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17 things to watch in 2017 NFL season
It's been six months since the New England Patriots' unforgettable Super Bowl LI comeback. If you've been in football hibernation since then, here's your primer for the upcoming NFL campaign — 17 subplots to monitor for the '17 season:
1. What can the Patriots do for an encore?
Little more to prove for the franchise that takes "no days off." New England has reached a record nine Super Bowls, seven during the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era. One more Lombardi Trophy would give the Pats six, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for most , while making Brady — he already has a record four Super Bowl MVPs — the first player with six rings.
And the Patriots seem uniquely armed, even by their singular standards, to potentially mount a new title march with rare flair. Brady has finally escaped the pall of Deflategate and will enter the season with several new weapons (WR Brandin Cooks, TE Dwayne Allen, RBs Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead among them) and presumably will have TE Rob Gronkowski back at full strength. CB Stephon Gilmore and DE Kony Ealy are among the defensive newcomers, while MLB Dont'a Hightower returned after free agent flirtations elsewhere.
Bottom line, despite parting with proven players like TE Martellus Bennett and RB LeGarrette Blount, this roster looks fully loaded and may be good enough — perhaps — to pull off a perfect season 10 years after coming up just short in the wake of the league’s lone 16-0 regular season.
2. Can anyone in the AFC realistically challenge New England?
The Patriots might be vulnerable ... if Brady gets suspended ... or tears another knee ligament ... or if Belichick decides to coach the Naval Academy lacrosse team. But barring that?
Aside from 2008, when Brady's ACL snapped on opening day, the Patriots haven't failed to win the AFC East since 2002. The Miami Dolphins made great strides under coach Adam Gase last year, but the Fins still aren't ready to swim with the Pats even through WR Jarvis Landry has promised a 2017 sweep of New England. (LOL.)
The Pittsburgh Steelers appear improved, but will the return of WR Martavis Bryant and a healthy Le'Veon Bell — along with some apparent defensive upgrades — vault a team that was thoroughly outclassed in last season's AFC Championship Game?
The X-factor may be the Oakland Raiders. If QB Derek Carr reaches postseason in one piece, RB Marshawn Lynch can still tap that Beast Mode button, and the defense takes a step up in class, the Silver & Black just might have a chance.
3. How do the Atlanta Falcons respond?
The Carolina Panthers suffered a massive Super Bowl hangover in 2016, a season after going 15-1. Now the Falcons appear in need of a greasy breakfast and cold shower after watching a 25-point third-quarter lead evaporate as the Patriots' blitzkrieg prevented Atlanta from finally winning the Super Bowl.
From a roster perspective, the Falcons return virtually intact and even picked up some nice pieces for a promising defense that crumbled when it counted. But this team won't sneak up on anyone in a conference far more balanced than the AFC. And the biggest question will be whether Steve Sarkisian, whose only season of NFL experience came as a quarterbacks coach more than a dozen years ago, can sustain one of the most productive offenses in NFL history now that previous coordinator Kyle Shanahan is in San Francisco.
And history isn't on the Falcons' side: no team has lost the Super Bowl and returned the following season since the 1990s Buffalo Bills did it three times.
4. MVP! MVP!
Brady, Manning and Aaron Rodgers had passed the MVP hardware around for years until Cam Newton emerged as a surprise winner in 2015. Then Falcons QB Matt Ryan stunned the NFL in 2016 with a record-setting campaign, suddenly morphing into superstardom in his ninth season. So who's got next?
Maybe the award remains in the loaded NFC South — awash with new weapons, Jameis Winston might be primed for his own star turn, or perhaps stat machine Drew Brees will finally win it in his 17th year. Two-time winners Brady and Rodgers will surely be in the running; the Steelers have a troika of candidates (Bell, Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger) capable of huge individual seasons; perhaps an elite pass rusher like Von Miller or Khalil Mack might break offensive players’ three-decade stranglehold on the award; Jerry Rice (1987) is the only receiver to win MVP, but Brown, Julio Jones and Odell Beckham are all capable in a league that now features the position so heavily; and any number of youngsters — Carr, Ezekiel Elliott, David Johnson, Marcus Mariota, Dak Prescott or Russell Wilson — could be ready to elevate themselves.
5. Sophomore slump? Or surge?
Elliott and Prescott were almost inarguably the greatest rookie tandem in NFL history, launching the Dallas Cowboys back to relevance. So now what? No one will be sleeping on Prescott, the 2016 offensive rookie of the year, and the NFC East champs' reliance on him and Elliott is bound to increase amid the club’s defensive shake-up. The Cowboys are almost sure to face a tougher challenge from the Philadelphia Eagles and QB Carson Wentz, who has been armed with playmakers he lacked in an up-and-down freshman season.
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Rams will be looking for a quantum leap from 2016 No. 1 pick Jared Goff, while the Denver Broncos are allowing QB Paxton Lynch, their first rounder a year ago, to compete for the starting job. Bears RB Jordan Howard will look to overtake Elliott after finishing second to him for the rushing title in 2016; Michael Thomas takes over as the No. 1 receiver for the New Orleans Saints; and defensive stars like Joey Bosa, Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd and Deion Jones seek to make even larger footprints.
6. Young Guns
Some of the greatest quarterbacks the league has seen — Brady, Brees, Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Philip Rivers — are approaching 40. But it appears there are maturing youngsters worthy of eventually succeeding them.
After being the draft's top two picks, respectively, in 2015, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Winston and Tennessee Titans' Mariota seem to have their teams on the cusp of contention. The Raiders' revival can largely be credited to Carr. Prescott and Wentz seem primed to lead for years, but it's time for the Jacksonville Jaguars' Blake Bortles to finally prove he can do the same.
This year's highly billed rookie quarterbacks — Mitchell Trubisky (Bears), Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs), Deshaun Watson (Texans) and DeShone Kizer (Browns) — aren't expected to play extensively, if at all, in 2017. But as Bortles, Prescott and Wentz can attest, such plans tend to change quickly.
7. Rookie coaches
Five teams will deploy head coaches who have no experience beyond the coordinator level. Sean McVay — he was 30 at the time of his hiring, making him the youngest head man in modern NFL history — must get Goff on the right track while keeping the Rams relevant in the fickle L.A. market, especially since Anthony Lynn inherits a more talented Chargers roster on the other side of the town.
Vance Joseph takes over the Broncos, who come with significant expectations just one season removed from winning the Super Bowl. The Buffalo Bills' Sean McDermott and San Francisco 49ers' Kyle Shanahan, armed with a six-year deal, should enjoy more patience after quickly beginning the process of reshaping their teams in accordance with their respective philosophies.
8. Hot seat
All it takes is a poor September before mobs start massing with pitchforks in some cities. With rare exceptions like Belichick and Pete Caroll, almost every NFL coach is susceptible to the pink slip with just one disastrous season.
Grace periods could be over for the Chicago Bears' John Fox, who apparently doesn’t see eye to eye with GM Ryan Pace anyway, and Todd Bowles after a year of turmoil and regression with the New York Jets. After narrowly avoiding a winless season in 2016, Hue Jackson needs to get the Cleveland Browns moving forward, while Jim Caldwell may have to prove he can get the Detroit Lions further than one-and-done status in the playoffs.
And keep an eye on some more established figures, too.
Chuck Pagano is working for a new general manager and hasn't taken the Indianapolis Colts to postseason since 2014. John Harbaugh is almost an institution in Baltimore, but the Ravens haven't won a playoff game since their Super Bowl victory more than four years ago. And the Cincinnati Bengals' Marvin Lewis and New Orleans' Saints Asshole Face have been in their posts for more than a decade.
9. Change of venue
Two NFL teams will be in new stadiums. As the Chargers migrate from San Diego to Los Angeles, they'll move into suburban Carson's StubHub Center for the next two seasons. It's a facility designed for soccer, and though capacity will be expanded from 27,000 to 30,000 for NFL games, that's still less than half of what most of the league's buildings hold. Maybe the Bolts will enjoy an intimate and potentially raucous setting ... or maybe it will feel like they're playing in front of a high school crowd.
The situation is drastically different in Atlanta, where the Falcons will defend their NFC crown in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with its innovative oculus roof, halo video board and 100-yard bar.
10. Contract year
The NFL's financial landscape is in constant flux. But as things stand now, Kirk Cousins could be the prize of free agency next year — assuming the Washington Redskins don't franchise him for a third straight year at what would be a financially insane $34-plus million. Jimmy Garoppolo is scheduled to go free, though the Patriots could use the same tag-and-trade approach they utilized with Matt Cassel in 2009. Several other quarterbacks are heading into the final year of their current contracts (Brees, Sam Bradford, Matthew Stafford).
Other players who might be looking for new deals include Devonta Freeman, Jarvis Landry, Alshon Jeffery, Jimmy Graham and Le'Veon Bell.
11. Comeback trail
Several high-profile running backs could vie for comeback player of the year honors. Adrian Peterson (Saints) and Jamaal Charles (Broncos) hope to prove they can still be effective while learning the ropes for their new teams. The same goes for Marshawn Lynch, though early reports out of Oakland suggest he looks spry after enjoying a year of retirement.
In Tampa Bay, Doug Martin must prove he was worthy of last year's millions while beginning this season with a three-game suspension. The Rams' spotty play at quarterback and on the offensive line hurt Todd Gurley last season, but the 2015 offensive rookie of the year also must bear some responsibility for a poor 2016 campaign. Elsewhere, Bell and David Johnson should be ready to roll after being banged up at the end of last season.
On the quarterback front, Luck and Newton will be handled with kid gloves this summer as they recover from shoulder surgeries. Carr and Ryan Tannehill are expected to be fully functional in training camp after late-season injuries left each of their team's playoff hopes dead on arrival. Mariota is also virtually recovered from a broken leg. The big question is Teddy Bridgewater, whose career remains in limbo after last summer's devastating knee injury.
Other players to monitor include Gronk (back), J.J. Watt (back), Luke Kuechly (concussion), Keenan Allen (knee) and Martavis Bryant (suspended in 2016).
12. Newcomers
Perhaps no team got a better infusion of talent this offseason than the Jaguars, who lured DL Calais Campbell and CB A.J. Bouye in free agency before drafting Fournette and OL Cam Robinson. WRs DeSean Jackson (Bucs), Terrelle Pryor (Redskins), Brandon Marshall (Giants), Jeffery (Eagles), S Tony Jefferson (Ravens), RB Eddie Lacy (Seahawks), Gilmore (Patriots) and Bennett (Packers) could all be impact free agent finds. Other rookies who seems likely to make early splashes are RBs Christian McCaffrey (Panthers) and Dalvin Cook (Vikings), TEs O.J. Howard (Bucs) and Evan Engram (Giants), WRs Corey Davis (Titans), Mike Williams (Chargers) and John Ross (Bengals), LBs Haason Reddick (Cardinals) and Jarrad Davis (Lions), safeties Jamal Adams (Jets), Malik Hooker (Colts) and Jabrill Peppers (Browns) and pass rushers Myles Garrett (Browns), Solomon Thomas (49ers), Jonathan Allen (Redskins), Charles Harris (Dolphins), T.J. Watt (Steelers), Taco Charlton (Cowboys) and McKinley (Falcons).
13. It’s analytics, baby
Cleveland continues the league's most fascinating rebuild with an analytics-based approach that's arguably produced as many dividends as questions thus far.
One year after passing on the chance to take Wentz, the Browns also chose not to pick Deshaun Watson in the first round to shore up their perennial quarterback dilemma, though Kizer's value with selection No. 52 this year was apparently too good to ignore.
Executive VP of football operations Sashi Brown definitely seemed to obtain prime talent in this year's first round, picking Garrett, Peppers and TE David Njoku. He's also wheeled and dealed his way into five selections in the first two rounds next year, though he sacrificed $16 million of precious (we thought) salary cap space in order to eat QB Brock Osweiler's contract and obtain the Houston Texans' 2018 second rounder (this after letting Pryor walk).
Stay tuned as the plan continues to unfold ... assuming ownership doesn't run out of patience first.
14. Red flags not a stop sign?
It's been three years since Ray Rice was thrown out of the NFL for slugging his fiancee in an Atlantic City elevator. However at least five players accused of violence against women just got drafted. The jury — figurative for now — remains out on Raiders first rounder Gareon Conley, accused of rape days before the draft, something he's denied. The bone-breaking punch Bengals second rounder Joe Mixon threw at a woman in 2014 was captured on video. Jaguars fourth rounder Dede Westbrook and Browns sixth rounder Caleb Brantley have arrests on their records, while Cowboys third rounder Jourdan Lewis is scheduled to go on trial in July for one misdemeanor count of domestic violence. A troubling trend and group of players who bear close watching.
15. Broken records?
Every year, somebody gets the statheads excited.
Before finishing with 1,631 rushing yards (in 15 games), Elliott seemed to have a shot at 2,000 yards as a rookie. That should remain the case going forward — if he's available all season — as he operates behind the league's best line for an offense that will likely have to pile up yards and points as it compensates for what’s expected to be a shaky defense.
Brees has surpassed 5,000 passing yards five times — no other quarterback has done it twice — and is always a threat to reclaim his single-season record from Peyton Manning (5,477). (Brees would need an unprecedented 5,830 yards to overtake Manning's career mark for passing yards — 71,940 — this season.) And keep an eye on Brady, given his bolstered fleet of pass catchers and a relatively unproven group of running backs which could make the team more reliant than ever on its signature short passing game.
Brown, Jones and Beckham seem like the best candidates to become the first 2,000-yard receiver, a once unthinkable plateau which now seems inevitable. If J.J. Watt reclaims his superpowers, might he have a third 20-sack season in the tank — no other player has done that twice — and potentially break his tie with Lawrence Taylor by becoming the first four-time defensive player of the year?
16. Sam Darnold sweepstakes
None of the quarterbacks picked this year was considered a can't-miss prospect or even necessarily ready to play in 2017. But that probably won't be the case in the 2018 draft, where the buzz around Southern California's Sam Darnold is already growing. Fans don't want to endure a season that "earns" their team the No. 1 overall pick. But supporters of the Jets, Browns and 49ers might wind up rooting for defeats to pile up if Darnold is the consolation prize — assuming the redshirt sophomore doesn't pull a Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck by returning to school for an additional year.
17. TV
The spotlight always shines brightest on quarterbacks, and that will remain the case — literally — for Tony Romo and Jay Cutler as they transition from the field to the broadcast booth. Without an iota of experience, will Romo prove worthy of supplanting longtime CBS lead analyst Phil Simms? And after having his body language and personality parsed for years, will Cutler prove a fit in a three-man booth — not always a smooth set-up by definition — for FOX? Will either be lured back to a locker room despite vows that they'll never strap on a helmet again? Buckle up, fellas. If there's anything fans have less patience with than an ineffective quarterback, it may be an ineffective analyst.
17 things to watch in 2017 NFL season
It's been six months since the New England Patriots' unforgettable Super Bowl LI comeback. If you've been in football hibernation since then, here's your primer for the upcoming NFL campaign — 17 subplots to monitor for the '17 season:
1. What can the Patriots do for an encore?
Little more to prove for the franchise that takes "no days off." New England has reached a record nine Super Bowls, seven during the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era. One more Lombardi Trophy would give the Pats six, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for most , while making Brady — he already has a record four Super Bowl MVPs — the first player with six rings.
And the Patriots seem uniquely armed, even by their singular standards, to potentially mount a new title march with rare flair. Brady has finally escaped the pall of Deflategate and will enter the season with several new weapons (WR Brandin Cooks, TE Dwayne Allen, RBs Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead among them) and presumably will have TE Rob Gronkowski back at full strength. CB Stephon Gilmore and DE Kony Ealy are among the defensive newcomers, while MLB Dont'a Hightower returned after free agent flirtations elsewhere.
Bottom line, despite parting with proven players like TE Martellus Bennett and RB LeGarrette Blount, this roster looks fully loaded and may be good enough — perhaps — to pull off a perfect season 10 years after coming up just short in the wake of the league’s lone 16-0 regular season.
2. Can anyone in the AFC realistically challenge New England?
The Patriots might be vulnerable ... if Brady gets suspended ... or tears another knee ligament ... or if Belichick decides to coach the Naval Academy lacrosse team. But barring that?
Aside from 2008, when Brady's ACL snapped on opening day, the Patriots haven't failed to win the AFC East since 2002. The Miami Dolphins made great strides under coach Adam Gase last year, but the Fins still aren't ready to swim with the Pats even through WR Jarvis Landry has promised a 2017 sweep of New England. (LOL.)
The Pittsburgh Steelers appear improved, but will the return of WR Martavis Bryant and a healthy Le'Veon Bell — along with some apparent defensive upgrades — vault a team that was thoroughly outclassed in last season's AFC Championship Game?
The X-factor may be the Oakland Raiders. If QB Derek Carr reaches postseason in one piece, RB Marshawn Lynch can still tap that Beast Mode button, and the defense takes a step up in class, the Silver & Black just might have a chance.
3. How do the Atlanta Falcons respond?
The Carolina Panthers suffered a massive Super Bowl hangover in 2016, a season after going 15-1. Now the Falcons appear in need of a greasy breakfast and cold shower after watching a 25-point third-quarter lead evaporate as the Patriots' blitzkrieg prevented Atlanta from finally winning the Super Bowl.
From a roster perspective, the Falcons return virtually intact and even picked up some nice pieces for a promising defense that crumbled when it counted. But this team won't sneak up on anyone in a conference far more balanced than the AFC. And the biggest question will be whether Steve Sarkisian, whose only season of NFL experience came as a quarterbacks coach more than a dozen years ago, can sustain one of the most productive offenses in NFL history now that previous coordinator Kyle Shanahan is in San Francisco.
And history isn't on the Falcons' side: no team has lost the Super Bowl and returned the following season since the 1990s Buffalo Bills did it three times.
4. MVP! MVP!
Brady, Manning and Aaron Rodgers had passed the MVP hardware around for years until Cam Newton emerged as a surprise winner in 2015. Then Falcons QB Matt Ryan stunned the NFL in 2016 with a record-setting campaign, suddenly morphing into superstardom in his ninth season. So who's got next?
Maybe the award remains in the loaded NFC South — awash with new weapons, Jameis Winston might be primed for his own star turn, or perhaps stat machine Drew Brees will finally win it in his 17th year. Two-time winners Brady and Rodgers will surely be in the running; the Steelers have a troika of candidates (Bell, Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger) capable of huge individual seasons; perhaps an elite pass rusher like Von Miller or Khalil Mack might break offensive players’ three-decade stranglehold on the award; Jerry Rice (1987) is the only receiver to win MVP, but Brown, Julio Jones and Odell Beckham are all capable in a league that now features the position so heavily; and any number of youngsters — Carr, Ezekiel Elliott, David Johnson, Marcus Mariota, Dak Prescott or Russell Wilson — could be ready to elevate themselves.
5. Sophomore slump? Or surge?
Elliott and Prescott were almost inarguably the greatest rookie tandem in NFL history, launching the Dallas Cowboys back to relevance. So now what? No one will be sleeping on Prescott, the 2016 offensive rookie of the year, and the NFC East champs' reliance on him and Elliott is bound to increase amid the club’s defensive shake-up. The Cowboys are almost sure to face a tougher challenge from the Philadelphia Eagles and QB Carson Wentz, who has been armed with playmakers he lacked in an up-and-down freshman season.
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Rams will be looking for a quantum leap from 2016 No. 1 pick Jared Goff, while the Denver Broncos are allowing QB Paxton Lynch, their first rounder a year ago, to compete for the starting job. Bears RB Jordan Howard will look to overtake Elliott after finishing second to him for the rushing title in 2016; Michael Thomas takes over as the No. 1 receiver for the New Orleans Saints; and defensive stars like Joey Bosa, Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd and Deion Jones seek to make even larger footprints.
6. Young Guns
Some of the greatest quarterbacks the league has seen — Brady, Brees, Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Philip Rivers — are approaching 40. But it appears there are maturing youngsters worthy of eventually succeeding them.
After being the draft's top two picks, respectively, in 2015, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Winston and Tennessee Titans' Mariota seem to have their teams on the cusp of contention. The Raiders' revival can largely be credited to Carr. Prescott and Wentz seem primed to lead for years, but it's time for the Jacksonville Jaguars' Blake Bortles to finally prove he can do the same.
This year's highly billed rookie quarterbacks — Mitchell Trubisky (Bears), Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs), Deshaun Watson (Texans) and DeShone Kizer (Browns) — aren't expected to play extensively, if at all, in 2017. But as Bortles, Prescott and Wentz can attest, such plans tend to change quickly.
7. Rookie coaches
Five teams will deploy head coaches who have no experience beyond the coordinator level. Sean McVay — he was 30 at the time of his hiring, making him the youngest head man in modern NFL history — must get Goff on the right track while keeping the Rams relevant in the fickle L.A. market, especially since Anthony Lynn inherits a more talented Chargers roster on the other side of the town.
Vance Joseph takes over the Broncos, who come with significant expectations just one season removed from winning the Super Bowl. The Buffalo Bills' Sean McDermott and San Francisco 49ers' Kyle Shanahan, armed with a six-year deal, should enjoy more patience after quickly beginning the process of reshaping their teams in accordance with their respective philosophies.
8. Hot seat
All it takes is a poor September before mobs start massing with pitchforks in some cities. With rare exceptions like Belichick and Pete Caroll, almost every NFL coach is susceptible to the pink slip with just one disastrous season.
Grace periods could be over for the Chicago Bears' John Fox, who apparently doesn’t see eye to eye with GM Ryan Pace anyway, and Todd Bowles after a year of turmoil and regression with the New York Jets. After narrowly avoiding a winless season in 2016, Hue Jackson needs to get the Cleveland Browns moving forward, while Jim Caldwell may have to prove he can get the Detroit Lions further than one-and-done status in the playoffs.
And keep an eye on some more established figures, too.
Chuck Pagano is working for a new general manager and hasn't taken the Indianapolis Colts to postseason since 2014. John Harbaugh is almost an institution in Baltimore, but the Ravens haven't won a playoff game since their Super Bowl victory more than four years ago. And the Cincinnati Bengals' Marvin Lewis and New Orleans' Saints Asshole Face have been in their posts for more than a decade.
9. Change of venue
Two NFL teams will be in new stadiums. As the Chargers migrate from San Diego to Los Angeles, they'll move into suburban Carson's StubHub Center for the next two seasons. It's a facility designed for soccer, and though capacity will be expanded from 27,000 to 30,000 for NFL games, that's still less than half of what most of the league's buildings hold. Maybe the Bolts will enjoy an intimate and potentially raucous setting ... or maybe it will feel like they're playing in front of a high school crowd.
The situation is drastically different in Atlanta, where the Falcons will defend their NFC crown in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with its innovative oculus roof, halo video board and 100-yard bar.
10. Contract year
The NFL's financial landscape is in constant flux. But as things stand now, Kirk Cousins could be the prize of free agency next year — assuming the Washington Redskins don't franchise him for a third straight year at what would be a financially insane $34-plus million. Jimmy Garoppolo is scheduled to go free, though the Patriots could use the same tag-and-trade approach they utilized with Matt Cassel in 2009. Several other quarterbacks are heading into the final year of their current contracts (Brees, Sam Bradford, Matthew Stafford).
Other players who might be looking for new deals include Devonta Freeman, Jarvis Landry, Alshon Jeffery, Jimmy Graham and Le'Veon Bell.
11. Comeback trail
Several high-profile running backs could vie for comeback player of the year honors. Adrian Peterson (Saints) and Jamaal Charles (Broncos) hope to prove they can still be effective while learning the ropes for their new teams. The same goes for Marshawn Lynch, though early reports out of Oakland suggest he looks spry after enjoying a year of retirement.
In Tampa Bay, Doug Martin must prove he was worthy of last year's millions while beginning this season with a three-game suspension. The Rams' spotty play at quarterback and on the offensive line hurt Todd Gurley last season, but the 2015 offensive rookie of the year also must bear some responsibility for a poor 2016 campaign. Elsewhere, Bell and David Johnson should be ready to roll after being banged up at the end of last season.
On the quarterback front, Luck and Newton will be handled with kid gloves this summer as they recover from shoulder surgeries. Carr and Ryan Tannehill are expected to be fully functional in training camp after late-season injuries left each of their team's playoff hopes dead on arrival. Mariota is also virtually recovered from a broken leg. The big question is Teddy Bridgewater, whose career remains in limbo after last summer's devastating knee injury.
Other players to monitor include Gronk (back), J.J. Watt (back), Luke Kuechly (concussion), Keenan Allen (knee) and Martavis Bryant (suspended in 2016).
12. Newcomers
Perhaps no team got a better infusion of talent this offseason than the Jaguars, who lured DL Calais Campbell and CB A.J. Bouye in free agency before drafting Fournette and OL Cam Robinson. WRs DeSean Jackson (Bucs), Terrelle Pryor (Redskins), Brandon Marshall (Giants), Jeffery (Eagles), S Tony Jefferson (Ravens), RB Eddie Lacy (Seahawks), Gilmore (Patriots) and Bennett (Packers) could all be impact free agent finds. Other rookies who seems likely to make early splashes are RBs Christian McCaffrey (Panthers) and Dalvin Cook (Vikings), TEs O.J. Howard (Bucs) and Evan Engram (Giants), WRs Corey Davis (Titans), Mike Williams (Chargers) and John Ross (Bengals), LBs Haason Reddick (Cardinals) and Jarrad Davis (Lions), safeties Jamal Adams (Jets), Malik Hooker (Colts) and Jabrill Peppers (Browns) and pass rushers Myles Garrett (Browns), Solomon Thomas (49ers), Jonathan Allen (Redskins), Charles Harris (Dolphins), T.J. Watt (Steelers), Taco Charlton (Cowboys) and McKinley (Falcons).
13. It’s analytics, baby
Cleveland continues the league's most fascinating rebuild with an analytics-based approach that's arguably produced as many dividends as questions thus far.
One year after passing on the chance to take Wentz, the Browns also chose not to pick Deshaun Watson in the first round to shore up their perennial quarterback dilemma, though Kizer's value with selection No. 52 this year was apparently too good to ignore.
Executive VP of football operations Sashi Brown definitely seemed to obtain prime talent in this year's first round, picking Garrett, Peppers and TE David Njoku. He's also wheeled and dealed his way into five selections in the first two rounds next year, though he sacrificed $16 million of precious (we thought) salary cap space in order to eat QB Brock Osweiler's contract and obtain the Houston Texans' 2018 second rounder (this after letting Pryor walk).
Stay tuned as the plan continues to unfold ... assuming ownership doesn't run out of patience first.
14. Red flags not a stop sign?
It's been three years since Ray Rice was thrown out of the NFL for slugging his fiancee in an Atlantic City elevator. However at least five players accused of violence against women just got drafted. The jury — figurative for now — remains out on Raiders first rounder Gareon Conley, accused of rape days before the draft, something he's denied. The bone-breaking punch Bengals second rounder Joe Mixon threw at a woman in 2014 was captured on video. Jaguars fourth rounder Dede Westbrook and Browns sixth rounder Caleb Brantley have arrests on their records, while Cowboys third rounder Jourdan Lewis is scheduled to go on trial in July for one misdemeanor count of domestic violence. A troubling trend and group of players who bear close watching.
15. Broken records?
Every year, somebody gets the statheads excited.
Before finishing with 1,631 rushing yards (in 15 games), Elliott seemed to have a shot at 2,000 yards as a rookie. That should remain the case going forward — if he's available all season — as he operates behind the league's best line for an offense that will likely have to pile up yards and points as it compensates for what’s expected to be a shaky defense.
Brees has surpassed 5,000 passing yards five times — no other quarterback has done it twice — and is always a threat to reclaim his single-season record from Peyton Manning (5,477). (Brees would need an unprecedented 5,830 yards to overtake Manning's career mark for passing yards — 71,940 — this season.) And keep an eye on Brady, given his bolstered fleet of pass catchers and a relatively unproven group of running backs which could make the team more reliant than ever on its signature short passing game.
Brown, Jones and Beckham seem like the best candidates to become the first 2,000-yard receiver, a once unthinkable plateau which now seems inevitable. If J.J. Watt reclaims his superpowers, might he have a third 20-sack season in the tank — no other player has done that twice — and potentially break his tie with Lawrence Taylor by becoming the first four-time defensive player of the year?
16. Sam Darnold sweepstakes
None of the quarterbacks picked this year was considered a can't-miss prospect or even necessarily ready to play in 2017. But that probably won't be the case in the 2018 draft, where the buzz around Southern California's Sam Darnold is already growing. Fans don't want to endure a season that "earns" their team the No. 1 overall pick. But supporters of the Jets, Browns and 49ers might wind up rooting for defeats to pile up if Darnold is the consolation prize — assuming the redshirt sophomore doesn't pull a Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck by returning to school for an additional year.
17. TV
The spotlight always shines brightest on quarterbacks, and that will remain the case — literally — for Tony Romo and Jay Cutler as they transition from the field to the broadcast booth. Without an iota of experience, will Romo prove worthy of supplanting longtime CBS lead analyst Phil Simms? And after having his body language and personality parsed for years, will Cutler prove a fit in a three-man booth — not always a smooth set-up by definition — for FOX? Will either be lured back to a locker room despite vows that they'll never strap on a helmet again? Buckle up, fellas. If there's anything fans have less patience with than an ineffective quarterback, it may be an ineffective analyst.