NFL training camp season is finally upon us. We’re seeing daily clips of actual football being played and it feels wonderful for this offseason to finally be ending. A busy offseason filled with trade drama and major acquisitions has been fun but there’s nothing like actual football to keep us entertained.
2021 will prove to be a critical year for many franchises. This offseason featured an arm’s race as contenders did their best to stack assets and fill roster holes amidst a rare cap crunch. There are few certainties within the NFL right now and the margins are razor thin for contenders to keep their status.
Of course injuries will change the playoff picture at some point in the season. We hope to see as few major injuries as possible but the NFL’s landscape is ever-evolving. One team rises as another sees their opportunities slip away.
We’ve ranked the 10 biggest storylines entering the 2021 NFL season. Whether the attention is on the 2021 rookie class or the top competitors, we have the league covered for what really matters.
Will Tom Brady and the Bucs Repeat ?
Fresh off a dominating Super Bowl performance and entering the offseason with a huge list of pending big-name free agents, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had massive pressure to figure out alternatives for the playmakers they’d surely lose elsewhere. Instead of facing the usual gutting a Super Bowl winner deals with, the Buccaneers retained everyone who mattered. Bringing back Chris Godwin, Shaquil Barrett, Leonard Fournette, Antonio Brown, Ndamukong Suh, and Lavonte Davis is arguably the most impressive feat by any team this offseason.
Expectations are justifiably high for the Bucs. Tom Brady is back at 44 years old this season but is healthy after somehow playing with a torn MCL all of 2020. His play was up-and-down last year but still impressive overall as he accumulated a 65.7% completion rate for 4,633 yards, 40 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions while injured on a new team.
The biggest threat in the regular season to the Bucs is themselves. The NFC South appears down but complacency often plagues the Super Bowl champion. Does this team of veterans have the focus to forget what happened last year and still play hungry?
How Will the Chiefs Rebound?
Everyone knows how injuries devastated the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes was running for his life and the potent offense couldn’t get off the ground as the Buccaneers’ pass-rush swarmed the backfield. The front office immediately scrapped almost every option they had on the unit and replaced everyone with a slew of veterans and rookies.
The team did sustain losses across the rest of the roster that could significantly harm their chances at reaching their third-straight Super Bowl. There’s not a proven No. 2 wide receiver after Sammy Watkins departed to Baltimore and JuJu Smith-Schuster went back to Pittsburgh. The defense also lacks a premier pass rusher as Frank Clark is facing potential legal issues.
There’s still some time for the Chiefs to bring a veteran edge-rusher (Justin Houston reunion time?) and veteran cornerback to strengthen the unit. We can be confident the offense will be just fine thanks to their superstars already in place. But the Chiefs must prove they’re still worthy of the favorite crown.
Will the Ravens Passing Offense Flourish?
The Baltimore Ravens continued to be one of the most unique offenses in the league in 2020. Quarterback Lamar Jackson, fresh off his MVP season in 2019, continued to dominate on the ground and took positive steps as a passer in his third campaign. However, his progress wasn’t enough, as the Ravens’ passing game again fell short in the playoffs.
Marquise Brown proved to be an asset in the second-half of last season, and he totaled 769 yards on the season. But the team’s leading receiver had nine games under 42 yards, so his touchdown flurry that featured six scores in the team’s final six weeks carried his production.
Outside of their elite tight end target, Mark Andrews, the Ravens’ receiving corps has the talented but inconsistent Sammy Watkins, Brown, and rookie Rashod Bateman headlining the unit. Adding legitimate weapons around Jackson and Brown was the right priority.
Jackson is a proficient passer and extremely smart, but his lack of touch and reliable accuracy into tight windows has been an issue. Defenses consistently find success when playing with lead against Jackson and the Ravens’ offense. All eyes are on Jackson and offensive coordinator Greg Roman to figure out a less predictable unit and become more proficient when the Ravens are playing from behind.
Where Will Deshaun Watson Land ?
The Deshaun Watson situation is still evolving, but what we know right now is he’s practicing as a fourth-string safety and quarterback with the Houston Texans. It’s clear his days in Houston are limited if that’s the way the team is handling his usage. The question is where Watson could be headed if he’s not suspended or placed on the commissioner’s exemption list for his off-field issues.
The Texans will need a treasure trove to move their franchise passer. He’s an elite on-field contributor who just signed a contract extension. Teams are keeping their eyes peeled on his legal situation before giving up several major assets but chances are a deal gets done so long as he’s deemed eligible to play.
Watson’s presence would change the landscape of the league if he were to land in Miami, Washington, or with the New York Giants. Each team would leap into the Super Bowl conversation upon his arrival. The question is whether that deal will happen this year and how much will it cost any suitor to seal the deal.
Can a Rookie QB Make a Big Splash?
With five quarterbacks drafted in the first-round, we know it’s only a matter of time before each team gets antsy to see their prized investment on the field. Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson will surely start Week 1, and it’s possible Justin Fields may join them. Early training camp reports have both Trey Lance and Mac Jones underdogs to see the field until later in the year.
Expectations are low for the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets. The Jags have a young roster but should be exciting and competitive. The Jets are also young but face a tougher division. Both quarterbacks just need to show competence and reason to continue investing around them.
Meanwhile, Fields and Lance in particular could swing a playoff race. Chicago has been candid about Fields’ early returns and it appears he could win the starting job sooner than later. The 49ers have Lance behind Jimmy Garoppolo for now but it’s hard to imagine Kyle Shanahan keeping the third overall pick off the field after he sees Garoppolo’s limitations up close again.
Does Matthew Stafford Make the Rams a Super Bowl Contender?
There’s an immediate shift in a franchise anytime there’s a change at quarterback. The Rams front office and coaching staff put their neck on the line the moment they traded quarterback Jared Goff and two first-round picks for 33-year-old quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford was a prolific statistical passer in Detroit but there’s not much on his resume to say he can perform well in the playoffs.
The expectations are certainly for Stafford to be a big difference-maker after head coach Sean McVay grew tired of holding Goff’s hand. The veteran passer’s strong arm and ability to handle his own play calling duties should immediately boost the upside of this offense. In turn, Stafford will benefit from an excellent scheme and consistent running game.
The Rams have a thin roster due to their dependence on stars. It’s a bold choice to build the team this way that could pay off handsomely if Stafford can bring more explosiveness to the offense. Make no mistake though, Stafford is the single most important factor as this team tries to get over the hump as a good but not top contender.
Is This Aaron Rodgers’ Last Year in Green Bay?
The Aaron Rodgers trade saga ended last month as the Green Bay Packers re-worked the 38-year-old’s deal and traded for Randall Cobb at the veteran passer’s request. At least it ended for 2021. We’ll now go through the entire year wondering if this season will be the end of his long tenure with the franchise.
His new contract makes it clear his future will be re-addressed next off-season. Rodgers’ cap hit balloons to $46 million, meaning his deal was planned to either force an extension or a trade. There’s virtually no way the Packers can carry that cap number in 2022 based on their current salary obligations to the rest of their roster.
No pressure, right? The Packers must be all-in on their pursuit of a championship in 2021 if they weren’t already. It’s possible this is the last year the storied franchise will have a Hall of Fame star at the quarterback position for the first time in many years if Rodgers departs and Jordan Love isn’t ready to replicate Rodgers’ career arc.
Who Wins the NFC West?
The NFC South is stacked once again. The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams are tied as favorites by oddsmakers, followed by Seattle and then Arizona. There’s several factors that are hard to predict in such a loaded group. Injuries cost the 49ers a historic number of missed games in 2020, whereas the Rams were one of the less snake-bitten teams. Will that happen again for each franchise?
None of the four teams has a deep defensive depth chart, and even the Rams may take a step back from their top ranking with former defensive coordinator Brandon Staley now serving as the head coach of the Chargers. Every defense except the Rams have issues at cornerback as well. This division may outscore every other division if secondary youth is any indication of what’s to come.
Jimmy Garoppolo is playing for his job, and Kliff Kingsbury is coaching for his job. This division will produce at least two playoff teams from the four competitors, and possibly the Super Bowl champion. The margin for error is zero each week.
Can Daniel Jones or Jalen Hurts Become Franchise QBs?
The NFC East produced an embarrassingly bad product last year. Dak Prescott’s season-ending injury opened the door wide for either Carson Wentz and the Eagles, Daniel Jones and the Giants, or Dwayne Haskins and the Football Team to step up. One-year later, two of those passers are now playing in the AFC, and the Eagles have a new head coach.
There are still major question marks about two young incumbents, Jalen Hurts and Daniel Jones. Their respective franchises invested into their surrounding cast this offseason and avoided investing a first-round pick to compete and possibly replace each. Their gamble will either pay off or leave the team needing to address the position in 2022.
Jones has had major issues with turnovers after combining for 29 interceptions and fumbles in two seasons. He’s not an accurate enough passer to overcome his mental mistakes, and defenses have feasted by rotating post-snap to confuse him. His third-year will be critical as the Giants would be considered a major factor in the NFC if they had one of the higher-tier passers instead of Jones.
Meanwhile, Hurts is also a work in progress. The dual-threat is a great rusher but very raw in the pocket. His anticipation and accuracy must grow leaps and bounds for this offense to be anything but a bottom-six unit.
Can the Bills Or Browns Win the AFC?
The Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns have two of the best four rosters in the AFC. It helps that each has an ascending young quarterback who found their groove in 2020 en route to deep playoff runs. A strong offseason for both could be enough to propel both over the Chiefs if the right in-season developments continue.
For Buffalo, Josh Allen must repeat his breakout 2020 season and prove it wasn’t a fluke. The running game has to get significantly better as well to help him. The defense must also bounce back from a down 2020 campaign and be more like the impactful unit in 2019 that stifled passing games and forced turnovers more effectively. But the pieces are in place for the Bills to be a downright scary opponent to anyone.
The Browns have a better overall roster than the Bills even. Their depth on both sides of the ball is elite. The way they rebuilt their defensive back seven in one offseason was a textbook schooling for the rest of the league to take notes on. Even if the team has no other significant improvement, just a healthy secondary might be the difference between last year’s playoff loss to the Chiefs and making a Super Bowl in 2021.
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