It’s never to early to come up with an idea of who will be finishing at the top of their division, and march into the playoffs. Now that the draft and most free agency is behind us, we can now decipher where a team may end up finishing. First, let me break down the AFC.

This is how the AFC will shake up to be. In the AFC East, it should be no surprise that the Patriots are on top of the division.

However, the Miami Dolphins are an emerging team, with Ryan Tannehill, and the free agency pick up of Mike Wallace, and a re-vamped defense helped by drafting Dion Jordan. These things propel Miami into the playoffs, and eventually, wait for it, an over-taking of the Patriots in the division.

My AFC North prediction may raise some questions. So let me explain; Andy Dalton is an emerging quarterback, and is well on his way to being top 10 in the league. Also, the Bengals, who made the playoffs last year, are the most improved team in this division, and maybe in the conference. They re-signed a few key free agents in defensive end Michael Johnson, linebacker Rey Maualuga and offensive tackle Andre Smith. They also added veteran linebacker James Harrison in free agency, and lured him away from the Pittsburgh Steelers.  And they drafted a couple of potential impact players to spice up their offense in tight end Tyler Eifert and running back Giovani Bernard. Eifert and Bernard are expected to impact this team immediately.

The AFC West should not be shocking at all. The Broncos have one of the easiest schedules every season, and that won’t change here. They will easily sail to a 12-4 record. One thing to note here as well is the Chiefs turnaround season with Alex Smith and Andy Reid.

The AFC South should be as expected too. The Colts have a franchise quarterback in Andrew Luck, and have a great team all together. If Andrew Luck avoids the “sophomore slump” expect a big year from the Colts. The AFC will look like this then;

Switching now, I will pop on over to the NFC, and see what will shake out there.

The NFC is always so much tougher to predict, because it is the better division. Starting with the NFC East, no surprises here, maybe. The Redskins are sure to at least replicate their success last year with RG3, and get to the top of the division. Don’t count out the Eagles though. They are not going to falter to a 4-12 record like last year. However, their will not be instant success with Chip Kelly in his first NFL coaching job. For that reason, they miss the playoffs. The Giants just aren’t as strong as they once were, and Coughlin may be at an end of his coaching career. And the Cowboys are just the Cowboys.

The NFC South should be as expected as well. Matt Ryan has made a name for himself, and this success in continuing, as they will have the best record in the NFC. The Saints will be good next year with the return of Sean Payton, and they make the playoffs, barely.

The NFC North may be shocking to some, but not at the top. The Packers are the true leader of that division, and that will continue, with all their weapons. Losing Greg Jennings will hurt them, but Rodgers has plenty of weapons still. The Bears, yes the Bears, will finish with an 11-5 record and make the playoffs. There will be no late season falter, and the Bears will have a turnaround season. The Lions just aren’t quite there yet, and the Vikings will not have nearly as much success as they did last year until they find a quarterback.

Now here is the most shocking division, the NFC West. Despite all the PED accusations and allegations, the Seahawks are the best team in the division, and have the best QB in Russell Wilson. A solid season is expected, especially after trading for Percy Harvin. The 49ers will falter off this season. Colin Kaepernick is a run first QB, and teams are going to find that out. Once he is forced to stay in the pocket and throw the ball, bad things will happen. Expect a down year for the Niners. Now, I wanted to put the Rams up past the Niners, but I just couldn’t do so, maybe in a few years. Bradford finally now has great weapons in Tavon Austin, and Steadman Bailey. In a few years, expect the Rams to be back up top. And I feel that the Cardinals are self-explanatory on why they are at the bottom. So the NFC playoffs look like this:

This concludes my predictions for now. A little later, I will make my playoff predictions!

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