The NFL isn’t always a rational place. This is what makes it so compelling.
Between a hard salary cap that limits team spending and an annual draft that drops heaps of ready-made talent into the league, the NFL persistently engineers franchise turnarounds in meager timelines. It took the Cincinnati Bengals two years to go from the league’s worst team to an AFC championship last winter. The Philadelphia Eagles looked set for an arduous rebuild after blowing up their quarterback room and trading away Carson Wentz, but they made the playoffs last season and look like a true NFC contender this fall.
That means, despite the lingering Super Bowl-less histories of teams like the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions, there’s always a reason to believe *this* could be the year for your club, even if the roster looks like the picked-over yard sale remains of a much better team.
Hope is a snowball. Even if 2022 doesn’t end with a Lombardi Trophy, it can begin the rolling process that turns into an avalanche and rewards all the fans who truly kept their faith.
So who’ll benefit from that in 2022? Even if we aren’t fans of downtrodden teams, there are still squads that hold a soft spot in our hearts. These are the franchises on whom we’ve placed longshot futures bets and hammered the over of their win/loss totals. And we’ve all got one.
First, some ground rules:
The stupid team you’ve chosen to believe in cannot be a 2021 playoff team. The stupid team you’ve chosen to believe in cannot have a quarterback who has been a Pro Bowler in any of the last three seasons. The Vikings, for example, are not a stupid team to root for and might actually win the NFC North this winter. The stupid team you’ve chosen cannot be the Indianapolis Colts. Nothing against the good folks of the Circle City, that would just make this whole exercise less fun.
So, who’ve we got?
New York Jets
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Christian D’Andrea: The obvious AFC East team here is the Miami Dolphins, but they’re a chic playoff pick even with the rising tide of the rest of the conference. Instead, let’s make a bad decision and roll with a team whose No. 1 quarterback isn’t quite No. 1 according to the team’s wide receivers:
Zach Wilson has a monumental task ahead of him after an objectively awful rookie season. He’ll enter the 2022 regular season behind the rest of his second-year QB cohort after suffering a torn meniscus in the first quarter of his preseason debut. He may not play another televised snap until Week 1 or possibly later, which is a problem because it only took him three dropbacks to throw an interception in the Jets’ exhibition debut.
Wilson only has to make modest improvements to push New York well past its 2021 win total, however. General manager Joe Douglas has surrounded him with playmaking talent, beefing up his options by drafting stars like Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall and adding veteran depth like CJ Uzomah and Tyler Conklin in free agency. His defense, bolstered by difference makers like Sauce Gardner, Jordan Whitehead, Kwon Alexander and DJ Reed, is poised for a significant leap from 2021’s worst-rated unit.
A lot will have to bounce right for the Jets to rise to playoff contention. Wilson will need the biggest bounce which, after his start to the preseason, is concerning. But New York is undoubtedly better than it was last season and it’s not like the title of this article is “smart teams to root for who will definitely reward you.”
Let’s get stupid. Let’s go Jets.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Charles Curtis: Is it completely dumb to buy into the idea that Doug Pederson is the savior in Jacksonville that will cure all that ails the Jags?
Yes. But here’s the thing: It already feels like the team is the happiest Urban Meyer is gone. That alone is worth a couple of wins, right?
Now: Add in Year 2 of Trevor Lawrence, who will have Christian Kirk joining the WR crew (yes, Kirk got overpaid, but he’s not bad!). Travis Etienne Jr. is back from injury. The offensive line isn’t bad.
And then we get to the defense that just added Travon Walker.
Add that into a division where they play the Texans twice … and I can kind of see it!! Stupid? You bet. But you know what else was stupid? Putting Tim Tebow in at tight end.
Detroit Lions
AP Photo/Carlos Osorio
Robert Zeglinski: I’m going to do it. I’m going to buy the Detroit Lions in the year of our collective Football Gods, that is, 2022.
Why? I do not know. Hard Knocks might be selling me more than usual. I’m having a hard time (no pun intended) making a distinction between whether everything the Lions do is unique or standard for an NFL team. I’m drawn to every word out of Dan Campbell’s mouth, no matter how cliched, trite, or a little melodramatic. The man is getting me to buy into this Honolulu blue group.
It’s not as if the Lions are talent-deprived, either. They have one of the best offensive lines in the league with, in my mind, several Pro Bowl-level starters (Frank Ragnow, Penei Sewell, Jonah Jackson, Taylor Decker). Meanwhile, on defense, Aidan Hutchinson should be a prime Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate that boosts Detroit in a weak NFC.
So, yes: I’m buying the Lions. I feel foolish doing it, but that’s the beauty of this exercise, isn’t it?
Miami Dolphins
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Blake Schuster: Ok, fine. If no one else wants to buy into the Tua Hype, I’ll be the fool who does.
Is this team better than the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East? Definitely not. Are they better than the New England Patriots or New York Jets? Maybe! After all, they added Tyreek Hill to play opposite Jaylen Waddle and return the majority of a defense that tied for the fifth-most sacks (48).
Mark me down for the Dolphins to be in play for the Wild Card all year long. Unless, you know, their owner starts joking about tanking again. That Stephen Ross is just the funniest. Everyone always says so.
Atlanta Falcons (oof)
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Andy Nesbitt: Do I feel dumb just typing “Atlanta Falcons” as my pick here? Of course I do! Chances are they will likely be very bad this year. But that’s the whole purpose of this exercise so here I am, picking the dumb Falcons.
It’s not totally crazy, either. Christian wrote recently how the Falcons could be a whole lot of fun this year and maybe rookie QB Desmond Ridder eventually gets the starting nod and he and Kyle Pitts can start building something that might be pretty good in the coming years.
Being fun and winning don’t always go hand-in-hand but I think the Falcons could be a little better than how most of us expect them to be.
Look at the NFC South, too – Tom Brady is old and his team is already banged up. The Panthers are starting Baker Mayfield and don’t seem to be all that intimidating. The Saints could be good but we’ll have to see how Jameis Winston is able to carry the team.
I didn’t see myself trying to talk myself into the Falcons this year and I hope nobody shows me this in January. Unless, of course, the Falcons do the unthinkable and make a run. Then I will be showing this to everybody.
Go… Falcons?
Sure.
.