The NFL offseason is approaching fast and the preseason begins shortly. The NFL draft was a couple months ago and each team got great pick-ups. Some picks gave some teams a chance having a super bowl title brought back to their home town. Here is my top 5 teams I can see re-entering the playoffs.

1) New York Giants

The New York Giants are known as one of the best teams in the NFL. However, the team has gone downhill ever since there win in Super Bowl 46. The Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr who was the 12th overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft became the offensive rookie of the year as he improved the Giants. This year’s 2015 NFL draft picks the Giants picked up was Round #1: Erick Flowers, Round #2: Landon Collins, Round #3: Owamagbe Odighizuwa, Round #4: Mykkele Thompson, Round #6: Geremy Davis, Round #7: Bobby Hart. With Victor Cruz coming back from injury, and with the pick-up of Shane Vereen, the RB and WR group will be really strong. The Giants team will be strong all together, but the question is, can the Quarterback Eli Manning peace it all together and lead the Giants to the playoffs again?

 

2) New York Jets

The New York Jets were the 2nd team in the NFL to win a super bowl in super bowl 3. The Jets have entered the playoffs numerous times but they always seem to never peace it together. With the return of CB’s Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie coming back to the Jets, the secondary will be hard to beat. Also the Jets required WR Brandon Marshall to the team making the WR core good. This year’s Draft the NY Jets have acquired in Round #1: Leonard Williams, Round #2: Devin Smith, Round #3: Lorenzo Mauldin, Round #4: Bryce Petty, Round #5: Jarvis Harrison, Round #7: Deon Simon. The Jets Defense will be really good this year, but the question is, who will be the starting quarterback, and can the starter help lead his team to a playoff spot?

 

3) Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles last year were play-off contenders but they lost 3 important games in a row kicking them out of any chance of getting back in the play offs. The problem during the off season was, they lost RB LeSean Mccoy, QB Nick Foles, and WR Jeremy Maclin, and all three of them were big losses. However they picked up RB, Demarco Murray, QB Sam Bradford, and they signed free agent QB Tim Tebow. This year’s NFL Draft, The Eagles have required in Round #1: Nelson Agholor, Round #2: Eric Rowe, Round #3: Jordan Hicks, Round #6: JaCorey Shepherd, Round #6: Randall Evans, and Round #7: Brian Mihalik. The Question here is, will the starting Quarterback be Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, or Mark Sanchez? Can the Eagles put together all the players to make it work especially after the players they have lost on their team?

 

4) Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a team that can mostly reach the playoffs ,but not come up with the win when they mostly need it. However, this year The Falcons were considered too have the best picks in the NFL Draft. Matt Ryan is a quarterback that scores a lot in the 4th quarter mainly because he is a guy that is good in clutch situations. The WR group mainly, Julio Jones and Roddy White makes the Falcons receivers strong. This year in the NFL Draft, the Falcons picked up in Round #1: Vic Beasley, Round #2: Jalen Collins, Round #3: Tevin Coleman, Round #4: Justin Hardy, Round #5: Grady Jarrett, Round #7: Jake Rodgers, Round #7: Akeem King. The question this year for the Falcons is: Can the O line give Matt Ryan more time in the pocket and will the defensive be improved majorly?

5) Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are known for having one of the best defensives in the league, especially with this year’s #1 player on the NFL player top 100: JJ Watt. The Houston Texans lost their #1 receiver, Andre Johnson as he went to the Indianapolis Colts. However, just like the Seattle Seahawks, The Houston Texans mainly rely on their defensive too do more damage than their offense. During the off season, S, Ed Reed had retired so they lost a big part on their defense. They also picked up DT Vince Wilfork to help their defense. Also this year The Texans were also considered to have one of the best draft classes this year as well. This year in the NFL draft, the Texans picked up in Round #1: Kevin Johnson, Round #2: Benardrick McKinney, Round #3: Jaelen Strong, Round #5: Keith Mumphery, Round #6: Reshard Cliett, Round #6: Christian Covington, Round #7: Kenny Hilliard. The Texans defense will be strong like it always is, but can the offense keep up and be strong with the defense? Will Ryan Mallett or Brian Hoyer be the Starting Quarterback?

 

***This post was written by our intern Josh Gubbins of Westmoreland. Josh is entering his senior year, and of course loves football.***

 

 

 

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