Alex's Divisional Winners & Losers

If no one else wants to do it (these are everywhere), then I guess I will step up to the plate. That’s what we do here at A-Z, give the people what they want. So here it is, my predictions on each divisional winner and loser. I’m choosing to leave records off mainly because no one knows what the league year is going to look like. Enjoy.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills (winner)

New York Jets (loser)

The Buffalo Bills, with Tom Brady out of New England, will lead this division for years to come. They have an up and coming stud at QB, Josh Allen, with offensive and defensive weapons to secure victories for them. The combination of youth, and talent on this team may surprise some, but don’t be a fool. Five of their seven picks were offensive players. Jake Fromm will never see the field unless Allen gets hurt. They drafted A.J. Epenesa at DE in the 2nd round to beef up their pass rush, and drafted RB Zack Moss out of Utah to step right in to the Frank Gore role in Buffalo. The Bills are sporting more talent at WR than they have had in a while, and they have some very promising young players at RB. Josh Allen will have the best supporting cast of his career, and he still has great rushing ability. Watch out AFC East.

The J-E-T-S, Jets!, Jets!, Jets! Are going to continue to be the Jets. This dysfunction within that organization is impressive to be honest. We really haven’t seen a lot from Sam Darnold to deem him worthy or not. I personally don’t think he has a great opportunity. Two out of their four offensive picks will hopefully give Darnold the opportunity to move forward as a young starting QB. They got their pass protector in Becton, and a pass catcher in Mims. Good picks, but that doesn’t change an entire team, especially with Adam Gase leading the ship.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens (winner)

Cincinnati Bengals (loser)

Ballers gonna ball, and that is exactly what Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are going to do for the foreseeable future. With Big Ben coming back after elbow surgery it is hard to say how they will do. The Steelers have very impressive, young offensive weapons for Ben when he returns. If Ben fails to produce, we may be looking at the end of an era in Pittsburgh. I despise the Steelers, but I give credit where credit is due- they know how to draft WRs. Speaking of young WRs, the Ravens should finally have a healthy Marquise Brown in 2020. Brown was a first round pick in 2019 who dealt with injuries literally the entire season. Recently Brown has stated that at times last year, he couldn’t even walk. Brown is a home run threat with the ball in his hands. Look for big things from Marquise (Hollywood) Brown in 2020. The Ravens are shaping up to be perennial contenders, we should see some epic battles between Baltimore and Kansas City for years to come.

I have friends that are Browns, and Bengals fans. Nothing wrong with that. The Browns are in a better situation than the Bengals for success, and that success should have been felt or seen last year but they hired Freddie Kitchens as their head coach. Pissed away any opportunity they had in team cohesion with that guy. Kitchens is like the fun uncle who doesn’t want to make anyone mad… but then makes everyone mad. Kevin Stefanski should be a significant upgrade from Freddie Kitchens, but one thing to remember is that Stefanski is yet another first year head coach... The only reason I’m not sold on the Browns is the amount of personality in the locker room. OBJ has grown increasingly frustrated over time with his lack of involvement in the offense. Meanwhile, teammate and friend Jarvis Landry has been very involved, at times looking like the better player. Landry could be the beneficiary of #2 coverage, but OBJ still demands targets of his own. If he does not get more work this year, we could see OBJ vs. the kicking net, round 2 in 2020. As a whole, the Browns have one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, and hopefully they can harness that to play as a team.

I bet by now you might think that the Browns are gonna lose the division… That’s going to be the Bengals this year. Despite getting the highest graded QB prospect since Andrew Luck, Joe Burrow should see his share of struggles in 2020. All things considered, he has a very talented group of players around him. The Bengals OL should see a big bump this year, as they will actually have their 2019 1st round pick Jonah Williams, who missed the entire 2019 season due to injury. Looking at the weapons around Joe Burrow, not bad for a rookie QB. The AFC North is a division split between extremely well run organizations, and completely dysfunctional ones. Right now, the Bengals are arguably one of the worst run organizations in the NFL, which is why I think they will lose the division again this year. That being said, the Bengals have a legit franchise QB now… This could be the start of a turn-around for this franchise, but not in 2020.

AFC South

Indianapolis Colts (winners)

Jacksonville Jaguars (losers, that’s obvious)

If you have read some of my other blogs then you may think this is a bias opinion, and it may be but I think there is a serious case for the Colts winning the AFC South. The AFC south gets shit on all the time for being the easiest division, could be true, I’m not here to argue that. Here are the facts though. The Texans didn’t have a first round pick, but did have a solid offense last year passing and running. They traded away their top offensive weapon, Deandre Hopkins, leaving Deshaun Watson with minimal targets (Brandon Cooks is canceled), and still managed to not get a first round pick in exchange for Hopkins. Instead they got an overpaid RB that they didn’t really need.

The Jaguars just have no idea what they are doing. First they are trading Fournette, then they aren’t. Their stud DE is calling out the owner's son on twitter, calling him “spoiled”. No one wants that guy either. The only thing they did right was get out from under Nick Foles and his massive contract. Minshew mania isn’t the answer, but tank for Trevor seems to be a real option. They won't be a problem for the Colts.

The Titans are the only team in this division that could cause some real issues. I don't think we truly know how good Tannehill is because he was stuck with Adam Gase in Miami. He seemed to be pretty decent when he took over that offense, but how much of that was Henry plowing through walls? A lot. The Titans wasted the first three of four seasons of Henry’s career using him in the back up role. He proved what he could do last year, but was it too late? Running backs aren’t one to have long careers, because of the miles they put on. The dude is fun to watch so hopefully that continues, but he is also franchised tagged. They weren’t able to get a deal done this offseason, which occasionally can cause some term oil between the player and franchise. Could be interesting to watch.

Now, I get Brissett didn’t show flashes of being the guy for years to come for the Colts. You have to admit that when the expected starter retires two weeks before the start of the season (thank you for your services, Andrew) that has to be hard to get thrown into the spotlight like that. It's also worth mentioning Jacoby had a TD:INT ratio of 14:3 before getting hurt, and they lost their first like ten games were decided by six or less points. I don’t have much faith in Phillip Rivers but he is a proven veteran to have success with Frank Reich. I think that goes a long way, and with the offensive acquisitions of Taylor and Pittman, Rivers has the opportunity to win. Lets not forget he also has one of the best, if not the best offensive lines up front. The defense in Indy has potential to be one of the best in the league. They added guys up front to add pressure to the run game, which they lacked last year. The LB core is young and talented. They also added proven DBs to help with the pass defense.

AFC West

Kansas City Chiefs (winners)

Las Angeles Chargers (losers)

If you think anyone in this division has the chance to beat the defending Super Bowl champions, get out of town. That offensive is explosive. They have two of the fastest guys on the outside in WRs. A guy at QB who will be the best to ever play at the end of his career, and he is only 24. They had somewhat of an RB issue last season, but they drafted the best guy they could have to fit that scheme, Clyde Edwards-Helaire. It will be hard to stop that offense. Defensively they stepped it up towards the end of the season. I don’t think they will have an issue picking back up where they left off, or even being better than they were last year.

The Chargers will struggle mainly because of the QB situation. It's six one way, half a dozen another. If you go with Justin Herbert as the QB then they will face growing pains very similar to the Bengals. Tyrod Taylor is there, and it has been said that he has a real chance being the QB, but look at his career. Back up in Baltimore, proves his worth and goes to Baltimore. Wins some games but doesnt show a lot of greatness. Goes to the Browns, and they realize they have to do something else. Then he goes to the Chargers to back up Phil. Give it a season, max, and he will be back in the back up role. The rest of the offense has the talent, and the defense is alright. They have star players, but where there are holes it shows.

NFC North

Minnesota Vikings (winners)

Chicago Bears (losers)

I’m sorry Zack, but i think it's true and maybe part of you knows that too. With the turmoil, and narrative being twisted in Green Bay after the Jordan Love pick I wouldn't be shocked if you started to see a decline in success for the Packers. The fact that they didn't find another target for Rodgers isn’t exactly awesome either. They did however get an RB they didn’t need, and a TE they won't ever use. They drafted three offensive lineman which will payoff for Rodgers while he is still a Packer. Outside of Adams they have a lot of unproven talent at WR. Adams is a solid number one when healthy, and there is potential St. Brown has a big impact being in his third year. He missed all of his sophomore year on IR. There draft overall is still baffling to me. The GM did say he would never pass up on a good player in a draft. Seems like he did…… a few times.

This leads me to the Vikings. They shipped Diggs out of town which may have been for the best. Last year he struggled with the amount of run plays being used in the game plan, and sharing the ball with Thielen. But they had success throughout the season making it to the playoffs. Kirk Cousins will always play like he has a chip on his shoulder, and I think that helps the Vikings. It gives them the drive they need. Justin Jefferson could not have landed in a better spot. He fits perfectly into that scheme. Dalvin Cook will be a top rusher this season. The guy has such a high ceiling, and defenses don’t know what to do with that offense. They can run or pass, and have such success doing both. They drafted at every defensive level. This team will shock people.

NFC South

New Orleans Saints (winners)

Atlanta Falcons (losers)

This may be shocking to some with Tom Brady now in Tampa Bay, or as I like to say TB in TB. He has the weapons to be dangerous. I just think there will be some chemistry issues at first. Gronk being there will help, but he has been out of the game for a bit, and you don’t know to what capacity he will be used with OJ Howard there. The Saints just have what it takes. They have the chemistry, the drive, they just have it. Unfortunately, they have been eliminated from the playoffs the last three years in controversial ways. This could be the year that they turn that around, or use it to win. They drafted positions to help Drew Brees make that dream of theirs come true.

Matt Ryan and his noodle arm were extremely disappointing last year for Falcons fans. I wouldn’t be shocked if that continued into next season. Julio is a perennial athlete, and WR. However, he is getting older and Calvin Ridley had a disappointing sophomore season compared to his rookie year. Four of their first five picks were defensive players which will be extremely helpful seeing how their defense last year was abysmal.

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys (winners)

Washington Redskins (losers)

Everyone in this division last year was trying their hardest to lose. No one wanted to win it seemed like. The Eagles could make a real push to win this division, especially if Dak holds out. This pick though is dependent on Dak playing the entire season. I think the addition of Ceedee Lamb in this offense is a big boost by itself. The Cowboys have three decent WRs to pick from, and an RB that I would imagine takes the title of leading rusher this season. With the additions of all their defensive picks too, the Cowboys will annoyingly be relevant for a few years.

The Redskins would be a much, much better team if Alex Smith would have never gotten hurt. Dwayne Haskins stinks. Plain and simple. He led them to a victory last season, but missed running out onto the field to kneel the ball in victory formation because he was taking a picture on the sideline with a fan. He has a big arm, but not the mental skill set it takes to lead an NFL team. This hurts me to say, i’m a huge Ryan Kerrigan fan. He’s from the town I live in. We met at a high school swim meet of all places the year RGIII took them to the playoffs. I hope they figure out their QB issue, I really do. However, they may think they don’t have a QB issue. Idiots.

NFC West

Seattle Seahawks (winners)

Arizona Cardinals (losers)

I think the NFC West is the hardest division to have to play in. Each team has the opportunity to win. Seriously, all of them. The reason I settled on Seattle as the winner of this division is purely because of Russel Wilson. He has the ability to extend plays much longer than any QB in the league. They had a pretty balanced draft as far as offensive to defensive players. All of which could make impacts for the team from day one. Damien Lewis from LSU should be a starter from the start. DK Metcalf popped off last season to the point he may become the main target in Seattle. Exciting things in the greater northwest.

Arizona is one team that has potential to win the division, especially with the addition of Deandre Hopkins. With him and Larry on each side, that sets Murray up for success. The two downfalls this team has is Murray struggled a little last year, and their defense has some holes that weren’t filled in free agency or the draft.

-Alex Sutton