NFL

The Saints face massive losses across the board heading into the 2021 NFL season. Starters at every major position group and coaches at multiple levels are gone. The retirement of franchise quarterback Drew Brees all but guarantees a significant decrease in total wins. Brees’ retirement is an overall positive for the organization long-term because he physically lost the ability to win in the post-season.

The Carolina Panthers have made minimal improvement to the roster in the offseason. The free agent additions address key weaknesses with players at good value. The team is moving in the right direction, but the players added do not move the needle towards more wins. This offense is loaded with explosive playmakers but lacks a true signal caller. The addition of Sam Darnold is a high risk and low upside approach to the most important position in sports.

A smart franchise doesn’t draft a wide receiver in the top 10. Miami has multiple first round picks once again in 2021, and takes advantage of Cincinnati’s leaving Sewell available. Here, Miami takes the cornerstone tackle from Oregon and bumps one of Austin Jackson or Robert Hunt inside to guard.

The Giants aren’t far from winning a playoff game. Protecting Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley has to be the key. GM Dave Gettleman misses out on Sewell and Slater, forcing his hand to trade back, but we all know he doesn’t like to do that. Here, Gettleman reaches for Christian Darrisaw out of Virginia Tech.

The 49ers have strong leaders ship and team building to support a talented roster. This team is expected to be a relevant contributor to the league every season. Our expectations must be realistic dependent on the starting quarterback. The move to trade up for a premium draft pick to select a rookie signals that 2021 is not an all-in year. Jimmy Garoppolo can lead this team to a winning season over 17 games.

Despite some turnover, the Rams fall at No. 5 overall in our pre-draft Power Rankings. Sean McVay stirs the pot in the LA, not Brandon Staley, in the same way that Bill Belichick maintains a strong defense in New England despite losing coordinators every year. Second, Stafford’s arrival is a bigger boost to the offense than the loss of Staley is a blow to the defense; and offense wins in the modern NFL. I think the Rams surprise this year a with a run at the No. 1 seed in the NFC. 

Football fans can turn on ESPN any day of the year and expect at least one segment highlighting drama around Aaron Rodgers. Despite his polarizing personality, he remains a dominant force of quarterbacking excellence. His presence coupled with an adequate defense and Year 3 of Matt Lafluer’s scheme will assure that Green Bay sits atop the NFC in 2021.

The Lions project to be much more fun and upbeat with Dan Campbell, but this team is knee-deep in a complete overhaul. They will struggle to win even a handful of games in 2021. Jared Goff is just a placeholder that was acquired to help justify trading their franchise quarterback. Goff is not the answer, and the remaining roster talent has been stripped down to its foundation. There is hope for Detroit, just not this year.

I am convinced the San Francisco 49ers did not give up three first-rounders to select a replica of Jimmy Garoppolo. Just because pocket passers have always been Kyle Shanahan’s quarterbacks, doesn’t mean that is all he wants. Justin Fields brings all the desirable traits of a top quarterback, from sustained success at a top program to the intangibles and production metrics. We had no idea San Fran was moving up to No. 3, why do we think we know their pick will be Mac Jones?

I’m not sure if Denver likes Mac Jones or not. What I do know is they are interested in bringing in competition for Drew Lock, as well as use their well-built roster to try and win right away. Jones presents the ability to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers, something Denver has a lot of in Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, K.J. Hamler, Melvin Gordon, and Noah Fant.

The Eagles hit the reset button the moment 2020 ended. The coaching staff was stripped down and fully replaced. Most veteran free agents did not get new contracts to stay in town. Most notably, their recently signed franchise quarterback was traded away. Regardless of Jalen Hurts being on the roster, these are the clear signs of a rebuild. The organization seems to be in the right direction, but do not expect more than five wins during the first year of a rebuild. 

The Washington Football Team has earned their name this offseason by compiling a true football team. This team has talent at every major position group and the coaching seems to be up to par. Ron Rivera and company are fine after the luckiest 7-9 playoff run in league history. The offense is loaded with weapons for Ryan Fitzpatrick to utilize in his magic performances each Sunday.

In 2020, Mark Andrews was in on 67.1-percent of the team’s offensive snaps. This was No. 26 among qualified tight ends in terms of Snap Share. His teammate Nick Boyle recorded a 66.7-percent share of the offensive playing time. But Boyle saw just 17 (No. 59) targets in his ten games. Andrews drew 89 (No. 9) targets. This worked out to a target per snap, or Hog Rate, of 4.7-percent for Boyle and 15.4 percent (No. 9) for Andrews.

Jordan Reed, whenever he took to the field, was a focal point of the 49ers offense. He only logged a 36.9-percent (No. 74) Snap Share. But he posted a position-leading 19.7 percent-Hog Rate. As a result, he was able to average 0.44 (No. 8) Fantasy Points per Route Run. He benefitted from Kittle’s missing time, of course. But his Hog Rate told fantasy managers that he could be plugged in as a potential streamer thanks to his usage.

There was no organized 2021 NFL Scouting Combine; rather, each college put on their individual pro day workouts, with the vertical jump, broad jump, 3-cone drill, and of course, the 40-yard Dash. In this piece, we’ll outline why we are adjusting the results of these 2021 pro day 40-times up by 0.05 seconds.

If widespread intuition is correct, and pro day 40-times are generally faster, then as an NFL player data authority, it is our duty to adjust pro day results to be on par with NFL Combine results, offering the sports public a true apples to apples comparison of every player at every position.  

The Colts are an upper-tier franchise and annual playoff contender. Chris Ballard built his culture, promotes from within and grows this team through the draft. Boasting a fierce offensive line and well-groomed defense makes this team one quarterback away from a championship. Carson Wentz regaining his MVP-caliber form would be the missing link. On the other hand, his history of cataclysmic failure repeating itself would sink this team to the deepest pits of despair.

Few people will argue that the Texans are the league’s worst team heading into 2021 if Deshaun Watson misses games. This team is fresh off of a complete tear down and rebuild. The offseason moves indicate one thing, the goal is not to win games. 2021 is a tryout and culture-building year with over 20 players added during free agency. This was the right move to revamp player morale.

The Kansas City Chiefs remain the league’s most difficult team to beat. Their Super Bowl loss and offensive line reshuffle do not change that. They will remain dominant until Patrick Mahomes’ annual salary increases 40-plus million per year and limits roster construction. Retaining Eric Bieniemy for another year also helps. No need to overthink it on this one. 

The Broncos enter 2021 with a well-built roster. The offense is loaded with weapons and the offensive line play made a leap forward in 2020. Vic Fangio’s defense has talented playmakers at all three levels. The return of most significant starters and coaching personnel suggests good year-to-year consistency by this organization. Team and coaching personnel that have years to develop together have an edge on Sundays.