NFL Season Predictions 2024-2025

We’re bearing down on another electric season of professional football in a league with countless storylines and stars that transcend sports. Around this time of year, you can find a cacophony of takes about which teams will outperform expectations, which teams will disappoint, which players will stand out, which coaches will succeed, and much more. Well, allow me to add my voice to the mix. Before we look ahead, let’s reflect on the 2023 NFL season. Lamar Jackson won the MVP award with Christian McCaffrey winning Offensive Player of the Year and Myles Garrett earning Defensive Player of the Year. The Kansas City Chiefs won their second consecutive Super Bowl, this time over the San Fransisco 49ers. The Detroit Lions won a playoff game for the first time in 32 years, and an astounding seven starting quarterbacks sustained season-ending injuries. The 2024 season is certain to have theatrics of its own, so here are my predictions for the upcoming NFL season, from ridiculously specific and fairly inconsequential guesses to my Super Bowl winner.

Miscellaneous Predictions

Davante Adams requests a trade by week 4

If you watched Netflix’s show “Receiver” over the summer, it was hard not to feel uneasy with Davante Adams’ clear discomfort in Las Vegas. Adams is still one of the top receivers in football and rightfully felt that he deserved to be earning a higher share of the targets in this offense. Although the mood in Vegas clearly shifted when Antonio Pierce took over as the Raiders’ head coach, the quarterback situation isn’t exactly fixed. I expect Adams to be frustrated with poor quarterback play and a lack of opportunities and ask to be moved early in the season.

Sam Darnold earns a starting-level contract in the 2025 offseason

Let me tell you a story: a highly-drafted quarterback fails to impress at an organization that has failed to develop quarterback talent for years. He then bounces around the league, unable to find his footing and show the talent that draft scouts fell in love with. Finally, he lands in an offense with significant talent around him and a high-quality offensive play caller that can highlight his strengths. He shows that he can be a starting-level quarterback when put in the right situation and earns a long-term contract. Coincidentally, that’s the story of Baker Mayfield, who just earned a three year, $100,000,000 contract this offseason. Sam Darnold has followed a surprisingly similar path to this point in his career. In Kevin O’Connell’s system, and with talented pieces around him, I believe that Darnold can see a similar rise.

Malik Nabers earns the highest target share in the NFL

I know, it would be crazy for any rookie to accomplish this. But who else is Daniel Jones throwing the ball to? Aside from the Chargers, the Giants likely have the weakest receiver room in the league. Malik Nabers is the only player in that group good enough to move the needle on offense, and I think that Brian Daboll and his staff know it. This team should be fairly run-heavy, but when they do throw, Malik Nabers should be the primary read in most cases. I do see Nabers becoming a star, but this prediction says more about the Giants’ lack of receiver talent than my belief in Nabers.

Most Disappointing Team

New York Jets

The Jets are clearly all-in this season. After trading for Aaron Rodgers in 2023, they have continued to stockpile veteran talent in hopes of making a Super Bowl push. Notable moves this offseason include signing Mike Williams and Tyron Smith and trading for Haason Reddick. On paper, this roster is good enough to compete for an AFC championship appearance, and that seems to be the expectation in New York. However, the Jets lack depth behind players that have had serious injury issues in recent years. If any one of Aaron Rodgers, Tyron Smith, or Mike Williams goes down, the outlook for New York shifts dramatically. All three of those players have struggled to stay healthy recently, and it may be wishful thinking to expect a full season from all three.

Most Surprising Team

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals have been among the league’s bottom feeders more often than not in recent history, but tides may be turning in Arizona. This front office clearly believes in Kyler Murray as they chose to use the fourth pick in the draft to give him an elite receiver rather than replacing him. Jonathan Gannon has shown flashes of play calling brilliance that make me optimistic about the outlook of the Cardinals’ offense this season. Although they play in one of the toughest divisions in the league, I could see Arizona comfortably beating their win total of 7.5 and making a playoff push at the end of the year.

Award Predictions

Offensive Player of the Year: Ceedee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys WR

Ceedee Lamb finished with career highs in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 2023 and saw a major jump in production after the Cowboys’ bye week. The Cowboys’ offense is expected to put up big numbers again in 2024, but they lack weapons outside of Lamb. He should see most of the receiving work again, and could post even better stats this season. Lamb wasn’t far from winning the award last year, finishing third in voting.

Defensive Player of the Year: Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore Ravens S

Kyle Hamilton is one of the most unique players in football. Standing at 6-foot-4 and weighing 225 lbs, he is much quicker than one would expect. The Ravens use Hamilton in a variety of ways as he can impact the game from multiple positions. No non-edge rusher has won Defensive Player of the Year since Stephon Gillmore did it in 2019, but I expect Hamilton’s unique skillset to be enough to break that trend this season.

Most Valuable Player: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals QB

The Cincinnati Bengals’ offense showed a transition from a shotgun-heavy system to one that included significantly more play action in 2023. While we didn’t see a healthy Joe Burrow leading that offense for much of the season, Jake Browning was able to bring significant production in the new system. Burrow enters this season having had a healthy training camp for the first time in his career. I expect the combination of a healthy Burrow and an improved offensive system to lead to a surprising season for the Bengals and an MVP award for Burrow.

Super Bowl Prediction: Eagles vs Bengals

The Philadelphia Eagles may have the widest range of possible outcomes of any team in the NFL. I could see head coach Nick Sirianni getting fired mid-season. I could also see them reaching their third Super Bowl in eight seasons. This roster is as talented as it’s been in recent years. Saquon Barkley brings increased dynamism to the backfield and helps take the load off of Jalen Hurts, especially near the goal line. The Eagles targeted defensive backs throughout the offseason, bringing in CJ Gardner-Johnson in free agency and drafting both Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. If coordinators Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio can get their units clicking, Eagles fans will be in for some excitement.

People seem to be forgetting that the Cincinnati Bengals have played in two of the last three AFC championship games. With a healthy Joe Burrow, this team has proven themselves to be good enough to stack up against the Chiefs and win their conference. On defense, the Bengals brought in safeties Von Bell and Geno Stone to fix what was their biggest weakness in the secondary. While this team lacks superstars outside of Burrow and Jamarr Chase, they make up for it with solid depth across the roster.

Bengals 35-32 Eagles