NFL 2022-2023 Preview

My picks for MVP, the Playoffs, and top Contenders for the 2022-2023 NFL Season:

Rookie of the Year

First off, I will start with the Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards. I’ll look at the defensive side first. I think there are 3 people especially to look at here. Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner from the New York Jets, Aidan Hutchinson from the Detroit Lions, and Kyle Hamilton from the Baltimore Ravens.

I believe Ahmad Gardner was the best CB in the draft. The Jets could be in for some improvement this year. Their D-Line should also be pretty good which would help Gardner defend against some less accurate passes.

Aidan Hutchinson has the chance to really help the Lions pass rush. I thought he was the best player in the entire 2022 draft class, yet the Jaguars passed on him. He could develop into one of the best pass rushers in the NFL over the next few years.

Kyle Hamilton has the chance to be a game changer for the Raven’s defense. He is a very rare talent at the safety position. Also with his size, he could play linebacker if they need him to.

In the end I think the award at the end of the year should go to Kyle Hamilton if things go the way I think they will.

Then on the offensive side my top three candidates are Kenny Pickett from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Treylon Burks from the Tennessee Titans, and Jameson Williams from the Detroit Lions.

The main reason I think Kenny Pickett could win is just because he is the probably going to be the only rookie QB to start the majority of his games. He also has a pretty good supporting cast around him with Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and Najee Harris.

I think Treylon Burks could be in for a big year. Not only was he very impressive at Arkansas, but he also gets to benefit from being on a quite good team. He could be the team’s no. 1 receiver by the end of the year. The Titans must have been quite confident in his ability to be good immediately because of they essentially traded AJ Brown for him.

Jameson Williams was a different maker at Alabama, and had he not got injured, Alabama probably would have won the Nation Championship, and he probably would have been a top 10 pick. He will probably be the top WR on his team, and he’s got a decent QB. The Lions will also be in plenty of situations to pass because they will be losing a lot.

I believe Treylon Burks will get the award at the end of the year after becoming the Titans no. 1 WR.

Playoffs

The race for the playoffs could very interesting, especially in the AFC. I do have a few locks though. In the AFC I really like the Bills. In the NFC I think the Rams, Packers, and Buccaneers are basically locks barring many significant injuries. Then there is the debate for who will make the other 10 spots available. First I’ll pick the division winners. I believe the Cowboys will win their division. While they did lose some weapons, they still have a better roster than all the rest of the teams in their division, though if the trend of no back to back winners continues, the Eagles would my pick to win the division. The Bengals will win their division, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ravens did. I think the Titans will win their division, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Colts won the AFC South. The hardest division to predict is the AFC West. The Chiefs, Chargers, Broncos, and Raiders will all be very good this year. They’ve all got top ten offenses in the NFL, and top 10 QBs. I believe the Chiefs will win the division though because of the fact the other three teams haven’t really proven that they can be at a division winning caliber.

Then there are the wildcard spots. First I’ll pick for the NFC because it seems less deep than the AFC. The 49ers will make it as long as Trey Lance is at least average in his first year as a starter. The Saints have one of the best rosters in the NFL. Their defense is stacked, especially in the secondary. If Jameis Winston continues improving like he did last year, the Saints could be a force to be reckoned with. That leaves one more spot. I was considering the Cardinals, the Vikings, the Eagles, and the Panthers for the last spot. The Vikings have a very good skills group with Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, and Adam Thielen along with some good additions on defense. The Panthers added Baker Mayfield at QB, and they have on of the better defenses in the NFL. The Eagles have made some good additions to both sides of the ball with AJ Brown and James Bradberry. The Cardinals have had some drama with Kyler Murray this offseason as well as Deandre Hopkins being suspended for awhile and losing Chandler Jones. They did add Marquise Brown though to help with the loss of Christian Kirk. In the end I think the Cardinals will make it, but the other teams I mentioned all have a good chance.

Then there are the AFC West’s Wildcard spots. First I’ll eliminate some teams that are good and would have a good chance of making it in the NFC. The Baltimore Ravens are one that I don’t think will make it unless they beat the Bengals out for the division title same with the Colts against the Titans. The Steelers are pretty good, but they won’t have the QB play. The same can be said with the Browns. The Jets, Jaguars, and Texans are in rebuilding stages at the moment. The Patriots I feel like don’t really have the it factor on either side of the ball to get in. That leaves the Dolphins, Raiders, Broncos, and Chargers are all left vying for three spots. I’ll say that the Dolphins are in because of their many additions to make the offense better, plus the fact the other three teams are all in the same division. I believe the Chargers will make it with a great pass rush and great QB play. That leaves the Broncos and Raiders. This is where it gets really tough. I believe Russell Wilson is better than Derek Carr (not by a lot though), but this is his first year on his new team. The RBs are about even on both teams. The Broncos have a better O-Line, but the Raiders have a better D-Line. The Raiders are better at WR/TE, but the Broncos have better LBs and DBs. The Broncos also have a slightly easier schedule. I’ll give the edge to the Broncos, but the Raiders are very good as well.

NFC

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2. Green Bay Packers
3. Los Angeles Rams
4. Dallas Cowboys
5. San Francisco 49ers
6. New Orleans Saints
7. Arizona Cardinals

In The Hunt

• Philadelphia Eagles
• Minnesota Vikings
• Carolina Panthers

AFC

1. Buffalo Bills
2. Kansas City Chiefs
3. Tennessee Titans
4. Cincinnati Bengals
5. Los Angeles Chargers
6. Miami Dolphins
7. Denver Broncos

In The Hunt

• Las Vegas Raiders
• Baltimore Ravens
• New England Patriots

OPOY/DPOY/MVP

First I’ll start with DPOY. The top 3 people I think could win the award are Aaron Donald from the Los Angeles Rams, T.J. Watt from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns. With Watt and Donald, they are the last two winners if the award and they are obviously still among the best in the NFL. But this year I’m gonna go with Myles Garrett. It’s honestly pretty surprising that he has not won it yet after being one of the best edge rushers in the NFL for multiple years.

For OPOY my top 3 candidates are Derrick Henry from the Tennessee Titans, Johnathan Taylor from the Indianapolis Colts, and Najee Harris from the Pittsburgh Steelers. I expect Derrick Henry to comeback to full strength season and be needed more than ever with a lacking receiving corps. Johnathan Taylor had a breakout year last season and should be very good and productive again. Najee Harris was good as a rookie last year, and I expect him to take another step next year while having one of the biggest workloads of any RB in the country. My pick to win is Derrick Henry. If looks anything like he did in 2020, the award should most definitely be his.

Then there is MVP. My 3 candidates are Josh Allen from the Buffalo Bills, Tom Brady from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers. Josh Allen has been getting better every year he has been in the NFL. It is only a matter of time till he gets over the hump and wins the award. Tom Brady is coming back after having an amazing statistical performance last year. With most of his weapons back and being on a great team, he will definitely be a candidate. Aaron Rodgers has won the award 2 years in a row. I expect his performance this year to be more of the same as his last two campaigns. If I had to take my pick, I would choose Josh Allen.

The Contenders

There are several teams that I think could make the Super Bowl this year. In the AFC I believe there are 7 different teams that could make it to the Super Bowl. Now, some of them would require some luck, but it is possible.

The Bengals made it there last year, so it would be reasonable to say that they would have a chance of doing it again.

The Ravens also have some sort of chance I think. They got close to winning a lot of games last year. If their CBs, RBs, and Lamar Jackson can stay healthy, they could be very good. They do however, need someone to breakout in the WR room such as Rashod Bateman or Devin Duvernay.

The Dolphins could possibly make it. They made some big moves this offseason that could make them very dangerous. Tyreek Hill among the best players in the NFL, Chase Edmonds, Sony Michel, and Raheem Mostert will improve Miami’s run game a lot. Terron Armstead and Connor Williams will definitely help the O-Line, and Cedric Wilson was a nice addition to the WR room. They are two crucial questions though. Can Terron Armstead really fix the entire O-Line, and how well will the offense mesh, especially with a new head coach?

The Bills are very good. The addition of Von Miller should make their pass rush a lot better. OJ Howard, James Cook, and Jamison Crowder are nice additions to the offense. Josh Allen is a top 5 QB, and Stefon Diggs is a top 3 WR. Their secondary is loaded, their D-Line is young and should improve, and their LBs are good. The only hole I can find on this team is depth at CB.

The Chiefs are an obvious contender. They took a little bit of a step back last year, and they totally blew it in the AFC Championship. The loss of Tyreek Hill is gonna hurt, but their group of WRs isn’t bad plus they still have Travis Kelce. Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are good additions, Mecole Hardman is very fast, and Skyy Moore could make a difference as a rookie. Overall, they are still a very good team, and Patrick Mahomes is still the best QB in the NFL.

The Chargers could make a run. They have a loaded roster top to bottom. Justin Herbert is a top 10 QB, Austin Ekeler is good and Isaiah Spiller has good potential in the RB room. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams lead a good receiving corps. Both the O-Line and D-Line should be solid. They have the best LB corps in the country with both Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. Their DB group is stacked J.C. Jackson and Derwin James Jr. leading the way. If they can put it all together, they could make it to the Super Bowl. The only problem I can see is depth on both sides of the line.

The Broncos have a good QB now. Their defense has been good and will be good again. The roster looks good top to bottom. The only problems I can see is the lack of a real star at WR or RB (I wouldn’t be surprised if Jerry Jeudy and/or Javonte Williams broke out this year), and I am not convinced their O-Line will be super good. One thing to keep in mind is that the last two Super Bowl winners had veteran QBs in their first year at the team.

The NFC has only 3 teams that I could see making it to the Super Bowl.

The Packers could have trouble at WR. Allen Lazard is their top option at the moment. Everything else on the roster is Super Bowl caliber, but their WR group might be among the worst in the country.

The Rams are possibly better than last year with the additions of Allen Robinson II and Bobby Wagner. The losses of Von Miller and Andrew Whitworth could hurt though. We’ll see if they have what it takes to repeat.

The Buccaneers have an amazing roster. The they don’t have a hole anywhere on their starting lineup. If they have injury problems, they could be in trouble.

In the end, I think the Bills will go to the Super Bowl and beat the Buccaneers.