Let’s set one thing straight: The most rationally irrational thing that could happen this year is if an NFL season is somehow played. Irrational because of the persistently high COVID-19 numbers in the United States up to this point but also rational because of how well the NHL, MLS and NBA have kept their players healthy.
In March, an NFL season would have been improbable but now football returning doesn’t seem so crazy. Now, the 2020 NFL season is scheduled to take place within a couple of weeks and multiple NC State alumni will be headlining teams. Let’s delve into “hot takes” surrounding some of these players.
Russell Wilson wins MVP in stylish fashion
As far as hot takes go, this one might be considered lukewarm. Wilson was in the MVP conversation just last year when Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson took the award home. But if Patrick Mahomes is anything to go by, Jackson will have another great season but won’t captivate people’s hearts like he did last year. This is as good a year as any for Wilson to start his revenge tour.
Part of what made Jackson’s case for MVP last year was the team success the Ravens had, with their 14-2 record being the best in the league. Likewise, Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks are projected to have a strong season, especially after the acquisition of star safety Jamal Adams.
Despite being a measure of team success, wins are still factored into the equation in the MVP-voting process. If Wilson wants his MVP that bad, he won’t leave it up to the voters to make that decision. He’ll make that decision for them.
Wilson also has all the talent he needs to make 16 wins a reality. Chris Carson is coming off back-to-back 1,000 rushing yard seasons, Greg Olsen is still wily for his age, Tyler Lockett is always a deep threat and D.K. Metcalf is a monster of a human being à la Derrick Henry.
Defensively, the Seahawks still have Bobby Wagner and added a playmaker at safety with the addition of Adams. The talent on both sides of the ball is enough to give Wilson his first MVP trophy.
Bradley Chubb notches 20 sacks this year
The highly-talented Denver Broncos defensive end put the league on notice when he posted 12 sacks in his rookie season in Denver. Broncos fans were waiting for Chubb to make that big jump this past year before he tore his ACL early in the season. After spending time rehabbing during the season, and with the added break coming from the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s reason to believe that the jump fans anticipated last year comes this year.
Von Miller is still patrolling the Denver defense, and as long as he’s still the focus for most offensive lines, Chubb can be the beneficiary of single-coverage and pick up some sacks.
I won’t leave out the possibility of Chubb breaking the 22.5 sack record set by Michael Strahan in 2001, but I still want to inject a little bit of reason into these takes. What I won’t leave off the table is a potential Defensive Player of the Year, an award Chubb is certainly in line to win.
A.J. Cole will be a Pro Bowler
“Punters are people too” is a mantra that’s been repeated by many NFL punters, notably past Pro Bowlers Pat McAfee and Johnny Hekker. This is the year where A.J. Cole joins their league.
It helps a lot that Cole plays for the Las Vegas Raiders, who don’t figure to have a great offense this year. Josh Jacobs and even Derek Carr are great, but with two of their top wideouts being Nelson Agholor and rookie Henry Ruggs, it’s safe to say the Raiders will do their fair share of punting.
Last season, Cole was tied for 13th in average punt distance, sending the ball 46 gross yards per boot. But with the Raiders now playing in the brand-new Allegiant Stadium, fit with a retractable roof, that number figures to go up. While he was middle of the pack in terms of punt distance, Cole was elite in his ball placement.
While Cole still had six touchbacks, he also downed the ball inside his opponent’s 20-yard-line 33 times, good for fifth in the league and not far off from league leader Brett Kern’s 37. Again, playing in a dome may give the already accurate Cole more control over his direction. If Cole improves like he’s projected to, he’ll follow Ray Guy and Shane Lechler into the long line of great Raiders punters.
Philip Rivers breaks the single season record for passing yards
The Indianapolis Colts have spent the past few years building their squad around franchise cornerstone Andrew Luck. As luck would have it, Colts general manager Chris Ballard would have to scramble to find a Plan B after Luck retired surprisingly a year ago.
The result was an effort that was admirable given the circumstances but ultimately wasn’t enough to crash the postseason party. So when Rivers came to Indy this summer, he found a team that had great offensive pieces like T.Y. Hilton, Quenton Nelson and Ryan Kelly, but still needed that leader to push them over the top.
Rivers is that leader, and he has the potential to put up numbers similar to Peyton Manning’s in the early part of his tenure with the Broncos. Rivers at 38 has never lost his gunslinger mentality and can still chuck the ball into the cheap seats. There’s no doubt Rivers can drive the ball down the field like he used to and you can imagine Hilton being at the other end of those passes.
In an AFC South without much talent in the secondary aside from Tennessee’s Kevin Byard, the Colts will be having plenty of field days against their divisional rivals. Even if he doesn’t have the arm strength anymore, the dome of Lucas Oil Stadium is the perfect place for an elder statesman like Rivers to play.
With a good offensive line to give him time to throw, Rivers has a great chance at passing for more than 5,477 yards, the record set in 2013 by Manning.
