By Lucas Camacho
NFL 2024 SEASON PREVIEW
The time has come for one of the biggest and most profitable sports to once again take center stage. A sport that has produced amazing athletes like Jerry Rice, Lawrence Taylor, and Peyton Manning. Of course I’m talking about football, more specifically the NFL. With Preseason in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take off the kid gloves and get down to work. After the Kansas City Chiefs defied the odds to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles, we saw a lot of players change jerseys. In this article, we try something different: we take a look at the key positions in football and see which team rules…and which team is in deep trouble.
QUARTERBACK
We start with the position that everyone should know about: the quarterback. If you consider the head coach the “general” in charge of the team, the quarterback would be like the battlefield commander. The quarterback is also the highest-pressure position in the NFL. Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is obviously cool under pressure, and Buffalo Bills Quarterback Josh Allen still has plenty of talent, but my pick for top quarterback is Lamar Jackson from the Baltimore Ravens. The defending MVP is still fast, accurate, and he is looking for a ring. Jackson is very talented, and he and the Ravens are looking for redemption.
The team that is most in trouble here at quarterback is the Minnesota Vikings. Rookie Quarterback JJ McCarthy’s season ended before it began, and now the Vikings are forced to turn to Sam Darnold: a quarterback who has had anything but a successful career in the NFL. Unless the Vikings can conjure the same magic the Los Angeles Dodgers use to take broken players and have them revive their careers, it doesn’t look good for the Vikings this year.
I think the teams to watch in terms of quarterback is the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Bears. The Steelers cleared out their previous quarterbacks from last year and now hand over the keys to Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Both men are looking for a bounce back for their careers as Wilson had a bad falling out with Denver last year. Meanwhile, Justin Fields was dumped by Chicago, who used their number one pick on Caleb Williams from USC. Everyone can’t stop raving about this kid, and while his preseason may not have sounded too pretty…it’s important to remember it’s only preseason. Now Williams and the Bears have to prove that they are worthy of the hype…or end up like the Carolina Panthers and Bryce Young did last season.
RUNNING BACK
Running backs move the ball almost as much as the quarterback does. It’s an important position, and there’s no doubt the best running back in the business is Christian McCaffrey from the San Francisco 49ers. When healthy, McCaffrey has led the way in snaps, touches, and yards, and he seems ready to go for another shot at a Super Bowl (maybe even a rematch with the Chiefs).
While things are up for the 49ers at running back, the Dallas Cowboys have more questions than answers. After being stunned in the Wild Card round by the Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys let Tony Pollard go to the Tennessee Titans and are forced to go back to Ezekiel Elliott. Unfortunately, Elliot’s glory days may be over after posting a fourth underwhelming season. And it’s not like they have much depth at the position with just Rico Dowdle and Royce Freeman. Looks like Quarterback Dak Prescott is going to have to rely on his wide receivers and his own legs to get the Cowboys through this season.
The team to watch in terms of running back has to be the Cincinnati Bengals. Running Back Joe Mixon is now a member of the Houston Texans (who have built quite a team around reigning Rookie of the Year CJ Stroud), and now the Bengals have handed the job to Zack Moss and Chase Brown. Both men have flashed signs of greatness, but neither has handled the full workload for an entire season (Moss himself has only a career high 183 touches in a season). It will be interesting to see how the Bengals utilize them as they seek a return to the Super Bowl.
WIDE RECEIVER
Wide receivers are just as responsible as running backs for moving the ball for the offense. Possibly the best receiver in the league is Justin Jefferson for the Minnesota Vikings. However, the best wide receiver unit in the NFL might belong to the Houston Texans. As stated quickly before, the Texans built an amazing team around Quarterback CJ Stroud after he led the team to the playoffs in his rookie season. Now we get to see how he does with returning Wide Receiver Nico Collins as well as a now healthy Tank Dell. They also brought in big time reinforcements in the form of Stefon Diggs. Seeing all three of these guys pairing up with the reigning Rookie of the Year has to leave some people to ask, “how is this fair?!”
There are a few teams that will struggle in the wide receiver area. That includes the New England Patriots, who have an unproven wide receiver corps with next to no chance of landing Brandon Aiyuk from the 49ers. However, my pick for the shakiest team has to be one of our local teams: the Los Angeles Chargers. There isn’t a lot of talent for star Quarterback Justin Herbert to throw to. Joshua Palmer and Quentin Johnson haven’t shown they have what it takes to be a number one receiver, and that leaves just DJ Chark Jr., who is looking for a career renaissance. Simi Fehoko had a good preseason, but we’ll have to see if that translates into the regular season. Fortunately, the Chargers hung onto rookie Brenden Rice. If he is anything like his Hall of Fame father Jerry, the younger Rice could have a stellar career in the NFL.
The team to watch should be the Chargers’ counterpart: the Los Angeles Rams. For the longest time, Cooper Kupp has been the number one receiver for the Rams (even helping them win a Super Bowl). While Kupp should be healthy, he is turning 31, so what else can help Quarterback Matthew Stafford lead the way for the Rams? Enter Puka Nacua, the runner up in last year’s Rookie of the Year award. Nacua absolutely destroyed all expectations and looks ready for more. If Kupp can stay healthy and Nacua can avoid a sophomore slump…the one-two punch of Kupp and Nacua could be the scariest wide receiver duo in the NFL.
TIGHT END
Tight ends have unique roles in the offense: they both catch the ball and block (and one in New Orleans even throws it!). Tight End Sam LaPorta certainly turned heads last year for the Detroit Lions, but the top tight end is still Travis Kelce from the Kansas City Chiefs (…if you can listen closely, you can hear the cheers of all the Taylor Swift fans). The only concern obviously is if Kelce can still deliver as a 34-year-old, however he does have help from Noah Gray and Irv Smith Jr. on the depth chart.
Times are tough in Carolina. Not only do they still have a lack luster team, but their tight end situation is painful. Hayden Hurst is gone, and that leaves just Tommy Tremble and Ian Thomas: two veterans who didn’t play more than 52% of the snaps last season. As good as rookie Ja’Tavion Sanders was at Texas last year, he still needs some development (preferably a LOT of development…)
One intriguing tight end unit to watch belongs to the Las Vegas Raiders (I’m sorry: DA RAIDERS!!!!!). You would think that they would be satisfied after seeing the flashes from Michael Mayer. But you need to remember one thing: the Raiders are in the same division as the defending champion Chiefs. So, the Raiders went big and got a steal at the number 13 pick in the draft with Brock Bowers. Add veteran Harrison Bryant to the mix, and it’s clear the Raiders are going to try to challenge the Chiefs physically (hoping the combined powers of Mayer, Bowers, and Bryant can outshine Travis Kelce).
OFFENSIVE LINE
The lines are the backbone of any good team. The offensive line in particular is charged with the ever-important job of protecting the quarterback. Failure to protect the quarterback can result in injury and loss of chance at the playoffs, as we saw what happened to the Chargers last year when Justin Herbert went down. The Detroit Lions have silently built one of the best offensive lines in the league, and for good reason. Quarterback Jared Goff has turned his career around in Detroit, and now the Lions want to protect their best shot at a Super Bowl title. Not only is the bulk of their line back from last year, including star Offensive Tackle Taylor Decker, they also upgraded the guard spot by signing veteran Kevin Zeitler from the Baltimore Ravens.
Then there’s the Seattle Seahawks, who have long faded away from their former glory. Watching them attempt to repair their weak offensive line is like watching a man try to throw darts with a blind fold on (note: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO THAT!) The Seahawks front line was way below average in pass block and run block, and clearly Left Tackle Charles Cross isn’t the answer. With only one decent lineman pickup in last year’s draft, third round pick Christian Haynes, it looks like the Seahawks quarterback is gonna have to hustle.
The unit to watch is the New York Jets, and there’s a very good reason for that. Last year, the Jets’ season ended before it began as future Hall of Fame Quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down during the first drive of the first game of last season! Granted, it was not the offensive line’s fault (as many blamed the artificial turf), but the Jets saw what the team looked like without Aaron Rodgers…and they don’t want to see it again. The Jets used the 11th pick of the draft on Olu Fashanu, who was a highly regarded left tackle prospect going into the draft. They also got a big upgrade by signing future Hall of Famer Left Tackle Tyron Smith. It will be interesting to see this Jets team if Rodgers can stay healthy (…at least for a full game…).
INTERIOR DEFENSIVE LINE
There are many positions on the defense such as Edge Rusher, Cornerback, and Safety. But this article will focus on only the interior defensive line. As stated before, the lines are the backbone for any team that wants a shot at the Super Bowl. Last year, the Chiefs had to rely more on their lines to help them get over the finish line (it wasn’t pretty, but they won and that is what you want and what really matters in the end). It may surprise you to learn that the best interior defensive line belongs to the Indianapolis Colts. DeForest Buckner, one of the league’s best defenders, has gotten at least seven sacks in the last six seasons. Add all the depth that the Colts have on the line, and you have a very formidable force.
For some reason, the Los Angeles Charges have allowed their interior defensive line to fall by the wayside. They have five interior defenders on the roster, but none played more than 38% of the teams snaps last year or had more than 21 tackles. There is always the hope that Coach Harbaugh knows what he’s doing, so hopefully he can get enough out of Morgan Fox and company (because they still have the Chiefs to contend with).
It seems that the Seattle Seahawks are doing better with their scattershot approach in building their defensive line, as Leonard Williams is a 100% grade A star. He is complimented by the formidable duo of Jarran Reed and Dre’Mont Jones, not to mention first round pick from this year’s draft, Byron Murphy II. With such a paradox in terms of line strength, it will be curious to see how the Seahawks get through this season.
OVERALL
There are many working parts to making a football team work. When they all mesh together to make a coherent whole: you’re either getting a champion or not (there is no in between). The obvious target for almost all these NFL teams is the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Detroit Lions and Houston Texans have certainly done their best to build up their teams, and the Chiefs’ division rivals, the Chargers and the Raiders, are working in earnest to catch up. But the biggest threat to the Chiefs’ dreams of a three-peat comes from the team they just beat in last year’s Super Bowl: the San Francisco 49ers. The defending NFC champions are still locked and loaded for another shot at the Chiefs. Brock Purdy, the so-called “Mr. Irrelevant” of the 2022 Draft, continues to blow our minds, he still has amazing weapons in Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel Sr. (although it looks like Brandon Aiyuk won’t be a factor as reports say he wants to be traded). Add the weapons on defense, and the 49ers are my favorite to win it all this year (of course that’s just on paper).
Okay, I have said some bad things about some teams, especially the Carolina Panthers. But as bad as they and the Panthers are…they’re not the worst. My pick for possibly the worst team is the New York Giants (no it’s not because I’m a Dodgers fan and I hate the mere mention of Giants whether they’re from New York or San Francisco). I’m going to say this…all hope isn’t lost. They did get Malik Nabers in the draft, who I rated as one of the best from this year’s crop of wide receivers. Even though I didn’t get too much into edge rusher, the Giants have a formidable duo in that area in the form of Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux. Other than the addition of one or two players to the offense and defensive lines…I can’t see anything else that can give the Giants hope. Daniel Jones is just plain hopeless (does anyone remember when he tripped after what was supposed to be an amazing 80-yard run against the Eagles?), and things don’t look like they’re getting better. The Giants may end up with the number one pick in next year’s draft, and they may draft Jones’ replacement (they may regret not taking a quarterback from the class of 2024, but admittedly…Carson Beck from Georgia is shaping up to being an interesting pick for next year’s draft).
Now there’s usually a team that throws a monkey wrench into the works. Whether it’s Houston doing better than expected under the leadership of CJ Stroud, and the unexplainable collapse of the Philadelphia Eagles. Basically, it’s a team to watch that may just defy expectations and win it all. Now I could use hometown bias and say either the Chargers or the Rams, and there is an argument for both (as mentioned, Puka Nacua and Coach Harbaugh are some of the new factors driving the Rams and Chargers respectively). However, if I had to put my feelings for the great city of Los Angeles aside…I’d actually have to go with the New York Jets. There’s a reason for that and that’s the Jets want to make the most of whatever Aaron Rodgers has left in the tank before the curtain falls on his Hall of Fame career. They also want to avoid having Rodgers knocked out of the season early on again (if he makes it through Week One, the city of New York might throw a parade). The Jets have upgraded the line, added more weapons, and even added to the defense. Gone are the days when the AFC East were dominated by the Tom Brady and Coach Bill Belichick led New England Patriots, and the Buffalo Bills don’t look as dominant as they used to in recent seasons (and don’t forget the Bills just lost Stefon Diggs to the Texans). Add that up, and you get the fact that the Jets have an actual path to get into the playoffs…and maybe make a deep run into the winter.
Now let me end this article by saying one thing: I may not be right about any of this. I have gone through reports and training camps, and I’ve told you what I think, but I could get this wrong just as many analysts do. Why is that? Because it wouldn’t be fun if everything went as good as on paper (why would we play the games if they did?!). The one thing I can accurately predict is that there will be some chaos of some kind. We saw it last year when the Eagles went from hero to zero or when Aaron Rodgers went down early on the first game of the season, and we may see the same thing this year or maybe the opposite of a downturn. Maybe Patrick Mahomes goes down for the year or the Carolina Panthers suddenly start winning games like there’s no tomorrow. So, in the end, brace yourself…we may be in for an unpredictable season…
