Levitan: Thoughts About The 2024 NFL Season

Here are some things I think about the 2024 NFL season. I will add to this as I gather more information and thoughts through training camp.

1. Cardinals will be a massive shootout team

One of my biggest hits of the last few seasons was being in on the 2022 and 2023 Lions offense when relatively few people wanted to touch them. That was largely due to the systemic setup: a really atrocious defense combined with a potentially explosive offense and a ton of dome games.

The 2024 Cardinals are set up similarly. This team has Brandon Thorn’s No. 32 pass rush, which won’t help a secondary that projects as one of the NFL’s worst as well. They are going to give up a ton of big plays (which increases the offense’s play count) and force the offense to be extremely aggressive.

And that is very exciting for an offense which features Kyler Murray (another year removed from ACL), a full year of beast tight end Trey McBride, plus new additions in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey Benson. Kyler and McBride have been two of my most-drafted players so far. Removal of fake sharp Kliff Kingsbury will help as well.

2. I want to pick in the top five of fantasy drafts

The bottom line is, Round 2 of fantasy drafts is very flat. In other words, I don’t see a big difference between getting Marvin Harrison Jr. at pick 15, or Nico Collins at pick 21, or Brandon Aiyuk at pick 23.

So by securing a top-five pick, I guarantee myself one of Christian McCaffrey, CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill, Ja’Marr Chase, or Bijan Robinson. And in Round 2, I get a player equal to what the Puka Nacua, A.J. Brown, and Breece Hall teams have. And then in Round 3, I get to pick earlier again.

3. Titans will threaten for league lead in neutral-situation passing rate

The Titans have shown us their cards. Under new coach Brian Callahan and without battering ram Derrick Henry as the face of the franchise, they are taking to the air.

The Titans dumped $50M on Calvin Ridley, brought in Tyler Boyd, and retained both DeAndre Hopkins/Treylon Burks. Both their running backs (Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears) profile better in space. Last season, the Titans had 3+ WRs on the field just 58% of the time, 25th in the NFL. Callahan’s Bengals were at 78%, the third-highest rate.

The offensive line is also set up to have far more success, as we discussed with Brandon Thorn on this pod. Bill Callahan, father of Brian, is one of the best OL coaches of all-time. They drafted JC Latham seventh overall and spent another $30M guaranteed on Lloyd Cushenberry.

I’m not sure Will Levis is good. In fact, I lean toward the “he isn’t” side. But in the outcomes where Levis is a league-average QB, I’m confident this offense will outperform expectation. For more on coaching change impacts, listen to this show or read this article.

4. Steelers will threaten for league lead in neutral-situation run rate

Similar to the Titans, the Steelers have shown their cards. They brought in Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator, and he’s undoubtedly licking his chops for another run-based attack. Smith’s 2023 Falcons were 31st in pass rate over expectation, and ranked dead last (by a massive margin) in 2-WR sets.

The 2024 Steelers are set up similarly. They are more stable at QB with Russell Wilson, but they have no No. 2 WR. Where the Steelers can win is with their road-grading offensive line, Smith’s run scheme, and Najee Harris/Jaylen Warren.

And I think they’ll have enough success early to make this look like a viable strategy. Pittsburgh’s first nine games: @ ATL, @