Three NFL Teams That Will Have A Bounce-Back Year
Every NFL season we see teams with big expectations fail to meet them, for a multitude of reasons. Whether it’s being plagued by injury, growing pains, or they just straight up aren’t as good as everyone makes them out to be, it happens across the league every season. In the loaded NFL of today, what teams that struggled last year are candidates for a bounce-back year in 2023?
Denver Broncos
The Broncos had a tough time last year, finishing 5-12. Between Russell Wilson cooking up some of the worst stuff you’ve ever seen and the bumbling fool Nathaniel Hackett feeding him recipes, things were doomed. This season feels like it’ll be a better year to be a Broncos fan for a handful of reasons.
Bringing in Sean Payton should be the kick in the butt the Broncos offense needs. After taking some time off, one of the best coaches in today’s game makes a comeback in Denver. Payton was known as an offensive guru in his 15 years in New Orleans, where he helped win a Super Bowl. The duo of Payton and Drew Brees turned Brees into one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, how will Mr. Unlimited's relationship with Payton be?
On top of the massive addition of Peyton, Wilson claims to be in the best shape of his life, but who isn’t this time of year? Wilson had an abysmal year last year in a new setting. He and the Broncos couldn’t ever find a way to get it going. With a quarterback of Wilson’s caliber, expect him to bounce back. Let’s not forget he’s an elite-level quarterback, no matter how corny he can seem at times.
Featured running back Javonte Williams also appears to be just about ready to go, avoiding the Physically Unable To Perform List to start training camp, meaning there’s a chance he could play week one. Williams tore his ACL, LCL, and PCL in the third quarter of the Broncos Week Four game last year, which also hurt their offensive production.
New Orleans Saints
While it wasn’t as bad as the Broncos, Saints fans weren’t too happy with how things went last year. Andy Dalton didn’t do a bad job, he just didn’t do a great job either. This year, New Orleans has leveled up at quarterback by signing Derek Carr after the Las Vegas Raiders kicked him to the curb last season. Carr still has gas left in the tank, as we saw last year when he posted a 60% completion rate for 3,522 yards and 24 touchdowns. The four-time Pro Bowler will easily be the best Saints quarterback since Brees retired.
Carr’s weapons are nice down in the bayou, too. If the Saints can just find a way to keep superstar wide receiver Michael Thomas on the field, it’s going to get dangerous. Thomas has only appeared in 10 games over the past two seasons, dealing with nagging foot injuries that have held him out. If the Saints can get a smidge of the old Thomas out there, they’ll be front-runners in the division.
Don’t let Thomas distract you from the other ticking time bomb sitting in the Saints receivers room, in a good way. Chris Olave is bound for superstardom. His rookie season last year saw him haul in 72 receptions for 1,042 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 14.5 yards per reception. Having Carr should be huge for Olave’s development.
On top of the two superstar receivers, the Saints improved the running back depth this offseason as well. Alvin Kamara is a superstar but is facing a three-game suspension to start the season stemming from his incident in Las Vegas. The Saints signed Jamaal Williams, who scored 17 touchdowns for the Lions last year, and drafted Kendre Miller, the standout back on the TCU team that made a running to the College Football Championship last year.
New York Jets
This one doesn’t need a lot of explaining. The Jets completely changed the course of their franchise by trading for legendary quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who will likely be on the biggest “F*** you” tour of all time this season. The four-time MVP brought his talents to the Big Apple and brought his friends Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb with him. He also connects with budding superstars Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall. The Jets defense was dominant last year too, and with nowhere to go but up for corner Sauce Gardner, the sky seems to be the limit in New York.
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