We all know the NFL rarely delivers a similar outcome season-to-season; each team has an excellent opportunity for success. With the increased playoff field, those opportune chances have risen. We can begin our predictions on the organized team activities (OTAS) with those chances upon us. The debates start on how much is achieved during these sessions besides the newcomers, but it is another yardstick in the NFL calendar and an implication that we are drawing close to the beginning of training camps this year. Not many teams are boasting a playoff threat, and the obvious choices, such as teams who barely missed out last term, give me worry. With that said, let us preview the non-playoff teams I believe can be prepared for a great season. 

Five Non-Playoff Teams (2020) Expected to Bounce Back

Minnesota Vikings

If the NFL and fans alike are doubting the Packers due to the A-Rod drama, we need a team who can take their position. Who better than the Vikings? And to be completely honest, we are not working with a viable choice of teams. We hope that Kirk Cousins will respond positively to having a fresh stand-in, providing a team who will dig more in the foxhole. We can also count out the Lions & Bears as this season will be nothing more than a rebuild. Vikings will have a most valuable player candidate (MVP) at RB and will be stacked at WR; Mike Zimmer should get the defense to fix up last year's issues and provide some more domineering plays. 

New England Patriots 

The impact Tom Brady made is now more evident than ever, and it is hard to envision Bill Belichick got himself a Super Bowl contending team with such an uneventful offseason. However, he did purchase a significant talent to finish second in the AFC East, and ten wins could be obtainable and a wild card possibility. The expertise and experience within the Patriots staff should produce these results alongside Josh McDaniels, who finally has a shred of talent to play with on offense. 

Dallas Cowboys

I do not envision the Dallas Cowboys becoming a true contender this season, and I believe their defence will be the cause of concern, with Mike McCarthy facing a plethora of tough decisions along the way. With that said, the NFC East is not the most vital division, and Dak Prescott can deliver several wins above in what the quarterback position provided last season. The time, money, and resources have been invested into this roster, and we could see the Cowboys as the seventh or eighth-best team in the NFC, maybe. 

San Francisco 49ers 

If anything should improve for the San Francisco 49ers, it must be their injury-prone past improving. They will not remain unfit forever. Should San Francisco return with their scary front four, life on the offensive end will become a lot easier. Another certainty we can almost guarantee, the 49ers are going to run the hell out of that football, and there’s a great chance we will see Trey Lance improve the team in special situations along the way. It was not so long ago that San Francisco appeared in the Super Bowl, so to believe they can become one of three playoff teams from the NFC West isn’t so obscene. 

Los Angeles Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers can put themselves in a similar predicament to the San Francisco 49ers, where the injury problems cannot plague them for a lifetime. Of course, we have fallen for this one before. Still, the roster in front of us is bona fide. I anticipate the rebuilt offensive line will no longer cause this squad to become stuck in vital situations, especially under new game-day management. Dare I say it, but Justin Herbert is already a top-eight quarterback if a Heritage Review was backed up with my hard-earned money and his calibre of player ends up playing into January. There is too much talent on that defensive end to continue messing around.