NFL Analysis
8/21/24
9 min read
Make or Break: Position Groups These Super Bowl Contenders Need To Perform
We're five months away from Super Bowl 59 kicking off, but that doesn't mean the NFL's top teams aren't fully prepared for what it takes to make history.
While the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are co-favorites to win right now, twists and turns throughout this season will put each on edge. The NFL landscape could look vastly different by the turn of the New Year.
Each contender has a position or two that can swing their Super Bowl potential. We've identified six positions across the league that will determine whether their team can unseat the Chiefs or 49ers as conference champions. Failing to see high-end production from these positions could even lead to missing the playoffs.
6 Questions for Super Bowl Contenders
We scoured FanDuel's top Super Bowl odds to find teams with better odds and those sitting a little low if everything were to go right this season.
The performance that each of these six teams gets from their most critical position in question will be the storyline of their Super Bowl quest.
From earlier today, #Browns Deshaun Watson to Elijah Moore in 1 on 1s vs #Vikings pic.twitter.com/fEKSQP2aWe
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 16, 2024
1. Cleveland Browns Quarterback 
The team with the second-longest Super Bowl odds on our list is the Cleveland Browns. Despite winning 11 games while starting five quarterbacks in 2023 and returning a three-time Pro Bowler at the position, the Browns are buried at +3500 odds. While the AFC North's immense competition is surely part of the equation, the skepticism around Deshaun Watson continues.
There's justified concern about Watson. Due to various injuries, missing the 2021 season, and his 11-game suspension in 2022, he's thrown only 341 passes since the end of the 2020 season. He's been a shell of himself across the last two seasons, leaving the franchise in a difficult position after giving him a fully guaranteed $230 million deal with two more seasons left on it.
There were some positive moments in 2023 before a shoulder injury prematurely ended Watson's season. Watson seemed more confident in his quick passing game and fit within the team's offense. Although the high-end playmaking that was on full display his final two seasons in Houston will likely never return now that Watson is four years older, even a strong game manager who creates the occasional chunk play is enough for Cleveland to be a contender.
The Browns have one of the best rosters in the NFL. They have a terrifying defense, with an elite coordinator in Jim Schwartz pulling the strings. Now that Aaron Donald is retired, Myles Garrett might be the best overall non-quarterback in the league.
The rest of Cleveland's offense is quite good. Its offensive line is a force, and Nick Chubb's return will dramatically help the running game, even if he's only 80 percent of what he was. Can Watson be average or slightly better? If he is, the Browns can be a top seed in the AFC and be a scary team in the playoffs.
TOUCHDOWN @R_bateman2!!!!!
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 11, 2022
TUNE IN ON CBS. pic.twitter.com/B3iDY7FQcJ
2. Baltimore Ravens Wide Receivers 
Regarded as the team most likely to unthrone Kansas City in the AFC based on the odds, the Baltimore Ravens have more question marks across their roster than you'd prefer as a bettor.
Their statistical profile screamed they were a worthy favorite last year, winning 13 games and ranking fourth in scoring and first in scoring allowed. However, a critical look at their roster revealed a lack of star power at several key positions.
It's fair to wonder whether this is the season Odafe Oweh or David Ojabo breaks out and what it means if rookie Adisa Isaac isn't ready to be a star. However, we saw former defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald manufacture pressure with his scheme last year. It's harder to overcome a talent deficiency at wide receiver.
The Ravens replaced Odell Beckham with the speedy duo of Devontez Walker and Deonte Harty. That leaves Nelson Agholor in line to be the team's third receiver behind Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman, and then Walker, Harty, and Tylan Wallace fighting for a role this fall. Flowers had a promising rookie season as a quality starter, but the Ravens have one of the NFL's worst receiving units.
Bateman is the most important player within the unit as they look for internal development. The former first-rounder has produced only 1,167 yards and four touchdowns across 34 games, and his 2023 season failed to show the noticeable improvement the Ravens needed when others were injured.
Baltimore's continued postseason struggles largely come from an inability to rely upon its passing game. While that's not all on one person or player, Bateman must emerge as a quality starter or better for the Ravens to finally surpass Kansas City.
Aidan Hutchinson = a sack machine 😤@aidanhutch97 | @SmirnoffUS
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) September 6, 2023
📺: 2023 Kickoff Preview -- Tonight at 10pm ET on NFL Network pic.twitter.com/or6EfT2xRf
3. Detroit Lions Defensive Ends 
Aidan Hutchinson is good enough to compete for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award as soon as this season, but his surrounding cast must step up. The Detroit Lions' rotation of edge defenders totaled only 9.5 sacks outside of Hutchinson's 11.5 number. That's simply unacceptable.
Detroit knows this, so it added veteran Marcus Davenport and hopes to see James Houston return to form after missing most of 2023. Houston had eight sacks in 2022 before missing 16 games with an ankle injury. Davenport has only two seasons with at least five sacks throughout his six-year career, though.
It's not an overly exciting group across from Hutchinson. Davenport, at 6-foot-6, 265 pounds, is more of a run-defending presence. Houston's a natural complementary piece on passing downs, but his health will be a question until he's shown capable of producing at a high level again. We also have seen little to suggest that other options like Josh Paschal and John Cominsky are quality NFL players.
Detroit's rebuilt secondary can help the pass rush survive better than it could last year, but the dearth of talent is a problem for the Lions' Super Bowl dreams.
4. Dallas Cowboys Wide Receivers 
Let's give the Dallas Cowboys the benefit of the doubt when it comes to CeeDee Lamb's contract situation and assume the All-Pro receiver will be on the field for this season. Even if he's on the field, the Cowboys' receiver room is an absolute mess.
Dallas' top option outside of Lamb is Brandin Cooks, who turns 31 in September and is coming off his worst season. Then, we see how Dallas' lack of planning has crushed its playmaking corps. Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks, and Ryan Flournoy are the only other drafted players at the position. The latter two were selected in the seventh and sixth rounds, respectively.
Tolbert and tight ends Jake Ferguson and Luke Schoonmaker will have to be most of the answers in Dallas. Cooks no longer has the speed that made him dangerous and has never been overly reliable with his hands. The Dallas ground game might be the worst in the NFL just based on the talent in the running back room.
Ferguson is certainly talented, and Tolbert and Schoonmaker's athleticism could allow this group to elevate beyond what we know today. But it's looking questionable right now.
>> READ MORE: How Urgent Should Lamb Contract Talks Be?
“He's so willing to put his arm around these guys and be able to share and offer his perspectives.”
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 15, 2024
🎥 HC Sean McVay on the experience veteran DB Tre'Davious White brings our team. pic.twitter.com/RjT8Hx7wBt
5. Los Angeles Rams Cornerbacks 
There's not a lot of talk about how the Los Angeles Rams outplayed expectations in 2023. Sure, losing Aaron Donald and Raheem Morris will have an effect on a defense that was average in points allowed last year. However, the unit is dripping with young talent and only needs to complement an upgraded offense.
The Rams' offense should get close to a top-five unit if Matthew Stafford is healthy for the whole season. The additions of Jonah Jackson and Kevin Dotson will not only help Sean McVay's electric passing game but also spur the combination of Kyren Williams and Blake Corum to easy production. Los Angeles was eighth in scoring last year, even as Williams and Cooper Kupp missed five games.
The young combination of Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Jared Verse, and Braden Fiske will represent the present and future of this unit. The one position group where Los Angeles piecemealed the current corps together was at cornerback. It brought in a familiar face in Darious Williams, who was successful with the Rams previously before going to Jacksonville, and former Bills star Tre'Davious White.
White's health will be critical for the defense to become very good. He was once among the most gifted cornerbacks in the league, but a torn ACL and Achilles effectively ended his Buffalo tenure. He's played in only 10 games in the last two years.
If White can't be a formidable starter, the depth chart will rely on many recent late-round picks to produce competition. Cobie Durant is likely the best of the bunch, and former Lions corner Jerry Jacobs had some decent moments before relocating.
6. Seattle Seahawks Quarterback 
Will the real Geno Smith please stand up? One year after ranking seventh in air yards, third in money throws, and 11th in accuracy rating, Smith's efficiency plummeted. The difference wasn't on just Smith, as his protection rank dropped from 15th to 33rd, and Smith couldn't handle the onslaught of rushers anymore.
Injuries across the offensive line will do that to average-type quarterbacks. Smith proved to be on the high end of the average range, if not better, during the 2023 season. He needs a great surrounding cast, but the Seattle Seahawks have that in place. Few teams can match their receiving and rushing talent.
The biggest question along the Seahawks' offense is the health of RT Abraham Lucas. He struggled with health and effectiveness in 2023 after being a terrific rookie. If he can get back on track, it's solely on Smith to reclaim his seat at the table of the top 10 NFL quarterbacks.
