2023 Projected NFL Standings, Playoff Results, and Super Bowl

Here’s my 2023 projected NFL standings, playoff results, and Super Bowl matchup, as well as the winner in my opinion.

NFL Standings

AFC East:
Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins

New York Jets
New England Patriots

AFC North:
Cincinnati Bengals
Baltimore Ravens
Pittsburgh Steelers
Cleveland Browns

AFC South:
Jacksonville Jaguars
Tennessee Titans
Indianapolis Colts
Houston Texans

AFC West:
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Chargers
Denver Broncos
Las Vegas Raiders

NFC East:
Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants
Washington Commanders

NFC North:
Minnesota Vikings

Green Bay Packers

Detroit Lions

Chicago Bears

NFC South:
New Orleans Saints
Carolina Panthers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Atlanta Falcons

NFC West:
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Los Angeles Rams
Arizona Cardinals

NFL Playoffs

 
AFC Playoff Picture:
1. Kansas City Chiefs
2. Buffalo Bills
3. Cincinnati Bengals
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
5. Miami Dolphins
6. Los Angeles Chargers
7. Baltimore Ravens

NFC Playoff Picture:
1. Philadelphia Eagles
2. San Francisco 49ers
3. Minnesota Vikings

4. New Orleans Saints
5. Dallas Cowboys
6. Seattle Seahawks
7. Green Bay Packers

AFC Wildcard Playoffs:
2. Buffalo Bills defeat 7. Baltimore Ravens
3. Cincinnati Bengals defeat 6. Los Angeles Chargers
5. Miami Dolphins defeat 4. Jacksonville Jaguars

AFC Divisional Playoffs:
3. Cincinnati Bengals defeat 2. Buffalo Bills
1. Kansas City Chiefs defeat 5. Miami Dolphins

AFC Championship Playoff:
1. Kansas City Chiefs defeat 3. Cincinnati Bengals

NFC Wildcard Playoffs:
2. San Francisco 49ers defeat 7. Green Bay Packers
3. Minnesota Vikings defeat 6. Seattle Seahawks

5. Dallas Cowboys defeat 4. New Orleans Saints

NFC Divisional Playoffs:
1. Philadelphia Eagles defeat 5. Dallas Cowboys
2. San Francisco 49ers defeat 3. Minnesota Vikings

NFC Championship Playoff:
1. Philadelphia Eagles defeat 2. San Francisco 49ers

Super Bowl

1. Kansas City Chiefs defeat 1.Philadelphia Eagles

2023 KC Chiefs Projected Depth Chart

 

2023 KC Chiefs Projected Depth Chart:

With that being said, there are 11 players on the field for each team at a time. So, here’s how I think the roster will break down. The 1^st name is the starter, and the other names at each position, are his chronological backups. By the end, I wonder how close I get to who makes the roster.

There are 53 men on the football roster. At the beginning of training camp (July), and Pre-Season (August), the team starts out with 90. And by the beginning of the 1^st week of the Regular Season (which is usually the 1^st week of September), they cut the Pre-Season roster to 53.

Offense (26):
QB: Patrick Mahomes, Blaine Gabbert, Shane Buechelle (3)
RB: Isiah Pacheco, Jerick McKinnon, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, La’Mical Perine (4)

WR: Kadarius Toney, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore, Ritchie James, Justin Watson, Rashee Rice, Justyn Ross (7)
TE: Travis Kelce, Blake Bell, Noah Gray (3)
LT: Donovan Smith, Wanya Morris (2)
LG: Joe Thuney, Nick Allegretti (2)
OC: Creed Humphrey, Austin Reiter (2)
RG: Trey Smith  (1)
RT: Jawaan Taylor, Lucas Niang (2)

Defense (24):
LDE: George Karlaftis, Mike Danna, BJ Thompson (3)
LDT: Derrick Nnadi, Keondre Coburn (2)
RDT: Chris Jones, Tershawn Wharton (2)
RDE: Charles Omenihu, Felix Anudike-Uzomah (2)
LOLB (SLB): Willie Gay, Jack Cochrane (2)
MLB: Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill (1)
ROLB (WLB): Leo Chenal, Drue Tranquill (2)
CB: L’Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie, Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson, Nic Jones (5)

SS: Justin Reid, Deon Bush, Chamarri Conner (3)
FS: Bryan Cook, Mike Edwards (2)

Special Teams (3):

K: Harrison Butker
P: Tommy Townsend
LS: James Winchester
H: Tommy Townsend
KR: Ritchie James
PR: Ritchie James

The Punter Tommy Townsend is the Holder. Ritchie James is the Kick Returner, and the Punt Returner to save roster spots. 

2023 KC Chiefs Projected Special Teams Post-Draft

2023 KC Chiefs Projected Special Teams Post-Draft in my opinion:

K: Harrison Butker
P: Tommy Townsend
LS: James Winchester
H: Tommy Townsend
KR: Kadarius Toney
PR: Kadarius Toney

Kadarius Toney becomes both the new Punt Returner and Kick Returner.

 

2023 Projected KC Chiefs Defensive Starters Post-Draft

Our defensive scheme is a 4 - 3 (4 Down Linemen, and 3 Linebackers) base 7 man front with a 1 gap Under Front alignment (Defensive Line shifts to the weakside, and the Strong Side Outside Linebacker moves up on the line of scrimmage. That makes the defense look like a 5-2 with 43 personnel. Sometimes, the Strong or Free Safety will drop down close to the line of scrimmage, and the defense becomes an eight-man front, or what’s known as the 46 (Brian Dawkins in Philadelphia, and Justin Reid in KC). Now everybody in the NFL does a little bit of everything because it’s the pros and a copycat league. But our defensive coordinator comes from the Jim Johnson tree (‘99 – ‘08 with the Philadelphia Eagles) and prefers a 2 High Safety alignment with Press Man Coverage, mixed in with Man Blitzes, Double-A Gap Blitzes, and Zone Blitzes depending on the situation also.
 
2023 Projected KC Chiefs Defensive Starters in my opinion after the draft:
 
LDE: George Karlaftis
LDT: Derrick Nnadi
RDT: Chris Jones
RDE: Charles Omenihu
LOLB (SLB): Nick Bolton
MLB: Willie Gay Jr.
ROLB (WLB): Drue Tranquill
LCB (CB1): L’Jarius Sneed
RCB (CB2): Jaylen Watson
CB3: Trent McDuffie
FS: Bryan Cook
SS: Justin Reid
 
In the Nickel (5 DBs) against a spread offense, take out Willie Gay Jr., and replace with a Slot Corner. Trent McDuffie.

In Dime (6 DBs), take out Willie Gay and Drue Tranquill. Add another Safety, Deon Bush, along with Trent McDuffie.

2023 KC Chiefs Projected Offensive Starters Post-Draft

 

2023 KC Chiefs Projected Offensive Starters Post-Draft in my opinion:

NFL West Coast passing scheme, and zone running scheme, mixed in with college option, misdirection plays, and spread offense. Every team has 11 players on the field at one time. How many at each position varies due to the situation.

QB: Patrick Mahomes
RB1: Isiah Pacheco (goal line and short-yardage Running Back)
RB2: Jerick McKinnon (our pass receiving Running Back)
WR1: Kadarius Toney
WR2: Marquez Valdes-Scantling
WR3: Skyy Moore
WR4: Ritchie James
WR5:  Justin Watson
WR6: Rashee Rice
TE1: Travis Kelce (pass-catching Tight End)
TE2: Noah Gray (blocking Tight End)
LT: Donovan Smith
LG: Joe Thuney
OC: Creed Humphrey
RG: Trey Smith
RT: Jawaan Taylor

As you can see above, we’ve made multiple changes on the offense, especially our Wide Receivers and Offensive Tackles.

2023 KC Chiefs Projected Special Teams Pre-Draft

2023 KC Chiefs Projected Special Teams Pre-Draft in my opinion:

K: Harrison Butker
P: Tommy Townsend
LS: James Winchester
H: Tommy Townsend
KR: Kadarius Toney
PR: Kadarius Toney

Kadarius Toney becomes both the new Punt Returner and Kick Returner.

2023 Projected KC Chiefs Defensive Starters Pre-Draft

 

Our defensive scheme is a 4 - 3 (4 Down Linemen, and 3 Linebackers) base 7 man front with a 1 gap Under Front alignment (Defensive Line shifts to the weakside, and the Strong Side Outside Linebacker moves up on the line of scrimmage. That makes the defense look like a 5-2 with 43 personnel. Sometimes, the Strong or Free Safety will drop down close to the line of scrimmage, and the defense becomes an eight-man front, or what’s known as the 46 (Brian Dawkins in Philadelphia, and probably Tyrann Matthieu, and then his replacement Justin Reid in KC). Now everybody in the NFL does a little bit of everything because it’s the pros and a copycat league. But our defensive coordinator comes from the Jim Johnson tree (‘99 – ‘08 with the Philadelphia Eagles) and prefers a 2 High Safety alignment with Press Man Coverage, mixed in with Man Blitzes, Double-A Gap Blitzes, and Zone Blitzes depending on the situation also.

2023 Projected KC Chiefs Defensive Starters in my opinion before the draft:

LDE: George Karlaftis
LDT: Derrick Nnadi
RDT: Chris Jones
RDE: Charles Omenihu
LOLB (SLB): Nick Bolton
MLB: Willie Gay Jr.
ROLB (WLB): Leo Chenal
LCB (CB1): L’Jarius Sneed
RCB (CB2): Jaylen Watson
CB3: Trent McDuffie
FS: Mike Edwards
SS: Justin Reid

In the Nickel (5 DBs) against a spread offense, take out Leo Chenal, and replace with a Slot Corner. Trent McDuffie.

In Dime (6 DBs), take out Willie Gay and Leo Chenal. Add another Safety, Deon Bush, along with Trent McDuffie.

 

2023 KC Chiefs Projected Offensive Starters Pre-Draft

2023 KC Chiefs Projected Offensive Starters Pre-Draft in my opinion:

NFL West Coast passing scheme, and zone running scheme, mixed in with college option, misdirection plays, and spread offense. Every team has 11 players on the field at one time. How many at each position varies due to the situation.

QB: Patrick Mahomes
RB1: Isiah Pacheco (our pass receiving Running Back)
RB2: Clyde Edwards-Helaire (goal line and short-yardage Running Back)
WR1: Kadarius Toney
WR2: Marquez Valdes-Scantling
WR3: Skyy Moore
WR4: Ritchie James
WR5:  Justin Watson

WR6: Justyn Ross
TE1: Travis Kelce (pass-catching Tight End)
TE2: Noah Gray (blocking Tight End)
LT: Jawaan Taylor 
LG: Joe Thuney
OC: Creed Humphrey
RG: Trey Smith

RT: Lucas Niang

As you can see above, we’ve made multiple changes on the offense, especially our Wide Receivers.

Teams I've Applied For

FUN FACT: I've applied to be an NFL coaching intern with a quarter of the league's teams in 3 years.

2009 - Wrote 3 – 4-page letters to a who's who of college and NFL coaches. Nick Saban put my contact info on file at Alabama. Clancy Pandergast was going to teach me the Chiefs 3-4 that next off season, but was fired after the team went 1-15.

2010 - Pen pals with Dick LeBeau for 1 year.

2018 - Was supposed to meet w/ KC Chiefs, but defensive staff was fired after AFC Championship.

2019 - Meeting with Chicago Bears cancelled due to COVID

2020 - Dom Capers when with Detroit Lions read my 50-100-page book of notes, and meeting cancelled because Mark DeLeone was fired in the off-season. I was in heavy consideration for the Detroit Lions coaching internship, but never got it.

2021 - Applied to be coaching intern with KC Chiefs, Chicago Bears, LA Rams, NY Giants, Detroit Lions.

2022 - Applied to be coaching intern with KC Chiefs, Chicago Bears, LA Rams, NY Giants, Minnesota Vikings. Video interview with Chicago Bears in May.

2023 - Applied to be coaching intern with KC Chiefs, Chicago Bears, LA Chargers, SF 49ers, Miami Dolphins.

2023 Bill Walsh NFL Coaching Internship Video

I followed football. Wrote about it, watched it, or had family and friends that were coaches and former players. I wrote a 100 page book of notes that high school, college, and pro coaches have all read. From a schematic standpoint I know what I'm doing. And... from a personal standpoint, I really think I can help the players become better men.

Thank you.

Super Bowl LVII Reaction

My initial reaction after watching the Eagles/Chiefs Super Bowl was… That game was back and forth. It was 1 of the more memorable and exciting Super Bowls in recent memory.

Some Super Bowls you know are going to be snoozers because it’s obvious who the dominant team was all year. The other team is the Cinderella story that no one saw coming. They’re just happy to be there.

Other Super Bowls, you do get the true 2 best teams in the league all year who battle it out for 3 hours. That was this year for sure.

I know this is going to sound blasphemous for a minute, but I felt like Jalen Hurts actually outplayed Patrick Mahomes in the 1^st half. I felt like the defense kept the Chiefs in the game. For example, Nick Bolton’s fumble return on the Quarterback Draw in the 1^st half.

And speaking of the Quarterback running, how many times did Jalen Hurts Quarterback Sneak? I lost count after about the 6^th or 7^th time.

Our newly built Offensive Line held up pretty well against the Eagles Defensive Line, who is considered the best in the NFL. Which they did not do against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a few years ago.

Much like any other Kansas Citian, I held my breath when Patrick Mahomes was crawling around on his hands and knees like I do at home, after being tackled around his bad ankle. Luckily, Super Bowl halftime’s double what it is in the normal regular-season (15 minutes most games, and 30 minutes during the Super Bowl). So, it gave him time to do whatever he needed to do to heal up.

I felt like the Chiefs offense got it together more in the 2^nd half. The defense was able to hold them to field goals in the 2^nd half also. That helps. Against high-powered offenses, like the Chiefs you can’t settle for field goals, and can’t punt the football. That’s why the Chiefs nor Eagles really punted the football, or kicked a lot of field goals. The flow of the game was geared toward whoever has the ball last will probably score, and win.

Finally, Harrison Butker hasn’t been his clutch self this year. He’s still good, but has his moments. He clanked one off the goal post. But drilled it at the end when it mattered most for the win.