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Detroit Lions:
Detroit won the division last season and then won their first round playoff game before being eliminated. They focused quite a bit on upgrading their defense and should have enough to repeat.
Veteran QB Jared Goff is back. He threw for over 4500 yards last year with 39 touchdowns and an eye-popping 115.5 QBR! The backfield remained intact with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs expected to carry the load much of the time. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams enjoyed stellar campaigns last seaspn and will be counted upon to replicate their success. St. Brown hauled in 80 passes while averaging 16.6 YPC and finding paydirt some 13 times. Williams had 94 receptions for 1274 yards and 15 more touchdowns! As good as those two were, however, Detroit is looking to find their #3 and slot targets. Kalif Raymond, Antoine Green, Cornell Powell, and Maurice Alexander are all unproven talents. Tightend Sam LaPorta is solid and will likely need to up his game a bit this year after compiling 67 receptions for 942 yards, 7 touchdown,s and a healthy 14.1 YPC average last season. A huge void at RG was filled when the Lions drafted Geargie Bulldog Tate Rutledge with the 26th pick. He will be a member of a very good Detroit line.
Aiden Hutchinson and Co. were terrors last season. The Michigan Wolverine alum put up 16.5 sacks and 32 TFLs while fellow bookend Romeo Okwara added 7.5 sacks and 10 TFLs. The defensive tackles were disruptive last season as well. Alim MCNeill and Isiah Buggs had 9 and 6 sacks respectively while also rolling up a combined 34 TFLs. The Lions added smallish, but quick, cover backer Eric Webster in the draft tabbing the LSU Tiger in the second round. Drue Tranquill will lead a solid group of linebackers that seems to lack true super-star quality but is, nonetheless, solid. The secondary remains a bit shaky with Emmanuel Mosley the best they have. They signed Jacksonville Jaguar Greedy Williams to help out, but he did not have a single interception last year. C.J. Gardner-Johnson is very good at the safety spot and Detroit drafted Brian Branch from Alabama to add depth. Tracy Walker and Kerby Joseph could battle it out for the FS duties.
Outlook: The Lions have a favorable early season schedule up to their week 8 bye and need to get going right away. They end their season with contests with Green Bay, New Orleans, Chicago, and Houston. A 10 win season seems a good marker.
Green Bay Packers:
A successful regular season last year came a quick halt in the playoffs with a first round loss to the rival Detroit Lions. Still, the expectations and hopes are running high in Cheesehead Country...
The Packers pounded the rock as much as any team in football last season and more of the same could be forthcoming. QB Jordan Love was retained but Green Bay went above and beyond last season to not allow him to have to carry the offense. Love threw for a paltry 2955 yards and just 13 touchdowns last year ending with a 96.2 QBR! The running game, however, was prolific. There were rumors that Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon might not be back but the two backs are set to run again in 2024. Jones rushed for 1291 yards with 6 touchdowns and Dillon ran for 646 yards and 8 scores. Unheralded Tyler Goodson chipped in 705 more yards and 6 touchdowns while averaging 6.6 YPC! The under-used wide receiving corps has speed to burn. Christian Watson and Bo Melton have blazing speed while Romeo Doubs and Jaylen Reed are no slouches and can catch the ball to boot! A trio of young and talented tightends will compete for playing time. Luke Musgrave (55-705-12.8 YPC-3 TDs) likely has the inside track but 4th round rookie TCU Horned Frog Jared Wiley and Tucker Craft could easily find their way into the regular lineup. The left side of the offensive line is one of the better groups in the PFL. Veteran LT David Bakhtiari and LG Elgton Jenkins are excellent. The right side is young and has upside. RT Zach Tom should start and will need to develop. There is some concern about his ability to hold up against elite edge rushers but time will tell. The Packers landed an absolute jewel in the draft ,who played somewhat locally in his college days, and should play well in the cold of Lambeau. Michigan Wolverine RG Zak Zinter is an elite young player who has tremendous power, acceleration, agility, with solid impact and lead block numbers to be a Pro-Bowl player right away.
The defense should be good especially up front. A key will be the effectiveness of aged veteran LE Mario Edwards. Edwards is coming off a solid 9 sack, 18 TFL campaign and he still has good speed and pursuit abilites. However, his acceleration is not quite there anymore. Still, he has more than enough positives to be very good again and has always been difficult to move off his block with his 87 impact block number and 280 Lbs frame. Devonte Wyatt will probably start at RE. He needs to improve on his stats from last season where he posted 5 sacks and just 9 TFLs. Kenny Clark will, once again, be the top gun on the inside. He had 9 sacks and 21 TFLs last season. Green Bay was able to wrestle away LA Ram NT Jordan Phillips to really bolster up the line. The mammoth Phillips is 6'6" and 341 Lbs but was agile enough to put up 7 sacks and 16 TFLs last season. Green Bay has an intriguing duo at LOLB. Bud Dupree arrived from Atlanta and will work with Lukas Van Ness. Neither is valued as a cover backer and they had a combined .5 sacks between them last year so it will be interesting to see what the staff has in store for these two. Dupree played 400 snaps all of last season while Van Ness played in only 245. De'Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker look more like the cover backers inside with Ex-New England Patriot Rashaan Evans possibly acting as a super run stopping option. For Evans, this will mark his fourth team in four seasons with prior stops at Tennessee, Atlanta, and New England. Preston Smith and LA Charger OLB Khalil Mack will play the right side linebacker position. Smith, now 31 yeras old, showed some disruptor potential last season with 3 sacks, 12 TFLs, 3 pass deflections, and 2 forced fumbles. The ancient 33 year old Mack assembled 5.5 sacks and 16 TFLs while playing for the Chargers last year. All-world corner Jaire Alexander is a secondary standout although he is coming off a bit of a down season. Last year he posted just 1 interception and 10 deflections. Super fast CB Eric Stokes returns to take the opposite side but there seems a hole will need to be filled at the slot corner spots as well as the #3 CB position. Rasul Douglas has some playmaker ability but his 88 speed is worrisome. Still, he was able to get in on over 100 tackles, had 3 sacks, an interception, and 6 deflections so he has shown he can play. The Packers used their second and third round picks on two strong safeties. Miami Hurricane Kamren Kinchens and Minnesota Golden Gopher Tyler Nubin are welcomed additions. It is wholly possible that Nubin could become the club's slot DB as they currently are holding 3 players at the position. That move would push Douglas into a different role. Another option could be playing Kinchens and Nubin together at both the safety slots! Free safeties James Wiggins and Victor Harbor do not seem like top talents. So far, in pre-season, Wiggins has seen just 7 snaps!
Outlook: The Packers have a playoff caliber roster but also have enough question marks to limit their ceiling. The OLBs will need to perform above their pay grade and the secondary lacks depth. They only have to face four teams outside their division that made the playoffs a season ago so the schedule is favorable. 10+ wins is within reach.
Chicago Bears:
The Bears now have head coach Mike Goodwin running the show in Soldier Field. Goodman returns to the league after being out a season. He inherits a team that should be able to contend in the wild NFC North and has a history of dominating the division.
The biggest question mark has to be the offense. QB Justin Fields runs the show but does he have enough weapons around him? The backfield lacked edge speed last season, so Goodman signed Ex-Dallas Cowboy Tony Pollard to beef up the speed element. He then sprinkled in some more speed by bringing in WR Parris Campbell from the Giants and then drafted Ohio State Buckeye WR Emeka Egbuka in the 4th round. Campbell could be a real steal. He caught just 37 passes and averaged only 10.8 YPC but played within the run heavy Giants' system. The Bears took a big risk by investing in Texas Longhorn tightend Ja'Tavion Sanders with the 15th overall pick in the first round! It may signal the end of the line for veteran Cole Kmet but it could also indicate a desire to go more towards a two-tightend system. Kmet caught 68 balls for 735 yards and 6 touchdowns last season. The offensive line saw a great deal of rookie infusion. RT will feature second round pick Julian Pearl. The Illinois Fighting Illini tackle will be joined by two other rookies along the line although their status is yet undetermined. Iowa Hawkeye LG Connor Colby and Ohio State Buckeye RG Donovan Jackson could start their careers in a reserve role but are expected to assume the jobs at some point in time.
Chicago has always been associated with defense but the current unit lacks the star power of the past. The edge rushing is suspect with only Bryce Huff having recorded much in the way of production last season. Huff had 19 TFLs and 9 sacks last year but the right side is lacking such numbers. The interior of the D-Line lacks size and strength and could be a major problem area. Gervin Dexter seems the best they have and he is the strongest with juts an 89 strength rating. Tremaine Edwards and Kwon Alexander head up a linebacking unit that could be a bit slower than one would desire on the outside. The corners do not have shut down speed nor top tier man coverage skills with Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson the top dogs back there. Eddie Jackson and Ryan O'neal seem slated to start at the safety positions.
Outlook: Chicago has a relatively soft schedule overall and Goodman might be able to coach his squad to a few more victories. Still, the defense looks like it needs help and the offense is still questionable particularly if the team needs to consistently score points to win. A record around .500 would seem a solid bet.
Minnesota Vikings:
The Vikings have added some talented youngsters to their roster that could impact their in a very positive manner. The team will feature a mix of veterans and youth that could provide some unexpected success.
QB Kirk Cousins will run the show again. The 36 year old Cousins threw for over 5000 yards last season with 42 TD passes and a 107.2 QBR. However, there are signs his arm strength has declined and his short passing accuracy has become a bit wobbly. The backfield is the same as well. Alexander Mattison, Dewayne McBride, and Ty Chandler will share duties again. Mattison and McBride are powerful runners but neither possesses edge threatening speed. The receivers have a similar MO lacking much in the way of over-the-top speed but few can argue the elite abilities of Justin Jefferson. JJ hauled in 106 balls last season for 1586 yards but he found the endzone just 7 times. K.J. Osborn snared 76 passes for 1195 yards and 8 touchdowns and Jordan Addison added 48 more catches for 739 yards and 8 touchdowns. So, despite lacking elite speed numbers, the receivers performed well. TE T.J. Hockenson led the club with 9 touchdown receptions. The offensive line is above average and will see Toledo Rocket rookie Conor Palmer start at RG. The 4th guard taken in the draft at #50, Palmer is strong enough for the position and has just enough blocking skills to be effective while he develops.
There were major additions to the defense via the draft. Virtually the entire defensive line could see rookies getting significant playing time. Ends Gabriel Murphy and Jack Sawyer could press veterans Harrison Phillips and Dean Lowry for playing time. Harrison and Phillips combined for just 12.5 sacks last year and that is not quite good enough. Harrison, in fact, might be better suited as a 3-tech DT and could see time there. Murphy, from UCLA, is much quicker and faster than Harrison and has ideal defensive end size. Ohio State Buckeye Sawyer also is a bit more athletic than Lowry and, at 259 Lbs, might be more of an end than the 296 Lbs Lowry. LSU Tiger rookie NT Maason Smith will start right away and could be a powerhouse inside with a terrific combination of strength (93) and quickness (85 acceleration). OLBs Danielle Hunter and Marcus Davenport are really edge rushers more than coverage backers. Unfortunately, the Vikings do not have single outside coverage backer on the roster and that is causing some anxiety in Bloomington. Brian Asamoah and Troy Dye will probably play inside but both are small weighing 226 and 225 Lbs respectively further hampering the linebacking unit as a whole. The secondary also has some problematic trends. There simply is not a shut down corner on the club with Byron Murphy the top corner. Murphy, however, has just 89 speed and could have trouble staying with the elite speedsters in the league. Murphy and Andrew Booth, in fact, are the only CBs on the team that have coverage ratings above 70 and none have a rating in the 80s! FS Cam Bynum could get competition from the faster Lewis Cine but that remains to be seen. 35 year old Harrison Smith may hold down the SS position but he has just 87 speed and his coverage ratings are a below average 68 man and 65 zone!
Outlook: The defense has some upside on the defensive line but the linebacking unit seems disjointed and lacking coverage abilities on the otuside and size on the inside. The secondary is clearly in need of some help. It is doubtful the D-Line will be able to consistently cover up the flaws behind it. Cousins no longer has the arm to threaten deep passing and his accuracy ratings have slipped to the point where he is likely going to flat out miss targets at times. They open their year with three tough games versus the Packers, Rams, and Lions and end their season with contests against the Packers, Texans, and Seahawks. Hard to see a 10 win season here, but that is why they play the games right?
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