Unpicking Which NFL Franchises Will Rise to the Top in 20/21

Trying to predict how an NFL season will pan out has become more difficult since Tom Brady left New England, and previous perennial losers like Kansas actually started getting their act together.

Now there are a wide sweep of teams who could conceivably find themselves dunking the ice bucket over their head coach’s dome, as they celebrate a Super Bowl victory.

In this article we piece together the clues that shine a light on just how the new NFL regular season and post season will play out, as well as which players look set to crash the all-star party.

Will Kansas retain their title? Can the Ravens or 49ers find that extra level they need to reach the top? Will the Redskins and the Jags suck as badly as they did last time out? All is about to be 'partially' revealed.

Kansas Bet It All on Mahomes, But Will It Pay Off

In sport it is always a good idea to strike while the iron is hot, and the Chiefs certainly did just that when they locked down their young star quarter-back to a record-breaking decade-long contract.

Now that they do not have to worry about who will be throwing the football for them for the foreseeable future it is down to the rest of the team to stand up to scrutiny.

With Mahomes in the bag for a guaranteed 10 years, many fans were already celebrating back-to-back Super Bowls as early as July 2020 and have been sure to include the Chiefs in their NFL Oddschecker parlays. However, it was the Kansas management’s ability to lock down other key players to big deals that may ultimately be the difference when it comes to the post season crunch.

Chris Jones’ incredible 31 sacks, for example, were the catalyst for many a Chiefs charge last season. Therefore, it was a big worry when Jones announced over social media that contract negotiations had stalled, worries which were banished when the champs decided it was worth getting their checkbook out of their deep pockets again.

As such, expect Kansas to go all the way again this season and become the first team since the Patriots in 03/04 to retain their Super Bowl trophy.

Which franchise will you be cheering for this season?

Ravens Pecking Away in Search of Perfection

The general train of thought among Baltimore fans is that the Ravens will learn from how the Chiefs came back from a near miss in 2018 to get the job done soon thereafter. Certainly, heading into the playoffs last season, the Ravens were being tipped by many to go all the way before coming up short, and if the hard lessons have been learnt from that crushing experience, they could very well go all the way this time around.

The main reason for the belief that is growing in Baltimore is the roster’s strength in depth. That depth has gone to new seemingly bottomless levels during the draft, with the Ravens adding the likes of defensive lineman Calais Campbell, as well as Derek Wolfe who is a handy defensive tackle.

Meanwhile on offense there were the notable additions of James Proche and Devin Duvernay, who strengthen an already loaded line of attacking talent that no NFL defensive coordinator in his right mind would choose to go up against.

Who can bounce their way into the playoffs before making a run at the Super Bowl?

Saints Alive! Do New Orleans Have an Outside Chance?

The general consensus from most NFL pundits after the draft was done was that the Saints were going all out for short term success, rather than planning for the long haul, as say the Chiefs have chosen to do.

However, the Saints are in an altogether different situation than Kansas quarterback-wise, with the coming season likely to be Drew Brees’ last hurrah as a serious starting NFL QB.

The men who have been tasked with backing Brees up are Zach Baun, Adam Trautman and Tommy Stevens. Baun is expected to be the most fruitful of this trio of otherwise questionable acquisitions.

What may play against the Saints this season is the amount of pressure their trading policy has put on the franchise as a whole, with a now or never approach leaving them wide open to a heavy fall with no star quarterback there to help them get back on their feet. That said, Brees may just thrive, as he hunkers down to make his final stand.

49ers Came So Close Once and Can Go There Again

When you come so close to claiming the biggest prize in your sport, only to see it slip through your fingers like sand in an hour glass, it can either make you or break you, but at least you know that you have what it takes to put yourself in that position.

With one of the very best head coaches in the form of Kyle Shanahan, as well as a reinforced the defensive line – that wilted in the fourth quarter against Kansas – and there is no reason why the 49ers cannot go close once more.

If they are to do that it will have to be done without star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner who was traded to the Colts for a 1st round pick. It remains to be seen if Buckner’s 30 sacks per season will be missed or sufficiently absorbed.

The Best of the Rest

There really are only two other serious Super Bowl contenders outside of the four already listed and they are the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, with both franchises having the requisite firepower to do damage to anyone they play.

Cam Newton may be no Tom Brady, but he still has Bill Belichick by his side to show him how it needs to be done, and with Newton adding the new dimension of mobility to the quarter-back role, the Pats could be this season’s dark horses.

The Seahawks, meanwhile, have been something of a nearly team since all the way back in 2010, but it would only take a few tweaks and changes to turn them into serious contenders. They will be there or thereabouts when the post season dust settles, but remain an outside bet. 

And that's all we have for you. Let's just hope that our thoughts for the season ahead are a little better than these terrible predictions not so long ago. Hey, everyone makes mistakes, right?

Unpicking Which NFL Franchises Will Rise to the Top in 20/21 to NFL Football Blog

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