There are only 12 teams that need to look forward to the remainder of this season. Every other team is making major changes and already planning for 2020. Every year, new teams come out of nowhere to make the playoffs when they missed it the year before. This year we saw five teams make the playoffs after missing it the previous season — Buffalo, Tennessee, San Francisco, Minnesota, and Green Bay — and that’s average turnover when it comes to NFL playoff teams.
A quick caveat, there’s still a lot of things that need to happen. Cleveland doesn’t even have a general manager or head coach as of now — yes they made the list — and teams could make moves in free agency or the draft. It’s still fun to throw out some guesses.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns need to bring someone in that can rein in the personalities in their locker room. They need a general manager who aligns with Jimmy Haslam and Paul DePodesta — assuming DePodesta stays — vision, and they need a coach who is ready to use analytics to direct gameplans and strategy. Assuming they can find the right coach — Josh McDaniels may be perfect for this situation — then the Browns have enough talent. They have two great running backs, a talented receiver group, and young defense. Essentially they just need to fix their offensive line — not easy — and put Baker Mayfield in comfortable situations.
The bad news for the Browns is that the Ravens aren’t going anywhere and the Steelers should be much improved once Ben Roethlisberger returns.
Atlanta Falcons
Once I think I am out, they pull me back in. The Falcons ended the season on fire. They saved Dan Quinn’s job and Quinn will be more of the CEO coach than a day to day game planner when it comes to the defense. They have the talent on offense. They made the Super Bowl a few years ago — and should have won it.
The Falcons just need to stay healthy. They don’t have a ton of areas where they need a quick fix. Matt Ryan won an MVP. Julio Jones is a consistent All-Pro. Maybe they should add some youth at running back, but Devonta Freeman is serviceable.
Dallas Cowboys
This is where the caveat comes into play because if Jason Garrett gets an extension, then the Cowboys could finish 10-6 or 6-10.
The Cowboys have the most talented roster that missed the playoffs in 2019. They finished sixth overall in team DVOA. The fact that they missed the playoffs is simply baffling.
They have to re-sign Dak Prescott and they might want to let Amari Cooper walk. That means they will have to add some talent at wide receiver.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jameis Winston’s 5000-33-30 year will go down in the record books. If Winston can cut back on even one-third of his interceptions, the Bucs will be a real football team. Tampa should probably give Jameis one more year under the franchise tag.
The Bucs defense was good even though it didn’t have any name-brand players. Bruce Arians did wonders with his roster. The Bucs are right there if they can just convince Jameis to stop throwing the ball to the other team.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts just ran out of gas. They need to go and find a quarterback. Jacoby Brissett is just fine, but just fine isn’t good enough for an extremely deep and talented roster.
The Colts are well-coached. They were just very boring this year because that’s what they had to do to win games. The hope would be that Indy adds some competition at quarterback, stays healthy at wide receiver, and improves slightly on defense. The Colts are right there.
Los Angeles Rams
The obvious choice to make the playoffs next year. The Rams have talent, but they may need to figure out what they are going to do with Todd Gurley’s massive contract. That could turn into an albatross.
The Rams may need to reset. They don’t have picks to rebuild through the draft and their roster is top-heavy when it comes to their contracts. They need to fix the offensive line. Jalen Ramsey is in need of a new contract. Nothing is off the table, but doubting this team would be questionable.
Arizona Cardinals
Let’s take a big swing since there is always a team that seems to come out of nowhere to make the playoffs. That team in 2020 could be the Arizona Cardinals.
It doesn’t matter how tall Kyler Murray is, he is a very good quarterback. Now that the Cardinals know their franchise has its most important piece set for the foreseeable future, it’s time to spend a ton of money on the offensive line, find some wide receivers that can contribute consistently, and rebuild the entire defense. That seems like a lot, but some team does it every year.
