7 bold NFL season predictions for 2022

The Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams square off in the first game of the NFL season tomorrow, and with that comes a potential new era for the sport. Players are getting lighter, contracts are getting larger and more players are getting traded in hopes of hoisting the Lombardi trophy.

Of course, with the NFL season comes predictions, and at SB Nation we don’t do anything if it isn’t bold, so here are seven bold predictions for the NFL season. Why seven? BECAUSE YOU CAN’T HANDLE EIGHT!

Kansas City is undergoing a sort of schematic shift. After trading away Tyreek Hill, the current receivers on the roster consists of Juju Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore. All are good receivers, but none are Tyreek Hill, especially in the speed department. The trading of Hill signaled that the Chiefs offense would shift away from being the super spread, big play or no play offense they have been for the past few years, into a truer West Coast offense that Andy Reid has run before.

When you’re as successful as the Chiefs have been over the past few years, a change in philosophy is going to take time. It’ll probably look rough in the early parts of the season, especially if the defense doesn’t round back into form. Kansas City also plays four teams that made the playoffs last year in the first six weeks, and the other two are the Chargers and Colts, so it’s going to take time for that offense to round into form.

But I mean, it’s Patrick Mahomes. It’s Andy Reid. This Chiefs offense, if it rounds into form, could be one of the best offenses in the league. Schematically, there should be more opportunities to attack the intermediate levels of the field and over the middle, where Smith-Schuster and Skyy Moore should operate. Travis Kelce is getting older, but should still be able to play at a high level. If rookie EDGE George Karlaftis is able to get pressure early, then the entire defense will benefit as well.

Where the Chiefs should imrpove the most however is in the run game. Because teams are going to sit in 2-high safety shells, that leaves lighter boxes for the run game to flourish. The Chiefs offensive line already has the personnel and scheme to be great at run blocking, and the stable of Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Isaiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon offer enough explosiveness in the run and passing game to cause headaches for defenses. Maybe I’m giving Mahomes and Reid the benefit of the doubt, but I think when the playoffs roll around, the Chiefs will be at the top of the AFC West.

Where do I begin with the Chicago Bears? The offensive line might be the worst in all of football, the receiver group is at least bottom three in the league, and the defense is undergoing a schematic shift under Matt Eberflus. The Bears simply don’t have the talent to consistently make things interesting against other teams, and a first time coaching staff has their hands full with getting this team competitive. Even though Sharp Football Stats has the Bears with the fourth-easiest schedule in the league, it probably won’t matter. This team will be picking first overall in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Coming in at seventh on that same strength of schedule ranking are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who quite possibly could sleepwalk through that division and get home field advantage. The Buccaneers have a loaded roster, and that’s before Chris Godwin even comes back from injury. Tom Brady is still somehow Tom Brady (he’s 45 man he can’t keep getting away with this, and yet...), and the Bucs defense will still be one of the leagues best.

In addition, the Buccaneers play in a weak division. The Saints are the biggest competitors in the division and their starting QB is coming off of a torn ACL and Alvin Kamara is staring at a six game suspension. The Panthers are starting Baker Mayfield and the Falcons...yeah nevermind. The Bucs could sweep the division, and will have the best record in the NFL.

With Kevin O’Connell coming to Minnesota from the Los Angeles Rams, expect Justin Jefferson to have an increased workload and production. Essentially, the entire Cooper Kupp playbook will be given to Jefferson, who was projected as a dominant slot receiver coming out of LSU. With Jefferson getting more choice routes in the slot against nickel corners and linebackers, he should feast on targets and yards, for good reason. Jefferson is regarded as a top five receiver right now, but after a potential Offensive Player of the Year campaign he could have this season, he could be seen as the best wideout in the league, before his rookie contract is up.

This is as much of a bet on the Bills as it is Allen. Since 2019, there’s only been one QB who’s team didn’t have the best record in the NFL (Aaron Rodgers, 2020). Allen could possibly become the next one. The Bills roster has very few holes, and offensively could become a juggernaut. As the Chiefs were last year, the Bills started sluggish as teams played more 2-high shells. But the Bills transitioned to the power game earlier, giving FB Reggie Gilliam more snaps and making Josh Allen the focal point in the run game.

This year, despite not having Brian Daboll, the offense doesn’t seem to skip a beat, returning Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis and Isaiah McKenzie, and adding Jamison Crowder to the receiver room. Allen has multiple options to throw the ball to, and also runs like Bowser with the Mario star so he’s even more of a threat in the run game. The Bills would also have to face the AFC’s best, and if Allen outduels Mahomes, Herbert and other elite QBs, the MVP is all but his.

This truly could be a battle between the two best rosters in the entire league. If the Bucs are healthy entering the playoffs then this could go the other way, but the Bills are just too strong offensively. On the defensive side, Von Miller should be huge in their ability to generate pass rush without blitzing, and rookie CB Kaiir Elam should lock down the second cornerback spot opposite Tredavious White, and safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer are the best duo in the league. The Bills have been knocking on the door for the past two years; this is the year they break through.