4 bold predictions from a scout's perspective
Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast." Find him on Twitter @WilliamsonNFL.
I was asked to come up with some bold predictions for the 2017 NFL season. Hopefully these are bold enough!
Adrian Peterson is going to be ferocious
For three years, I was the assistant recruiting coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh. Essentially, my job was to screen every VHS tape (yes, VHS!) that was sent to the football program to see which kids might help our team.
Of course, I concentrated on the areas of the country in which we recruited, but for fun - and to get a frame of reference - I did my best to watch the very top recruits from across the United States. Over those three years, I watched many remarkable players at the high school level, and many ended up in the NFL, including several eventual Hall of Famers.
But I only watched one young man that made me think he didn't need the college experience and could just jump right to the NFL. That was Adrian Peterson. My point is that Peterson, even at age 32, isn't like anyone else. Mark Ingram is a fine player, and Alvin Kamara looks great. But Peterson will be the man in New Orleans this year. He's in a class by himself.
The Saints' defense won't stink
Clearly, the Saints' method for winning games in the Drew Brees/Sean Payton era is to outscore their opponents. They've been involved in a bundle of shootouts, but it's worked rather well overall and made them a fun team to watch. But wow, has New Orleans had some bad defenses of late.
Losing Nick Fairley was a big blow, but Cameron Jordan is already a star and Sheldon Rankins is on the cusp. The rest of the defensive front is worrisome, but the second level should be more serviceable. Alex Anzalone has been impressive in the preseason - he and Jordan were both terrific when the Saints shut out the Texans in Week 3 - and there is now actually depth at linebacker.
The key here, though, is the secondary, particularly the cornerbacks. In Dennis Allen's scheme, it is imperative to be strong at cornerback, since he often leaves his corners in one-on-one situations. That allows Allen to be very complex with his interior coverages (and he utilizes his safeties in particular very well). The Saints have a promising cornerback trio of Marshon Lattimore, Delvin Breaux, and P.J. Williams, though they'll have to get through four-to-six weeks without Breaux, who fractured his fibula. Lattimore was a draft-day gift, and Williams is another defender who looked terrific against Houston.
New Orleans also has three very talented, versatile safeties in Kenny Vaccaro, Vonn Bell, and Marcus Williams. These three should see the field together a great deal, even on early downs.
As long as the secondary can overcome Breaux's absence, the unit could surprise a lot of people in 2017, taking the defense from terrible to serviceable.
Myles Garrett and Joey Bosa will look like future Hall of Famers
This qualifies as bold, especially considering these two have combined to play in just a dozen NFL games thus far, right?
Well, Bosa nearly averaged a sack per game in his rookie season without the benefit of training camp or a preseason. He fits into the Chargers’ new defensive scheme extremely well and should only be better in Year 2.
No. 1 pick Garrett's preseason showings have been even more impressive than expected. He might be the most talented defensive end to enter the league since Julius Peppers, and he is already translating that immense talent to the field.
These two have it all, and they'll both make it obvious this season. Unless injuries derail their career, someday we'll be discussing Garrett and Bosa as Hall of Famers. (Bonus prediction: Garrett will follow in Bosa's footsteps and win Defensive Rookie of the Year.)
Landon Collins will be Defensive Player of the Year
Granted, Collins nearly won this award last year, but J.J. Watt has returned from injury, and when Watt's healthy, this is simply his hardware. Of course, Watt could win it again - as could Aaron Donald, Von Miller, Luke Kuechly, 2016 winner Khalil Mack, or numerous other stars.
But Collins' game is perfect for this award because he fills up the stat sheet in so many ways. Steve Spagnuolo used Collins closer to the line of scrimmage in his second season and tailored the Giants' aggressive defense to Collins' immense playmaking skills - think of Troy Polamalu with Dick LeBeau not so long ago. Collins' supporting cast helps his cause, too. New York isn't strong at linebacker, but the defensive line and secondary are outstanding. Those assets give Spagnuolo great freedom in how he uses his star safety.
Collins has been simply terrific this preseason. After 16 games, expect his stat line to exceed the monstrous 125 tackles, four sacks, and five interceptions he posted in 2016.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)