Drive Time: 2024 NFL Predictions

Ye daffirs, All right, this is going to be an absolute fire hose of an episode, and we're going to get it done in forty minutes, including this little blurb and the intro. Every team in the NFL a blurb on all of them. Keep it tight. One minute per club. Just tell you how I see each team. Will predict the Wreckers, run through the playoffs, pick the end of season awards, and a Super Bowl champion. Good, all right,

here we go NFC West forty nine ers. I love everything about how this team is built, and it's a lot like looking in a mirror. A quarterback that gets the system, who executes it, who gives you enough creativity and throws to either the best or the second best skill group out of their breaks to maximize their skill set.

In the National Football League, I think Brandon Ayuk is the new alpha receiver on that team, the best separator where Deebo kind of struggles in that department a little bit, But he's one of the best toys in the NFL that Kyle Shanahan knows how to use exactly right. George Kittle is the Travis Kelcey of the NFC, and Christian McCaffrey is a modern day Marshall fulk. They invest in the tackle position Trent Williams, and they find their interior offensive line late in the draft or on the bargain

market of free agency weird. The defense is littered with playmakers at every single level, none more important than one of the rangiest linebackers to ever play the game in Fred Warner. It's one of the best coach teams National Football League, one of the best rosters, and a threat to go right back to the Super Bowl. Across the state from them or below in the state, the Los Angeles Rams, Matt Stafford is a top three quarterback for me.

I've got Mahomes, Allen and Stafford, and they've replenished his weapons with an elite number one in Poka Nakua, which frees up Cooper Cup to destroy one on one coverage, and they've got a premier field stretcher jet sweep guy in two to two at will. I love that they found a perfect back for their system in Kyrin Williams, who also allows them to incorporate more gap in power, sort of the reshift their focus offensively with Steve Avila,

Jonah Jackson and Joe Noteboom. They're massive people movers on the inside and the converse of that of the rest of the teams from this tree with less investment in the tackle position. Last year, they had like forty rookies trying to find some young, cheap hits, and they got it within the rebuild and they put themselves back in the postseason. Pooka obviously was great, but Kobe Turner was actually the runner up for the Defensive Rookie of the Year.

And then I love pairing Jared Vers with Braden Fisk from FSU. I love the Cameron Curl addition and getting Darius glins back after a couple of years outside of Los Angeles, Like San Francisco one of the best coach teams in the league. With an elite quarterback and balance on offense, that alone will make you a threat. It would not at all surprise me if the Rams came out of the NFC West. We have to accelerate this

pace the Seahawks. Ben Grubb is a fun change for an offense that had been stuck in the ancient era of football, and they have real weapons to maximize that system and a very good quarterback. Gino Smith has so much trust and faith in his own ability that he makes some true psychopath throws, and I think that Ben Grubb will absolutely maximize that skill set. It's a total shift from their ground and pound. You slow it down, play defense offense, No, it's going to be hurry up

for verts, stretch strets, stretch the field. Think Jackson Smith in JIGBA breaks out behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. They need their line to retur turned to twenty twenty two form when rookies Charles Cross and Abe Lucas go Koog's were flat out awesome and just like their receivers

are awesome one through three. They have a dynamic trio of cornerbacks in Devon Witherspoonreek Woollen and Shrey Brown, which pairs really well with two gap linemen that can help play that play the run from those two high structures with Jonathan Hankins, Leonard Williams, Jaron Reed, Dray Jones, and Byron Murphy, who looks like an absolute hit there in the first round. Second level edge rushers and offensive line depth probably some areas of concern there. Spoiler alert, I

have three playoff teams coming from this division. It's not the Cardinals. Cardinals fans although have been waiting for a long time for this, since basically twenty twenty two when Kyler Murray got hurt. He's finally free of encumberments from that injury, and I thought he played well down the stretch last year. I think Marvin Harrison Junior is an instant number one alpha receiver and they have good role

guys in Michael Wilson and Greg Dortsch. They've invested in large offensive linemen in front of their not so large quarterback and spend a lot on some players that have been a bit up and down, like Jonah Williams, Will Hernandez. They really need Paris Johnson to be a hit at left tackle. And this shows you why going crazy infree agency on the offensive line typically is bad money. It's bad investment. You don't get the return on those guys

because what do we know about the league. The league does not let good offensive linemen go unless they demand twenty million dollars in neil market and can go get it from the worst team of the National Football League. Right The defense was a total tear down last year and has a ways to go, but I do love that safety tandem of Buddha Baker and Jalen Thompson go Koog's. The concerns are, well, they're all over the place. The

front seven might be the worst in the league. They have a bunch of bad money on that offensive line, like I mentioned, like I talked about there, their skill position depth is not great, and that offensive line again just a couple of holes that I think are going to tear that group apart. Rough rough division for the Cardinals to be in. But they're still a good team, I think on balance because that quarterback in the NFC South, the Falcons felt last year they were a quarterback away

from winning the division. They still almost did because nine Wins did the trick there. I love Kirk Cousins. I think Pennix is a long term solution, so we're all good at quarterback. I love Bajon Robinson Kyle Pitts, and he gives them amo to run or those two players give them more ammo to run. Unique personnel groupings. I really like Kirk Cousins when he has two backs or two tight end sets where he can run play action game and just carve teams up from comfortable positions back

in the pocket. Because of that run game, I think this defense is underrated. David Anyamada, Grady Jarrett, and Lorenzo Carter and now with Matt Judon is a nice addition there. Depth might be a concern, but I love the middle of this defense. Those defensive tackles I mentioned Cayden Ellis.

The linebackers are very good player Jesse Bates and Justin Simmons's pretty fantastic, and their corner depth beyond aj Terrell, their depth at wide receiver, a couple of interior offensive line spots that I think had rough years last year. Are some concerns there, and I might be a hater for saying this, but I don't think Drake London is a true number one receiver in this league. The Tampa

Bay Buccaneers. I think Baker Mayfield has really settled into a very good quarterback in this league, like fifteen sixteen, seventeen range, which tells you how many good quarterbacks there are in this league. And if you don't have one of those guys, you don't have much of a chance. But Mike Evans helps that a lot. He just never stops making plays. I also love the addition of Jalen McMillan as the third behind Chris Godwin, and that offensive

line is so impressive. Tristan Wurse, Graham Barton, Cody Mock and Lukeka Dicky are all very very good players. I'd like more explosiveness in the backfield, and that receiver group is super thin. So you're gonna see the theme throughout this predictions here that skill players, to me are what wins games with good quarterback play, and I'm gonna dock you if you don't have that in the Bucks. If you get an injury or two, it gets really ugly,

really quickly. On the other side, Vitevea is a Hall of Fame player and Elijah Cantsey is such a perfect compliment to his skill set. Those guys, along with Greg Gaines playing in front of Levonte David, that's as good as it gets down the middle. And then you also have Antwoine Winfield down the middle, who might be the best safety in the National Football League. My concerns for them, I think would be on the perimeter of the defense, edge rushers, cornerbacks, outside backers. Not a ton to go

off of there. The Saints, It's a huge year for Derek Carr, right, Derek Carr and Dennis Allen. I almost said David Carr, and I just think that desperation mode there with those two will lead to maybe a bit of a tire fire. But all these teams that have like horrendous situations are in bad divisions, and I think that's what gets them like enough wins to like not pick first, but eventually cost people jobs. It was so ugly last year, so hard to watch this offense. I

love Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. I think Shaheed's one of the most underrated players in the National Football League, But the depth beyond those guys is really tough. The tackle position took a massive blow, and Ryan Ramchick was announced done for the year, and they literally had to draft the tackle in the first round because they didn't

enough guys to play tackle. And now they're gonna have to put Trevor Penning in the lineup and they didn't want to play him last year over practice squad guys, So between him and Talisi Fuaga, who I like, but playing a new spot at left tackle, I don't love that so much. I do love Eric McCoy and Caesar Rowe and Alvin Kameric can still flat out do it, but that offense is going to be terrible again. I think.

I do love Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson off the edge, pairing with Colin Saunders inside to Mario Davis one of the top linebackers in the league and he has good players around him, and Pete Warner and Willie Gay from Kansas City. I love that cornerback room. I'm not so sure who the next safety is beyond Tyron Matthew, but those cornerbacks Alonte Taylor, Marshawn ladim Or paulse and the Deebo kool Aid McKinstry. It's an awesome group of corners.

This will be one of the NFL's most boring teams because they have a good not great defense, horrible quarterback play, bad offense. It's gonna be a six or seven win team in a bad division all day long. And rounding out a bad division that's gonna get some wins because of that is the Carolina Panthers, who I think are

gonna be really bad again. I think the head coach decision was it's gonna be one they regret, but they went to work trying to help the situation around Bryce Young two massive guards in front of him with Robert Hunt and Damian Lewis. But like, yo, that's not where you should be spending twenty million bus some players. It's crazy. They did get Deontae Johnson and Xavier Lagette as the

starters to go with Adam Thielen. Like it sounds good with those three guys, but when you look at the rest of the NFL, it's like a bottom five receiving corps. They have some nice pieces on the defense, but they did lose Brian Burns and they don't have nearly the edge presence. Now. I like Derek Brown, I like Shaq Thompson, and hopefully we see j C. Horn finally healthy for

a season. Probably still always away, but no reason I think they can't progress off last year's two wins and go win four five ball games in the NFC North. The Packers are a team that I am extremely bullis Shawn. I feel pretty vindicated in my pre draft love for Jordan Love and I love, love, love that receiving corps. They don't really have a number one receiver, but they have four dues that can be that guy in any given week between Wix, Watson, Reed, and Dubbs or sorry Dobbs.

They have an awesome twelve personnel package with Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft and then Josh Jacobs behind that. And they've patchworked this offensive line with mid round picks for the most part and turned into a really good one, but injuries have robbed them the last couple of years. If they're healthy, they'll be good, but that never really happens on the offensive line, so we'll see how their

depth can hold up there. They're three deep off the edge with Rashaan Gary, with Lucas van Ness and Preston Smith. They have good defensive tackles and good linebackers. I love the import of Xavier McKinney. I think depth in the back seven is a potential concern, especially if Jyr Alexander does JayR Alexander things. I think they're going to be a problem this Packers team. The Lions are pretty good too. This division has me really all twisted up. I think

the Lions are right there. I think they can win, or can they win I should say as the hunted team. I don't know. And green Bay turned around when they beat them last year in that Thanksgiving Day game. They kind of went off after that. I think Goff is a great example of what talent and a sharp quarterback mind can become into their thirties, which is a damn good quarterback. And I love that skill group with Gibbs, Laporta, Saint Brown, and Jamison Williams. But there's almost no depth

beyond that. Khalif Raymond as the number three. I think that that loss of Josh Reynolds will be felt in that receiving corps. They also have probably the best offensive line in football, and they play to it. Man alight, right, Dan Campbell, speaking of grit, they spent a ton of resources remaking that defense from that same identity, but I don't think it's quite there yet. I do think that Jack Campbell is going to become the next dude at linebacker.

I loved the DJ Reader addition inside. He fits them to a tee. He goes along with Levi on Woozerrique really well. And if Marcus Davenport can harness his talents and have a breakout season, that rush becomes kind of crazy with him, Aiden Hutchinson, John Comiski, and John Pascal. I love the addition of Carlton Davis. He again fits that brand really well. And Brian Branch is the next superstar slot in this league. He is fantastic. I also

love Kirby Joseph. I think Detroit and Green Bay are probably the biggest challengers in the NFC to the forty nine ers the Chicago Bears. Part of me wants to go all in and put him in the playoffs. Part of me wants to say they're going to win four or five games. I'll probably wind up in the middle and I'll do that. I'll do the latter. While Kylee Williams kind of develops his game, I think his creativity will keep his head afloat while he does that, because

I don't think he's already made product. This receiving corps is kind of absurd though and masterfully constructed. I mean, between DJ Moore, Roma Dunze, and Keenan Allen, they're all great at different things, and I really like a few of the line between two guys that I was a big draft fan of, with Darnell Wright and Tevin Jenkins. They both are hits, but they have some questions and other spots. That's gonna be a theme throughout this episode.

The defense is a question on this team. They have a good core with sweat Walker, Edmunds, Brisker, Kyler Gordon, and a top three cornerback in the NFL on Jalen Johnson who they kept around. But I think there's still another good draft and some quality vet additions from being fifteen to eighteen deep, which you kind of have to be in the National Football League. We finish up the NFC North Norris with the Minnesota Vikings, the fourth different

team in the division. That gives me conflict because I think that Sam Donald Sam Donald will play well in the Kevin O'Connell system. I really do, especially with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison if is he still healthy, didn't even get carted off through the day, and he's driving like a maniac deal and then TJ. Howkinson. They have weapons out there again injuries notwithstanding. This line is a

lot like ours in San Francisco. Tons of investment at tackle and center, and then they've done a good job of developing some guard play weird. The defense blitzes every snap or so. It seems they rely on that pressure with guys like Josh Mattelis, Cam bind them and Ivan Pace, which have all been hits for them so far, and then the cornerback or those guys are all cornerbacks and linebackers and they just try to bring different guys. You

guys know how Brian Flores operates as defenses. I think this works against inexperienced quarterbacks or quarterbacks that are not any good evidence of the December record that we all boasted about when he was beating guys like Ian Book. But you can't do it against the best quarterbacks, hence losing by the fifty points of the Bills every damn time we saw them with that defense, And I think they're a bit thin on the back end to where that can really cause issues if you go to that

well one too many times. I think all four of these teams could be playoff teams, and two of them are championship contenders. In the NFC East, I think we've gone back to the days of the NFC East being like the worst division in the league because the Eagles. It didn't count as a collapse because they made the playoffs, but from ten to one to eleven and six and then the playoff loss to a nine win also ran

Tampa team. I mean, at ten and one with a win over Kansas City, we all thought they were going right back to the Super Bowl, and then it fell apart and Jalen Hurts looked really bad down the stretch. They swapped their coordinators, Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio. Moore has been on three teams in three years, and Vic is Vic. They got to get Hurts back to that twenty twenty two style of play. Last year it was like throw verticals and the cover receivers and just hope

and that led to very poor efficiency. But I think they can get back to their ground and pound with Sakuon Barkley as they finally have a true game changing back. Now that should really help that if he can stay healthy and don't sleep on the Jason Kelsey lost because I think that he did a lot more for Hurts in terms of protections and getting things lined up than your average center, which he's a Hall of Famer, so duh. I love the skill group. The line is still really

dang good on defense. It feels like they're waiting on a bunch of guys to kind of take that next, you know, Davis Carter, Dean, Nolan Smith. They do get Chauncey Gardner Johnson back from Detroit, and I love Bryce Huff. Not sure why the Jets let him go, Well they did. They let him go, like let someone else come in there and not play for him. But they also added Quiny and Mitchell, who I love as well. This is one of the harder teams for me to peg this year.

We'll talk more about them in the playoff section. Playoffs. The Commanders. I'm not sure a quarterback has ever changed my mind, how as much as Jayden Daniels did. With one practice I saw live and then two preseason games I saw on or One was live, one was a television copy. I think he'll come out of this draft as the best quarterback. I like him better than Caleb Williams.

He does not look like a rookie to me, and some of you might remember, I was very bullish on this team last year outside of the quarterback position, and that kind of blew up down the stretch when Sam Howell just became a shadow of himself. But to me, that's been fixed because I think Jayden Daniels can play from the pocket, and I think he can create as well, and I think Brian Robinson Jr. Gives him a really fun different dynamic in the backfield. In terms of their combo,

I think the line is good enough. It's like most lines in league. Sixty percent is pretty good. Scary Terry is still elite, and Diami Brown has arrived. On defense, Darrin's Armstrong was a great addition alongside Deron Payne and Jonathan Allen. I love the pairings of Frankie Luvu, Go Koogs and Bobby Wagner inside, and then Jeremy Chin and Mike Sandra Still. They got really strong up the middle. That's a strong safety and a slot cornerback that I

think are gonna be very good players. And I'm riding these were fired to the record predictions. I think the Commanders might be in contention for that seven seed, but I'm not yet committed. More in a moment, my biggest concern for the Dallas Cowboys is guys headspace down there, because as of this taping, there's no deal for Dak Prescott. And as I'm writing this podcast, they actually got a

deal done with Ceedee Lamb. But it sounds like Dak's like ready to test for agency, which is that's horrible, Like they were gonna offer him, like his contract they was offered to him was a bunch of money, and he's like turning you down. That's that's tough. They lost Tyron Smith, Dorrens Armstrong, Tony Pollard, they were not active in freegency whatsoever. They draft Tyler Geidton to kind of fill in a hole that they created themselves by not

bringing back Tyron Smith. And he's gonna play left tackle. He was a right tackle in college. Like I don't know. They lost Tyler Biattish and his replacement has like no experience. Zeke is running back one and again, Deck has been pretty open about not being in a rush to sign just so many questions here about this Cowboys team, and on defense, Micah Parsons is the best player on the planet for my money. Trayvon Diggs comes back, which is nice.

I love George Lewis, but they also lost to Ron Bland for the first half of the season and they go get Eric Kendricks I don't think can play anymore. They have no depth in the defensive backfield. I don't know man lame duck coach. A quarterback doesn't want to be there. This kind of feels like a blow up season for the Cowboys, and I'm probably gonna have them on the outside looking in for the Giants. Spoiler alert, let's see look at my numbers. I have the Giants

picking first overall next year. Malik Neighbors alone makes them watchable, which they weren't last year, but they have no one else beyond that. It's a big year for Daniel Jones, who can't play. I think Brian Dable deserves a shot to take his own quarterback. I hope he gets it, and they showed on Hard Knocks how hard they tried to go get Drake may line is better, provided it's not ravaged by injuries. Once again. I think beyond neighbors,

there's just nothing there to work with. On defense. Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence is electric, but the rest of that unit has questions. I love Kavon Thibadeau to round out the rush unit, and I like Bobby o'caakay quite a lot, but I think there's like a lot of experience in that secondary they're counting on, and that's not a good place to be in the National Football Like you've heard me talk about a lot of receivers so far. If you can't cover those guys, good luck. That's the NFC.

Let's come back and do the AFC and then we'll do the playoffs at the end. All of that Next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation NC in the bag. Let's go ahead and do the entire AFC, going in the same direction, moving west to east with the Kansas City Chiefs. And it feels absurd to say this about a back to back Super Bowl champion, but I feel like this is

the best team they've had in three years. He's hurt right now, but Hollywood Brown paired with Xavier Worthy, that returns the deep element to their they've been missing the last two years. It's funny like after that loss in Super Bowl fifty five, they emphasize offensive line by signing Joe Tooney, by going out and getting Orlando Brown, who has since been replaced by Juwan Taylor, and then they hit Yatzi in the middle late rounds with Creed Humphrey

and Trey Smith. But now they're going with a rookie at left tackle and the BYU kid that I can't pronounce his name, and they're going heavy in their money spending or free agent spending at the skills spots, and Rashid Rice appears to how to have somehow avoided suspension for this season at least. I just think that offense is going to be unstoppable, and they lost lugerious Scene on defense, and Jaden Hicks is a star in the making.

I think that he can offset some of that with the things that he can do in the defensive backfield, even though they played different positions, and Trent McDuffie is already there a superstar. Chris Jones is the Vida Veya, but with better pass rush than the AFC, And the concern would be that cornerback spot Nazine Johnson and Chamari Chamari Coot Connor easy for me to say currently slated as starters, but they're just kind of both unprove But

I think they're going to be just fine. The Chargers, let's go ahead and start with this, kind of like the Cowboys. I think the Chargers whole deal here is a bit of a disaster in the making. I think this is a Saban level of trying to work with NFL players back in five and I know Harbaugh has done it before, but I think in the last decade things have changed entirely with the modern NFL player, and

I don't think this is going to work. I also think they're going to integrate a style it doesn't work. This isn't the Big ten Bubba. You're not going to score at this level. You have to score at this level. You don't get to face Iowa and get wins with ten points. Not saying Michigan did that, but they played a certain style knowing they were playing Iowa and Purdue. This Herbert Planter Fascia injury kind of has me concerned. Although he is back at practice and it sounds like

he's okay. But a guy that struggles to see the field, and if he can't move around like he usually does, that's a big issue. Interesting build of this team, zigging when the rest of the league zags with that running style, and they made that clear with alt over Neighbors, which I think is a mistake. They've got a ton of resources in that line and it has struggled over the years. I mean, Slayter's a beast, but Zion Johnson's been not good. They bring in Bradley Bose when that's a good addition

for them. Trey Pipkins kicks inside and then Joe all changes sides of the offensive line. But you get one of those guys hurt, which happens all the time on the offensive line, and all of a sudden it's like not good again. I don't know. I like the way we do it. They bring over the Ravens running back room with Gus Edwards and JK. Dobbins. But you guys know me, I think this is a weapons league and

it's Chark, Palmer and Mconkey right now. Wolf And for a quarterback that doesn't process well and doesn't get early separators, double Wolf. The defense is led by two old guys that are often hurt, and Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. Khalil Mack had a great year lest year that was I shouldn't say that he but he does have injuries and age not on his side right now. And it's the same in the secondary with Alohi Gilman who missed most of last year and Derwin James who misses every

other year. Steve Fense is bad man. It might be a bad football team the Raiders. This is my twenty twenty three commanders, but I won't give him as many wins. And I say that as a gardner. Minshew van go Koog's I just think that he kind of proved last year. He's in that twenty five to thirty five range of a spot starter, a good backup if you can get him in that role. But he's the guy, and the

backup to him is Aidan O'Connell. It's probably the worst quarterback situation right now in the NFL in terms of ability and upside that you offer. I think the team's pretty good though, especially on offense. The quarterback play was terrible in the preseason, and Minshew's kind of a gamer, so maybe he can elevate his game, and I'm very concerned about Antonio Pierce not being on that interim kind of like I'm the new guy now. It's like he is the guy that's always tough to kind of build

upon that. I love their skill spots with Devonte Adams and Jacobio Myers, who is so underrated. And I love those two tight ends with Brock Bauers and Michael Mayer. That's a deadly twelve personnel package. And then Crosby and Christian as good as it gets on the defensive line. But when you only have like two or three guys, can you can game plan around that? Just telling you, you know, Wake and Sue, we're not as good as we thought they were going to be together. But the

depth beyond that is a total concern. I'm not sure where you're hanging hat in the back seven. I do like Jack Cory and Bennett and Jack Jones, but beyond that, I don't know the broncos. I am so fascinated by what bo Nicks will be. I think he's like already a finished product having sixty college starts. So if he's not good right away, will he get better? I just don't know that he Will I'm not crazy about the

skill spots. You're counting on two guys and Tim Patrick and Cortland Sutton who have not played a full year in a long time. And this feels redundant with every team. But you have like sixty percent of your line that's actually proven. And Mike McGlinchey was bad last year. Man in the big free agent contract, what do I say? Teams don't let good tackles leave in free agency. They

do let guards leave, though. On defense, I like this front Browning, Zach Allen, John Frankly Myers, but outside of Patrick Surtown in the back end, more unproven names back there. I think that side might be a work in progress. Not very high on the Broncos in the AFC South, the Texans. I cannot imagine a better rookie year for a club with regards to your quarterback and head coach. Both are already stars for my money, and they went

to work rounding out that group with Diggs. But the growth from CJ, from Tank Dell, from Nico Collins and adding Joe Mixon, it's easy to see why there's so much hype there. I think John Metchi is a budding breakout player, and if they trade him that, you know whoever gets him good for you. The sixty percent offensive line rule applies here once again, but Shaq Mason's one of those guys still doing it. Lermie Tunzel and Tyas

Howard daily two spots. It's been iffy on defense, it was so much better, but I think it has some room to grow, which is expected. Jalen Peatree is an absolute star. I think Derek Stingley is right there too, Will Anderson also, and I love how they remade their rush with the Neil Hunter, Derek Barnett, they got foll Lou Fatacasi in there. Demiko has just more weapons this year.

And just generally speaking, I'm always cautious when decent teams because they got all this love for the playoff game where they beat a bad Browns team, or not a bad Browns team, but a Browns team that was kind of helping out by duct tape at the end of the year, and all of a sudden, you get this misremembrance of who this team was. This was a nine win team that got blasted by the Jets by Zach Wilson and the Jets on the road, like they were

not a good They were okay, they were fine. Sure, they won a bad division, and because of one Sunday they or was it Saturday at the playoff game, they got all this love and hype him. I get the quarterback, the head coach, and the additions. I get that, but it's usually the third year that the team that has those expectations makes the actual jump. As for the Colts,

I am a huge Anthony Richardson fan. Now it's gonna be up and down because he's only played like a couple hundred snaps in his career, but you can see his ability to see the field. I think that folks really missed that. But football is a hard game to really dissect. And then I think he's going to be one of the best creators and design runners we've ever seen. Like Cam Newton's the comp for that, and that line's

pretty damn good too. And with Jonathan Taylor alongside him, I think they have enough with Michael Pittman, Josh Downs when he gets back, Ady Mitchell, Alec Pierce, especially with Shane Steike and who I think the world of as a play designer, Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner on the inside is about as good as it gets and as timidating as it gets. Those guys are monsters. I think

Layout two Latou will be an absolute hit. I think that Quitty Pei can sort of take off from there as well, and some really fun parts in the back end with Julian Blackman, Kenny Moore and Juju Brents. The depth in the back seven, though, it's a big concern for this defense. The Jacksonville Jaguars another team, another one of those tough teams to figure out. I think Tee Laws on the verge of really taking the next step.

I think he kind of got flack for a pretty good year where his players didn't help him out much. I love Travis Etn, I love Christian Kirk. I think Brian Thomas offers something they did not have before, and

then Evan Ingram is a monster. The line looks good on paper, but they had a really rough preseason and got you know, Brandon Shirff got undressed a few times from what I saw in the games, and we saw that add up as Lawrence got banged up down the stretch last year and they began eight and three, finished nine to eight and missed the playoffs. They do get Eric Armstead, a massive addition alongside Josh Hines Allen, who's

a beast. I think this creates a chance for Trayvon Walker to kind of take that next step, but as a number one pick, massive disappointment so far. Chad Muma and Devin Lloyd are fun players in theory, they haven't played as goods you would hope they have. I love Tyson Campbell and Andrea Cisco, but that theme again. Not many teams have depth on the offensive line or defensive backfield, and that's true for the Jaguars here as well the

Tennessee Titans. Every year we get a team like this where you have a year two quarterback that you're not really sure what you're gonna get. If Levis is a star, this team will probably be pretty good. If not, they're probably going to be fourth in a much improved division. I think that Hopkins, Boyd and Ridley was nice four years ago, Ridley was bad last year. Tyler Boyd hasn't been good for a while, and DeAndre Hopkins has already got a soft tissue injury. The Derrick Henry days are over.

I do like Taj Spears a heck of a lot and Tony Pollard is a good player as well, and they remade eighty percent of the offensive line. I think JC Latham is going to be a very good player for them. They need Pete Skeronsky to step up in year two, but that's sixty percent rule again man Dylan Radunz and Nicholas petite Ferrer on the right side. It's not very good and a team that needs it. With their quarterback style, I love their line, their physicals. Hell

Justin Simmons is elite, elite player, not Justin Simmons. Yeah, yeah, Justin Simmons. And I think, no, not Justin Simmons. You goofed Jeffrey Simmons. Why did I keep saying that? I think Devandre Sweat's gonna be goold. Harold Landry's a great player coming back off injury. They do add Lugerius Snead on the back end along with Chidobo Wuz also add Quandre Diggs with Amani Hooker. Their skill spots, their depth, their line, their quarterback could all kind of go either way.

And when you have that many could go either ways. At least half of them go south. And that's a lot to think about for this team, so a year or two away at least, and maybe even a quarterback away. In the AFC North, the Ravens a great exercise in the impact of coaching turnover. Much of the defensive staff left because of the success they had, but I do think they got up right with Zach Orr's promotion. Patrick Queen Lee's Rokwan Smith is still there's probably the best

off ball linebacker in the conference. Fred Warner in the NFC says otherwise for the whole league, and he plays behind an awesome, awesome, awesome front in Justin Madawuke, Michael Pierce's like three hundred and sixty pounds, very good, Broderick Washington, Brent Urban. They just have waves of guys. Sound familiar, Yeah, Kyle Hamilton's a force multiplier on the back end with Marcus Williams and Eddie Jackson. What a trio of safeties

that is. Then you've got Lamar Andrews likely Flowers that's good enough to me, and then you round it out with Bateman and Agalar. It's plenty good. Depth. The line has totally changed. Daniel Falle will be the biggest offensive lineman to ever play in an NFL game. He's pushing four hundred pounds and slotted at right guard, and they have a rookie at right tackle, and then Lamar Jackson.

If he plays all seventeen games, you can write down double digit wins in Penn the Bengals, you know, I think Joe Burrow having a full camp for the first time in his career. It was COVID, it was ACL, it was appendecting me, and then the injuries last year that kept him out of the first part of the season will have a major major impact. Chase is practicing again after a holdout, so he's back. T Higgins is

back in the fold. They lose their first round pick of Marius Mims, which was a killer because he was going to kind of be a guy that got them over the hump on the offensive line. Now other kind of back to square one and Burrow, you know, he's taken some hits before when the line's not been good. He gets the ball out fast, but he's not too a fast. Trey Hendrick sends back on defense after what requesting a trade. I think that he and Sam Hubbard are one of the best edge duos in the National

Football League. But losing DJ Reeder is massive, and I like that they went back to the vet safeties for that lou An Romo defense after it didn't work out last year. They lost Baits and Bell and the young replacements did not play well. They get Von Bell back and they go get Geno Stone as a positive step for them. Across the state of Ohio, the Cleveland Browns. It has the look of one of the deeper teams in the league. But it's time for that quarterback to

catch up to his contract. Man. I think we saw that roster's potential last year, and they got good quarterback play from Flacco, who was the only quarterback that played well for them all year long. But I think it might take some time. With Nick Chubb coming back, Jerry Judy, who's I don't know what to think of him getting incorporated, Elijah Moore, it's those guys beyond Amari Cooper. Is that enough behind an offensive line that's banged up once again?

Somehow Already they won games last year with eighty per cent of their offensive line from opening day down and out for the entire stretch run. I love the defense, though, Miles Garrett, Denzel Ward, j Jeremiah Wusu Corromoa. I love Dalvin Thomlinson and Shelby Harris additions, so they're loaded up front. I think getting won Thornhill with how I expect, you know, Greg Newsom and Martin Emerson to take off a little bit makes that defense one of the top five in

the NFL. The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback position, what a nightmare it's been since Roethlisberger's last couple of years. Right, They're gonna go with Russ He he can't play anymore justin fields, never could play, so whatever. But the offensive line was so deep going into camp. Then they take some injuries. It looks like in Broderick Jones, the first round pick last year, has been really brutal this preseason. Troy Fatano

has been down all camp. They lose Nate Herbig for the year, so Zach Frasier gets put into the starting lineup. I do love George Pickens and Pat Fryermuth, but beyond that ain't much there on defense. You know, Watt and high Smith as a great edge combo. I love Benton and Hayward and Ogun Jobi inside with Patrick Queen and

Landon Roberts behind it meank On the back end. But yet another team here that has almost nothing at cornerback in terms of their depth, like Beanie Bishop is listed as a starter across from Joey Porter junior, who had a very up and down rookie season. So we'll see. I don't know, it's a lot to gas from that young group of defensive backs in the AFC East. The

Dolphins don't really have to do this. We revamped skill group third year in a system that's been wildly successful, a rookie class that looked great all month, a new defense I think fits Anthony Weavers, Moo, and a lot of dogs Dawg's added with John wu Smith, Jordan Brooks, Jordan Poyer, Anthony Walker Junior, Kalais Campbell. I think this this is going to be a big force multipliers. The way they added attitude to the defense, I think it's going to be one of the best teams in the

league once again, Buffalo. We have to beat these guys to prove it right, interested to see how they approach the skill spots and how it works out. Khalil Shakur is your top receiver. Okay, okay, whatever you say, I mean, I don't want to talk too much trash because we got to beat these guys, but that seems dubious at best. They do have really good tight ends and Dalton King Kid and Dawson Knox, but beyond that, Curtis Samuel and he's always injured right has turf toe, so he's down

right now. Keon Coleman, you're gonna rely on him because it's that's like end of career Devonte Parker to me. But do they become more of a run first team with James Cook and Joe Brady's the OC. Do you want to take the ball out of Josh Allen's hands? I don't know. And will they get nineteen games of the exact same offensive line combination like they got last year?

That probably doesn't happen again, but it currently goes Dion Dawkins, David Edwards, Connor McGovern no more, Mitch Morse, Osiris Torreans who wasn't good a year ago, and Spencer Brown. They had big losses on defense. Milano was already out for most of the year. It sounds like until at least December, so he'll miss both Dolphins games. Boyer and Hyde are gone. Those guys were and Trey White. All those guys were thorns in our side since twenty seventeen. But that front

is really damn good. At Oliver and Dakwan Jones are awesome. Greg Russoa, I think is gonna be an awesome player this year. Aj Epenesa with Von Miller and Dwayne Smoot is enough. On the other side, Rasuell Douglass had a ate season after coming over the trade deadline. He and Christian Benford, who was a sixth round pick that beat out a first round pick in kyer Elam. They're pretty well set there. Tarren Johnson in the slot's one of

their best players. If you read camp reports, those safety seems to be one of the spots they're concerned with right now. It's Tamar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp. With Mike Edwards missing all of camp, that is not a good situation on the back end, especially against the Miami team that has so much speed. For the Jets, they have to be the most volatile team in the entire national football as we learned last year. Four snaps in and I could not tell you what I expect from Rodgers.

If he's twenty twenty one, Rogers, they'll make a run. If he's twenty twenty two, they'll be in the eight to nine win rage once again. And can he stay healthy? And they have a lot of these guys like Tyron Smith, Mike Williams. I will say they did a great job to build the offensive line. I think Olufashawan, who's a

great player. But they got to keep guys healthy because Elijah Vera Tucker is one of those guys who's really good, but he has finished the last two years on IR and I wonder how long this defense can stay elite. Really that they botched the edge position by getting Hassan Reddick, who wants out. It cost them Bright Tough and John Franklin Myers. It's a huge step down. They need Will McDonald to be good, who was not good last year. The Williams bros. Are awesome Quinn and uh Quincy excuse me.

And they have really good cornerback play with Sauce Reed and Michael Carter. What a weird team. I could see this team winning eleven games. I could see him winning six games for the Patriots. It's so weird to see the Pats in transition. But I think you have to start Drake May. I think he needs the reps. This line is a work in progress. The skill groups are better than last year, but they still don't have like a top guy or even the top two guy like

Pop Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, Jalen Polk. Those all sound like good number three receivers. I think the defense will be good. Christian Gonzalez is going to be a great player, but obviously losing Matt Judon is huge for them, but also smart to recoup a pick and a year that they're probably not gonna go very far right, probably gonna win a few games. Kyle Duggar is elite. I like Jonathan Jones a lot, and he has Tyreek's number for some reason.

But they need to find out which of those edge guys between josh Uja, Keon White and Anthroony Jennings is gonna be the next Judon? Are any of those guys gonna be the next Judon? There you go. That's the entire NFL in a snapshot. We're gonna do the predicts for the records, the playoffs, and end of season awards, all of that. Next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation. You heard me talk about the teams. Let's run down the predictions. I'm gonna

start in the NFC. We'll come over to the AFC last. So in the West, I have the Niners at fourteen and three, the Rams eleven and six, the Seahawks ten and seven, all three of them get in the playoffs, and I have the Cardinals winning seven games this year. In the South, the Falcons take the division at ten and seven, the Bucks just miss out at nine and eight, New Orleans seven and ten, and the Panthers go five and twelve. I have the Packers taking the NFC North

at twelve and five. The Lions go eleven and six and get second in the division. Chicago almost has a winning season at eight to nine, and the Vikings go six and eleven. I don't like the NFC East at all. The Eagles ten and seven, Washington nine to eight, just missing out on the postseason. Dallas goes down to seven and ten, and the Giants pick first in the draft at three and fourteen. In the AFC, Kansas City has the best record in the NFL at fifteen and two.

The Chargers are not good this year. They go six and eleven. In fact, this is why the Chiefs go fifteen to two, Chargers six and eleven, Raiders and Broncos both go five and twelve. In the AFC South, probably my biggest surprise for any pick out there. I have Indy winning the AFC South at ten and seven, and I have Houston getting into the playoffs at nine and eight, Jacksonville missing the playoffs at nine and eight, and the Titans go five and twelve. In the North, Baltimore eleven

and six. That's enough to win a tiebreaker over the also eleven and six Bengals. The Browns go seven and ten and the Steelers go six and eleven. In the AFC East, the Dolphins win the division at twelve and five, The Bills go eleven and six, the Jets seven and ten, and the Patriots go four and thirteen and get the second pick in the NFL Draft. My MVP is Matthew Stafford. My coach of the Year is Dan Quinn. My offensive

player of the Year is Tyreek Hill. My defensive player of the Year is Chris Jones, my offensive Rookie of the Year is Jaden Daniels, and my defensive rookie of the Year is Jared Verse. It's a lot of stock in LA and Washington, but we ride baby. In the AFC playoffs, the Dolphins down the Texans in the wild card round. The Bengals beat the Ravens on the road

to get some revenge there. The Bills go get a road win also over the Colts, and that gives you a Buffalo at Miami divisional round matchup, and the Dolphins win that one and get the season series over the Buffalo Bills to improve to the AFC Championship game, where they face the Kansas City Chiefs, who beat the Bengals in the divisional round. In the NFC Wildcard playoffs, the

Packers take out the seven seeded Seahawks. The Rams go on the road to Philly and beat the Eagles, and the Detroit Lions do the exact same thing in Atlanta and win on the road. That means the Rams go to the Niners and the Lions go to the Packers in the divisional round, and I'm taking chalk there, and then of course the Packers go to the Niners and the NFC Championship game, I have the Niners playing that game. I have the Chiefs winning again over the Dolphins in

the playoffs. In the AFC Championship Game, and then I'm gonna flip the results from last year with a Niners over Chiefs Super Bowl. So there you go. Dolphins win the division, they go twelve and five, They win two playoff games over Houston and Buffalo before ultimately falling to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. How would you feel about that? Would you feel pretty good about that result this year? Let me know in the mentions. That's gonna be my time here on the podcast where you're

at thirty nine minutes and fifty two seconds. If I don't edit anything out of this, We'll see if I do that at the end. But you all please be sure to subscribe to the podcast, leave us away and leave us a review. Follow me on social at Winklin NFL and the team at Miami Dolphins. Check out the fish Tank podcast with Set the Juice. Check out the YouTube channel for Dolphins HQ. Our brand new TV show is going to be on YouTube every single Thursday and

on WFRCBS here in Miami every single Saturday. It's me doing a show on television for you guys. Also, check out the Miami Dolphins dot com web page. Until next time Finns up Carlin Cameron, Daddy's coming home.