Every year as the Bills playoff hopes dwindle, I always ask myself, "what now? who do I root for?" For quite sometime I find myself rooting for the Carolina Panthers. I always loved the way Steve Smith and Thomas Davis played football, and when they added Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly, it was no surprise they were such a fun team to watch on their run to the Super Bowl last year. Everyone knows about the Carolina Panthers though. I want more people to know about these 5 teams.
1. The Minnesota Vikings
Long, cold winters in a frozen tundra. 4 Super Bowl losses. Always overshadowed by division rivals and their superstar quarterbacks. The Vikings are clearly the Buffalo Bills of the north. I spent a lot of time writing about how the Vikings will fare without Teddy Bridgewater last week, and I can still say I'm very high on this team. I think the move to trade for Sam Bradford was very aggressive and could work out well for them this year. Bradford, while by no means a great player, is at least an average starter and could lead this team to a Wild Card spot. Trading a 1st round pick and a 4th rounder (which could conditionally become a 2nd or a 3rd round pick), for an average quarterback, is a steep price to pay. It also shows that this team is going all in on this season. Even if Bradford is a 1 year rental player, I think he'll do a fine job and the rest of the team will carry him.
2. The Oakland Raiders
The Raiders have not been to the playoffs for the past 13 seasons. But with a young nucleus of Derek Carr, Amari Cooper and former University of Buffalo standout Khalil Mack, the Raiders seem to be knocking on the doors of success. The Raiders have a ton of young talent, but they also brought in veterans in free agency who will contribute right away. OG Kelechi Osemele has been one of the best interior lineman in the NFL the past few years, S Reggie Nelson has been very productive in Cincinnati, and LB/DE Bruce Irvin is still an intriguing talent even if he never figured out a role in Seattle. The Raiders have the most talent on this team in a very long time, It will be interesting to see how the new veteran players mesh with this young team. With unproven QB Trevor Siemian starting for the Broncos, suddenly this division is completely up for grabs. While Kansas City is a very strong contender, and Denver is still terrifying defensively, don't count out Oakland to make their first playoff birth since falling to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII.
3. The Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jags have been a laughing stock of the NFL for the last few years. They still are probably a year or 2 away from making any real noise in the NFL, but their are reasons to be optimistic. QB Blake Bortles shocked fantasy owners and most people around the league with his season last year. Bortles had a very mediocre rookie season, but as a sophomore, he really connected with WR's Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns. Robinson and Hurns are one of the best receiving duos in the league, and one would imagine that they will be even better this year. The running game looks to be a factor this year as well, with 2nd year TJ Yeldon and the addition of Chris Ivory as a between-the-tackles back. I'm actually really excited to see what this team can do on defense as well. The Jags took CB Jalen Ramsey with their 1st round pick this year, and he is an absolute freak of an athlete. At 6'1 209 pounds, Ramsey runs a 4.41 40 yard dash and has coverage skills that will keep receivers up at night. They also drafted LB Myles Jack, who before his injury at UCLA, displayed a unique skill set that fits very well with the modern game. Add in the return of DE Dante Fowler Jr., who missed all of his rookie season with a torn ACL, the Jags essentially have added 3 first round talents to their defense. Undoubtedly, Gus Bradley must be thrilled to have this type of talent defensively, and it will be interesting to see if he can replicate the success his defenses had in Seattle. I would not be the least bit surprised if Jacksonville won their division this year. The Titans still need more talent around Marcus Mariota, the Colts are still feeling the effects of bad drafting and poor free agency decisions. Andrew Luck can elevate the Colts to the division title, but JJ Watt and the Texans are the Jaguars biggest threat in the AFC South. It will come down to whether the Jaguars will take a step up on both sides of the ball or if Brock Osweiler can be just good enough to win 10 games for the Texans.
4. The Los Angeles Rams
I am in no way excited to watch an offense led by Case Keenum, but the talent on the Rams defense is just unbelievable. Aaron Donald is nearly every bit as good as JJ Watt, but gets half the credit. In 2 seasons, Donald has 20 sacks, which is pretty impressive for an interior player in a 4-3 defense, I expect he will take another step up this season. Robert Quinn is just 2 seasons removed from having 19 sacks. With Quinn healthy this year, he and Donald should be unblockable. Michael Brockers and William Hayes are also very solid, and this is arguably the best defensive line in the league. I've also really like LB Alec Ogletree's game and it will be interesting how he handles the transition to middle linebacker, where he will be asked to call out plays and become a leader. I think the front-7 is very talented, but I could see depth in the secondary becoming an issue at some point. CB Trumaine Johnson is underrated and S TJ McDonald is fine, but the Rams are relying on players like Lamarcus Joyner, Maurice Alexander and Coty Sensabaugh to step up in the defense. Going back to the offense, there are a few things to look forward to. Todd Gurley might be the best running back in the league, and Tavon Austin is always entertaining. Eventually, Jared Goff will take over for Keenum, but the Rams are taking their time. I would like to see Goff at some point this year and see what he can get out of Austin. Beyond Austin, there are not many options in the passing game. Brian Quick has maybe one more season before he is a massive bust, Kenny Britt hasn't looked promising in years, and the rest of the receiving core is young, unproven or just plain bad. It will be a struggle for whoever is quarterbacking this team to even get it to his receivers. This is a below average offensive line and they have below average weapons, not really a combination that would make you think Goff/Keenum will be successful this year. Even with all these worries, the Rams are always competitive within their very tough division, Todd Gurley is incredible and this defense make me yearn for the 2014 Buffalo Bills.
5. The Arizona Cardinals
All of the previous teams I've mentioned have had a relative lack of success, at least recently. The Cardinals however, were 13-3 last year. This is a terrifying football team. Carson Palmer is an ageless wonder and had a career season in 2015. RB David Johnson was versatile and explosive as a rookie and now has a full time role. Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and John Brown complement each other perfectly and give Palmer some of the best weapons in the NFL. Defensively, Calais Campbell is one of the best linemen in the league, LB Deone Bucannon has been doing his best Thomas Davis impression by converting from safety, and Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu are both top 3 players at their positions. The Cardinals also added Chandler Jones, Tyvon Branch and rookie Robert Nkemdiche to a already loaded defense. Jones in particular will be a key contributor and can definitely help out a team that hasn't had a traditionally "elite" pass rusher recently. The Cardinals are one of the few teams in the NFL that have the potential to have the best offense as well as the best defense in the league, that alone make Arizona a great team to watch and a great option to root for.
At the end of the day, I will always be a Bills fan. But if you are not paying attention to the rest of the NFL, this is a perfect time to start paying attention to these up and coming teams. If you want to hear more of my thoughts about the Buffalo Bills and the NFL season, feel free to check out the latest episode of The Bye Week, stay tuned here for more content soon.
Buffalo Bills and NFL Season Preview Podcast
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