The start of the NFL season means that a slew of paid analysts are ready to prognosticate. Picking the best players and teams prior to the season is an annual tradition that separates the best analysts from the Skip Bayless types. Here are three predictions that were made by some of the finest NFL evaluators at the beginning of the season.
Green Bay-Baltimore Super Bowl
Image via Flickr by Phil Roeder
Peter King is 58 years old, and he’s covered the NFL for 35 years and counting. Suffice it to say that he’s a football lifer who has earned his reputation as one of the finest NFL analysts of all time. Each week during the football season, he’s the invited guest of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, wherein he evaluates the major stories of the week.
Never one to shy away from bold proclamations, King is one of the few people who can say that he’s picked a recent Super Bowl matchup. This year, he’s saying what a lot of people are thinking. Green Bay lost a fluke game in the NFC Championship last season, and they got better in the offseason while Seattle got worse. Selecting them to make the Super Bowl isn’t shocking.
The Baltimore side of the equation felt like a gamble even before Terrell Suggs tore his Achilles tendon again. Don’t expect King to be right about the Ravens. If you check the odds regularly, go against him by picking against the Ravens. Without Suggs, one of their greatest players ever, they’re unlikely to generate a consistent pass rush.
Comeback Player of the Year Adrian Peterson
This is a touchy subject since Peterson isn’t coming back from an injury or a down season. Instead, he abused his child and pleaded no contest to legal charges on the matter. At 30, Peterson is elderly for an NFL running back, but he’s also one of the greatest ever to play the position.
With many analysts bullish on the Minnesota Vikings this year, it’s logical to presume a return to glory for their workhorse back. Peterson didn’t play for a year, which means he’ll be rusty, yet many staff members of Sports Illustrated feel he won’t miss a step in 2015.
Rookie of the Year Marcus Mariota
Number one overall draft pick Jameis Winston started generating headlines years before he entered the NFL. He stole some crab legs, won a Heisman Trophy, led his team to a national championship, and found himself sued for sexual assault.
Second overall draft pick Marcus Mariota only did one of those things, winning the Heisman Trophy for 2014. He entered the league more quietly, fitting for someone of his calm disposition. The moment he took the field for his first game, he immediately transformed into what he is, a football rock star. Mariota became the first player in NFL history to earn a perfect passer rating in his debut.
After only one week, Mariota made Super Bowl-winning former head coach Jon Gruden look like a genius. Gruden sagely predicted that Mariota would win Rookie of the Year. Early results indicate he’s a strong contender.
Which of these three bold predictions, if any, will prove correct? Check back to see how the 2015 NFL season is evolving!
