Colin Cowherd’s 10 most interesting teams to watch in the 2020 NFL season

Training camp is around the corner for NFL teams and with the start of the new season comes new storylines.

Colin Cowherd has you covered with the 10 most interesting teams to keep an eye on as the 2020 NFL Season gets underway.

10. Arizona Cardinals

“So I get Cliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray for a second year, they added DeAndre Hopkins, they also drafted a guy many think is good but could be a bust, Isaiah Simmons from Clemson… They improved the defense but not that much, they are going to be in wild games. They also face an unbreakable schedule, nine teams on it that were .500 or better. This is going to be the shootout team of the league.”

Franchise quarterback Kyler Murray is trying to follow in the footsteps of Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes who both won the last two MVP awards in their second years in the league.

“So I like Drew Lock, 4-1 down the stretch, only loss to Kansas City. But what I really like is Elway has gone all in on offense. They went and got Melvin Gordon, they drafted Jerry Jeudy, two wide receivers in their high picks.”

In his five games as a starter, Lock threw for seven touchdowns and over 1,000 yards. If he can continue that production over the course of 16 games, the Broncos might push for playoff contention this season.

“I think we are looking at a potentially 16-0 team… I look at Baltimore right now, don’t look at the playoff game, they were the best team in the NFL from Week 1 through 11… People think Lamar is going to regress, I am not.”

The Ravens were the AFC’s top seed last season before falling in the AFC Divisional round. The next step for Jackson and the Ravens is advancing to the AFC Championship game and, possibly, the Super Bowl.

“It’s the Burrow story. You all think he’s great, he’s been compared to Brady, Joe Montana, LeBron James, and Peyton Manning. I think he’s Tony Romo, and doesn’t have quite Tony Romo’s arm.”

The last two quarterbacks to be taken with the first overall pick, Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield, enjoyed great rookie seasons with Murray winning Offensive Rookie of the Year.

If Burrow follows in the footsteps of both, the Bengals will be on the right path to becoming a winning franchise again.

“They drafted a running back, a quarterback to threaten Aaron Rodgers, and three interior offensive linemen, and a blocking tight end. That was Matt LeFleur, he has influence, he’s clearly building a team that doesn’t lean into the hands of Aaron Rodgers, it takes the ball out of the hands of Aaron Rodgers. We’re going to get a snarky Aaron Rodgers if he goes on a two game losing streak.”

The Packers won six games by seven points or less last season, they will need to continue that streak of winning close games in 2020 to repeat their 13 win campaign from 2019.

Dak Prescott, Mike McCarthy. And now it’s Dak on a franchise tag. I think he could have a nice season, I really do…but let’s see what it looks like. CeeDee Lamb added so now it’s a very nice receiving core, offensive line is getting older. What’s that going to look like?”

The Cowboys made the playoffs in 2016 and 2018 while missing the playoffs in 2017 and 2019. They are hoping to return to the playoffs in another even year.

4. Cleveland Browns

“New coaching staff, last year Baker Mayfield was an abstract disaster, if he struggles this year he is gone. He’s made too many miscues off of the field. He was last in passer rating amongst quarterbacks who started every game and they figured ou their offensive line. There are no excuses now, this is a really good football operation.”

Mayfield struggled last season but a return to form for a healthy Odell Beckham Jr. combined with an improved offensive line should lead to Mayfield looking more like the quarterback the Browns saw during his rookie season.

https://twitter.com/MiamiDolphins/status/1283061190235549696

“Miami Dolphins with Tua. Listen, he’s going to play early, he’s going to hit it in practice and nobody is going to sit around watching Ryan Fitzpatrick… If Tua plays watch out, this is going to be a lot of fun and I think they are a dark horse playoff team.”

The Dolphins started off 0-7 last season before finishing 5-4 in their last nine games. The additions of rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and free agent cornerback Byron Jones from the Dallas Cowboys explain Colin’s optimistic outlook for the Dolphins.

“Cam and Belichick. Totally different personalities, totally different styles, we’ve never seen Belichick, his entire career, pocket quarterbacks. Here we go, I don’t know what it’s going to look like.”

The Patriots had made the past 11 postseasons with Tom Brady starting at quarterback. If they are going to continue that streak, Cam Newton will need to resemble the Cam Newton of old and not the injury-plagued Newton the Panthers saw the last two seasons in Carolina.

“Aren’t we all going to watch this? There’s revenge, there’s “I told you so.” Gronk, Evans, Godwin, Brady, Arians.”

For the first time since 2001, Tom Brady has something to prove. That’s a scary thought for the rest of the NFL.