With the 2022 NFL season officially underway, it’s time to go all out. My bold predictions for the 2022 NFL season are as follows.
“This is how I informally interpret the AFC hierarchy at the moment!”
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Buffalo Bills
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Green Bay Packers
- Los Angeles Rams
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Dallas Cowboys
- San Francisco 49ers
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cleveland Browns
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Denver Broncos
- Indianapolis Colts
- Tennessee Titans
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Miami Dolphins
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Arizona Cardinals
- New England Patriots
- Las Vegas Raiders
- New Orleans Saints
- Minnesota Vikings
- Washington Commanders
- New York Jets
- Seattle Seahawks
- Chicago Bears
- Atlanta Falcons
- Carolina Panthers
- New York Giants
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Detroit Lions
- Houston Texans
I believe the first dozen teams on the list will win more games than the Patriots. Given the likely suspension of Deshaun Watson, I suppose Cleveland is a bit of an unknown, but those 12 are just superior to New England’s Patriots.
No. 13 is, of course, Jacksonville, which has taken the first overall pick in each of the last two draughts.
Trevor Lawrence, in my opinion, still outperforms Mac Jones. And I believe Travis Etienne, who missed the whole 2021 season due to a Lisfranc injury, will have a breakout season in his first season.
Whatever you think of Christian Kirk’s deal, he’s an upgrade in Jacksonville, and he’d be the No. 1 wide receiver in New England.
The Jaguars bolstered their offensive line this summer, most notably by signing free agent Brandon Scherff. Meanwhile, the defense bolstered themselves through free agency and selection. No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker, as well as linebackers Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma.
The Chiefs’ selection of Skyy Moore after a great first round to address other pressing defensive concerns at cornerback and pass rusher, on top of acquiring JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, returns their receiving pop for Patrick Mahomes.
Andy Reid’s squad usually has a high floor near the ceiling because of Mahomes’ presence and a good complementing defense.
Finally, while I believe Bill Belichick is the greatest football coach of all time, I am concerned about the absence of a real replacement for Josh McDaniels. Quite a bit. Doug Pederson, on the other hand, is a breath of new air in Jacksonville.
Justin Herbert is another one of my obsessions. Joe Burrow, in my opinion, is unique. Davante Adams isn’t there? It’s no issue. This contributes to the MVP storyline. Because he is the most skilled quarterback in history, Rodgers will take this unnamed collection of pass-catchers and lead them to the best record in the NFC.
After a few modifications, the Bills should be regarded as co-AFC favorites alongside the Chiefs, given they have few flaws surrounding their Josh Allen-led attack. For Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier’s defense, they continue to add depth and playmaking punch. With rookie punter Matt Araiza filling in when required, the special teams have also improved.
Brett Favre is a quarterback. Something tells me that Favre’s replacement in Green Bay will be slightly driven to replicate this achievement.
Derek Carr will undoubtedly sparkle in 2022 under offensive genius Josh McDaniels, coming off a tremendous season in which he flirted with 5,000 yards. Especially now that he’s playing with Davante Adams, his best friend.
Yes, Aaron Rodgers can live with losing the first-team All-Pro wideout since he is one of the all-time greats, but Adams’ presence in Vegas boosts Carr’s potential productivity tremendously.
Von Miller, Robert Woods, Andrew Whitworth, Darious Williams, and, for the time being, Odell Beckham Jr. all took knocks after the Rams’ Super Bowl run.
However, they were able to rebound by signing Allen Robinson and Bobby Wagner before addressing a few more minor selection gaps. The champions remain on the Super Bowl shortlist with Matthew Stafford still in charge of the offense for Sean McVay.
I strongly believe that Nick Bosa is the winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Aaron Donald is almost usually the first choice. Or, at the very least, he should be. They should just give him the prize and call it after him. There is, however, a phenomenon known as voter weariness.
And, considering that Donald is now engaged in a contract standoff that has him contemplating retirement, it’s possible that it’ll take him a few weeks to play like a legend after the agreement is presumably finalized. Maybe, just maybe, this San Francisco eccentric receives the affection he so well deserves.
During the regular season, he had 15.5 sacks and then added four more in three postseason games. On a team with transcendent skills like Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel, he’s the finest all-around player.
Bosa sacks the quarterback, stops the run, and generally makes offensive linemen and offensive coordinators fearful.
The biggest “win it all” movements now lie on defense, where J.C. Jackson and Khalil Mack may make or break Brandon Staley’s season.
The Cowboys wisely moved Amari Cooper so that Dak Prescott could focus on Dalton Schultz, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup.
Due to financial constraints, they had to take some knocks on the offensive and defensive lines, but Jerry Jones produced a good draught following the major re-signings. On defense, Dan Quinn has more oomph, and Dallas should be more at ease with the passing game.
In 2022, the Seattle Seahawks are no longer important in the NFL. This is the beginnings of reconstruction, with Drew Lock as a quarterback and inexperienced offensive linemen. It’s all about draught placement for the current season.
San Francisco is a high-risk, high-reward squad. The 49ers will win the NFC if quarterback Trey Lance lives up to his promise and unlocks a new version of Kyle Shanahan’s scheme.
It’s just not a given, especially given the varied reports on Lance this summer. The 49ers are a rung below the Rams because of quarterback instability and some minor difficulties with the secondary.
In terms of NFL predictions, the Atlanta Falcons make things simple. They won’t win many games, but you can count on the youthful talent to keep things interesting. All year, fans will be thinking about draught possibilities while watching Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and A.J. Terrell improve.
This offseason, it’s fair to call the Dallas Cowboys a ‘loser.’ They essentially lost Amari Cooper for next to nothing, mishandled the Randy Gregory issue, and made no big acquisitions.
The Washington Commanders overpaid for Carson Wentz when they didn’t have to for whatever reason. It’s not that he’s a horrible quarterback; there are some very bizarre plays. Unfortunately, the Commanders’ roster isn’t excellent enough to overcome the perplexing decision-making that lies between them.
This is going to take time for the Giants. This offseason, New York made the proper decisions, including retaining Daniel Jones as the starting quarterback. The draught class was great, and the new administration did everything properly.
Finally, there are the Houston Texans. In Texas, we’re expecting another difficult year for a squad that is still laying the groundwork. With that said, the Texans had a strong offseason, and if the trend continues, they might be a team to watch in 2023.
The Buffalo Bills make it easy to create NFL predictions for the AFC East. In 2022, MVP contender Josh Allen will be backed up by a strong defense. If it isn’t enough, a talented offense should enable this club to advance to the next stage.
It’s difficult to predict the Miami Dolphins’ performance in the 2022 NFL season. Miami could conceivably challenge for a Super Bowl if they added a top-10 quarterback to their squad. Tua Tagovailoa might call critics “keyboard warriors,” but his ceiling should elicit some genuine awe. We’re willing to believe in ourselves.
If Tagovailoa continues to perform as he did in the second half – 92.2 passer rating and 69.7% completion percentage in his final seven starts – Miami will have more than enough talent to make the playoffs.
