Congrats @LA! Now - Who's Next?
What a thrilling finish that was in LA! It's been a wild
ride this season, and to see the Rams escape on the back of Matthew Stafford
($5.98) and Cooper Kupp
(3%, $14.73). Unfortunately, if you invested in Odell Beckham
Jr. (-17%, $1.91) you're going to have to wait for those investments to
materialize after his unfortunate injury. I'm wishing all the best to him, and
feel sick for him. But, for now...
Peaking ahead to next year
With this season in the rearview mirror, I wanted to peek at
my early favorites for who could be hoisting the Lombardi this time next year.
Below are my top 5 teams I think that could be poised for a super bowl run.
As a Bills fan, I'm sure many of are you wondering how I've
come to the conclusion this team is poised for big things next season. I truly
believe Ben
Roethlisberger ($3.18) held this team back this season. The Steelers
are loaded with talent at the receiver position with Chase Claypool
($2.46), Diontae
Johnson ($2.09), and then-rookie sensation Pat Freiermuth
($2.96).
The Steelers also have TJ Watt and a young defense and
roughly $40 million of cap space this off-season. Should the Steelers find
themselves with Russell Wilson
($10.94) or another veteran this off-season they should instantly become a
Superbowl contender.
It shouldn't surprise you I have the Bills this high
entering the off-season. After losing Tre White to the Saints on Thanksgiving I
wasn't so sure their defense would make it to the finish line, but Josh Allen
($26.37) sure found a way to carry this team as far as he could.
The Bills don't find themselves with a robust amount of cap
space, unfortunately, and have lost offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to the
New York Giants as well. However, armed with their picks this regime has proven
time and time again they know how to make the most of them, and if they can
find a complement to Devin
Singletary (2.15) and Tre White while fixing their pass rush then this
team will be a formidable opponent come next season.
The Rams have a good recipe for success to get back to the
big dance next season. Matt Stafford is one of the most underrated quarterbacks
in the NFL and proved this season he was not the problem in Detroit. While it
does help to have Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham to throw to, Stafford has done
this for a while with Kenny Golladay
($1.04), and Nate Burleson.
I will say for as bullish as I am on the Rams, it's odd to
see Cam
Akers (-12%, $4.53) with so much hype after such an abysmal postseason.
While it's awesome to see him come back from his Achilles injury, the truth of
the matter is he has been a liability for this Rams team this postseason and
has not looked like he should be the day 1 starter over Darrell
Henderson ($1.17).
As you can tell I'm high on the AFC headed into next season.
The Colts are a team that should've hands down been in the playoffs this
season. However, Carson Wentz
($3.15) and the company had some hiccups down the stretch.
It was reported before the game Sunday that the expectation
is Carson Wentz is released or traded from the Colts before the league year
opens next month. While I do believe the Colts are close to being contenders,
I'll add that Wentz garners too much hate and is an excellent buy-low based on
his price. He finished the season with one of the best touchdowns to
interception ratios in the NFL. This was all with Wentz having no real #1 wide
receiver to throw to this past season, and relying heavily upon Jonathan Taylor
($11.54).
The Colts are likely in play to make a move for a veteran
quarterback this off-season and are a sleeper in my mind to go all-in on Davante Adams
($11.78). The Colts are one of the few teams that would be able to squeeze
their salary cap to add both him and Aaron Rodgers
($14.07) and push their chips all in next season.
San Francisco almost climbed the hill this season and tried
to rectify their 2020 loss to the Chiefs. However, Jimmy Garoppolo
($1.62) wasn't able to get the job done against the Superbowl champion Los
Angeles Rams. Set to leave San Francisco this off-season the pressure will be
on Trey
Lance ($5.53) to lead this team to the promise land next season.
There's a greater than 0% Lance is a bust and isn't able to get this team to
the postseason next year. However, San Francisco finds itself with a loaded
roster and if Lance is indeed an upgrade of Jimmy then the sky is the limit for
this team.
However, it is interesting to note that San Francisco finds
itself in a similar situation to years past in that they will have little depth
at the game's most important position. The problem has been health for San
Francisco, and with Trey Lance being a player who relied more upon his legs
than arm it's an interesting predicament they find themselves in next year.
They also have no 1st round picks to build upon with Lance over these next two
years.
In the end, the Bengals had a historic fairy-tale season that came up just short against the Los Angeles Rams. However, in the end, it's still the Bengals and while they're loaded with talented players like Joe Mixon (-6%, $13.23), Tee Higgins (12%, $5.89), Ja'Marr Chase (-9%, $8.95), and Tyler Boyd (-4%, $1.38) it's difficult to see this team coming back based on the history of the franchise. Joe Burrow (-7%, $7.90) had a monster season but is going to need help along the offensive line if he is going to stay healthy enough for another post-season run. Additionally, this defense needs substantial upgrades along with the secondary. If not for the OBJ injury early on I'm not so sure this Bengal team is as close to winning as they were on Sunday.
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