The 2025 NFL season is rapidly approaching, and as much as we've spent time analyzing every move that's been made, every training camp development, and every preseason game, there will still be things that happen that take us all off guard.
What teams could end up being the biggest surprise teams in each NFC division?
We could have a lot of new teams stepping up, but some familiar faces might end up in the "surprising" category as well based on where current expectations are. Let's make some bold NFL predictions for the 2025 season and which teams in each NFC division could end up being a bit of a surprise.
Predicting one surprise team from every NFC team for 2025 NFL season
NFC East: New York Giants
The Washington Commanders did a great job last year of taking everybody else off guard and being that surprise team in the NFC overall, not just the NFL. But after the injuries this team sustained last season, I do feel like a lot of folks are sleeping on the Dallas Cowboys.
A lot has changed, obviously, but let's not forget that the Cowboys won 12 games each year for three straight seasons when Dak Prescott was healthy. But this prediction isn't about the Cowboys. The Giants can be the shocker team in the NFC East this coming season, in what could end up being the most competitive division in football.
The Giants might have the most fearsome defensive front in football by the time the season is over with Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and star rookie Abdul Carter. There is no question that having a stellar defensive front can help teams take a leap forward, but the Giants also have an appreciable upgrade at quarterback going from what they had last year to Russell Wilson.
As much as Russ gets clowned these days, he helped take the Steelers to the playoffs last season and had the Broncos in the thick of the division race the year before that (despite starting 1-5).
NFC North: Detroit Lions (in a bad way)
I hate to be negative on something like this, but would anyone be surprised by anything else in the NFC North this year besides the Detroit Lions taking a major step back? I don't want to be the guy that predicts the Lions to miss the playoffs after winning 15 regular season games last year, but there are a lot of changes this offseason that lead me to believe they could have a huge letdown year.
The loss of both Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn as coordinators hurts. Injuries are already starting to pile up on defense. The Lions made substantial changes to their interior offensive line.
This team could surprise in a bad way this coming season, which would ultimately be the only truly surprising outcome of the division in 2025.
NFC South: Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers could end up being that surprise team in the NFC South that really gives the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fits this year. While they had the worst defense in the league last year, they will be substantially improved offensively and even marginal improvements defensively would have this team doing some damage weekly.
Dave Canales has the secret sauce at the quarterback position and proved it last year with the work he and Bryce Young were able to get done in the second half last season.
The trade of Brian Burns last year really set this team back on the defensive side of the ball, and they didn't really have a plan in place to replace him. We'll see if some younger guys can figure it out this year but the pieces are in place for them to be a vastly improved squad overall.
NFC West: San Francisco 49ers
At this point in the 2025 offseason, it feels like it would be really shocking to see the 49ers come out and get back to the top of the NFC playoff race. The 49ers had obviously gotten used to being a top contender in the NFC, but injuries and the salary cap have taken their toll.
This offseason, we saw GM John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan really reload this roster in a lot of ways, especially defensively. The 49ers clearly have a lot of unknown pieces on that side of the ball, and the injury issues for this team could be something to monitor, but I'm buying the core of this roster figuring things out.
Kyle Shanahan is a great coach. Robert Saleh knows how to call a defense and maximize his players. Brock Purdy has a massive contract and is a good quarterback. The 49ers have Christian McCaffrey back in the fold.
There's just a lot to like about this team, and if things are even slightly shaky with Matthew Stafford in LA, the 49ers could win this division.