The Athletic's 2020 Season Predictions

[daves]

Their panel of 46 writers and editors made a bunch of predictions for the season. Here are the ones that relate to the Cardinals:

Who will win the NFC West?
Seahawks 22
49ers 20
Cardinals 2
Rams 2

The Cardinals, who just gave new WR DeAndre Hopkins a whopping two-year, $54.5M contract extension, are going to be one of the most exciting teams to watch in the league, and two voters think they’ll be good enough to rise all the way to the top of this very talented and deep NFC West.

Who will the NFC wild cards be?
Buccaneers 27
Seahawks 19
49ers 18
Eagles 14
Packers 11
Saints 11
Vikings 11
Rams 9
Cardinals 7
Bears 5
Lions 4
Cowboys 1
Falcons 1

Who will be the NFC Champions?
Cardinals 0

Which team will be a pleasant surprise?
Cardinals 6
Browns 6
Raiders 6
Bengals 6
Lions 4
Colts 3
Dolphins 3
Patriots 3
Bills 2
Buccaneers 2
Bears 1
Broncos 1
Chargers 1
Steelers 1
Panthers 1

Who'll be the biggest disappointment?
Cardinals 0

Who'll win Defensive Rookie of the Year?
Chase Young 35
Isaiah Simmons 6
Jeff Okudah 2
Patrick Queen 2
Javon Kinlaw 1

Who will win Coach of the Year?
Frank Reich 6
Mike McCarthy 6
Bill Belichick 5
Sean McDermott 5
Bruce Arians 4
Andy Reid 3
Kevin Stefanski 3
Sean Payton 3
Pete Carroll 3
Brian Flores 1
John Harbaugh 1
Jon Gruden 1
Kliff Kingsbury 1
Kyle Shanahan 1
Matt Patricia 1
Mike Tomlin 1
Zac Taylor 1

Who will be the year's breakout player?
Kyler Murray 12
Drew Lock 4
Devin Singletary 3
Brian Burns 2
Calvin Ridley 2
N'Keal Harry 2
T.J. Hockenson 2
[whole lotta guys] 1

Will the NFL season finish on time?
Yes 34
No, there will be a delay due to COVID-19 12

...dave

 

[daves]

... And in another article, writer Doug Haller provided an overview of their expectations for the Cardinals this season. Here's the final paragraph:

Record prediction

With the addition of Hopkins, the Cardinals generated a lot of preseason buzz. As they should. Kingsbury and Murray should be better suited in Year 2. Fitzgerald remains productive at 37 (he had 75 receptions last season), and the defense should be improved. The problem: The NFC West might be the league’s toughest division. The Cardinals will make significant strides but finish 8-8 and fall short of the playoffs.

...dave