Which five NFL teams could come out in the 2022 season and absolutely blow away your expectations? Let’s take a look at the top candidates.
Optimism is at an (understandable) all-time high for most NFL fan bases with the 2022 NFL preseason knocking on the door.
Football is back with training camps across the league underway and the “real thing” only a few weeks away at this point.
As we approach the end of predictions season, I want to take another look through some teams in the NFL and, in particular, some teams that might be getting slept on as we get closer to the regular season.
Each of the teams on this list have varying levels of expectations from fans and analysts, some perhaps contending for division titles and others moving from rebuilding to simply being relevant.
Regardless of where they land on that spectrum, these are not only teams that I think will be sneaky good in 2022 but teams that I believe are going to blow away consensus expectations.
Let’s take a look at a handful of NFL teams that could shake things up significantly in 2022.
NFL team poised to blow away expectations no. 1: Jacksonville Jaguars
There are a few intriguing things going in the Jacksonville Jaguars‘ favor as we approach the 2022 NFL season.
First, they play in what I believe to be arguably the weakest division in football. Certainly the weakest in the AFC.
Second, the coaching change from Urban Meyer to a Super Bowl-winning head coach like Doug Pederson absolutely cannot be overstated.
Third, there should be an expected progression from Trevor Lawrence in year two, which will make everyone on the Jaguars better.
Lawrence showed a lot of good things in his rookie year with the Jaguars despite all of the bad and weird stuff happening around him, even if the stats don’t reflect it.
With the massive culture change happening in Jacksonville, I think Lawrence is going to be so much better than anyone’s really expecting and as a result, I think the Jaguars are poised to really exceed expectations, perhaps even contending for this division.
I’m low on the Titans and the Colts, and if the Jaguars’ defense can exceed expectations, this could be a fun team.
NFL team poised to blow away expectations no. 2: Baltimore Ravens
What are your expectations for the Baltimore Ravens in 2022?
They’re too low.
Keep in mind that in 2019, this team won 14 games and Lamar Jackson looked like one of the most unstoppable forces the NFL has ever seen.
In 2020, they won 11 games.
In 2021, they lost nine games, but examine some of the losses a little more closely.
- In week 1, the Ravens lost in overtime to the Raiders
- In week 13, they lost to the Steelers by one point
- In week 14, they lost to the Browns by two
- In week 15, they lost to the Packers by one
- In week 17, they lost to the Rams — the eventual Super Bowl champs — by one
- In week 18, they lost in overtime to the Steelers
It’s arguable that no team in the NFL had more injury bad luck than the Ravens did.
Now, with Lamar Jackson in a contract year and plenty to prove, it seems the general consensus is sleeping on Baltimore.
The Bengals are the hot team in the AFC North but I think it’s going to be the Ravens that emerge as the team that represents the AFC North in the playoffs, if we can choose only one this year.
NFL team poised to blow away expectations no. 3: Detroit Lions
Let’s use this platform as another avenue to talk about the Detroit Lions.
The Lions are one of the top punchlines to every NFL joke over the last few decades and last year, things reached a new low.
They watched their own number one pick — Matthew Stafford — lead the Los Angeles Rams to a Super Bowl in his first year with the team after spending 2009-2020 with the Lions.
Although I’m sure Detroit Lions fans were happy for Stafford, you can’t help but wonder why that couldn’t have happened when he was still in Detroit.
Unfortunately, the Lions’ rebuild timeline just didn’t match up with Stafford’s personal wishes, because it seems like this team is always rebuilding.
Only now, it feels like there’s something different about the quality of the roster and the coaching in Detroit.
Dan Campbell and his staff seem to be doing an outstanding job and looking at this roster from a bird’s eye view, you can see general manager Brad Holmes’ vision coming into focus.
Offensively, the Lions have a very strong offensive line with a combination of good young players and proven veterans.
The skill position groups have been completely revamped and turned around from arguably the league’s very worst heading into the 2021 season to one of the better-looking groups in 2022.
Here are a few players Jared Goff will be able to spread the ball around to in 2021:
- TE TJ Hockenson
- RB D’Andre Swift
- WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
- WR Jameson Williams (eventually)
- WR DJ Chark
- WR Josh Reynolds
- WR Kalif Raymond
And there are others the Lions like, players like Trinity Benson and Quintez Cephus.
With Detroit making some key acquisitions defensively like drafting Aidan Hutchinson and getting Jeff Okudah back from injury, this team could make some serious noise in the NFC North in 2022 as their rebuild presses on.
NFL team poised to blow away expectations in 2022: Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins have missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, but they have won 19 games and have had a winning record in each of those seasons.
Although things ended with Brian Flores in a regrettable way (at least, from the outside looking in), the Dolphins are moving on and they have taken on a completely different look as a team.
With new head coach Mike McDaniel coming in, the Dolphins will have a very creative offense and they have one of the fastest duos at wide receiver the league has seen.
With Tyreek Hill coming in via trade and Jaylen Waddle stepping into his second season, the Dolphins have two players that will be keeping defensive coordinators up at night.
Although the addition of Hill has generated the most hype, it’s really the Dolphins’ defense that I think is going to have them blowing away expectations in 2022.
Miami may have one of the best secondaries in the entire NFL and arguably the best, depending on who you ask.
With such a strong secondary, the Dolphins also have a very intriguing pass rush unit led by Emmanuel Ogbah and promising second-year player Jaelan Phillips, a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The success of this team could hinge on whether or not Tua Tagovailoa can really make the necessary progressions in his game in 2022, but I think some of Tua’s weaknesses get overblown.
Does he have to be better? Absolutely.
The margin for error has increased substantially with Hill and Waddle in the fold, not to mention guys like Mike Gesicki and Cedrick Wilson.
The Dolphins have a lot of fascinating pieces and with McDaniel calling the shots offensively, I think we’re going to see this team make a lot of noise in the AFC East.
NFL team poised to blow away expectations in 2022: Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys were the motivation for writing this post.
I think the phrase “less is more” can certainly apply for the Dallas Cowboys in 2022.
The Cowboys didn’t make many earth-shattering moves in free agency or the NFL Draft.
They didn’t make any blockbuster trades to upgrade the roster.
But you know what also didn’t happen?
The Cowboys didn’t lose either of their coordinators despite both Kellen Moore and Dan Quinn being two of the hottest coaches on the market in 2022.
They didn’t have to worry about Dak Prescott’s contract.
The Cowboys have Dak Prescott not only under contract but coming back and getting better and better every day.
I think Prescott is going to take another leap forward in the 2022 season, even though the Cowboys’ wide receiver group has taken some serious hits this offseason.
Again, maybe less can be more.
CeeDee Lamb and Dalton Schultz will be featured in the passing game, as will Michael Gallup when he returns to the lineup.
The Cowboys have one of the brightest young defensive stars in the game in linebacker Micah Parsons.
Even though they lost Randy Gregory to Denver in free agency, the Cowboys have a bunch of intriguing options to replace his production in the lineup and a coordinator in Dan Quinn who can help maximize the talent at his disposal.
It isn’t the fact that they went out and spent a bunch of money to upgrade the roster, it’s continuity in a majority of key areas that could give the Dallas Cowboys an edge at not only repeating as NFC East champions but perhaps moving deep into the NFC playoffs.