New contract or not, Jackson is under immense pressure to return
to his MVP-level form after an injury marred 2021. Between anonymous
league personnel bashing him, to bogus made-for-tv position ratings,
Jackson has faced heat this offseason. He and the Ravens hit the
road to open the season against an improved Jets squad. With J.K.
Dobbins still working back from injury, Jackson might have to handle
more than usual to start the year. Jackson has dedicated himself
to improve both physically and mechanically this spring and summer,
and the chip on his shoulder is immense. In order to slow Jackson,
defenses must not only have a disciplined scheme, but also the personnel
to pull it off. Unfortunately for New York they don’t have
the athletes at the 2nd and 3rd levels to be able to do it. Look
for Jackson and the Ravens to make a big statement to start the
2022 season.
The never-ending Deshaun Watson circus seemed to overshadow the
trade of Wilson to Denver. It’s not often that a Super Bowl winning
quarterback in his near prime gets dealt. Not only that, Denver
has the skill position players, and system to put Wilson right
back in the thick of the QB1 conversation. Yeah, his rushing numbers
took a strange dip last year, but I see a rebound, rather than
a trend. As for this Week 1 opponent? Obviously, he’ll be juiced
to play well in the city he owned for a decade-plus, and it also
helps that I don’t think Seattle is going to be very good on either
side of the ball.
The Eagles are all-in on the quarterback that finished in the
top-10 at his fantasy position last season. On the back of his
silly 782 rushing yards and ten touchdowns, Hurts helped the Eagles
squeak into the playoffs in 2021. In order to take the next step,
he’ll have to improve as a passer, and the acquisition of
A.J. Brown should go a long way to helping with that. 2nd overall
pick Aiden Hutchinson will likely be fired up to start his career
at home, and I could see him getting overzealous in his rushing
lanes and letting Hurts rip off yardage on the ground. With one
of the better offensive lines in the league, a creative play caller,
and stud receivers, Hurts is poised for a top-5 finish.
Retiring, unretiring, and mysterious absences aside, it’s
been a rough offseason for Brady and the Bucs offense. Three top-tier
starters from the offensive line are gone due to retirement and
injury, and the offseason chemistry with a new set of receivers
has been compromised. Dallas got to the quarterback 41 times last
season, and figures to test Brady’s new bulwark early and
often. I expect a run heavy plan to pound the Dallas-D, and give
Brady and the coaches time to adjust.
Fields raised eyebrows with some quality play this preseason,
but the bullets start firing for real this week against a stocked
Niner defense. At this stage of his career, with a weak offensive
line, and mediocre skill position players, Fields has to fight
the tendency to do TOO much. He’s not ready to sit in the
pocket and read defenses just yet, and while his legs should give
him a decent floor, I think he’s pressured into a few too-many
mistakes.
It’s no secret that Tannehill spent much of the offseason
shell shocked from his meltdown in a playoff loss to the Bengals.
Throw in the fact A.J. Brown was jettisoned to Philly, and it’s
fair to question just what to expect from this Titan offense.
The play of dynamic rookie Malik Willis also adds pressure to
the situation. While the NYG offense was a weekly nightmare, the
defense was surprisingly efficient, especially against opposing
quarterbacks, where they gave up only 19.3 fantasy points-per-game.
