

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: The Rushing Attack Continuing to Be a Huge Factor:

The Vikings went from respectable to very good when they started to heavily lean on Dalvin Cook and the rushing game to drive their offense after a 2-2 start that including a pair of ugly performances from Kirk Cousins. With a big blow to their receiver depth with the trade of Stefon Diggs and a collection of inexperienced guys (Justin Jefferson, Irv Smith Jr., Bisi Johnson, Chad Beebe) vowing to replace him as Adam Thielen's sidekick, the rushing attack will even more imperative to their overall success as an offense.

Given his past track record, new OC Gary Kubiak is going to keep pounding the rock and since the Vikings were already utilizing his signature zone blocking scheme (departed OC Kevin Stefanski is a Kubiak protégé), there's likely going to be no noticeable changes to the way they do business. Where the potential for things to not go as smoothly come into the play is with the on-field execution portion of the operation. 

This offensive line (Riley Rieff, Garret Bradbury, Pat Elflein, Dakota Dozier, Brian O'Neil) is shaky enough that this lineman-friendly offense might not even be able to cover up their individual deficiencies and in addition to his ever-present injury concerns, there's a belief that Cook might not be fully engaged heading into the season as he was reportedly displeased about the Vikings refusal to give him an extension in the offseason. Expect Kubiak to work and scheme relentlessly to find a way to get the running game going, regardless of how many personnel shifts it takes (don't be surprised if Alexander Mattison ends up earning a significant role).

Bottom Line:

Even with relatively limited offensive arsenals and tremendous uncertainty at corner, the Vikings are the most talented team in the NFC North and should be considered the frontrunner to win the division crown..      

Projected Standings:

1.Minnesota Vikings (11-5)

2.Green Bay Packers (8-8)

3.Chicago Bears (7-9)

4.Detroit Lions (6-10)

2020 NFL Preview: NFC East

 Dallas Cowboys

2019 Record: 8-8 (2nd in NFC East)

Head Coach: Mike McCarthy (1st season)

Notable Additions: DE Everson Griffen, S HaHa Clinton-Dix, K Greg Zuerlein 

Notable Departures: CB Byron Jones, C Travis Fredrick (retired), DE Robert Quinn

Notable Opt-Outs: FB Jamize Olawale

Biggest Reason for Excitement: Their Dynamic, Weapon-Filled Offense

A combination of dumping the conservative relic Scott Linehan for the aggressive youngster Kellen Moore at OC and the emergence of a couple new weapons made the Cowboys offense really pop in 2019. Dak Prescott threw for a career-high 4,902 YDS, they had two receivers go for over 1,000 YDS (Amari Cooper-1,189, Michael Gallup-1,107), Tony Pollard shined as a situational change-of-pace back (455 YDS and 2 TD's on just 86 carries) and Ezekiel Elliott (1,777 scrimmage YDS, 14 TD's) put up yet another monster season as the workhorse back.

Remarkably, the Cowboys could be even been more dangerous heading into 2020. Rookie wideout CeeDee Lamb was one of the most exciting,  high upside prospects in this year's draft and new starting tight end Blake Jarwin, who has reportedly had an excellent camp, represents a huge athleticism/speed boost from 65-year old Jason Witten and Prescott is essentially entering another contract year after failing to reach a long-term deal with the Cowboys after receiving the franchise tag prior to the start of free agency in March. An offense that can attack their opponents in an array of different ways isn't fun to line up against and there's a distinct possibility that they end up as the top offense in the league if everything clicks

Biggest Question Mark: The Degree of Mike McCarthy's Influence on the Offense

As I alluded to above, Moore taking over as offensive coordinator was a big reason why the Cowboys offense made so much noise last year. He opened up the playbook by allowing Prescott to take a lot more shots downfield without taking away from Elliott's heavy workload-which made this group a lot more dangerous than when they were running Linehan's archaic playbook that featured nothing but runs and short-to-intermediate play action passes. This success was exactly why he was the only top assistant from Jason Garrett's staff to be retained by the Cowboys after their longtime head coach was fired in January.

While Moore retained both his job and playcalling duties, it remains to be seen how much or little power his new boss Mike McCarthy is going to have in the gameplanning process. Despite stating that Moore will be calling the plays, it's hard to believe that McCarthy-who was the primary offensive shotcaller throughout his tenure with the Packers-is just going to sit back and let some whippersnapper with 1 year of coordinator experience completely run the show.

If McCarthy does indeed end up having a notable influence on the offense, the group's ability to be an elite unit could be in jeopardy.. His philosophy couldn't be any more different than Moore's and the prospects of pivoting from an offense that isn't afraid to attack downfield to a ball-control approach that kind of resembles Linehan's system would be highly detrimental for a team that just saw a notable improvement on offense because of their new philosophy. Perhaps the year away from coaching and an ugly final season in Green Bay humbled McCarthy enough to let somebody else handle the offense, but the fear of him meddling in the operation is very real until we see otherwise.  

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Showing Up When It Matters

It's no secret that the Cowboys have one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the league. In addition to the skill position guys I've already praised extensively here, they have a stellar offensive line headed up by guard 6x All-Pro guard Zack Martin, a highly productive pass rusher in DeMarcus Lawrence and a young linebacker duo in Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch that has pretty much limitless potential. 

Thus far, this current group has maintained the underachieving standard that has been the norm for this franchise since their last dynasty collapsed roughly 25 years ago. They've failed to deliver in most situations where adversity has hit and some of their current stars (Prescott, Elliott, Cooper) have a track record of quitting when a game gets out of hand early. Whether it's through McCarthy bringing in a new attitude or these guys just maturing, this mentality is going to have change if they want to reach the next level.

All of the excuses for their continued lack of big game success are out the window. They have a roster full of guys with huge talent and the NFC East is arguably the easiest division to win in football right now as the Giants and Washington are in the middle of rebuilding and the Eagles have glaring personnel holes (secondary, receiver, potentially offensive line) that are much more serious than any of the Cowboys issues. The window is wide open- now they have to break free of the mental softness that has plagued them for 20+ years and restore the championship mentality that made this franchise so iconic.

Bottom Line:

Mental toughness and big game no shows are the only things keeping the Cowboys from being one of the best in the conference, if not the whole league. 

New York Giants

2019 Record: 4-12 (3rd in NFC East)

Head Coach: Joe Judge (1st season)

Notable Additions: CB James Bradberry, ILB Blake Martinez, CB Logan Ryan

Notable Departures: QB Eli Manning (retired), K Aldrick Rosas, T Mike Remmers 

Notable Opt-Outs: T Nate Solder

Biggest Reason for Excitement: A Healthy Saquon Barkley

An early season high ankle sprain put a serious damper on Barkley's sophomore campaign. While he only missed 3 games due to this ailment, his visible lack of explosiveness and cutting ability indicated that he was playing hurt for most of the season. Fans did get some very reassuring news for the future at the tail end of his lost season, as he returned to dominant form in the final 3 games including a Week 16 explosion against Washington that resulted in a career-high 279 scrimmage YDS.    

As he heads into year 3, he's fully healthy and ready to restake his claim as the best young running back in the league. This offense is a completely different beast when he's operating at full health and with a young quarterback tasked with learning his 2nd offense in 2 seasons and an offensive line that's still trying to solidify a corps as they plug in multiple new starters for the 3rd straight season (rookie tackles Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart will be taking over for Nate Solder and Mike Remmers), they're going to lean heavily on him to stay afloat while the rest of the group tries to figure things out. As lofty of a challenge as this for a 23-year old to take on, Barkley is versatile, tough and elusive enough to do handle that burden. 

Biggest Question Mark: The Entire Coaching Staff

When Dave Gettleman and the widely respected Giants ownership tandem of John Mara and Steve Tisch elected to fire Pat Shurmur after posting a 9-23 record in 2 seasons as the head coach, they appeared to be in a position to land a top name in a year that had several very promising candidates. They are after all a marquee franchise with several promising offensive pieces on their roster, so somebody like Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy-who has served under Andy Reid since 2013 and played a key role in the development of Patrick Mahomes, Ravens OC Greg Roman-who was the architect behind Lamar Jackson's monumental year 2 improvement that ended with him winning the MVP or Gary Kubiak- a brilliant offensive mind with a Super Bowl ring to his name who reportedly entertained returning to head coaching before accepting the Vikings OC gig following the departure of Kevin Stefanski would make sense right? Well this is the present day Giants, so of course they passed on all of those guys and made a WTF hire that nobody saw coming.

This confusing hire was Joe Judge-who was the Patriots special teams coordinator from 2015-19 and had the distinct honor of overseeing the 2019 receiver group that made Tom Brady briefly hate football. Judge may prove to be some kind of hidden gem that has managed to allude being a hot name on the coaching carousel for the past several years, but considering the rotten stench of miserable failure and unjust arrogance stemming from Belichick's coaching tree (save for Brian Flores, who at least for now look like he might be for real) and the "WE'RE GOING TO BE A LUNCHPAIL TEAM WHERE GUYS SHOW UP AND EARN THEIR JOBS THE OLD FASHIONED WAY BY PUNCHING EACH OTHER IN THE FACE FOR 10 HOURS A DAY" hardo attitude he's displayed since his unintentionally introductory hilarious press conference back in mid-January doesn't exactly inspire confidence that's he going to be anything more than Matt Patricia without a stupid pencil behind his ear.

Further casting doubt on the Judge era in the Meadowlands was who he tapped to be his top assistants. Jason Garrett somehow managed to land an offensive coordinator job right away after being nothing more than a clapping mannequin for the Cowboys over the past 9 seasons. Garrett hasn't actively called plays since 2010 and considering that Jerry Jones let Scott Linehan flounder around for 4 seasons as OC while retaining his services as HC, I'm pretty confident that he's not same untapped brilliant offensive mind that's well-suited to lead the development of a youth-driven group. 

Closing out this shaky trifecta is defensive coordinator/assistant head coach Patrick Graham. Graham was poached from the Dolphins staff after overseeing the worst scoring defense in football that also finished near the bottom against the run (27th) and pass (26th). While it's fair to say that Graham's struggles were because he had nothing to work with in Miami, things with the Giants aren't exactly much better. They ranked 30th in scoring defense a season ago with only a few players making notably positive contributions (Dalvin Tomlinson, Dexter Lawrence, Lorenzo Carter) and their biggest offseason positive was adding a few middling veterans (James Bradberry, Blake Martinez, Logan Ryan) to round out a lineup that mostly features many of the same guys that struggled (save for corner DeAndre Baker-whose on the Commissioner's Exempt List indefinitely after he got caught pulling off the heist of the century last spring). Even if those vets do come in and make a greater than expected impact, there's still enough depth problems with their pass rush and secondary group that a finish any higher than 20th would be very surprising.      

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Daniel Jones Making a Big Year 2 Leap

Jones saw the field earlier than expected last season after Eli Manning stumbled out of the gate, appearing in 13 games (12 starts). During that time, Jones was pretty much as advertised showing off an appealing skill set (mobility, splash play ability, some great throws under pressure/in clutch situations) that could be developed into something while making a ton of bad decisions and whiffing easy throws.

Now, the big question is if he'll able to be able build off those good moments in year 2. To do so, he's going to overcome the difficult task of trying to learn a new offense in a COVID-shortened offseason where he got no time to work with his wideouts or get real situations to demonstrate his command (or lackthereof) of the new verbiage. 

The silver lining to this difficult situation is that all of his preferred passing options from last (Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, Evan Engram) are back and as of right now, no new additions figure to be heavily involved in the passing game.  Not having to build chemistry with guys that are unfamiliar with how you play is a huge blessing that should make this crucial task a little less imposing. If he manages to take a big step forward in this far from ideal scenario, the Giants should feel really good about Jones' future. 

Bottom Line:

While their offense has some potential, their weak defense and questionable coaching staff makes it hard to believe that the Giants are going to make it out of the league's basement in 2020.   

Philadelphia Eagles

2019 Record: 9-7 (1st in NFC East)

Head Coach: Doug Pederson (5th season)

Notable Additions: CB Darius Slay, DT Javon Hargrave, CB Nickell Robey-Coleman

Notable Departures: S Malcolm Jenkins, T Halapoulivatti Vaitai, RB Jordan Howard

Notable Opt-Outs: WR Marquise Goodwin

Biggest Reason for Excitement: New Corners

The corner spot has been a constant source of suffering for Doug Pederson's teams. They've trotted out a whole host of characters at the position in recent memory (Ronald Darby, Rasul Douglas, Avonte Maddox-just to name a few) and due to injuries, ineffective play or a combination of the two, none of their options have produced overly favorable results. Well after several seasons of trying to make due with what they've had and bringing in guys off the street to fill the roster in the middle of the season, they decided to invest in some veteran help at the position.

Shortly into the new league year, the team acquired Darius Slay from the Lions for a 3rd and 5th round pick in this year's draft. While Slay had a bit of a down year in 2019, he's a proven top 10 corner that has the skills to match up with the league best receivers and at 29, remains in the middle of his prime. 

They followed the acquisition of Slay with the signing of Nickell Robey-Coleman. While he's mostly known for being the guy who committed the missed pass interference 'heard round the world in the 2018 NFC Championship Game against the Saints, he's been a strong slot corner that has proven to be a tough, durable asset for every team he's played for (Bills, Rams). 

Adding Slay and Robey-Coleman to this group puts the slew of returning guys (Douglas, Maddox, Sidney Jones, Cr'Veon Leblanc, Jalen Mills-who is switching to safety to replace the departed Malcom Jenkins) into lower leverage roles that should suit them better and give this group their best chance of being of being good in a number of years.  

Biggest Question Mark: Miles Sanders' Workload

Even last season with the team struggling to make waves in the passing game with their injury-depleted receiving corps forcing them to run more than usual, Doug Pederson never embraced a single workhorse back. Lead back Miles Sanders may have finished with 100 more touches than #2 option Jordan Howard on the season, but Howard missed 6 games with injury and Sanders only got 15+ touches in 6 games despite appearing in every game (Note: They weren't the same 6 games).

With Howard leaving for the Dolphins in free agency, there's a belief that Pederson is going to abandon his committee backfield approach and let Sanders run wild. I'm not entirely sold on this belief. As impressive as Sanders was a dual-threat back down the stretch, Pederson has made a point to keep rotating his backs with some degree of regularity so they can stay fresh during his whole time in Philly (the previous high for touches before Sanders' 229 last season was LeGarrette Blount's 181 in 2017). He coached under Andy Reid for a long time and saw guys like Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy breakdown very quickly from their insane workloads. It seems like he doesn't want that to happen one of his backs-especially when it comes to someone like Sanders has dealt with nagging injuries throughout his college/early professional career including a hamstring issue that he's currently nursing during training camp. 

To be fair, in his prior seasons as a head coach he hasn't had a back with the complete skill set that Sanders has or a steep downgrade in the quality of backups (Boston Scott, Corey Clement, Elijah Holyfield). This combo makes the top dog ceding regular touches to his teammates feel less likely than usual, so maybe Sanders will be able to convince Pederson to break from his ways this season. 

 Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Overcoming the Early Blows They've Received Along Their Offensive Line 

A longtime strength of the Eagles is suddenly uncertainty heading into 2020 after All-Pro guard Brandon Brooks tore his Achilles during a workout in June and new starting left tackle Andre Dillard tore his biceps during a training camp practice last week. Making this unfortunate situation even more  is that their swiss army knife 6th offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitati, who has racked up 20 starts and appeared in 55 games over the past 4 seasons, left for the Lions in free agency to become their full time starting right tackle and Jason Peters-who was re-signed in June after a brief "retirement" to take over Brooks' spot at right guard-wants a raise to return to the left tackle spot he's manned for the past decade.

When it comes to addressing these issues, there's only one real direction that they can go with each of them. On the Peters front, they're going to have to pay his ass because he's the best option they have by far. Tasking either a 3rd year guy with no NFL game experience to-date (Jordan Mailata) or an exceptionally unpolished late round rookie (Prince Tega Wanogho) with a shortened offseason to protect an injury-prone quarterback in Carson Wentz is just irresponsible and even at 38 with some recent injury problems, Peters is still a damn good tackle who possesses the through understanding of this offense you want/need at such a pivotal position. 

Peters moving over to left tackle opens up a vacancy at right guard, which will be filled by either Nate Herbig, Matt Pryor or rookie Jack Driscoll. While this trio have a combined zero starts between them, there's a far less stepper learning curve at this spot and a liability on the interior is easier to cover up than one at left tackle.

What will ultimately be the primary determining factor for the fate of the Eagles offensive line in 2020 will be the play of their 3 returning starters (Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, Issac Seumalo). Based on what they've done in recent years, they should be able to deliver and help stabilize the entire unit. Kelce has been an All-Pro in 3 straight seasons, Johnson is among the most well-rounded, stable right tackles in football and Seumalo is a rising talent coming off a career-best year. If these guys can stay healthy and not fall too far below the level of play they've displayed recently, this group should be able to play enough to give this offense that still has real question marks at wide receiver and running back a chance to make plays. 

  Bottom Line:

Given the strength of Pederson's coaching and their talent at key spots (front 7, offensive line, quarterback), the Eagles appear to be in a good spot to overcome their flaws and win another division crown.

Washington Football Team

2019 Record: 3-13 (4th in NFC East)

Head Coach: Ron Rivera (1st season)

Notable Additions: CB Kendall Fuller, G Wes Schweitzer, OLB Thomas Davis

Notable Departures: T Trent Williams, CB Quinton Dunbar, CB Josh Norman 

Notable Opt-Outs: None

Biggest Reason for Excitement: Year 2 of Terry McLaurin

In an absolutely miserable 2019 season for Washington, McLaurin offered a bit of light. His electric after-catch ability and gift for fighting through tough coverage to make dazzling highlight reel catches on an offense that lacked both additional playmakers or even remotely acceptable quarterback play (Case Keenum and Dwayne Haskins both struggled mightily) never failed to be seriously impressive.

With veteran journeyman Dontrelle Inman and gadget specialist Steven Sims Jr expected to be the other starting receivers and a rushing attack that is unsettled at best (more on that in a minute), McLaurin is expected to be the focal point of the offense once again. The pairing of already being used to fighting through double coverage/top corners and the likelihood of even a miniscule improvement from Haskins -who looked overwhelmed by the NFL during his rookie season-feels like it could lead to McLaurin making a notable improvement from his borderline ROTY-worthy 2019 campaign (58 REC/919 YDS/ 7 TD's) in 14 games. Injury seems like the only thing that'll be able to stop him from clearing 1,000 YDS this season.   

Biggest Question Mark: Working Out a Running Back Rotation

The tumultuous Derrius Guice-era in Washington ended abruptly last month when he was arrested for a domestic violence incident. With Guice-who was projected to start-out of the picture-,Washington is now going to have to establish a new running back hierarchy on the fly.

Despite lacking a no-brainer top guy, they have a very interesting collection of backs to work with. Adrian Peterson can still be effective with a moderate workload at 35, the unexciting yet consistent Peyton Barber is a perfect fit to be Peterson's understudy as a between-the-tackles power back, J.D. McKissic is a solid pass-catcher that can fill the role Chris Thompson vacated in the offseason, rookie Antonio Gibson is an explosive gadget guy who turned his small workload into crazy numbers during his final year at Memphis (38 REC for 735 YDS and 8 TD's, 33 CAR for 369 YDS and 4 TD's) that could be deployed in a lot of interesting ways and Bryce Love is a fascinating wild card who was one of the most productive rushers in college football in 2017 before injuries including an ill-timed ACL tear in the Sun Bowl derailed his senior season in 2018. 

There's a lot of potential for a balanced committee in there and given Ron Rivera's love of rushing the ball and their better-than-advertised offensive line (Morgan Moses, Brandon Schreff, Chase Roullier, Wes Schweitzer, Cornelius Lucas) this group could end being decent if the right group takes the field.

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Ron Rivera Doing a Great Coaching Job

Washington's hiring of Rivera was an uncharacteristically savvy move for this dysfunctional and toxic organization. During his stint with the Panthers, he became known for having teams that played hard and smart no matter who took the field and that ability to consistently get the most out of his players led to him posting a 76-63-1 record including 4 playoff appearances, 3 division titles and a Super Bowl berth during his 9 seasons with the team.

Much like when he started with the Panthers in 2011, he's inheriting a roster that's low on talent and coming off a disastrous season. While this Washington team has an even weaker roster and lacks a quarterback with the dynamic athleticism of Cam Newton, there is enough sneaky upside present on this roster to believe that overachieving is possible.

       Much of this potential exists on defense, which just happens to be Rivera's specialty as a coach. The most clear area for surprise competency is their secondary, which was largely overhauled with cheap, veteran "prove it" pieces during this offseason. Kendall Fuller was the best slot corner in football in 2017 for this very team before he faded into mediocrity during his 2 year stint with the Chiefs, Ronald Darby has played exceptionally well at times in between his many IR trips, Fabian Moreau has terrific ball skills that could be turned into a weapon if he learns to be more patient with his route recognition, Sean Davis found a home at free safety during his last healthy season with the Steelers in 2018 and Landon Collins is one of the most menacing box safeties in the league when he's on his game.

Moving onto the front 7, you have a much different situation where Rivera is looking at developing a lot of young guys. Much has been made of the edge rushing duo of Montez Sweat-who racked up 7 sacks as a rookie last season and rookie Chase Young-who may just be the most hyped edge prospect since Jadevon Clowney and understandably so. Getting after the quarterback is crucial in the pass-happy modern NFL and they have two guys who have the potential to be prolific. If they add to their pass rushing move arsenal and pick up some pointers from their teammate Ryan Kerrigan-whose earned 90 sacks in 9 NFL seasons-this group should make some noise in no time at all. 

Where Rivera really needs to work his magic is with the run D. This group ranked 31st a year ago and considering that all of the divisional rivals are committed to rushing the football, it's imperative that they fix that problem. The quickest solution to this issue is getting consistent play out of the likes of Jonathan Allen and Da'Ron Payne-who have yet to capitalize on the bursts of strong play they've displayed thus far in their careers and hoping that Reuben Foster or Thomas Davis can overcome the scary obstacles in front of them (2 years away from football, being a 92 year old NFL player) to meaningfully contribute at the inside linebacker spot that often drives the quality of a run D.  

As for the offense, it's pretty much going to come down to working out a running back rotation that allows them to develop a consistent ground game. Haskins just isn't ready to be the guy who wins games by slinging the ball down field 40 times and having a rushing attack to open up opportunities for him to make high percentage throws that give him the confidence he sorely lacked as a rookie and continue to get comfortable with playing this daunting position at the pro level. 

Getting all (or even half) of these things to work  is going is to take some serious work and a little injury luck to pull off, but Rivera is definitely talented enough to make it happen.

Bottom Line:

This is a transitional season for Washington where the playoffs are a pipe dream, but a surprise overachievement is within reach. 

Projected Standings:

1.Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)

2.Dallas Cowboys (9-7)

3.Washington Football Team (5-11)

4.New York Giants (4-12)

Chadwick Boseman Ranked

In this special edition of "Ranked", I pay tribute to the work and legacy of the brilliant Chadwick Boseman. 

Chadwick Boseman's Filmography Ranked:

11.Message from the King (D-)

10.21 Bridges (C)

9.Gods of Egypt (B-)

8.Da 5 Bloods (B)

7.Captain America: Civil War (B)

6.42 (B+)

5.Get on Up (B+)

4.Avengers: Endgame (A-)

3.Draft Day (A)

2.Avengers: Infinity War (A)

1.Black Panther (A)

Top Dog: Black Panther (2018)

As incredible as Black Panther is as a movie, its cultural impact has been far greater.  The superhero genre had never produced a live action film that featured a majority black cast or had a black protagonist that wasn't strictly for an adult audience (Blade series, Catwoman, Steel), let alone one that happened to be centered around the king of an African nation. Having a superhero in the biggest film franchise on the planet be black meant so much to people of all ages who had never seen somebody that looked liked them be the star of the show, and the joy and inspiration that stemmed from that moment will be bound to everyone that was associated with this project for the rest of time.

Low Light: Message from the King (2017)

This revenge thriller got quietly dumped on Netflix here in the States in August 2017 and rightfully so, it's an unbelievably incompetent film that deserves to rot in the darkest corner of a streaming service's back catalog. Message from the King somehow lured the likes of Boseman, Luke Evans, Alfred Molina and Teresa Palmer to star in a needlessly convoluted take on a traditionally very simple genre that favors dull monologues and bizarre narrative detours over brutal action sequences and tight storytelling.     

Most Underrated: Draft Day (2014)

Draft Day is essentially Field of Dreams or The Natural without the magical fantasy elements. It's a remarkably corny melodrama that paints a thoroughly unrealistic picture of the NFL Draft process where a team can reacquire the 1st round draft picks they got coerced into trading earlier in the day for pennies on the dollar, Rodger Goodell is greeted lovingly by fans when he approaches the podium and the masses gather to celebrate another successful draft for the Cleveland Browns. Despite being a shameless fairy tale, it also happens to be a thoroughly engrossing, well-acted and utterly god damn delightful movie that serves as a much-needed reminder of how great sappy sports movies can be.   

Most Overrated: Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Captain America: Civil War did a lot right. The introductions to new characters  (Black Panther, Tom Holland's Spider-Man) were perfect teasers for their future solo projects, the airport fight remains the gold standard for Marvel action scenes and having a film with a storyline that goes to some pretty bleak places was a nice change of pace for the almost always goofy MCU. However, the weak villain (Daniel Bruhl) responsible for the titular title conflict among the Avengers, clunky pacing and refusal to fully commit to the dark tone it teases prevents it from reaching the tremendous potential it had.

Most Memorable Performance: Get on Up (2014)

Where his great turn as Jackie Robinson in 42 teased that he was a rising actor to watch, his work as James Brown in Get on Up showed off the full scope of his talent. By bringing everything from his signature dance moves to his quietly abusive nature to the screen, Boseman was able to gave a raw, commanding performance that embodied the best and worst elements of the funk legend. The fact that he failed to receive any awards attention for this turn is both baffling and frustrating. 

Strongest Performance in a Movie That Probably Didn't Require Quality Acting: Gods of Egypt (2016)

To me,  the definition of a great actor is someone who not only elevates the quality of a project merely with their presence, but fully commits to every role-no matter how silly or serious it is. Boseman helped prove his excellence by showing up to play in the infamous fantasy action bomb Gods of Egypt. As Toth-the Egyptian God of Wisdom, Boseman brought charisma and a much-needed dose of purposeful overacting that tapped into a sense of self-aware silliness that this film needed more of. 

2020 NFL Preview: AFC West

 Denver Broncos

2019 Record: 7-9 (2nd in AFC West)

Head Coach: Vic Fangio (2nd season)

Notable Additions: RB Melvin Gordon, DT Jurrell Casey, CB A.J Bouye

Notable Departures: CB Chris Harris Jr., C Connor McGovern, QB Joe Flacco

Notable Opt-Outs: T Ja'Wuan James

Biggest Reason to Get Excited: They're Attempting to Become the Rocky Mountain Version of the Chiefs

Broncos fans have watched in horror as their rivals in Kansas City have evolved into the most explosive, dynamic offense in football over the past 2 seasons. After watching the Chiefs "flood the field with speed and weapons and see who can stop us" approach land them their 1st Super Bowl victory since 1969, the Broncos decided that they needed to apply this philosophy to their offense.

    With somewhat of a foundation already in place with big armed quarterback Drew Lock, vertical/redzone threat Courtland Sutton and super athletic tight end Noah Fant on their roster, this offseason marked the next phase of operation "Become the Rocky Mountain Chiefs". 

This effort started with the hiring of Pat Shurmur as offensive coordinator in January. While Shurmur's 2 year head coaching stint with the Giants was pretty ugly on the whole,  he did do some decent work with Daniel Jones a season ago and his pretty strong pedigree as an OC-which most notably includes briefly turning Case Keenum into a solid NFL starter with the 2017 Vikings-makes him a good choice to run an aggressive-minded offense.

Naturally, this plan started to really take shape when the offseason started. Free agency saw the additions of Melvin Gordon and Graham Glasgow. Although there are concerns over his work ethic and durability, Gordon is usually a productive dual-threat back when healthy that should complement a tough runner like Phillip Lindsay well while Glasgow is a strong pass-protecting guard accustomed to playing in pass-happy offenses after spending the past 4 seasons with the Lions.

Fast forward to the draft where the Broncos surprised some insiders by doubling up on receivers (Jerry Jeudy, K.J. Hamler) with their top picks. Jeudy is a versatile weapon with the size (6'1, 193 lbs) precise route running and YAC ability to be deployed at any receiver spot/area of the field and with his top-end speed, Hamler is a natural fit for the downfield burner role that is crucial on any high-powered offense. Rounding out the top of their draft class was Lloyd Cushenberry, an agile, athletic interior line piece who is expected to start at center right away and tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, a raw yet physically imposing (6'5, 255 lbs) pass-catching specialist who played with Lock at Mizzou. 

Given the youth of just about all of these pieces, there's a huge degree of volatility to this entire operation, but the sheer prospect of building an offense that's loaded with potentially explosive playmakers bring a level of intrigue that hasn't been associated with this team since they won the Super Bowl in 2014.         

Biggest Question Mark: Drew Lock

Overwhelming opponents with a deep arsenal of weapons that are a threat to make explosive plays at any time won't matter at all if the quarterback can't get them the ball. 

The reality is that Lock is a full blown enigma at this point of his career. Him leading the Broncos to a 4-1 finish to the 2019 season was a pleasant surprise that injected life into an offense that was largely sluggish with the ailing Joe Flacco under center in the prior 11 games. The problem is you can't put too much stock into that run. He mostly defeated bad-to-middling teams (Lions, Chargers, Raiders) and was often not the catalyst behind those victories with the notable exception of a lights out performance (22/27, 309 YDS, 3 TD, 1 INT) against the AFC South champion Texans in Week 13. Plus inconsistency was Lock's calling card at Mizzou (particularly against top level competition) and we got a glimpse at just how ugly his bad side can be in his lone NFL loss thus far against the Chiefs (18/40, 0 TD, 1 INT, FUM). The Broncos better hope Lock is more good than bad in year 2 because not only is their success largely riding on being an offensive powerhouse, they have no veteran insurance to bail him out in case things go horribly wrong (ex-Bengals/Lions backup Jeff Driskel, who possesses a wonderful 1-7 record as a starter, is currently behind Lock on the depth chart).  

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Secondary Play

The steadiest part of the Broncos as they've fallen into mediocrity in the years following their Super Bowl win has been the play of their secondary. The likes of Chris Harris Jr., Aqib Talib and Bradley Roby kept receivers locked down as they racked up top 5 finishes in passing defense while their offense completely sputtered under a collection of dud quarterbacks (Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch, Keenum). Even last year with injuries forcing several different combinations on the back end, they mustered an 11th place finish. With Harris Jr. leaving for the Chargers in free agency and a slew of questions surrounding their returning starters, there's real uncertainty within this group for the first time in ages.

Vic Fangio and secondary coach Renaldo Hill have several challenges to navigate when it comes to this group. First off, their top corners both have concerns that outweigh their proven talent. Trade acquisition A.J. Bouye was essentially given away by the Jaguars after following up his 2017 All-Pro campaign with back-to-back underwhelming seasons and Bryce Callahan missed all of 2019 after having complications recovering from the foot surgery he had following the 2018 season. 

Their insurance options at the position are even shakier as Issac Yiadom allowed an alarming 70.4% of the passes he was targeted on to be completed in his 8 starts last season, Duke Dawson was somehow even worse than Yiadom (75% completion allowed) in limited action last season (3 starts) and rookie Michael Ojemudia is a developmental prospect hat's a long shot to contribute right away.   

At safety, they have to worry about a tandem that was perhaps the best in football last season keeping that level of play up. Kareem Jackson just turned 32 and is looking at the real possibility of his agility/ball skills starting to diminish while Justin Simmons was a merely above average player until his monster campaign last season that earned him All-Pro/Pro Bowl honors (the team wisely franchised him this offseason to see if he's worth investing in long term). The raw talent is certainly there and having a front 7 that's anchored by Von Miller, Bradley Chubb and the newly-added interior disruptor Jurrell Casey will help matters, but it's going to take some strong coaching and a little luck for this group to maintain their streak of reliable pass defenses. 

Bottom Line:

The Broncos are an intriguing wild card team that could be anything from a dark horse contender to the worst team in the division depending on the performance of their youth-driven offense.

Kansas City Chiefs

2019 Record: 12-4 (1st in AFC West)

Head Coach: Andy Reid (8th season)

Notable Additions: G Kelechi Osemele, T Mike Remmers, S Tedric Thompson 

Notable Departures: CB Kendall Fuller, P Dustin Colquitt, G Stefen Wisniewski

Notable Opt-Outs: G Laurent DuVernay-Tardif, RB Damien Williams

Biggest Reason to Get Excited: Almost All of Last Year's Super Bowl Winning Team is Returning

Usually when a team wins a Super Bowl, there's a long line of guys who cash in on their championship glory elsewhere. The Chiefs became the first team in a number of years to avoid that dreaded mass exodus of key pieces. Corner Kendall Fuller, guard Stefen Wisniewski, punter Dustin Colquitt, tackle Cameron Erving, defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and inside linebacker Reggie Ragland are the only notable contributors from last year's team to not return, and no one outside of Colquitt started in more than 8 games in last season. 

Being able to maintain your entire corps-particularly when many of them are either still ascending young stars (Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones, Tyreek Hill), in the middle of their primes (Travis Kelce, Tyrann Mathieau) or 2nd/3rd year players (Charvarius Ward, Juan Thornhill, Mecole Hardman) that could be on the verge of turning into something really special is an extreme luxury as well as a nightmarish obstacle for their contending foes to overcome. 

Biggest Question Mark: Figuring Out Their Interior Offensive Line

While offensive line play hasn't been a strength of the Chiefs in recent years, it also hasn't been a liability. The group has gotten by with acceptable play-save for outstanding right tackle Mitchell Schwartz-that hasn't threatened their ability to make huge plays or put Mahomes in constant danger of taking huge shots. That cozy competency is taking a huge hit with the absence of both guards (Laurent DuVernay-Tardif, Stefen Wisniewski) that started in the Super Bowl heading into 2020. DuVernay-Tardif has been a reliable enough fixture on the Chiefs line since 2015 and despite not getting significant run during the season, Wisnewski was able to stabilize the group during the stretch/playoff run after the struggling Austin Wylie got benched.

With this shakeup, the Chiefs have had full-blown battles for the starting guard spots during training camp. Wylie will be fighting to win his job back against 2nd year player Nick Allegretti-who appeared in 7 games last season with no starts while DuVernay-Tarif's opt-out has launched a battle between last minute free agent pickup Kelechi Osemele and career backup Ryan Hunter. Given Wylie's struggles down the stretch last season, Osemele's steady fall from grace in recent years and the lack of experience of Allegretti/Hunter, there's no really inspiring options in the bunch, but figuring out the best combo to roll out next to center Austin Reiter on the interior could end up making or breaking the Chiefs repeat title efforts.      

Key to Reaching their Ceiling: Patrick Mahomes Maintaining The Level of Excellence He's Established Thus Far

Mahomes has won an MVP, a Super Bowl and thrown for 5,000 YDS/50 TD in his first 2 seasons as a starter, so there's not really a height he can ascend to after that kind of statement introduction to the NFL. Instead what the Chiefs need to hope for is that he can keep being that type of force moving forward after accomplishing so much so quickly. 

While there's absolutely no reason to believe that Mahomes is going to suddenly lose his edge, you have to at least entertain the possibility the domination will fade. What he's done over the past 2 seasons has been completely absurd and it's possible that he just can't maintain that level of play moving forward or the league finally figures out a way to slow him down.

The good news is that it's hard to envision a scenario where Mahomes is out there making big plays and delivering in crunch time that the Chiefs aren't contending for championships. The poise and refusal to give up alongside the immense physical gifts is something that doesn't comes along too often and at just 24 going on 25 years old with the best offensive mind in the league and a collection of weapons by his side (Hill, Kelce, Hardman, Sammy Watkins, rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire-who has won raves out of camp) alongside him, it feels like we could be witnessing the start of an iconic career.   

Bottom Line:

 With all of their key pieces returning, the Chiefs have an excellent chance of repeating as Super Bowl Champions.

Las Vegas Raiders

2019 Record: 7-9 (3rd in AFC West)

Head Coach: Jon Gruden (3rd season)

Notable Additions: ILB Corey Littleton, ILB Nick Kwiatowski, S Damarious Randall

Notable Departures: S Karl Joseph, CB Daryl Worley, ILB Tahir Whitehead

Biggest Reason to Get Excited: Influx of New Defensive Talent

Despite finishing 24th in scoring defense, there was some notable improvement from their bottom ranked group in 2018. Maxx Crosby brought some much-needed juice off the edge totaling 10 sacks as a rookie, strong interior defensive line play propelled them to the 8th ranked rush defense and Trayvon Mullen started to show signs down the stretch that he could turn into a starting-caliber cornerback somewhere down the line. As nice as that step forward was, they still had plenty of problem spots that they needed to address and that's exactly what Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden did this offseason.

Armed with the luxury of having ample cap space, the Raiders acted aggressively to add talent all over the defense. Carl Nassib is a tough, disciplined edge presence that can thrive as a rotational player, Damarious Randall is a rangey safety that can make plays all over the field, safety Jeff Heath was a reliable cover guy throughout his tenure with the Cowboys and a trio of additions (Corey Littleton, Nick Kwiatowski, Rakewon McMillan) should bring some much-needed coverage and tackling prowess to the linebacker position that has been the weakest link of Paul Gunther's group over the past 2 seasons.

They also added Damon Arnette in the 1st round of the draft, who appears to be line to start after the surprise cut of projected starter Prince Amukamara yesterday and will be welcoming back safety Johnathan Abram after a rotator cuff and labrum tear kept the hard-hitting safety on the sidelines for almost the entirety of his rookie campaign. Given all of these new pieces, another sizable jump seems like it could be in the cards.

   Biggest Question Mark: Wide Receiver Production

Darren Waller's breakout 2019 campaign (90 REC/1,145 YDS/3 TD) was a great redemption story for a guy who battled substance abuse problems for the first few years of his career. However, his status as the lone reliable receiver due to lackluster play from their WR's (#2 option Tyrell Williams only mustered 651 YDS in 14 games) severely limited what they could do as an offense and made scoring TD's in the redzone very difficult (their 52.8% redzone TD percentage was tied for 22nd in the league).

While the internal buzz that Josh Jacobs will be more involved in the passing game this year after catching just 20 passes as a rookie would certainly help matters, solving the Raiders passing attack problems is ultimately going to come down to some receiver stepping up and establishing themselves as a reliable option. However, this may be an unattainable ask considering the personnel they have at the position. 

Williams is an oft-injured outside receiver that's never been better than average during his career (update: it was just confirmed that the shoulder injury he suffered in practice last week is a torn labrum that will require season-ending surgery), Hunter Renfrow showed some flashes as a slot option last season, but there's serious questions about whether or not he can make plays after the catch at the professional level, free agent pickup Nelson Agholor proved last season with the Eagles that his hands are far too shaky to be an NFL starter and despite having much better hands/route-running ability than the typical 4.2 speedster, rookie Henry Ruggs is still predominantly a vertical threat that may not be a good schematic fit for this old school conservative offense. Their Week 1 depth chart could provide some needed insight into what guys they believe have the best chances of stepping up to fill this huge void.

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Derek Carr Taking Chances 

The raw numbers Derek Carr has put up during Gruden's 2 years with the Raiders paint the picture of a pretty strong NFL quarterback. He's had back-to-back 4,000+ YD seasons (the 1st 2 of his career), a good TD/INT split (40/18) and very impressive completion percentage (69.7%). While the stat sheet has shown a successful adjustment to Gruden's highly efficient short-to-intermediate passing attack, the win column still leaves a lot to be desired as Carr has went 11-21 during this period. 

As much as Carr's accuracy has improved, he's yet to shake the passive approach he's utilized since suffering the back injury that shortened his borderline MVP season in 2016. While he doesn't need to become some Patrick Mahomes/Aaron Rodgers-type who just slings the ball downfield 70 times a game, he can't keep exclusively dinking and dunking and expect significantly different results. Higher risk throws are needed to not only bring dynamism to this offense, but to prove that he can lead this team out of a shitty situation if they go down big early in a game. Carr was able to make big downfield throws in the past and if he dug deep enough to get over whatever mental block is preventing him from rolling the dice from time to time, I'm sure that he could again. Checkdown-only passers that work in tandem with a strong rushing game don't work without an elite defense and the Raiders sure as hell don't fall into that category in 2020, so if he wants to taste the playoffs ever again-he's going to have to start making throws that might cost him his excellent completion percentage with increased regularity.

Bottom Line:

New city, same old average Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

2019 Record: 5-11 (4th in AFC Weset)

Head Coach: Anthony Lynn (4th season)

Notable Additions: CB Chris Harris Jr., T Bryan Bulaga, DT Linval Joseph

Notable Departures: QB Phillip Rivers, RB Melvin Gordon, T Russell Okung   

Biggest Reason to Get Excited: Adding Chris Harris Jr. to an Already Stacked Secondary

Even with the brutal long-term loss of 2018 All-Pro Derwin James prior to the start of the season for the 2nd straight year, the Chargers still appear to be line to be among the most dominant passing defenses in the league. A group that was already led by Casey Hayward and Desmond King managed to add another elite cover corner in Chris Harris Jr. to their ranks in free agency. In a division with Patrick Mahomes, there's no such thing as having too many quality corners and having a 3 headed snake at such a crucial position will make things easier for both their front 7 that's trying to get back on track after only mustering 30 sacks in 2019 (11.5 of which came from Joey Bosa) and a safety group that's looking at a pair of new starters (Nasir Adderely, TBD replacement for James) to kick off the season in the wake of James' meniscus injury.     

Biggest Question Mark: Austin Ekeler's Impact in the Rushing Game 

Ekeler was one of the breakout players of 2019-registering a remarkable 92 catches for 993 YDS and 8 TD's while adding another 552 YDS and 3 TD's on the ground. These efforts earned the 25-year old a 4-year/$24.5 mil extension in March and compelled the Chargers to move on from Melvin Gordon after 5 seasons.

Following last season, there's no doubt that Ekeler can be a meaningful contributor to an offense. However, there are still concerns over his ability's to make a huge impact in the rushing game. As healthy as his career YPC id (4.8), it remains to be seen if he candle an extensive workload as a rusher. His career high in carries is only 132 (which also marked his worst YPC total thus far with 4.2) and given his smallish stature (5'10, 200lbs) for the position, he's struggled to find sustained success running between the tackles. While the likely improvement along the offensive line following the offseason additions of Bryan Bulaga and Trai Turner could allow for Ekeler to get more opportunities on the ground, a situation where either Justin Jackson or rookie Joshua Kelley comes in and handles at least half of the carries so Ekeler focus on being a factor in the passing game wouldn't be a surprise at all.   

Key to Reaching Their Ceiling: Steady Quarterback Play

Say what you want about Phillip Rivers' lackluster playoff resume or erratic judgement, but he was an ironman who was among the 10 best quarterbacks in the league for the bulk of his 16 seasons with the Chargers. The extended stability he provided this organization under center will undoubtedly be missed as they head into their next chapter.

Fighting for the vacant job will be incumbent backup Tyrod Taylor and this year's top draft pick Justin Herbert. Taylor is expected to be the Week 1 starter courtesy of both his solid play as a starter (23-21-1 career record in) in the past and Herbert's status as a guy who probably needs a redshirt season before, but Taylor will obviously be operating on a short leash if he does he indeed get the nod over Herbert for the starting job.

Regardless of who ends up playing, they're going to need steady play from the quarterback spot if they want to get anywhere this year. Between their solid arsenal of weapons (Ekeler, Keenan Allen, Hunter Henry, Mike Williams), pretty universally sound defense and an offensive line that shouldn't be nearly as wretched as they have been in the past several years, there's a path to a wild card spot if the QB just comes out and doesn't make a ton of mistakes. 

This is where Taylor feels like he could be an asset. He proved he could win ugly during his time with the Bills and if the smart, turnover-averse with the occasional splash play style he utilized there can make its way to the West Coast, the Chargers could be a pesky team that fights to the bitter end for a playoff spot. 

Bottom Line:

While I do believe they'll improve from last season's dismal 5-11 campaign, the toughness of the AFC West and presence of too many other bubble contenders makes a return to the playoffs seem pretty unlikely.   

Projected Standings:

1.Kansas City Chiefs (13-3)

2.Denver Broncos (9-7)

3.Las Vegas Raiders (7-9)

4.Los Angeles Chargers (7-9)