Don't Sleep on these NFL Teams: 2022 NFL Sleeper Teams
With the season officially underway with the preseason starting, tons of networks, analysts, and educated opinions will start to give their predictions for the season. Every year though, there are one to two teams that were not expected to compete that end up in the playoffs, or at least making drastic strides forward. Last year, of course, was the Cincinnati Bengals, who went from a bottom dweller in the division to the AFC champs in one season. Let us see five possible teams that can shock the world and while not maybe make the Super Bowl, but at least compete for a playoff spot.
New York Jets
Coming into this season, a team with a ton of hype around them was the New York Jets. GM Joe Douglas and staff put together what is, in theory, a good draft, picking CB “Sauce” Gardner, WR Garrett Wilson, and DE Jermaine Johnson with their whopping three first-round picks. They are also expecting a massive leap from QB Zach Wilson, who looks like he avoided a serious injury in the first preseason game. There is a world that he is ready for the season, but it is looking like initially he would at maximum miss two to three games based on reports coming from the Jets. What makes their path the toughest is that they are both in a good conference and good division. The AFC is loaded with at least two quality teams in each division. It is possible that the AFC North and West have four legit playoff teams alone. Besides that, the AFC East (Jets division) has the Buffalo Bills, who are expected to run away with the division, the Miami Dolphins who revamped their offense, and the New England Patriots, who have the greatest coach ever. It is going to be a tough road, but their projected success draws numerous parallels to last year's Bengal team, giving Jets Nation a light at the end of the tunnel.
Carolina Panthers
This offseason, the Panthers pulled the trigger when they traded for QB Baker Mayfield to come into Carolina to compete with Sam Darnold. While nothing is official, it is looking like Mayfield will be the starter going into Week 1. Mayfield had his worst year as a pro in 2021, throwing just 17 TDs to 13 INTs for a Browns team that disappointed mightily. It is also important to note that Mayfield had a big injury that may have hindered his season. In 2020, his last healthy season, Mayfield led the Browns to the playoffs and won a playoff game on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Carolina has been struggling to sustain a quarterback since Newton left and Mayfield could be the guy. He will be playing with arguably his best receiver in the pros in D.J. Moore as well as Christian McCaffrey, one of the top five running backs in football. What also helps Carolina is that their division is extremely underwhelming. Atlanta is in a full rebuild and New Orleans is transitioning off a head coach and has major question marks at the quarterback position. Tampa Bay is obviously a threat with QB Tom Brady, but outside of that, the Panthers should hold their own if they get solid QB play at worst. Carolina is by no means perfect, especially with the unknown of how good Matt Rhule can be as a head coach, but they are definitely a team to watch going into the 2022 season.
Washington Commanders
A team that should have some expectations but does not is the Washington Commanders. With QB Carson Wentz coming to town which may be his final chance, he will be playing with some extra motivation. Like Mayfield, Wentz will have the best receiver he has ever played with in WR Terry McLaurin, as well as an interesting backfield of Antonio Gibson and Brian Robinson Jr., who played well in the first preseason game. Washington should be formidable on defense with head coach Ron Rivera leading the way with the hopes of getting DE Chase Young back healthy sooner than later. Washington is in the NFC, the conference that has a ton of question marks. Even the top teams like the Rams and Packers have question marks. In division, the two teams that are projected to finish ahead of them have some question marks as well. Can Dallas sustain their success with the talent they lost to free agency? Can Jalen Hurts take the next step for the Eagles? Yes, it ended badly for Wentz in Indianapolis, but he still had a good season on paper, which is something you can consider. It always seems to be a rocky road in Washington, and we will see if Wentz can steady the ship.
Detroit Lions
It is a little bit cliché to say a team with low expectations and a likable coach can be a sleeper, but the Lions are not this. Over the past two seasons, Detroit has accumulated a good amount of young talent on both sides of the ball. Their receiver group now has Amon Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, D.J. Chark, and TE T.J. Hockenson. They also have a good running back duo of Jamaal Williams and D’Andre Swift. Defensively is a little on the lighter end, but rookie DE Aidan Hutchison is looking to change that. The NFC North is solid with the Packers and Vikings manning the top of the division. With that, the Lions have a chance to sneak up on some teams with their offensive talent and a chance to win eight or nine games. Detroit is still in a rebuild, but up to this point, they have done a nice job building a foundation of really good young players for head coach Dan Campbell to work with.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Probably the closest thing to a parallel of the Bengals is the Jacksonville Jaguars and that lies solely on the shoulders of QB Trevor Lawrence. Like Lawrence, Burrow was thought to have a bad roster that could not support him. Meanwhile, Burrow ended up elevating them to talents nobody predicted. It helps to have JaMaar Chase and Tee Higgins of course, but the Jaguars may have the same thing with their running back duo of Travis Etienne and James Robinson. Also, Jacksonville made a massive upgrade at head coach with Doug Pederson, who looks to turn the tides of an organization that has been irrelevant for 95% of their years. If Trevor Lawrence plays like he was expected to as a prospect, the Jaguars might compete for a division that is rather mediocre at best.
News and stats from profootballreference.com
Jets Injury News from Connor Hughes
Writer
-By: Richie Dordas