2025 NFL Season Preview: Cardinals, Vikings, Texans, Broncos

Day five of my preseason 2025 NFL countdown starts with my number 16 team, the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals looked somewhat competent last season. I was pretty off last year. I do feel like Kyler Murray has to do something big this year to instill confidence in the staff. The guy has all the tools, and I don't buy into the nonchalant stuff others say about him. But, he has fallen off a bit every season since his second year. He needs to bounce back. James Conner has proven to be a consistent back. He can rush for decent yardage and he has developed a pass catching game out of the backfield. Some are already jumping off the Marvin Harrison Jr bandwagon. Not me. He is too talented, too big and strong and too good at football. He should be light years ahead of where he was last season. I like Zay Jones. Trey McBride was a clutch fantasy pickup for me last season. And the O line is capable. The defense should be good too. Calais Campbell is still very productive. Josh Sweat is good. I love the second round selection of Will Johnson. He should be great and start right away. Zaven Collins is pretty good. And I love Budda Baker. The Cardinals looked to have a down season last year, and mildly exceeded expectations. I think they make another small leap and vault themselves into playoff contention. Ten wins seems very doable.

At number 15 I have the Minnesota Vikings. They're breaking in a new QB in JJ McCarthy. I had my issues with him while he was at Michigan, but he didn't have to really win games for them. They were a running team. But, when he had to make big plays in the passing game, he usually delivered. And he has won at every level so far, so maybe I shouldn't doubt him this much. Aaron Jones proved that age doesn't matter with him. I didn't miss him much, because Green Bay signed Josh Jacobs, but Jones was still productive and didn't miss too much time. Jordan Addison is suspended to start the year, so that's a bummer. But, they have Justin Jefferson. He or Ja'Marr Chase is the best wideout in the league. Jefferson will make most QB's look better than they might be, TJ Hockenson is one of the better tight ends in the league and the O line can block. The defense isn't the dominant unit of the past, but they are still pretty good. Joshua Mettulus just got a much deserved raise and Harrison Smith is one of the better safeties in the league. The D line has some unproven guys and the linebacking corps should be just fine. My only issue with the Vikings, they got exposed in round one of the playoffs last season, and now they have a new QB. They should still win ten or eleven games this year though.

At number 14 I have the Houston Texans. CJ Stroud is a very good NFL QB, but he wasn't as productive last season as he was in his rookie year. I don't think it will be the same thing this season, but I would still be mildly concerned if I was a fan of this team. Still, he has all the tools to be a top QB in this league. Joe Mixon was left out to dry by the Bengals and he looked just fine in Houston. He put up nice numbers as the number 1 back. Nico Collins is awesome. He proved his worth when he was out and the offense sputtered. Collins is Stroud's number one option and Collins seems to get better and better every season. Christian Kirk is a fast and nice number 2 wideout option. Dalton Schultz is a decent tight end and the O line is pretty good. The defense has gotten better every season under Demeco Ryans, which just so happens to be his forte. Will Anderson Jr is every bit worth the hype he had coming out of college. He is awesome. Danielle Hunter is a backfield wrecker. Henry To'oTo'o is an elite linebacker. Derek Stingley Jr is a great corner. Kamari Lasseter has proven himself and CJ Garnder-Johnson can do some good stuff. The Texans are good and should easily win their division. Eleven wins seems easy to predict.

The final team for the day, and the week for that matter, coming in at number 13 I have the Denver Broncos. I was dead wrong about this team and Bo Nix last season. I was certain he was going to bust and the Broncos would regret taking him in the top 12. My mistake. Nix showed out and looked like the Broncos QB of the future. He should be even better this season. I'm not so high on the run game with JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey. Dobbins had a nice bounce back last season, but I don't think he will get the needed touches in Denver. And I know zero about Harvey. Courtland Sutton was better than advertised. Marvin Mims Jr is intriguing to me. And Evan Engram had a good season last year. The O line, as per usual in Denver, is good. The big names on the defense are gone, but they do still have Patrick Surtain who is legit. Nik Bonito is a good linebacker. I like Johnathon Cooper on the D line. This is a well constructed roster with a good head coach and a solid QB. The Broncos are back and they may surpass the Chiefs in that division as early as this season. I think they will win eleven, maybe twelve games.

That does it for today and this week. Come back Monday for my next four teams. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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