6 burning questions for 2020 NFL season

Let’s put on our rose-colored glasses and pretend the NFL is going to have a full 16-game season with no major injuries or illnesses.

The 2020 season has the potential to be compelling. Household names have changed teams and a new era of quarterback play is taking off, which creates a boatload of questions that can’t be answered until games are actually played.

Here are a few questions to ponder as the 2020 NFL season rapidly approaches.

How much of a drop off will Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense endure?

Jackson led the Ravens to a 14-2 record and orchestrated one of the best offenses the league has seen. According to Football Outsiders, Baltimore was the only team in the league to average more than three points per drive (3.08) last season.

That will be difficult to repeat, even though the Ravens return most of their starters from last year. Ask the 2016 Falcons and 2017 Jaguars about how difficult it is to sustain elite-level efficiency on a year-to-year basis.

Baltimore’s offense should still be among the league’s best but reaching the heights of an all-time great offense won’t be easy. Assuming the defense has improved to the point where the run defense isn’t a liability in the playoffs, Baltimore should be a Super Bowl contender again this year.

What is the ceiling on the Arizona Cardinals defense?

What Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray did in 2019 was beyond impressive. They were the only major additions to the league’s worst offense in 2018 and immediately turned the Cardinals’ offense into a league-average unit.

Now they have Deandre Hopkins and a full offseason to really crank this offense into high gear.

Arizona has a decent floor as long as Murray is behind center and Kingsbury is pulling the strings as a playcaller. Hopkins makes their ceiling ridiculously high. The Cardinals may not have the defensive firepower to unseat the Seahawks and 49ers as division favorites, but they can make the NFC West interesting.

Does moving from Mitchell Trubisky to Nick Foles even matter for the Bears?

Chicago appears to be out on Trubisky just a few years after selecting him ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. In order to try to create competitive quarterback play for the 2020 season, they traded a fourth-round pick for Nick Foles, who was objectively a disaster in Jacksonville last season.

Let’s be real for a second: The Bears may not have gotten better at quarterback in a meaningful way.

Over the last two seasons, Foles has only been a marginally better passer than Trubisky. Foles averaged 6.9 yards per attempt in that timespan while Trubisky managed 6.7 yards per attempt. Foles also averaged 6.7 net yards per attempt to Trubisky’s 6.5.

While Foles (barely) has Trubisky beat as a passer, Trubisky is a much better runner than Foles.

This is a bad situation that the Bears have put themselves in. They gave up a draft pick while handing Foles a threeyear deal worth $24 million. Chicago probably should’ve just signed Cam Newton.

Is this the year Sam Darnold breaks out?

Through 26 career starts, Darnold has yet to define himself as an NFL quarterback. Darnold, who turned 23 on June 5, has shown flashes of brilliance with a lot of inconsistent play between those flashes.

Not all of Darnold’s statistical struggles are his fault. He’s dealt with poor offensive line play and mediocre receiving options and hasn’t had the benefit of being paired with an elite offensive mind.

Year 3 will be pivotal for Darnold. It’s time for his potential to manifest itself into actual production in order for the Jets to feel comfortable handing him a long-term deal. Playing with Adam Gase and a wide receiver group that’s lacking talent may make that a difficult task.

Will Chase Young be dominant enough to overcome Washington’s lack of offensive firepower?

Washington and Young will breathe an analytics debate into life this season. Young was unanimously seen as an elite defensive end prospect, but will he be good enough to produce wins for an offense that’s lacking in talent?

It is possible that Young immediately jumps into the ranks of the elite defensive ends in the league. Passing offense reigns supreme and Washington doesn’t look to have a very threatening unit on paper. This team finished 29th in Football Outsiders’ Passing Offense DVOA metric and 32nd in net yards per attempt.

Is Miami’s revamped secondary good enough to make it a threat for the AFC East crown?

The Dolphins poured resources into the cornerback position this offseason. Miami already had Xavien Howard on a long-term deal and it signed Byron Jones to a deal worth more than $80 million. Then the Dolphins used the 30th overall pick on Auburn cornerback Noah Igbinoghene.

Now they have legitimate starting talent to execute Brian Flores’ scheme that calls for a lot of man coverage. The Dolphins defense as a whole isn’t anything special from a talent perspective, but the new acquisitions at cornerback should allow them to field a competent defense.

Miami’s chances for the division were stronger before the Patriots signed Cam Newton, but if the secondary holds strong and the offense plays like it did at the end of 2019, the Dolphins can push for a seventh playoff spot.