The moment we hear a forecast or a prediction, we imagine it happening. It becomes a believable outcome and one that is easy to remember in the future.
The SCFE staff hopes you remember (if we get it right?) the bold predictions we made for the 2017 season. I have listed the predictions in ascending order of boldness.
Let’s take a look at what the SCFE staff boldly predicts to happen in the 2017 season.
2017 SCFE Bold Predictions
2017 Bold Prediction: Robert Lorge (1)
A Sammy Sosa vs. Mark McGwire competition between Aaron Rodgers vs. Tom Brady as they chase the season TD total held by Peyton Manning. They each have 5,000 yards & 50-plus touchdowns at the end of the day.
Why is it Bold:
Only two times has a quarterback thrown for 50 TDs in a season. Having two quarterbacks do it in the same season is crazy. Plus, Brady is 40 years old.
Why it will happen:
After losing Julian Edelman, Brady’s three main targets, Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, and Rob Gronkowski are all deep threats. LeGarrette Blount left and took with him 18 rushing touchdowns. Brady gets 10 of those since they don’t have a goal line back as dominant as Blount was. Plus, Belichick and Brady. Last time Brady had 50 touchdowns was in 2007 following Spygate. This is the first full season after deflate-gate. They want to stick it to Goodell and do it by embarrassing every team in their path.
Rodgers does it because he has Jordy Nelson, Davante Adams, Randall Cobb, and Martellus Bennett. Five studly pass catching options, the best pass blocking offensive line, a wide receiver playing running back and an offensive minded head coach. Plus, he is simply crazy talented. The running game is meh, did I mention a wide receiver playing running back? They’ll be forced to pass a ton and they’ll already by passing a ton because they got Rodgers. Their defense is a bit suspect, so Rodgers will have to outscore teams. He might have to rack up six or seven against the Falcons alone.
The running game is meh and did I mention a wide receiver is playing running back? They’ll be forced to pass a ton and they’ll already by passing a ton because they got Rodgers. Their defense is a bit suspect, so Rodgers will have to outscore teams. He might have to rack up six or seven against the Falcons alone.
2017 Bold Prediction: Michael Tomlin
Isaiah Crowell will lead the NFL in rushing yards. Duke Johnson will lead all backs in receptions.
Why is it Bold:
He has never had a 1,000-yard season. And, well, the Browns.
Why will it happen:
Hue Jackson knows the formula that helped keep the Bengals winning: pound the rock with one back and use the other back in the short passing game. He will try to shorten the game as well as the length of time his quarterback has the ball. With Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension and LeVeon Bell and LeSean McCoy sure to miss a couple of games, I think Crowell sneaks past Melvin Gordon and Jordan Howard for the rushing title.
Only five backs had more catches than Duke and two of those were within five catches of him. James White’s total will decrease with a healthy Dion Lewis. LeVeon Bell and David Johnson are his main competition but I think Duke pulls it out.
2017 Bold Prediction: Mark Strausberg
Marqise Lee will finish as the top Fantasy WR in the AFC South
Why is it Bold:
For starters, Lee is not even the first drafted WR from his own team. At least five or six other WRs from the division are going ahead of him. DeAndre Hopkins, T.Y. Hilton, and even Rishard Matthews are pretty good WRs having finished in the Top 25 last year.
Why it will happen:
Few realized that despite being on the field less than 75% of the Jags possession (by comparison, Allen Robinson was on the field for over 94% of all offensive snaps), Lee quietly finished as the 36th best WR last year by catching 63 passes for over 850 yards. Finally healthy, expect him to see plenty of playing time and break through this year.
2017 Bold Prediction: Dennis Sosic
The Cleveland Browns will have 1,000-yard rusher (Isaiah Crowell) and a 1,000-yard receiver (Corey Coleman).
Why is it Bold:
I did mention that the players are on the Cleveland Browns, right?
Why it will happen:
Crowell will look to build upon his breakout 2016 campaign. He set career highs across the board with 198 carries, 952 rushing yards, and seven scores.He accomplished all that despite playing in the league’s 31st-ranked offense and Cleveland’s 350 total carries last season tied for dead last. That was due in part to finishing 1-15 and playing from behind.
The Browns upgraded the offensive line in free agency and now sport one of the best offensive lines in the league. Any step forward in 2017 with better game situations should contribute to top-tier production. I see Crowell putting together 1,200-plus yards and double-digit touchdowns in 2017.
Corey Coleman exploded onto the Fantasy scene in Week 2 last season, when he recorded 104 yards and two touchdowns on five catches. Every Fantasy owner was running to the waiver wire to add the rookie. Unfortunately, Coleman broke his hand in practice in Week 3 and the injury forced Coleman to miss six games. After he returned, he wasn’t the same, the whole landscaped of the Browns’ offense had changed. He ended up only scoring one touchdown the rest of the season.
Additionally, dreaded quarterback play hindered Coleman. Here comes rookie signal caller Deshone Kizer, who has a lot more upside than any of the five different starting quarterbacks that tried to play the position a year ago. With the two highest targeted players (Terrelle Pryor and Gary Barnidge) now gone, Coleman has a real opportunity to take a major step forward.
If Kizer can provide solid QB production, look for Coleman to make a big splash and surprise people with a 1,000-yard season.
2017 Bold Prediction: John LaPresto
Marcus Mariota will finish as the number 4 QB in Fantasy in 2017
Why it is Bold:
Mariota has finished as QB22 and QB12 in his first two seasons.
Why it will happen:
Mariota’s 2016 season was better than you think. He finished fifth in the NFL in TD percentage, was better than Drew Brees in adjusted yards per attempt, was better than Tom Brady in yards per completion and better than Aaron Rodgers in net yards gained per pass attempt. Mariota has shown us he can be as efficient as the elite QBs in Fantasy. Oh, and that’s with Rishard Matthews, Tajae Sharpe, and Kendall Wright as his WRs. Add Eric Decker and Corey Davis to the mix and you’ve got your 2017 breakout QB.
2017 Bold Prediction: Jack Delaney
Tyreek Hill finishes outside of the Top 35 for receivers.
Why it is Bold:
Hill is being drafted as early as Round 3, and Fantasy players seem convinced he could somehow finish as a Top 10 receiver.
Why it will happen:
Hill is an athletic freak, but his Fantasy production is tied to Alex Smith’s performances. I think most Fantasy players are overlooking Smith as just a game manager who has never thrown more than 23 touchdown passes in a season.
Yes, I know Hill scored touchdowns catching the ball, running the ball, and on special teams in 2016, but this year is going to be different. He won’t be returning kickoffs, which means the majority of his production this season will have to be as a receiver. And over the last three years, Smith has averaged just 17.6 touchdown passes per season.
Travis Kelce is still Smith’s favorite target and will record the most receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns for Kansas City as long as he’s healthy, and Kareem Hunt will steal targets because of his pass-catching abilities. Also, don’t forget Chris Conley is still in the mix.
There simply isn’t enough work for Hill to finish in the Top 10, let alone in the Top 35.
If you are still looking for a place to conduct a mock draft or need assistance with drafting in general, check out the Fantasy Pros Draft Wizard. This is a terrific tool that will help you dominate your league, along with So-Called
Fantasy Experts, of course.
Dennis Sosic
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