By: Samuel Moores

Every NFL season seems to have a couple of teams who fly under the radar and achieve things that aren’t expected in September. The Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers last year are great examples of this. Nobody expected them to be miserable, but did we expect them to be playing in the Super Bowl, and in the Niners’ case, the NFC Championship game? No. But the ultimate question is: who can do that this year? Here are three teams to look out for this season. 

1. Miami Dolphins 

Miami has a new coach, better weapons, and the same defense they had last year, a season where they went 9-8, finishing 3rd in the AFC East. Mike McDaniel was brought in as head coach to get the best out of their quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. He worked with a similar QB in Jimmy Garoppolo in SF last year, if anyone was to do it, it’ll be him. Josh Boyer didn’t lose a single starter on his unit, one that perhaps got even better with the addition of Melvin Ingram as a rotational pass rusher. 

On the offensive side of the ball, there were three major issues last season. The biggest of all was the abysmal line, then came the lack of run game and the fact the receiver unit couldn’t stay healthy. All three were addressed this offseason. Both the WR and RB units went under an overhaul, acquiring Tyreek Hill and signing Cedrick Wilson, Raheem Mostert, Chase Edmonds, and Sony Michel. As for the line, Terron Armstead and versatile lineman Connor Williams were then brought in to fix the team’s issues upfront. 

The emphasis on speed and YAC should suit Tua to the ground, it already worked with Jaylen Waddle last year, now you’ve got the guy who’s the best in the league at it. If Miami has anything close to a functioning offense, they’ll be playing meaningful games in December and January.

2. Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders are another team with a new head coach and better offensive weapons for their quarterback. They’ve also improved the defense. If the rest of the AFC West hadn’t also made splash moves, the Raiders would be talked about way more often. The only player of significance that they lost was Casey Hayward, who was replaced by Rock Ya-Sin, and then they added to the defense with Chandler Jones who now lines up next to Maxx Crosby to create a pass rush double threat.

Oh and don’t forget the blockbuster trade for Davantae Adams, the best receiver in football, who’s now reunited with his Fresno State teammate, Derek Carr. Watch out for Carr this year, I’m expecting a season on par if not better than his last. Adams should be a big help, he’ll allow the likes of Waller and Renfrow to get open easier. Then there’s Josh McDaniels. His second and probably final chance at being a head coach, we know how talented of a play caller he is, this is his chance to shoiw everyone he can be a HC.

The Raiders went through a lot last year, and stuck together throughout it, proving a lot of people wrong and getting to the wildcard round under interim HC Rich Bisaccia. I feel that this year will be just as, if not more successful, going under the radar once again. 

3. New Orleans Saints

The vibe I get from a lot of people is that the Saints are set to regress without Sean Payton. And while that may be possible, you take a look at the NFC, and they’re one of the best teams in it. I like the new safety tandem of Marcus Maye and Tyrann Mathieu. Marcus Williams will be tough to replace, but Maye is a decent player – I like his chances. Their defense as a whole is stacked, and the continuity with new head coach Dennis Allen will be good for the unit. 

If Michael Thomas is back to anywhere near his best on his return this year then that’s huge for a team that struggled without him last year. And if not, the receiver room has been upgraded, after trading up for Chris Olave and signing Jarvis Landry recently. That’s a big improvement on what they went out with last season. Hopefully, the fact that Mark Ingram is with the team all season means that they’re less reliant on Alvin Kamara. He was overworked last year, touching the ball just short of 50 times more than he has before in a season that he missed 4 games. His production was down slightly because of that. 

Jameis Winston was looking pretty good before getting hurt last year, but this is his first season without Payton since his famous 30-30 campaign with Tampa Bay. His OC and QB Coach, Pete Carmichael and Ronald Curry remain the same. If his play remains around the same, the Saints will be a wildcard team who can win games in the playoffs come January.

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By: Jake Rajala and Charlie Vakassian

The Tom Brady-led Buccaneers won the NFC South in 2021. Goliath (Buccaneers) were swept by David (New Orleans Saints), but they won their division with four more victories than the closest team (Saints). 

Brady is out of the wild NFC South in 2022, so it’s clear that the Bucs aren’t the runaway NFC South favorite next season. So, who will win the Brady-less NFC South in the 2022-2023 season? Here are our favorites to win the league’s most mysterious division in the 2022 season.

New Orleans Saints (Jake): 

The New Orleans Saints have won the NFC South in four of the past five seasons. Yes, you read that correctly. They may not have Sean Payton, but they still have the Kobe Bryant-inspired Michael Thomas and likely Jameis Winston returning from injuries. They will be joining a juggernaut roster that is still in the Big Easy. Thomas was a nightmare for opposing defenses when Taysom Hill was filling in for the injured Drew Brees in 2020. 

I trust that Thomas and likely Jameis Winston will seek vengeance in 2022. If the Dennis Allen squad loses Pro Bowl LT Terron Armstead and the talented, young FS Marcus Williams in the 2022 free agency, I still don’t believe their overall talent will noticeably dip this offseason. The Saints have Andrus Peat, who can play LT. If Williams leaves, they still have Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and Malcolm Jenkins at the safety position. Armstead also has been injured often for the Saints, as he’s missed 24 games in the past five seasons. They are very familiar with replacing him at the LT position.

The Saints were 5-2 with Jameis Winston (and without Cantguardmike) last season with wins over the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, and the Seattle Seahawks. It’s clear their floor with Jaboo is special. Allen’s team will also have their kicker Will Lutz returning and their 2021 first-round pick Turner returning to their stacked defensive front.

I still believe the Saints chokehold on the Bucs is a vital difference in the grand scheme of things. I will assume the Bucs don’t win 11+ games with Kyle Trask at QB next season. I believe the head-to-head matchups between the Bucs and the Saints will be important. I still know the Saints match up incredibly well against the Bucs. The Saints can rush the passer with their front four (Cam Jordan/Davenport/Onymeta/a healthy Payton Turner) and they have the elite Marshon Lattimore to always blanket Mike Evans. We witnessed the 49ers give the Rams serious issues for the past few seasons. I feel comfortable saying that the Saints are due to give Bruce Arian’s team fits for yet another season. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Charles):

The Buccaneers have certainly undergone some stark changes this offseason, with Tom Brady announcing his retirement, and several key free agents who may or may not return to the team. Rob Gronkowski is likely to join Brady in retirement. Chris Godwin, Ryan Jensen, Leonard Fournette, and Carlton Davis will all test the free-agent waters. With all that being said, Tampa Bay still has the best core out of all the NFC South Team. The defense is still incredibly rock-solid, with playmakers at each level, led by Shaq Barrett, Devin White, Antoine Winfield, and Lavonte David. Mike Evans is still as dependable as ever, and Cameron Brate is an underrated tight end. Tristan Wirfs and Ali Marpet are excellent on the offensive line. 

There are admittedly some question marks about this team, mainly what they will do at quarterback. Kyle Trask was a 2nd round pick last season and hasn’t seen enough action to make any type of judgment on him. Tampa Bay has been linked to several quarterbacks via trade this offseason, including Jimmy Garoppolo, Aaron Rodgers. Carson Wentz, and Deshaun Watson. Any one of those would immediately make the Bucs a division contender.

Matt Ryan is the best quarterback in the division right now, but is getting up there in age (36) and has no weapons outside of Kyle Pitts, and a weak offensive line. The Panthers are an unmitigated disaster at QB, with the albatross contract of Sam Darnold. They will likely be starting a rookie under center in Week 1. And who knows what the Saints will be doing under center. Taysom Hill is uninspiring at best, and Jameis Winston is mediocre to the core. Alvin Kamara is facing suspension, and Michael Thomas has not been able to stay on the field. Garoppolo is the name most connected to Tampa right now, and he would immediately be the second-best QB in the NFC South.

As for cap space, Tampa admittedly has very little, but with restructures to the contracts of Mike Evans, Shaw Barrett, and Donovan Smith, the Bucs save $31M against the cap for 2022. This leaves them with plenty of room to bring back some of their own free agents, as well as pursue some upgrades at positions of need. The Bucs also pick at 27 in Round 1 of the NFL Draft and can add an immediate difference-maker to the locker room. A top WR like Garrett Wilson would put fear into the other CBs of the division, or a lockdown corner like Kaiir Elam would shut down D.J Moore and fair well against the other top wideouts in the NFC South. 

Tampa already has arguably one of the better defenses in the whole NFC, and with even just an OK quarterback, they would rise to the top of this division. A front seven with Shaq Barrett, Vita Vea, Lavonte David, and Devin White is tough to beat. That doesn’t even include promising rookie Joe Tryon, who flashed pass-rushing upside in his first season. Give me Tampa to repeat in the South.

The post Who will win the NFC South in 2022? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jeremy Trottier

The New Orleans Saints have had one of the more interesting offseasons in 2021, mainly because of the outgoing pieces more so than the incoming ones.  With the loss of Emmanuel Sanders in free agency and now Michael Thomas to injury for 12-14 weeks from now, they are in a real predicament at the WR spot.  In this article, I will be going over the three reasons as to why the Saints should look to trade for New York Jets receiver Jamison Crowder.

Contract Price

One of the biggest limiters for the Saints right now would be cap space, despite having roughly 11 million right now to spend, they have many holes to fill both in depth and in starting even with that amount of money.  Jamison Crowder only has one year left on his deal, which would allow the Saints to either work on an extension if he proves useful or let him walk after this season with no dead cap repercussion.  

Looking specifically at his contract details, Crowder’s cap hit for 2021 will be a little over six million dollars, which fits well within the Saints budget.  This would allow them to have no issue trading for him, especially if they were to offload extra cap space with players in the trade, potentially along the lines of Andrus Peat to help the Jets offensive interior.  

WR1 Potential

Jamison Crowder has played WR1 before, there is no doubt about that.  He has also played WR2 before, which would allow him to play alongside Michael Thomas when he returns.  This type of versatility from a receiver is highly valued, as they know that at any time they can be moved behind another receiver, and can accept that.

Crowder has been really effective with his targets, having a 66.3% catch rating and 11.6 yards per reception average shows he has the quality to produce at a high level if given the targets to do so.  The two seasons he had over 100 targets he had 750+ yards each season, a 64% catch rating, and more than 35 first downs each season.  Despite not being a big-name receiver in the league, his productivity and efficiency per reception is very good.

Scheme Fit

Crowder would really be an interesting fit on the Saints because he fits their old scheme with many short to intermediate passes across the middle.  With that said, the development of a new quarterback in NOLA may change that, Jameis Winston would likely look more to the deep ball than Drew Brees has in recent years, and Taysom Hill would focus more on play-action and reverses.  

Crowder fits each of these well, as his speed allows him to carry well into the deeper portions of the field and make big plays happen with little to no issue.  This speed also would translate well to end-around and reverses as he could get to the sideline quickly and open up a lane alongside it.  Being able to play in an offense tailored by Sean Payton, one of the more prominent offensive minded coaches recently would definitely be something to benefit Crowder as he would be used in every way possible to improve his stat totals and improve the team. 

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The New Orleans Saints will be worse in 2021

By Calvin K (Twitter: @Calvin_SGF)

The 2021 NFL season is quickly approaching, and as usual, there are lots of storylines about how teams are expected to do next year. Most NFL fans have hope that their favorite team will perform well (or at least better) this year, but the obvious reality is that some teams will not live up to their hopes. Other teams that were good last year will see a decrease in performance as well. Below are the five teams due for the most regression this year.

New Orleans Saints (2020 Record: 12-4)

The Saints are an obvious pick for regression this year, as, for the first time since 2005, New Orleans has major uncertainty about who deserves the starting quarterback role. The competition will be between gunslinger Jameis Winston and dual-threat Taysom Hill, but whoever wins will never be able to fill the massive void left when Brees retired after the 2020 season.

The Saints’ last four season records of 11-5, 13-3, 13-3, and 12-4 will likely not be matched without Brees in 2021. The recent news surrounding star WR Michael Thomas likely means that he will be out until at least mid-October, a heavy blow to an offense that desperately will need someone to step up this year. New Orleans’ defense is largely the same heading into this season, but if the offense can’t be productive, they’ll have trouble winning games, and this team will be hard-pressed to repeat a 12-4 record in 2021.

Las Vegas Raiders (2020 Record: 8-8)

Las Vegas could be destined for a top-five pick in next year’s NFL draft after an atrocious offseason that led to many questioning the job security of prominent front-office executives. The losses of center Rodney Hudson and right guard Gabe Jackson were huge blows to this offensive line, and the Raiders’ offseason little to address the issue, other than their first-round selection of offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood, which was considered by many to be a reach.

The signing of RB Kenyan Drake was also mind-boggling, as the Raiders essentially gave Drake $7.25 million a year to back up Josh Jacobs at a position, running back, that teams statistically shouldn’t pay a premium for in free agency and the draft. The signings of Yannick Ngakoue and Casey Heyward could push true rock bottom further down the road for this team, but they also didn’t make much sense for a squad that needs a total overhaul and rebuild. QB Derek Carr still likely won’t be consistent enough to lead this team on a playoff run, and the wide receiving corps doesn’t help matters, as Carr still doesn’t have a true #1 option in this offense. The additional star power is a plus, but it won’t be able to fully mask the dysfunction on the defense, which is still thin at most positions. Overall, the Raiders appear to have nowhere to go but down in 2021, and because the Chiefs, Chargers, and Broncos all made impactful improvements, they could easily be headed for last place in the AFC West.

Seattle Seahawks (2020 Record: 12-4)

The Seahawks should still have plenty of offensive firepower in 2021, but this regression pick is mainly due to the competition they’ll face in the NFC West. All three teams in the division are trending upward, which isn’t a good sign for Seattle’s hopes of continued divisional dominance.

The Los Angeles Rams, who were 10-6 last year, have elevated themselves to borderline Super Bowl contender status with the addition of veteran QB Matthew Stafford. Stafford will fill a void at the Rams’ biggest position of need, and with an elite defense and plenty of offensive weapons, they’ll have a shot at a deep playoff push in 2021. The Arizona Cardinals signed J.J. Watt to join Chandler Jones in a fearsome pass-rushing duo, and Kyler Murray will be back healthy and ready to lead a high-powered offense, one that was bolstered by the selection of speedy WR Rondale Moore in Round 2 of the draft. The 49ers finished last in the division in 2020 with a record of 6-10, but they dealt with a slew of injuries last year, and this defense, if healthy, could return to the levels of the one they had during their 2019 Super Bowl run. Overall, Seattle will be facing some tough competition in 2021, and you can say what you will about their talent, but it’ll be difficult to go 12-4 again in what is arguably now the toughest division in the NFL.

Pittsburgh Steelers (2020 Record: 12-4)

Pittsburgh could still be a very solid team in 2021, but they aren’t likely to live up to their 2020 performance simply because they lost four out of their final five games after an 11-0 start to the year. Ben Roethlisberger is now 39 years old, and he is becoming less and less willing to push the ball downfield on deep throws, posting the quickest average snap-to-throw time among qualifying QBs last year (2.3 seconds).

The Steelers also incurred major losses from the offensive line (Maurkice Pouncey, Alejandro Villanueva, David DeCastro) and linebacking corps (Vince Williams, Bud Dupree), and while they did make some effort to patch up those areas, the depth for them just isn’t the same as it was last year. The addition of RB Najee Harris from the draft should help boost the offense as a whole, but overall, this team doesn’t feel complete enough to post another elite season. Pittsburgh should still be in the playoff hunt in 2021, but this year’s record should more closely resemble the ones of 2019 (8-8) and 2018 (9-6-1) than that of last year.

Green Bay Packers (2020 Record: 13-3)

The Packers could very well perform at the same level that they did in 2020, but this pick just comes down to the fact that I don’t expect QB Aaron Rodgers to play a full season – or at all – this year. According to Adam Schefter, Rodgers declined a two-year extension this offseason that would’ve made him the highest-paid player in football. The contract, which would’ve carried north of $45 million in annual value, is an insane offer to turn down, which is why the player/team relationship appears fractured beyond repair.

The Packers will return most of their full lineup in 2021, as superstar center Corey Linsley was their only major loss in free agency this offseason. The selections of CB Eric Stokes and WR Amari Rodgers will only bolster a team that already has a strong roster all around. However, despite the supporting cast, this team will not be able to have success on the same level without Rodgers. QB Jordan Love is clearly not ready to take over the starting role despite the first-round capital used on him in 2020, and that fact was emphasized by the gigantic offer that Green Bay extended to Rodgers. It’s possible that if this team doesn’t have competent quarterback play, it could still potentially have some success. However, if Rodgers holds out or is traded, it removes any chance for the Packers to be a Super Bowl contender, which is a clear step down from their status in recent years.

The post Five NFL Teams Due For Regression in 2021 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jeremy Trottier

Around the NFL currently, there are quite a significant amount of preseason and starting battles that have yet to take place.  It happens at every position, from quarterback to punter, almost every year throughout the NFL, as rookies look to take veterans spots, or veterans look to rejuvenate their career and prove themselves against younger competition.  As the 2021 preseason looms closer and closer by the day, we see more and more of these battles shaping up through signings, and these will only continue to become more common as the remaining free agents get signed.

In this article, I will be focusing on some of the QB battles around the league, attempting to project who will be the day one starter, as well as if the starting role may change mid-season as rookies and younger players develop more.

Jameis Winston Vs. Taysom Hill

One of the most prominent quarterback battles almost everyone saw coming after Jameis was signed last offseason, we have the New Orleans Saints battle.  Attempting to replace the production of Drew Brees is hard enough for the coaching staff, having to decide between two quarterbacks vying for that spot is even harder.  Each of these quarterbacks has their own perks, and as a Saints fan myself, this is not as easy of a decision as some fans may see it being.  

On one hand, Jameis has the deep ball potential, is much more of a pure passer, and has been purely a passer since day one.  Taysom on the other hand brings the dual threat capabilities and is relatively accurate from short to medium range passing, as well as being in the Saints system longer.  I believe Jameis should be the day one starter all things considered for now, as he has been a passer this whole time and only is used there, which allows Taysom to continue in his role of playing all the skill positions essentially.  If Jameis struggles after the first quarter of the season or so, then Taysom should get another stint of being the starter like last season.

Teddy Bridgewater Vs. Drew Lock

Another quarterback battle that has formed due to moves made this offseason is the one in Denver with the Broncos.  After trading a 6^th round pick to the Carolina Panthers for Teddy Bridgewater, the Broncos have created an ideal scenario where a veteran can teach a younger player, however, it also has created a pretty interesting battle.  

The differences between the two QBs here is noticeable but frankly is not extremely prominent, Teddy is much more of a game manager who lets the receivers and backs do the work, while focusing on placing accurate passes against defenses and not taking many risks.  Lock on the other hand is a little more risk-taking at times, throwing the ball deep and attempting to make bigger plays, but is less of a game manager and is a little less safe in the turnover department.  

With that, Teddy Bridgewater should probably be the starter, at least early on in the season, as he will be less turnover prone, and will likely game manage the team better considering they have a ton of receiving weapons and backs.  If Lock can take this time to develop and learn from Bridgewater on ball security and not turning it over as much, then a mid-season transition could be made to start Lock, provided Bridgewater is not having an exceptional year.

Andy Dalton Vs. Justin Fields

In the next quarterback battle coming from Chicago, we have another case of a young QB against a veteran QB, in which the younger is much more explosive and the older is much more ball security-oriented.  This instance is relatively different, however, as Justin Fields has a lot more potential as of now compared to Lock, and is a dual-threat QB, and had significantly more draft capital invested into him.  While Andy Dalton was paid a pretty good amount and pushing him into a backup role for that much cap space seems relatively ill-advised.

The best scenario would be Andy Dalton takes a restructure to pay most of his cap hit up front in a signing bonus of sorts as we have seen many times in the NFL.  Starting Justin Fields is probably the most logical scenario right now, as giving him some time to start at the NFL level and get adjusted to it through playing time seems like the way to go.  Since he performed exceptionally well in college and has proven his ability to avoid pressure at the CFB level, he should be able get away from most of the heavy contact at the line with his feet.  

Cam Newton Vs. Mac Jones

To wrap up the list, we have probably the most interesting of the four battles, which takes place in New England with the Patriots.  This one has intrigued me, even prior to the Patriots taking Mac as it was so heavily rumored.  Cam Newton had a tough year last year, throwing ten interceptions to only eight touchdowns while starting 15 games during the season.  Obviously, we have come to expect more of a rushing focus from the former MVP, but if you start that large of a portion of the season you should at least get a significantly higher TD number.

Mac Jones on the other hand is a relative unknown, he produced at Alabama without a doubt, but did so with an enormous amount of high end weapons surrounding him.  However he does have a lot of traits that are seeming viable at the NFL level, and his accuracy is absolutely phenomenal from what we have seen so far.  Right now the verdict is 50/50 between who should start, some think Cam should start immediately due to being in the system a year longer and in the league for much longer, allowing Mac to sit and develop some.  Some think Mac should start immediately due to the sort of “win now” mentality of the Patriots after a huge offseason filled with signings, and believe Mac has the higher ceiling as a passer.

Right now, I believe Cam Newton should start in the short term, however Mac will likely take over a few weeks into the season.  Giving Mac a few weeks to develop and learn the Patriots playbook, as well as conforming to the NFL style of play, seems like the best option right now for New England. 

The post Predicting the winner of each QB competition appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jeremy Trottier

The NFC South has undergone some major changes this offseason, one of the biggest being the retirement of Drew Brees.  However, there is the potential that the Saints will still hold the head-to-head edge over Tampa Bay, at the very least in the regular season again.  With the right amount of development this offseason and returning other key players from injury, the Saints could be primed to be ahead of Tampa again in the standings.

In this article, I will be going over three reasons as to why the Saints could end up beating out Tampa Bay twice again in the regular season.

Potential For Development

One of the big upper hands the Saints have over the Buccaneers right now would be their age gap, as the Saints are getting significantly younger by the year.  With the large majority of the Saints older depth pieces being removed from the roster due to cap constraints, they have brought in a fresh wave of youth now to replace it.  

Does this make the Saints have a higher potential to not be good this year?  In the wrong scenarios yes.  However, if the rookies from last year and this year can take these training camps/preseason and develop to where they should be rough, this roster could be similar to that of last year.  With an influx of youth all over the defense from the front seven to the secondary, this could hugely improve their defense if they can tap into the potential of these players.

Deep Ball Quarterbacking Has Returned

We all saw it, we all know it.  Drew Brees at the end of his career struggled to push the ball down the field, and in the instances that he did, it seemed very forced.  His confidence in himself seemed to plummet after the 2019 season with his injury and it just kind of went down from there.  With either Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill starting this season, both of them have the capability to bring their own new dimension to the offense.

Jameis first off would be able to throw the deep ball much more often and let the receivers do the work.  If he has been able to cut the turnovers out of his system, which is a big if, this could be a massive improvement to the Saints’ offense, as they could finally heave the ball downfield.  If Taysom were to start, he has the mobility Brees did not bring to the team, and can occasionally throw the deep ball.  So regardless of who starts, this offense will be wildly different.

Returning Veterans

The Buccaneers notoriously brought back all 22 of their Super Bowl starters, as most know by now.  On that note, the Saints have also managed to retain the large majority of their big playmakers and keep them around for another season.  They lost a lot of players, that much is true.  But the biggest members of both sides of the ball have been retained, and the ones who were lost were either aging or injury-prone for the most part.

With players like Cam Jordan, Terron Armstead, Demario Davis, Malcolm Jenkins, and Michael Thomas all still around for veteran leadership, the rookies that were previously mentioned should be trained well under this experience.  Which will help with point one, developing the rookies quickly.

The post Why the Saints still hold the head to head edge over Tampa Bay appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

Justin Herbert and Josh Allen burst onto the scene in 2020, one as a rookie and the other after a few years of promising play. Lamar Jackson put his elite athleticism on display en-route to leading the league in passing touchdowns in 2019. But who will put the league on show in 2021, dominating on both the field and in fantasy football?

Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

It’s very strange to see Mr. Perfect in Detroit, but there’s potential for Goff to show why he was the first overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. 2020 was a rough year for Goff, however it was not much different to 2019 as in both years he was on pace for 4000 plus yards over 16 games to go along with close to a 3.5-percent touchdown rate and a 2.5-percent interception rate. In fact, he was considerably more accurate last season than in previous years, hitting career highs in completion percentage and on-target percentage. However, this is to be expected when your intended air yards per pass fall a whole yard and a half according to Pro Football Reference.

With his seemingly best friend and coach Sean McVay giving up on him, trading him away for a man seven years older than him, one would expect Goff’s confidence to take a hit. However, he now gets to play behind arguably one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, after Detroit selected Sewell and re-upped with Ragnow, and has a pair of dynamic weapons in Swift and Hockenson. Now the receiver room is absolutely awful, but there could be some cap casualties around the league that would dramatically improve his arsenal of weapons, potentially the ever-present Jamison Crowder.

Expect a strong season from Goff as he leads a tough, “bite your kneecap off” type of team to a few more wins than expected. A few deep threats such as Perriman and Williams, along with an intriguing Amon-Ra St. Brown as well as low expectations should let Goff sling it often.

Jameis Winston, New Orleans Saints

I am still a believer that Jameis Winston is exceptionally talented, albeit with some serious flaws. After getting LASIK eye surgery that should help him avoid targeting opposite defensive-backs, Winston should walk into the starting spot in New Orleans. A year under his belt at the “Harvard of quarterbacking” will help curb his poor habit of helping the opposition as much as his own team.

With Michael Thomas, arguably the best receiver in the league, as well as Alvin Kamara, arguably the best running back in the league, and Sean Payton, arguably the best coach in the league, at his disposal, Winston has a chance to reignite his career. His touch, accuracy and arm strength are something else, and his ability to drive the ball downfield and outside the numbers allows Sean Payton to spread his wings after dealing with Drew Brees’ limited arm.

The Saints, despite cap problems and few picks, easily could have just transitioned from one good quarterback to another. Look out for a strong season from the last man to break 5000 yards in a season as he plays in one of the best offenses in the league, with the ability to see opposing defenders standing in front of him. People always said, “If Jameis could cut down his interceptions he could be great”, and we will soon see what he can do. There’s potential here with two of the league’s best receiving weapons to lead the league in touchdowns.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Washington Football Team

Washington is pairing a no-nonsense, aggressive quarterback with Terry McLaurin (4.35 40-yard time) and Curtis Samuel (4.31 40-yard time). Add in that when he doesn’t feel like lighting up the defense down the field, Fitzpatrick can hit any of Adam Humphries, Dyami Brown, Antonio Gibson, or Logan Thomas.

Fitzmagic is going to have plenty of opportunities to throw as his electric offense is being paired with one of the most terrifying pass rushes in the NFL – Chase Young, Jonathan Allen, and Montez Sweat to name but a few (maybe half) of their dominant defenders.

Watch out for another season where we say, “Fitzpatrick can really spin it”. Washington got to the playoffs with a group of poor quarterbacks, and Fitzmagic is looking for a home. With one of the best arsenals of weapons he has had in a long time, the wiley veteran is exactly what Washington needs to repeat their previous years success, and maybe even surpass it.

The post Quarterbacks that could SURPRISE in 2021 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.