Can you feel it? Can you smell it? The NFL season is just a day away and there’s still a lot to be excited about as we prepare for kickoff. For this Four Verts column, we’re going to focus on four storylines to get us excited for the season.
Dallas might be okay, at least for this season
The Cowboys are once again the story of the offseason. They dragged their feet on an extension for superstar wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, but ultimately rewarded him with the market-rate contract extension he was seeking. With Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons apparently up for renewal after the season, the Cowboys’ roster is set for 2024. Now that the dust has settled and the regular-season financial hysteria has died down, the Cowboys can focus on getting back to the playoffs (and actually winning a game this time).
Let’s face it: this is still a damn good squad that can at least win the NFC East.
Prescott, Lamb and Parsons are an elite trio for the Cowboys to build around. Those three alone would make them a tough opponent in almost any game. Two of the truly elite players at their positions in Lamb and Parsons, while Prescott is coming off a season where he was second in MVP voting. Outside of them, this team has just enough depth to win a lot of games, especially with the encouraging performances of their rookie offensive linemen this preseason.
If left tackle Tyler Guyton and center Cooper Beebe come out of the blocks and are just average, this team should once again have one of the best offenses in the league. Third-year pro Tyler Smith and future Hall of Famer Zack Martin are already entrenched as two of the best guards in the league. Anything they can get from their rookie offensive linemen will be a bonus. They’ll need this group to be strong with a shaky running back room behind them, but quarterback, offensive line and Lamb should give the Cowboys a formidable offense on their own.
The defense is an interesting dilemma. Coordinator Mike Zimmer is in town to replace Dan Quinn after he was hired to lead the Commanders, which could be an upgrade. Zimmer is considered one of the best defensive coaches in the NFL this century, but he’s been out of the league for a few years since being fired as head coach of the Vikings. If he’s still got the juice as a play-caller, Dallas’ defense could actually be a little better than it was a year ago.
The return of Trevon Diggs would be a huge boost for a defense that already had a strong cornerback in DaRon Bland last season. However, Bland is out for 6-8 weeks with an injury to start this game.
Dallas should be fine through 2024 at the very least. Things only get really shaky once that’s over. Lamb is signed for the foreseeable future, but Prescott is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent with a “no tag” clause, meaning there’s nothing the Cowboys can do to prevent him from hitting free agency. That’s almost a bag and a half, but that’s a problem for a later date. For now, the Cowboys’ plan to be a competitive team in 2024 seems like a reasonable feat.
What does year 2 look like for Bryce Young?
Okay, let’s try this one more time. Bryce Young had a terrible rookie season after the Panthers traded him off the farm, leading to a 2-15 record alongside one of the most depleted supporting casts in the game. It was a terrible situation for Young’s rookie year, but the results are the results. Frank Reich didn’t even make it through his first season as the Panthers’ head coach; it was that bad. Now Dave Canales is running the show as the Panthers’ third head coach in the last three years, and he’s facing a difficult task that lay before him.
As everyone knows, the Panthers sent the first draft pick to the Bears, leaving them without an incredibly valuable asset to kickstart their rebuild. Still, the offense was able to get an infusion of talent this offseason with the signings of offensive guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, trading for wide receiver Diontae Johnson, drafting wide receiver Xavier Legette, and spending a draft pick on running back Jonathon Brooks. The rookies may not pay off right away, but the veteran additions should at least help stabilize this offense and keep it from being the worst in the league.
Now, to say that this offense will be good, or even average, might be a bit of an exaggeration. However, the Panthers may have just now enough talent now that the new staff can properly assess Young’s chances of developing into a franchise quarterback. Flashes of sustained quarterback play have been few and far between, but it’s easy to attribute that to his situation. At least this year, Young has a chance to play in something resembling an NFL offense.
The Panthers have a long way to go before they’re feared, but that wasn’t a reasonable expectation for anyone to have this year. They took a chance on Young with disastrous results in Year 1, but by Year 2 they should at least have a clearer picture of whether they need to move on to a new quarterback in next year’s NFL Draft.
Rams defense after Aaron Donald could be tricky
This one is easy. The Rams lost the best defensive tackle in the game who held together a defense that has been devoid of talent in recent years. The Rams have had some nice finds, like defensive tackle Kobie Turner and edge rusher Byron Young, but we haven’t really seen what this looks like without AD99 under center causing chaos and nightmares on offensive lines.
This is a complete youth movement for the Rams’ defense. Turner and Young are in their second years, and they’re joined by Florida State rookies Braden Fiske and Jared Verse along the front lines. In fact, L.A.’s entire front seven, minus veteran linebacker Troy Reeder, is very young. Growing pains are expected — especially with defensive coordinator Raheem Morris taking over as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Chris Shula, grandson of the legendary Don Shula, has been promoted from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator, but he still deserves some grace as a rookie defensive coordinator.
That’s the formula for a defense that will likely struggle mightily this year as the Rams adjust to not having a black hole in the middle. Not that everyone on this defense is a loser, but it’s tough to lose a presence like that and just have it move like nothing’s gone. There’s going to be an adjustment period, and they may struggle.
The good news is that the Rams still have an elite or near-elite offense to help them get over the finish line while this young defense takes ownership of that side of the ball. Adding veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White to the roster will help from a communication standpoint, but the performance of this defense will be driven by its young players. If the Rams can get their act together quickly, they might be able to challenge the 49ers for the NFC West crown. If not, this will be another fun team that won’t be much of a threat come January.
Can someone take the AFC North away from the Ravens?
The Ravens are coming off a heartbreaking loss at home in the AFC Championship Game, but the expectations for this season haven’t changed one bit. This team is still good enough to win the Super Bowl, assuming they can get there. The defense is still intact from last season, Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry are in town, and they have perhaps more S-tier players than any other team. This should still be considered one of the best rosters in the NFL, but the AFC North is one of the best divisions in the league and will make it difficult for the Ravens to return to the top of the division.
Cincinnati appears to be the best hope to outpace Baltimore. Joe Burrow will return at quarterback this year after missing much of last year due to injury. Ja’Marr Chase is still on an open contract, but it’s unlikely he’ll miss enough time to be out of the team until the regular season. Burrow, Chase and Tee Higgins still form one of the best offensive trios in the game. The offensive line is undergoing a transition, but the potential is high if first-round draft pick Amarius Mims can stay healthy and on the field. The defense is a concern, but the expected offensive performance should be enough for the Bengals to remain competitive in the division.
Pittsburgh probably just isn’t good enough to actually try to win the AFC North crown, even though they beat the Ravens last season. Mike Tomlin teams are always going to be tough and win games they shouldn’t, but where’s the offensive firepower to consistently threaten teams throughout the season? George Pickens has a long way to go before he can truly become a No. 1 wide receiver and there’s not much else out there like him. Maybe this team could be a formidable offensive unit if their rookie offensive linemen perform well, but that’s asking a lot. This team has some decent talent up top in players like TJ Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick, but the rest of the roster lacks depth.
Cleveland is the wild card here. The defense is just as good as Baltimore’s, with some statistics favoring the Browns’ performance last season over the Ravens’. The Browns’ defense will almost certainly be a stalwart unit again, but the offense is what people care about. Deshaun Watson has been one of the worst quarterbacks in football since the Browns traded three first-round draft picks for him and gave him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract. If that doesn’t change, the Browns aren’t going to achieve their goals this year. It’s been four years since Watson even remotely resembled a franchise quarterback, so maybe this is it. The defense will still make the Browns incredibly tough to beat, but they may not score enough.
Baltimore realistically has to fend off Cincinnati and Cleveland to have any hope of becoming the AFC North champion. It still has the best chance of anyone in the division to win. Monitoring Watson’s lifelines, Burrow’s health and Chase’s contract will be crucial for the Ravens and anyone else who thinks they can win the division.
