There are a lot of rosters that look great heading into the 2022 NFL season. Some are on the rise. Others are just plain bad.
It’s that time of year when everyone with a platform puts out their subjective, opinionated NFL lists for all to unanimously agree with.
It’s a glorious time, isn’t it?
Here, we’re going to make a lot of friends by taking on the task of selecting the three worst rosters in the NFL as we head into the 2022 regular season.
For those whose favorite team is included, just know that competition was tight.
Still, making these selections was rather easy in the end. There were a number of factors considered:
- Does the team’s QB raise all boats?
- If the QB doesn’t raise all boats, can the roster carry the QB?
- Does the team have foundational pieces in place at key positions like OT, CB, EDGE, and WR?
Some of the teams on this list check a box, maybe two. Others?
Well…
Let’s take a look at the three worst rosters in the NFL as we head into the 2022 NFL season.
Worst NFL roster heading into 2022: The Chicago Bears
Alright, let’s take a look at the criteria, shall we?
Do the Chicago Bears have a QB that can raise all boats?
Not yet.
The Bears’ previous regime traded up in the 2021 NFL Draft to select Justin Fields, who battled with Andy Dalton in the 2021 offseason and ultimately struggled when given the chance to actually play last season.
He was a rookie, cut the man some slack.
He’s going to have to do a ton of heavy lifting in 2022, however. The roster around him is egregiously bad on paper.
Is Justin Fields a franchise QB? Not at this point. Could he be? Absolutely.
At this point in time, the Chicago Bears have a developmental quarterback with high upside that nobody making decisions for the team right now had a hand in drafting.
Do the Chicago Bears have a roster that can carry Justin Fields while he lives and learns?
Absolutely not.
Offensively, I would contend that the Bears have the absolute worst supporting cast for any quarterback in the league right now.
Justin Fields’ top weapons are:
- RB David Montgomery
- WR Darnell Mooney
- TE Cole Kmet
The offensive line in Chicago is horrible at worst, a projection at best. Could they come out and surprise everyone in 2022? Sure, but it would be just that — a surprise.
The Bears look much better defensively on paper than they do offensively.
With that being said, they traded away Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Given Mack’s health recently, let’s give new head coach Matt Eberflus the benefit of the doubt and say that he’s going to coach up this side of the ball to be pretty darn good.
Maybe even top 15 in the league with a projected breakout for Trevis Gipson, the steady play of Roquan Smith, and a very young secondary that is probably the most exciting aspect of this team outside of the potential of Fields.
Do the Bears have foundational pieces at OT, CB, EDGE, and WR?
I would say that the jury is very much out on all of these except for probably Jaylon Johnson at the cornerback position.
Johnson looks like an absolute stud.
Off the edge, the Bears are hoping Trevis Gipson can be that guy. Robert Quinn is coming off of a sensational season but he’s an older player and will he even be with the team all year?
At receiver, Darnell Mooney is a stud, but is he a foundational piece? Even if we give the Bears that, they are still missing two out of the four, and the jury is out on the fifth and most important — quarterback.
Unfortunately for Justin Fields, this is the worst roster in the NFL.
2nd-worst NFL roster heading into 2022: The Houston Texans
Do the Houston Texans have a QB that can raise all boats?
No, but they do have a quarterback who showed some really good things last year.
The team’s top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Davis Mills, brought some life to the Houston offense and was good enough for the team to give him a true audition with a full offseason in 2022 as well as some coaching continuity with Pep Hamilton back as the offensive coordinator and not just the QB coach.
Still, Mills is not quite a “raise all boats” quarterback just yet.
Do the Houston Texans have a roster that can carry Davis Mills while he lives and learns?
They do not, but things are on the upswing.
Unlike the Chicago Bears, I think the Houston Texans actually have a lot to like about their roster on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, the wide receiver position has a strong veteran presence as well as intriguing upside with Brandin Cooks, Nico Collins, and 2022 second-round pick John Metchie III.
Brevin Jordan showed upside at tight end last year and the running game has some intriguing wild cards, including former 1,000-yard rusher Marlon Mack.
Most importantly offensively for the Texans? I think this team has some really good pieces on the offensive line. Left tackle Laremy Tunsil, former first-round pick Tytus Howard, and 2022 first-round pick Kenyon Green are building blocks.
Defensively, the team just landed arguably the CB1 of the 2022 Draft in Derek Stingley Jr.
Like the Bears, though, the Texans are banking on a lot of young players showing up for them and other players overachieving in 2022.
Do the Texans have foundational pieces at OT, CB, EDGE, and WR?
Let’s go down the list:
OT: Laremy Tunsil – check
CB: Derek Stingley – the jury is out, but a possible check
EDGE: Jonathan Greenard? That is swinging towards a check
WR: Brandin Cooks – check
The Texans check a lot of boxes, the issue is, other teams simply have more proven players to check those boxes and in some cases, multiple players at those key positions.
The depth of this roster is not there right now, although I love Nick Caserio’s strategy of throwing darts at the free agent board and trying to hit a bullseye. He nailed the Maliek Collins pickup last year as well as Desmond King.
Ultimately, I think the somewhat motley crew in Houston could be better than people think if Davis Mills progresses, but right now, they simply don’t have a great-looking roster on paper, or it’s at the very least in need of players proving themselves.
3rd-worst NFL roster heading into the 2022 season: The Atlanta Falcons
Do the Atlanta Falcons have a QB that can raise all boats?
No, and as a matter of fact, I think the Falcons may arguably have the worst quarterback situation in the entire NFL.
Could Marcus Mariota be an intriguing reclamation project? Yes.
Could Desmond Ridder be the next Russell Wilson or Dak Prescott — a mid-round pick that comes in and immediately blows away expectations? Maybe.
The fact of the matter is, you can’t bank on either of those things happening.
As of right now, the Falcons don’t have an answer at the QB position. Just two Spidermans, pointing at each other.
Do the Atlanta Falcons have a roster that can carry their QB while he lives and learns?
Offensively, this could be an interesting question.
The Falcons have a couple of receivers that I would consider to be “QB proof” in 2022 first-round pick Drake London and 2021 first-round tight end Kyle Pitts.
You throw the ball in the vicinity of those guys, they can come down with it.
I also love the pickup of Bryan Edwards to add depth and even more size and athleticism to this unit.
Cordarrelle Patterson showed last season that he could create offense on a weekly basis, but can that continue in 2022?
The Falcons have a lot of high draft choices on the offensive line, so that could end up being a plus.
Defensively, this team has one of the best cornerbacks in the game in AJ Terrell. He’s a superstar but he’s one of the only noteworthy pieces on that side of the ball.
Grady Jarrett is still around but his productivity in terms of sacks, QB hits, TFLs, and pressures all took a dip last season.
The Falcons attempted to catch pass rushers like Pokémon this offseason, grabbing as many as they possibly could to hopefully find some that stick.
That group includes second-round pick Arnold Ebiketie and third-round pick DeAngelo Malone, both super-talented athletes that could start as rookies.
Ultimately, the answer to the question here is no.
Do the Falcons have foundational pieces at OT, CB, EDGE, and WR?
At OT, the Falcons have Jake Matthews and Kaleb McGary. I’d say they get a check there.
At CB, AJ Terrell is one of the league’s best and the Falcons also added Casey Hayward this offseason. Check.
Off the edge? The jury is clearly out. The Falcons are searching for pass rush answers.
At WR, I’m going to give the Falcons a check. Kyle Pitts is not technically a WR, but he functions as the WR1 of this offense and I’m extremely high on Drake London.
Despite checking off some of these boxes, some of these players will be dragging along the quarterbacks in Atlanta and this team will be in the market for a new signal-caller in the 2023 NFL Draft or offseason, in all likelihood.