NFL Editors Ben Fisher and Mike Hetherington make their predictions for the upcoming NFL season.

 

Playoff Picks - Fisher

AFC Team NFC Team
1 Indianapolis Colts (AFC South) 1 Green Bay Packers (NFC North)
2 Denver Broncos (AFC West) 2 Seattle Seahawks (NFC West
3 New England Patriots (AFC East) 3 Dallas Cowboys (NFC East)
4 Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC North) 4 Atlanta Falcons (NFC South)
5 Kansas City Chiefs (Wild Card) 5 Philadelphia Eagles (Wild Card)
6 Miami Dolphins (Wild Card) 6 Arizona Cardinals (Wild Card)

People are high on the Buffalo Bills to finally make the playoffs but there are two teams better executing Buffalo’s strategy – an elite defence carrying a middling offence – that I’m giving the Wild Spots to in the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs.

Houston

Even before Tom Brady’s suspension was nullified I had the defending champs winning the AFC East but the Chiefs, who added some firepower to their offence this season and could have a Top 3 defence, could pick off the vulnerable looking Denver Broncos in the AFC West.

After three AFC North teams made the postseason last year, I believe competition from the rest of the conference has caught up and only the division-winning Steelers will make the playoffs this year. The Baltimore Ravens should make it close however.

The Indianapolis Colts should have a cakewalk in the AFC South.

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It’s boring, but I had to go with the Packers and Seahawks earning bye weeks in the playoffs for the second straight year in the NFC. That said, I think both teams will have a hard time in their respective divisions. For the Packers, the Detroit Lions are still a good team and the Minnesota Vikings are quickly becoming one. And while the Seattle Seahawks likely lost a great rival in the San Francisco 49ers after their disastrous off-season, the Cardinals and St. Louis Rams are no slouches.

Bradford

I’m not ready to give Chip Kelly ‘genius’ status just yet, but if all goes well in Philadelphia this year, the Eagles’ could have a scary-good offence. With the justifiable injury concerns littering Philly’s roster however, that’s a big ‘if’. The Cowboys’ offence returns intact and their surprisingly capable defence of a year ago could be even better this year; they’ll likely take the division.

Somebody has to win the NFC South and I’m giving it to the Falcons after the Dan Quinn hire.

 

Playoff Picks - Hetherington

AFC Team NFC Team
1 New England Patriots (AFC East) 1 Green Bay Packers (NFC North)
2 Inidanapolis Colts (AFC South) 2 Seattle Seahawks (NFC West)
3 Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC North) 3 Philadelphia Eagles (NFC East)
4 Denver Broncos (AFC West) 4 Carolina Panthers (NFC South)
5 Baltimore Ravens (Wild Card) 5 Arizona Cardinals (Wild Card)
6 Houston Texans (Wild Card) 6 Detroit Lions (Wild Card)

With Tom Brady in the fold for the entire season, the Patriots are once again poised to grab the AFC's top seed. The Colts high-powered offence and weak division make them an easy pick for a top seed, but a questionable defence costs them home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Steelers own every tool needed to own the NFL's top offence in 2015, however suspensions to Le'Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant early in the season will cost them production. A tough division costs the Steelers from grabbing a bye week, yet they will still do enough to host a game on Wild Card weekend.

Peyton Manning is not the same player he once was and I expect that to hinder the Broncos this season. While the Broncos edge the Chiefs and Chargers for the AFC West title but are forced to play the top Wild Card seed.

JJ Watt

I believe the final two playoff spots come down to four teams - the Ravens,Texans, Chiefs and Chargers. The Ravens have question marks at receiver, but John Harbaugh seemingly always finds a way to get it done. 

As for the Texans, Bill O'Brien coached the team to a 9-7 record while seeing four different quarterbacks take snaps in 2014. With a dominant defence - this time with Jadeveon Clowney - and a strong offensive system in place under O'Brien, I'll take the Texans as my surprise playoff team in 2015.

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The Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks are the NFC's best teams and it shows in the standings. The Packers will have to overcome the loss of Jordy Nelson, which will be no easy task, but the team has proved to up to the test when it comes to overcoming injuries in the past. It's hard to see the Seahawks defence being quite as dominant this season with some questions in the secondary, but the group is still elite and strong enough to grab a bye week.

The Chip Kelly expirement pays off for the Eagles as Sam Bradford leads the team to a division title and a home playoff game. Without DeMarco Murray and Orlando Scandrick,  the Cowboys fail in their bid to repeat as NFC East champs.

Newton

Consider the NFC South a question mark. I'm not ready to rule out any team in this division but I think the Panthers are the best guess to take football's weakest division for the third straight year. Despite having Drew Brees at quarterback, I think the Saints fall just shy in the division race.

A healthy Carson Palmer will make the Cardinals the most dangerous teams on Wild Card weekend. The team falls short of the Seahawks for the division title, but should still reach the divisional round - perhaps with a game in Seattle.

The Lions seem to be flying under the radar entering the season, but the loss of Ndamukong Suh is not enough to keep this team out of the playoffs. Meanwhile the Cowboys regress and miss the playoffs and the up-and-coming Vikings fall just short.

Super Bowl

Randall Cobb

Fisher: Packers over Colts

The Colts are a good team in a terrible division and have the second lowest strength of schedule in the league. That should help Indy earn a playoff bye and give them a leg up on home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Colts were a game away from the Super Bowl last year, I think they make it this year but it’s still not Andrew Luck’s turn to hoist his first Lombardi Trophy.

The Packers’ offence returns intact save for Jordy Nelson, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in training camp. Aaron Rodgers should be just fine however, with second-year man Davante Adams reportedly looking good filling in in preseason. In reality, Rodgers can probably make any receiver look good and the offence should be one of the league’s top units. The defence did a lot of shifting this off-season but there’s talent there.

Green Bay was an onside kick blunder away from the Super Bowl last year. Brandon Bostick is no longer on the team and I think they win the whole thing this year.

Tom Brady

Hetherington: Packers over Patriots

After the Packers collapse in the NFC Championship game last season, Aaron Rodgers spent much of the offseason talking about windows. I believe the two-time MVP keeps that mind as the Packers avenge their demons from 2014 to reach the big game.

The Patroits have some major questions at cornerback entering the season, but I still believe this team is well coached enough to reach the big game with home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

In a meeting of two of the NFL's  best quarterbacks, Rodgers outduels Brady for his second Super Bowl MVP title.

50 years after taking Super Bowl 1, the Packers take the crown again.

 

MVP

Ben Roethlisberger

Fisher: Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

Last year showed how difficult it is for anyone other than a quarterback to win the MVP so I’m going to stay in-house this year and pick the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger. Both Luck and Rodgers should put up MVP-calibre seasons, but the Steelers’ offence was on fire down the stretch last year thanks in large part to Roethlisberger’s chemistry with WR Antonio Brown. I expect that duo to propel Big Ben to his first MVP.

Non-QBs I think could get a sniff from the voters include Brown, Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski, and Packers WR Randall Cobb.

Aaron Rodgers

Hetherington: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck are both strong candidates to wrestle this award from Rodgers this season, but I'm going with the repeat. Even without Jordy Nelson, Rodgers proves to be the NFL's top quarterback and that's who this award typically goes to. If this goes to a skill player, I think Le'veon Bell and Adrian Peterson could be names to watch.

 

Defensive Player of the Year

Suh

Fisher: Ndamukong Suh, Miami Dolphins

JJ Watt is the best defensive player in the league by a decent margin, but every team in the league knows it and will double- or even triple-team him to make sure he doesn’t beat them. Now, Watt gets the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans a combined four times this year so regardless how many players they line up against him, he’ll get his stats.

But my pick is Ndamukong Suh. The defensive tackle is a monster and should get a lot of recognition if the Dolphins make the playoffs this year.

Hetherington: JJ Watt, Houston Texans

Watt may be the most committed player in the NFL. The former Wisconsin Badger works tirelessly to be the game's best player, and though he fails to grasp the league's MVP title, he gets the next best thing. Led by Watt, the Texans could own the league's best defence this season and, rightly so, he gets rewarded.

Offensive Rookie of the Year

Cooper

Fisher: Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders

This is shaping up to be the year of the rookie running backs, but there is reason for hesitation with each one winning Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Melvin Gordon should be the top rookie in terms of fantasy, but reportedly hasn’t looked great in preseason action for the San Diego Chargers. Todd Gurley and Duke Johnson will start the season hurt while Ameer Abdullah and TJ Yeldon are both in timeshares, likely limiting their production early on.

All that could lead to Oakland Raiders WR Amari Cooper claiming the award. The Alabama product looked great in training camp and is destined for big things. Unfortunately, he can only go as far as the Raiders’ offence; the only real concern with Cooper.

Jameis Winston

Hetherington: Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Winston will have ups and downs in his rookie season, but his ups will be enough to earn him this award. The ex-Seminole has a strong group of receivers around him to help him along and reach 3,500 yards and  20 touchdowns. Those marks and his promise moving forward win him the award.

Amari Cooper, Melvin Gordon, Todd Gurley and Ameer Abdullah will all be finalists for this award, falling just short of Winston.

 

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Clark

Fisher: Frank Clark, Seattle Seahawks

Character concerns caused Frank Clark to fall in the draft this past spring, fall right in to a perfect situation.

The Seahawks nabbed Clark late in the second round due to off-field issues and he’s thus far rewarded them with a monstrous first preseason. If Clark can stay out of trouble, and a championship calibre environment should help, he’ll be a front runner for this award.

Shane Ray, a similar top talent that fell in the draft into a strong situation with the Denver Broncos, is another rookie defender to keep an eye on.

Vic Beasley

Hetherington: Vic Beasley, Atlanta Falcons

As an every-down player,  Beasley has an easy path to this award. Dan Quinn knows how to build a dominant defence and Beasley figures to be a major part of that. The rookie pass rusher may struggle against the run, but his abilty to get to the quarterback will distract from those short comings. A 10 or more sack campaign wins Beasley this award.

Leonard Williams, selected by the New York Jets, has plently of talent around him to succeed as a rookie and should be in the thick of the race with Beasley when the season ends.