A new NFL season brings hope for just about every team in the league. And after a bizarre 2020 season filled with Zoom practices, COVID protocols and no fans in the stands, a return to some sense of normalcy makes everything just a little sweeter. However, hope is just that: hope. Only a few teams actually improve each year, and the goal of this article is to identify which teams those will be in the 2021 NFL season.
Last year’s edition of this article was quite successful. I set the clear benchmark of four more wins than the year prior, and each team I picked met or exceeded that goal. Cleveland went from 6-10 to 11-5, Miami went from 5-11 to 10-6 and Indianapolis went from 7-9 to 11-5. Was I surprised? Admittedly, yes, a little bit. I did my research and gave my arguments as for why each team would improve, but it was kind of crazy how right I was for all three. I figured at least one of the teams would flame out, but alas, they did not and now I feel like I have to go three for three again. Let’s get to it.
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas is a team you’ll probably see on a lot of lists like these. Last year’s Cowboys finished the season with a 6-10 record. The team was marred by injuries, the most notable of which was an ankle injury that forced Dak Prescott to miss the majority of the season. Prescott’s return is likely the main factor other articles will give for a resurgence in Dallas, and for good reason. Prescott looked like he was primed to have the best season of his career last year. He finished his season with 1,856 passing yards and was on pace to break 6,000. It truly was a historic pace, and it’s a shame he couldn’t see it through.
However, Dallas still held a 1-3 record going into week five (when Prescott was injured). Dak’s mind boggling stats weren’t enough to win games and that’s because the Dallas defense was abysmal. Last year the Cowboy’s defense gave up a whopping 29.6 points per game. Even with a healthy Prescott, it looked like Dallas was in for a long year. This season will be different.
Gone is old defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. The architect of Dallas’s dreadful defense has been ousted in favor of Dan Quinn, the former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, but more importantly to me, the former defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks during their prime Legion of Boom days. His Atlanta teams never finished with very high defensive marks, but I believe being able to focus on only one side of the ball will improve Quinn’s ability to put out a quality unit.
There are certainly talented pieces on the roster to work with that the last regime failed to take advantage of. The pass rushing duo of Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory has a lot of potential, Gregory has all the tools and Lawrence has already shown he can be a premier sack artist. The linebacker room is a bit crowded for a modern NFL defense, but Leighton Vander Esch and rookie Micah Parsons should form an athletic duo that can stuff rushing lanes and run sideline to sideline. Dallas also added some of Quinn’s former players in safety Damontae Kazee and swiss army knife, Keanu Neal. Those two could help shore up a secondary that was putrid last year, so could Trevon Diggs after being thrown into the fire as a rookie.
I’m not saying Dallas is going to put out a top 10 defense this season, but if they can be around the middle of the pack as opposed to bottom five, then the Cowboys should be in for a fruitful year. Mix in a healthier offensive line, and the team is primed for a bounce back season.
Denver Broncos
A bit of a hot take here, but I think Denver will make the playoffs this year. Not many people are very high on the Broncos and that’s because they have yet to figure out what their answer is for the game’s most important position, which is a pretty big problem. Part of my reasoning though, is that there’s always one or two teams that make the playoffs each year despite their quarterback’s play. Last year, Washington and Chicago made the playoffs while relying on bottom five signal callers in Dwayne Haskins and Mitchell Trubisky, for much of their seasons.
However, that’s not the only reason I think Denver is playoff bound. If it were, I’d be a pretty crappy analyst. The reason those two clubs got to the postseason was their defenses. If the Broncos play in January this year, it’ll likely be because they followed the same formula. Denver’s defense has the potential to be downright scary and will almost certainly contend for best in the league.
For the casual fan, Denver’s defense starts up front with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. These two actually haven’t played a full season together since 2018, but that year they combined for a whopping (26.5 sacks). If both can stay healthy in 2021, the Broncos should have no trouble putting pressure on the quarterback. Denver’s real strength though, will be in the secondary. Over the offseason, Denver signed Kyle Fuller and drafted Patrick Surtain. Fuller was Chicago’s number one corner last year but had to be cut as a cap casualty. Surtain was considered to be the best corner in this year’s draft after locking receivers down at Alabama. That’s two new potential number one corners on the outside paired up with safeties Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson, each of which was solid last year while playing with worse corners. Not to mention, Denver also has nickel specialist, Bryce Callahan, and Ronald Darby for depth. The linebackers on this team are a bit unheralded, but certainly not bad. Josey Jewell and Alexander Johnson are both solid tacklers who have shown some ability to cover in space. Last year they combined to have 230 tackles and six passes defended Due to the talent around them, they likely won’t be asked to do as much, but that should allow them to excel at whatever it is they’re assigned to.
There are two sides of the ball though, and Denver’s offense probably won’t be as good as their defense, but that won’t be because of a lack of talent. The Broncos have a sneaky deep receiver room with Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton being the big names, but Tim Patrick was a bit of a sleeper last year finishing with 742 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Speedster KJ Hamler and tight end Noah Fant also figure to play roles in the passing game. It’s worth noting that this receiving core is still pretty young and offers a lot of upside. The offensive line improved last year with Garret Boles making the All-Pro second team. Denver also drafted Javonte Williams this year. Williams will likely split carries with veteran Melvin Gordon, but both are solid options in the backfield and I just love how hard Williams runs, so I figure he’ll take the starting job at some point.
It feels like literally almost every piece is there for the Broncos except for the quarterback, which is a bit of a shame, but Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater can’t possibly screw this up. Lock has loads of potential but is wildly inconsistent. Bridgewater is the yin to Locks yang in that he lacks upside but has been extremely consistent. Whoever wins out will have an excellent supporting cast around them that I believe can carry Denver into a wild card spot.
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers hope to take the next step in their rebuild after a 5-11 year that was actually quite competitive. Last year’s Panthers held a 1-5 record in games decided by six points or less. Losses are never really impressive, but it was nice to see this team hang with the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs (31-33 loss) and the Green Bay Packers (16-24 loss). Many analysts blame quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s inability to raise the team’s ceiling for their poor record, and in addressing this issue, Carolina got a bit creative.
The Panthers brought in Sam Darnold this offseason in hopes of tapping into the potential that Adam Gase and the New York Jets never could. The former third overall pick struggled nearly his entire tenure in New York, showing only the briefest flashes of what the Panthers hope he could become. Darnold’s proponents argue that the situation in New York was absolutely abysmal and that Adam Gase was the worst head coach the league has seen in a while, meaning that all the tape on Darnold should be thrown out. I wouldn’t go quite that far, but I do agree that the program Gase was running hurt Darnold’s development. What Matt Rhule has been doing in Carolina gives me hope that he can properly develop a quarterback who was widely believed to be the best in his class prior to the 2018 draft.
As mentioned, the Panthers punched a little above their weight more than once last year, and when a team with lesser talent is able to do that it’s usually due to good coaching. This offseason Carolina gave their coaches more to work with by bringing in veterans like Darnold, Haason Reddick and Rashan Melvin to pair with the young talent already on the team. Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, Brain Burns, Derrick Brown, Dontae Jackson, Jeremy Chinn and recent draft pick Jaycee Horn figure to be the young cornerstones that carry this team, but those veterans, most importantly Darnold, should bring balance to the roster.
If Darnold can deliver and the defense takes another step forward, then the Panthers could be a fringe playoff team this year. Darnold will have a better supporting cast and coaching staff than he ever did in New York, even simply having a weapon like McCaffrey to check down to should make Darnold’s life a whole lot easier. The defense featured the aforementioned young talent last year that should improve with more snaps under their belt, the added veterans can help fill in the gaps. Burns will finally get an edge-mate in Reddick, and Donate Jackson won’t have to carry as much of a burden this year now that Melvin, Horn and A.J. Bouye were brought in for secondary depth.
The Panthers are a team that really looks like it’s doing things the right way, but their biggest gamble is Darnold and whether he pans out or not will decide the fate of their season. I think their bet is going pay off.
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