Storylines around the NFL

Misery index seven weeks into the 2024 NFL season:

Unlike most weeks where one topic jumps out to me for a video or article I want to write or even there’s a point in the season where it makes sense to do power rankings or mid-season awards, there were several ways I considered going here. However, as I looked a broader view at the NFL landscape, my one grand thought I came away with is the state of affairs for the teams at the bottom of the standings and their gap to the rest of the league. In large part because I currently don’t see a path where those franchise massively turn things around and I don’t want to ignore them until draft season rolls around.

With some teams having already had a bye week, I didn’t want the cut-off to be two wins, but rather I chose to go with the nine squads at least three games below .500 – meaning 2-5 or worse. That also made sense considering the two teams that criteria excludes are the 2-4 Rams and Dolphins, whose campaigns have been heavily affected by injuries and still have some hope to turn things around.

To illustrate that rift between the franchises in question and those in legitimate position to compete for playoff spots ultimately, here’s a number to consider – and I understand of course that it has to exist for this make sense mathematically – but the nine teams I’m about to discuss have an average point differential of -53.1 for the year, meaning the median outcome for them every week is pretty much losing by just over a touchdown. I did not go back to recent years to really dive into how this stacks up, but it feels like quite an extreme line of demarcation – and that calculation includes the Saints’ clearly unsustainable start, where they led the league with a +62 point differential through the first two weeks.

So this isn’t meant to be a way for me to trash the bottom-third of the league, but rather trying take a step back and reflect on how we got here, by going through these teams. And maybe give an outlook for the near future, as we think about how things could be course-corrected.

We’ll go by record first and then alphabetical order:


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NFL Offseason

Key position battles across 2024 NFL training camps:

With all veterans across the NFL arriving at their team facilities for training camp, it’s time to look at the most interesting and/or meaningful competitions for starting jobs. I want to describe what role needs to be filled – some more distinctly defined than others – with a quick summary of why the spot is up for grabs, present the candidates with some statistics to back up their case, discuss some schematic nuances and who I consider as favorites based on what those coaching staffs are looking for as well.

I settled on six position battles on each side of the ball, without repeating positions. Some of the them may be more critical, as we’ll get to in a second – while others may be more niche roles or at least could look as much, as these battles play out. At the very end, I added one more position group for all 32 teams, where there’s some competition to keep your eye on, listed by alphabet.

Let’s dive in:

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NFL Offseason, Storylines around the NFL

One burning question for each AFC team ahead of the 2024 season

In the second half of this little two-piece mini series, I’m switching over the AFC and ask myself “what is the one burning question I have for each team as I think about the 2024 NFL season?”

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NFL Draft

My ultimate 2024 NFL Mock Draft (including picks for non-first-round teams)

Draft week is here, as we’re only days away from Chicago Bears being officially put on the clock, and it’s time for me to reveal my final mock draft!

This is based on what I think will happen – which was as challenging as I can ever remember in a year, based on how much uncertainty we have near the top already – rather what I would do if I was running these 32 franchises.

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NFL Draft

AFC West 2023 draft & roster review

We have come to the final edition of our 2023 NFL draft & roster review series!

And we’re finishing off with a bang, as we’re looking at the division that includes the reigning Super Bowl champions and three challengers at different stages of their team life cycles!

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NFL Draft, NFL Offseason

AFC West Draft & Roster Review 2022

In the eighth and final video of our divisional draft breakdown series, we’re looking at the AFC West!

Over the last month, we’ve now analyzed all 262 draft picks and talked about all 32 NFL teams in detail, as it pertains to their roster building process!

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