With the NFL season opener kicking off Thursday, September 4th between the defending Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys, I thought it would be interesting to come up with five bold predictions for the season. With that being said, here are my bold predictions for the 2025 NFL season:
- The Green Bay Packers win the NFC North
After trading a 2026 1st round pick, 2027 1st first round pick, and defensive tackle Kenny Clark to the Dallas Cowboys for All-Pro defensive end Micah Parsons, the Packers are poised to make noise in what looks to be a loaded NFC North. The Packers drafted former Texas Longhorn wide receiver Matthew Golden in the first round of this past year’s draft to provide starting quarterback Jordan Love yet another weapon and aid an offense that ranked 12th in passing. The addition of Parsons, who has had double digit sacks in each of his four seasons, will undoubtedly improve a defense that ranked 5th in total defense, 13th against the pass, 7th against the run, and 6th in scoring defense.
- The Dallas Cowboys miss the playoffs
After trading Parsons, who ranked 7th in the team’s all-time sack leader with 52.5, the Cowboys will struggle immensely on the defensive side of the ball. Even with Parsons, who missed 5 games with a high ankle sprain, the Cowboys had a defense that ranked 28th in total defense, 17th against the pass, 29th against the run, and 31st in scoring defense. It didn’t help that starting quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending hamstring injury during Week 8 against the Atlanta Falcons but it still doesn’t bode well regardless. The team drafted former Boston College defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku in the 2nd round of this past year’s draft but to expect a rookie to fill in the hole left by Parsons isn’t ideal. Although the team did improve their wide receiver room with the acquisition of former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens and drafted former Alabama Crimson Tide offensive guard Tyler Booker in this past year’s draft to strengthen the interior of the offensive line following Zack Martin’s retirement; the defense’s expected decline and Prescott’s inability to stay healthy will be major factors in them missing the playoffs.
- The Washington Commanders win the NFC East
Following a superb season in which the Commanders made it to the NFC Championship Game for the first time in 33 years under new head coach Dan Quinn and Rookie of the Year quarterback sensation Jayden Daniels, the Commanders are poised to challenge the Philadelphia Eagles for the division title. The team strengthened their offensive line and wide receiver room by trading for Houston Texans five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil and San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. as well as drafting former Oregon Ducks offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. with the 29th pick in this past year’s draft. The team also drafted running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt in the 7th round of this past year’s draft and recently re-signed All-Pro wide receiver Terry McLaurin to a 3 year, $97M contract extension. With the Commanders also retaining offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, there’s no telling how much better the Commanders will be offensively. However, I believe they’ll be better enough to win the division.
- Shedeur Sanders will be the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback after their bye week
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski named 40 year old Joe Flacco the team’s starting quarterback on August 18th. However, with former starting quarterback Deshaun Watson rehabbing an Achilles tear and the team drafting Sanders in the fifth round of this past year’s draft, I believe Sanders will be named the starting quarterback after the team’s bye week. Sanders started the preseason strong before struggling in the finale most notably losing 24 yards on a sack finishing with a 58.6% completion rate, 152 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, four rush attempts for 19 yards, and 7 sacks across three games. The team’s bye week is Week 9 and 5 of their first 8 games are against playoff teams from last season so it wouldn’t be surprising for the team to struggle out of the gate. This is why I believe Sanders will be named the starter after their bye week.
- Travis Hunter wins Offensive Rookie of the Year
The Jacksonville Jaguars traded their first, second, and fourth round pick in this past year’s draft as well as their 2026 first round pick to the Browns for the No. 2 pick in order to select last year’s Heisman Trophy winner WR/CB Hunter. Hunter made waves during his time at Colorado as a two-way player, starting on both sides of the ball as a wide receiver and cornerback. According to the Jaguars’ depth chart, Hunter is expected to be primarily an offensive starter and a part time defensive contributor. I believe that is the right decision by the team and new head coach Liam Coen because it would be malpractice to expect Hunter to continue playing both sides of the ball at the level he did at the collegiate level at the professional level. The team drafted former Georgia cornerback Tyson Campbell in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft and signed former Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis to a three-year, $30M contract with $20M guaranteed so they have depth at the position. Offensively, the team doesn’t have much outside of wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. who was drafted in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and finished his rookie season with 87 receptions, 1,282 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns, so it would be easier for Hunter to make an impact on that side of the ball. Without a clear-cut WR2, Hunter would be in line for a lot of playing time and targets for quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Ozair Hussain is a senior information systems major and opinions editor for The Retriever.
Contact Ozair at ohussai1@umbc.edu.
