What team goes WORST to FIRST in 2020?

[VanS]

It happens almost every year.  Last year it was the 49ers who went from the second overall pick in the draft to the Super Bowl.  The last place teams in 2019 were the  Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, and Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals look like the obvious choice but I think the Cincinnati Bengals have a good chance as well.  I have been high on them going into the last 2 NFL seasons.  I even thought in 2018 they had a Super Bowl caliber roster outside of the QB position.  A lot of those players I touted in 2018 as being super talented are still on the roster.  It wouldn't surprise me if they finally put it together this year like the 2019 49ers finally put it together on defense after years of picking defensive lineman high in the draft.

The 2020 Cincinnati Bengals have a shot at going from worst to first.

[Daniel]

I went through every option and said no way, until I got to the end and had to pick one.  Went with the Bengals, because Lamar injuring himself seems more likely than some of the others, and Burrow could come out swinging.  I don't put much stock in either the Browns or the Steelers at this point.

Miami would probably be my second choice, except they're going through such a drastic rebuild with a QB who may not start and is injured, and with no training camp.

[VanS]

47 minutes ago, Daniel said:

I went through every option and said no way, until I got to the end and had to pick one.  Went with the Bengals, because Lamar injuring himself seems more likely than some of the others, and Burrow could come out swinging.  I don't put much stock in either the Browns or the Steelers at this point.

Miami would probably be my second choice, except they're going through such a drastic rebuild with a QB who may not start and is injured, and with no training camp.

I see Joe Burrow as just another Andy Dalton.  But with that said, Andy Dalton did make it to the playoffs his first 5 years in the league largely thanks to a very talented roster assembled around him.  I think that will be the case for Joe Burrow in 2020.

The Bengals despite going 2-14 didn't have a depleted roster.  There are a lot of quality players on that team.  Joe Mixon, AJ Green, Tyler Boyd, Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, William Jackson III, and Jessie Bates are all either stars or emerging stars.  And then you have a guy like Tee Higgins who they took in the 2nd round this year who I had ranked as the best WR in the 2020 draft class.

Outside of the QB position, the Bengals are a very talented team.

[Nzd07]

I'll say Arizona, their depth at WR will allow them to spread the ball out against SF, could see them splitting the season series and then AZ ending up with a better record due to a weaker SOS.

[ClutchDJ]

1 hour ago, Daniel said:

I went through every option and said no way, until I got to the end and had to pick one.  Went with the Bengals, because Lamar injuring himself seems more likely than some of the others, and Burrow could come out swinging.  I don't put much stock in either the Browns or the Steelers at this point.

Miami would probably be my second choice, except they're going through such a drastic rebuild with a QB who may not start and is injured, and with no training camp.

What a weird mindset.

[Daniel]

1 minute ago, ClutchDJ said:

What a weird mindset.

Running QB, and he's the only one in that division I think is a huge impediment to the Bengals going from worst to first.

I'm not saying he's injury prone or anything, it's just hard for me to think of any of these teams going from worst to first without a big help.  That seems more plausible than a lot of the others.

[MikeT14]

I will say the Redskins, not as a homer, but just as process of elimination. It's way too hard to injuries, so all things equal...

1) The East never seems to have repeat winners. As bad as the Redskins were last year, a lot of that was mostly due to uncertainty at QB,  and terrible coaching/coaching change.

2) The defense is potentially VERY GOOD or could be. A switch to a 4-3 has been necessary for a long time. The secondary might not be great, but ideally the front 4/7 can cause enough disruption to help that out. 

3) Dwayne Haskins isn't a rookie anymore, and if he continues like he did the last two games, he might be okay. Guice also played well before his injury, and I'd like a full season of him. 

[Deadpulse]

I will never discount the wildness of the NFCE so I went with DC

 

However, there is so much worst to first precedent in the NFCS

[Soko]

Wouldn’t predict any of these teams to come in first, but if I have to, I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’ll be Miami. Most wide open division and Flores has that team playing hard. They added a lot of talent this offseason, I think they could do it.

Washington is a good choice too if only for all the turnover those NFCE teams go through.

[Trentwannabe]

Went with Arizona.

Miami or Washington wouldn't surprise me either.

[Hunter2_1]

I'm between LAC and ARZ. Will be hard for both of them though, in their respective divisions. 

[notthatbluestuff]

Cards look like the strongest team on paper, but they're also in the toughest division. I don't see it. 

[Daniel]

3 hours ago, notthatbluestuff said:

Cards look like the strongest team on paper, but they're also in the toughest division. I don't see it. 

In my mind, at least to go from worst to first, that's the AFCW.  The Chiefs are the de facto top dog in the NFL, and the Broncos look to be building a very strong team too.  I wouldn't even count out the Raiders with the large number of high draft picks they've had lately, and bringing in Mariota to compete/back up Carr.

AFCS is a close second.  The other three teams should be competing for the top spot, and it's hard for me to imagine the Jags outshining even two of them, much less all three.  You'd need serious regression from both Tennessee and Houston and for Rivers to be a lateral move.  Or just a ridiculous amount of growth from Minshew.

[ThatJaxxenGuy]

22 hours ago, ClutchDJ said:

What a weird mindset.

People actively want Lamar to get hurt these days. 

 

Edited July 3, 2020 by ThatJaxxenGuy

[MacReady]

Jaguars. 

Titans won't be taken lightly anymore.
Texans still have BOB.
Phillip Rivers was never as good as people pretended he was.
Minshew is baby Favre.