Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - We are just over a month way from every team in the National Football League kicking off training camps, as they get ready for the upcoming 2022 season.
How will the season play out across the NFL? What could we expect or potentially see from certain players or teams in 2022?
It's time to have some fun with 10 bold - or in some cases, not so bold - predictions for the 2022 campaign in football:
1.) Seahawks finish with the worst record in the NFL (1-16)
All of Seattle's issues come to a head this season.
Starting either Drew Lock or Geno Smith is already not a great problem to have, but then you add in a coach who wants to run the ball without a true game changing running back, as well as a defense that is overpaid and the fourth-best in their own division. Then you add on the fact that they may be in the best division in all of football, I just can't see any positives.
D.K. Metcalf is a game-breaker, but without a quarterback who can get him the ball consistently, that ability dips heavily.
Ultimately, years of bad drafting and Pete Carrol being unwilling to adapt to the modern game has sunk this franchise.
Russell Wilson, for years, was saving this team from themselves with how much they wanted to run, but with him gone, I imagine it will be a quick slap in the face for just how poorly this team has been run the last few years.
Since 1980, 11 teams have finished with one win. I expect the Seahawks to join the group.
2.) Bengals will not make the playoffs
The curse of making the Super Bowl, but not winning.
In recent years, this has been the case:
- Carolina Panthers went 15-1 in 2015, only to go 6-10 the next season.
- Atlanta Falcons made the Super Bowl in 2016, made the playoffs in 2017, but went in a downward spin since.
- San Francisco 49ers went 13-3 in 2019, but went 6-10 in 2020 after a plethora of injuries.
For the Bengals, it’s more of their opponents got healthy. Cincinnati was all over Baltimore last year, but the Ravens had one of the worst injury lists in recent memory. With them being better in 2021, you can imagine last year's 10-7 Bengals will split 1-1 with the Ravens.
Even if they can repeat last year's record, it still may not be enough for the Bengals. The Pittsburgh Steelers will be improved, and the entire AFC West looks like a playoff division.
If the Bengals don’t win the division, they could be on the outside looking in.
Joe Burrow is still fantastic and Ja'Marr Chase might just be the best wide receiver in football, but the AFC is loaded, and a tough final run out of the bye week could sink their season.
Cincinnati plays Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Tennessee, Tampa Bay, Buffalo and Baltimore to round out the year. That's a rough run for the Bengals during that stretch that will do them in.
3.) Lions finish second in the NFC North, make the playoffs
Detroit last made the playoffs in 2016, but the Lions seemingly have found themselves a head coach who is building a culture and accumulating talent.
Really the big question for this team is if Jared Goff can replicate his late season play rather than what he looked like early on. In his last five games, Goff accumulated 11 touchdown passes, two interceptions, an almost 73% completion percentage and over 1,100 yards.
Goff will now have D.J. Chark and rookie Jameson Williams to throw to, along with Amon-Ra St. Brown and T.J. Hockenson already in the fold.
The Lions also had one of the best offensive lines in football, and that should continue into the 2022 season. With the talent being added and the division either staying the same or getting worse (Packers losing Davante Adams), the Lions are in a perfect position to be this year's surprise playoff team.
This is especially the case with No. 4 happening…
4.) Jameson Williams wins Rookie of the Year
A weak quarterback class and maybe being in the best situation for any first round rookie wide receiver will allow Williams to quickly become the face of the class.
We last saw Williams torching college football before a torn ACL in the College Football National Championship Game ended his season at Alabama. However, he should be ready to start the upcoming season on time for the Lions.
We have also seen the past few years of rookie wide receivers absolutely dominating the NFL from the word "go". While Garrett Wilson or Chris Olave could absolutely be those guys, Williams has the best quarterback situation.
As previously mentioned, Goff really found his groove towards the end of the year, and with a much better wide receiver room, I expect Williams to immediately take hold of the No. 1 role and flourish with some good wide receivers taking up matchups.
5.) New England finishes fourth in the AFC East
This one, for many, might not be that bold.
For one, we have seen the best of Mac Jones. While it's solid, it’s very much an Andy Dalton-type, where he’s just good enough to scare teams away from trying to get better.
But unlike Dalton, Jones doesn’t have his A.J. Green, and he really doesn’t even have an offensive coordinator. With Josh McDaniels out in Las Vegas now coaching the Raiders, Jones will have to learn a new offense going into his second year.
But the big thing heading into 2022 is the collapse of the defense. I don’t see any legit talent on that unit that can go the distance, especially after their late season run where they couldn't stop a nosebleed.
Along with all that, the Miami Dolphins are better, and I can’t see the New York Jets going 0-6 in the division again. They will, at least, win a game or two, especially if Zach Wilson takes a good step forward in Year 2.
6.) Jalen Hurts finishes the season as a top-five fantasy quarterback
No one really knows if the Philadelphia Eagles believe in Hurts as their long-term starter, but the talent they’ve put around him will definitely make it easier to see if he is or not.
Trading for A.J. Brown this year and drafting Devonta Smith last year has made the Eagles, potentially, one of the best wide receivers rooms in the NFC, especially when you add in speedster Quez Watkins as a No. 3 in a game-breaker kind of role.
The biggest boost to this is head coach Nick Sirianni changing up the Eagles' offense to a more run-heavy unit. With Hurts' running ability and now a plethora of wide receiver talent, don’t be scared to grab Hurts later in your fantasy drafts, because everything is pointing to him being one of the best.
7.) Gabriel Davis breaks the Bills' record for touchdown catches in a season with 14
If you’ve been listening to WGR recently, you have become aware that the Bills' record for touchdown catches in a season is ranked 32nd out of 32 teams with only 11. That record is held by Bill Brooks during the 1995 season.
Davis, to me, is the perfect player for this. For one, he has always been a touchdown guy for the Bills in his two years with the team. Seven touchdowns in his rookie year and six last year, but the key here is that he’s always been fighting for a role on a loaded offense.
His two seasons to start his NFL career saw him with less than 70 targets, but with Davis set to be the team's No. 2 wideout this season, I expect him to get around 90-100 targets. With that, we could also see his first 1,000-yard season receiving.
With the added production that will likely come his way, and with a loaded slot, tight end room and a No. 1 option in Stefon Diggs - who has never been a touchdown guy - don’t be surprised when Davis is up there with some of the best in touchdown catches this year.
8.) Trey Lance breaks out in his second year, but does not win MVP
I have become almost bullish on the 49ers and a lot of that comes from the quarterback they drafted third overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Trey Lance has all the physical tools that are needed to become one of today's great NFL quarterbacks. Standing at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, a runner that can ruin a defense's day, with an arm that can make all the throws.
Simply put, Lance is the most physically talented quarterback Kyle Shanahan has ever gotten to coach. With a year of sitting and learning the offense behind Jimmy Garoppolo, and from the small sample size we saw of him last year, I expect Lance to pop.
Even if Lance isn’t fantastic, himself, talent like George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk will absolutely make his life easier.
9.) Josh Allen becomes the first player to win MVP and the Super Bowl since Kurt Warner
I may sound like a homer, but I've spent more time trying to not have Allen win MVP in my head than I care to admit.
Allen has now entered into a stratosphere only occupied by himself and Patrick Mahomes, even with Aaron Rodgers winning back-to-back MVPs and now has the storyline to help push him over the line.
The Bills have, arguably, the most talented roster in the sport, but now the NFL has a blossoming rivalry in Mahomes and Allen. Giving both players an MVP and Super Bowl will push this past the Tom Brady-Peyton Manning peak.
This would not be something out of the blue. Allen has been one of the best players in all of football the past two years, and that is likely to continue. I predict Allen finishes the 2022 season with 45 touchdown passes, 5,000 yards passing, and the Bills finish with the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
The difficult part is winning the Super Bowl, with Kurt Warner and “The Greatest Show on Turf” being the last duel MVP/Super Bowl combination. But the Bills have, what feels like, a complete roster, and have been patient in building it.
The team now also has a number of scars that the entire franchise will want to rectify.
10.) Bills defeat 49ers in Super Bowl LVII
I have tried to not have the Bills win the Super Bowl, truly I have. They are the favorite by every metric and by most gambling sites, and, yet, here I am saying they will win the Super Bowl.
Ultimately, this is, by far and away, the most talented Bills team I’ve ever seen on paper in my lifetime. Elite players all over the field, and a number of guys I predict will finally get their day in the sun when it comes to national recognition (Matt Milano anyone).
I also believe this because of the scar tissue this team now has. A large group of this team has the bitter taste of almost having it all, but falling short. Now, there are no excuses.
I truly don’t think there will be a Jacksonville Jaguars game this year, and I do think this team finishes with, at least, 13 wins.
The Bills have been patient, and have nailed a number of risks that many national pundits had question marks about. Allen, of course, but even trading for Diggs had some thinking it would be a disaster.
The Bills are finally not just a well-run organization, but one of the best in all North American sports. This year will be the year all that waiting finally leads to the Bills' first Super Bowl title.
