50 bold predictions for 2025 (Part 2)
Looking into the crystal ball for the upcoming NFL season
By Matthew Coller
It’s that time of year again, friends: Prediction season. Every year here on Purple Insider, we have made a list of bold prognostications, which either turn out to be brilliant or foolish but nonetheless fun to follow throughout the season. For predictions 50 through 26 click here.
Alright, here’s the top 25…
25 — Packers rookie WR Matthew Golden will catch 48 passes for 550 yards
Green Bay seemingly drafted Golden to save their receiving corps but that’s not the easiest thing for a rookie to do. There were only six rookie receivers in 2025 who picked up more than 50 receptions and seven from the previous season. While Golden was a strong pick from the Packers, who have generally spend Day 2 or 3 selections on receivers, he doesn’t have the most robust college resume with only one season with 50+ receptions at Texas. Despite his sub-4.3 speed, there will be an adjustment period for Golden in 2025.
24 — The New Orleans Saints will draft No. 1 overall in 2026
Google: Saints Roster. Is there really more that needs to be said? Unless Tyler Shough somehow becomes CJ Stroud and shocks the world by elevating a mediocre team as a rookie, the Saints look like they are in line to draft Arch Manning next season. That’s really the best thing for them because their post-Brees solutions have been — to put it politely — ineffective.
23 — Jared Goff will drop from 37 TDs and 111.8 QB rating to 25 TDs and 96.5 QB rating
Vikings fans that are hoping for a massive decline from the Lions after they lost offensive coordinator Ben Johnson are probably going to end up disappointed but Goff did have an outlier season in 2025. Goff’s career 17-game averages are 28 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 95.7 QB rating. He blew those away last season with an incredible supporting cast and schedule that made everyone in the NFC North look better. This year things will be tougher, particularly without Frank Ragnow.
22 — Rome Odunze will be Chicago’s leading receiver in 2025
Last year, the Bears’ top-10 pick was not as productive as we might have expected following his incredible final season at Washington. This year, however, he will rise to the challenge and overtake DJ Moore as The Guy in Chicago. New OC Ben Johnson should be thinking about the long term with Caleb Williams and Odunze’s chemistry and the young receiver’s high slot percentage sounds a lot like what Johnson had in Amon-Ra St. Brown in Detroit. Buy Odunze stock, fantasy players.
21 — Arizona will go 8-9 again and trade Kyler Murray after 2025
Is it OK to enjoy watching a quarterback play and also understand his shortcomings in the year 2025 or do we have to either love/hate someone unequivocally? Kyler Murray is an entertaining watch but it’s hard to see a 36-45-1 career quarterback suddenly changing his stripes. Since his 2021 Pro Bowl season, Murray has a 90.6 QB rating and averages just 6.7 yards per attempt. His scrambling and deep passing make for great TV when he’s on point but another middling season may wear down the Cards’ patience with their expensive middling QB.
20 — Detroit and Minnesota will both have top-three defenses in the NFC
The fact that the Lions still played pretty good defense last year with half of their roster on the field is a pretty good sign that they are going to be a force this season. Detroit’s D-line gets Aidan Hutchinson back and they have beefed up the interior even more with first-round NT Tyliek Williams. Adding DJ Reed solidifies their secondary as well. Meanwhile the Vikings added a bunch of talent on the interior of the D-line with Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave and they retained Brian Flores for at least another year. Yes, both clubs have to face off with tough QBs but they both have the talent from top to bottom to slow down the best offenses.
19 — The Dallas Cowboys will miss a playoff spot on the final day of the season
While Dallas may be a circus and they may have made the uninspiring coaching hire of the decade, they are too talented to have the bottom completely fall out. Dak Prescott has still gone 34-19 since 2021 and is only one season removed from leading the No. 1 offense in the NFL. If George Pickens can give them anything, the Cowboys have a good enough attack to compete on a weekly basis and a defense that boasts a megastar in Micah Parsons. Still, that won’t be enough for them to overtake the Eagles or Commanders, leaving Dallas to fight for a Wild Card spot. Having not replaced the players they lost from their 12-5 team two years ago, the Cowboys will come up short again.
18 — Kirk Cousins will start at least 6 games… somewhere
For now, Cousins remains the backup quarterback for second-year starter Michael Penix Jr. but calamity is always right around the corner in the NFL and Cousins will be standing there to pick up the pieces once a quarterback goes down for the season with injury or a team struggles so much that they panic and deal for the veteran QB. If Cousins didn’t have the sense that somebody would need him, he probably would have just retired.
17 — Bucky Irving will lead all RBs in total yards
Only hardcore fantasy players know how good Irving was last season. He only started three games yet still ended up with 1,122 yards at 5.4 yards per carry for the Bucs and he caught 47 passes for 392 yards. Irving is an ascending player going into Year 2 and has a chance in a wildly-talented Bucs offense to take advantage of opponents playing against all of their receiving weapons. He will be a big Baker Mayfield checkdown/screen option and shred light boxes.
16 — Davante Adams will catch 100 passes for the Rams
Despite… *gestures at everything*… Adams somehow still came away with 85 catches for 1,063 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024. Now that he’s in a stable situation with a head coach who knows how to get a high-quality route runner wide open underneath, we can expect Matthew Stafford to pump the football to Adams over and over the way he did when Cooper Kupp was healthy.
15 — Malik Nabers’s frustration will boil over by Week 8
The former LSU receiver was fantastic last year despite very poor quarterback play, offensive line play, other receiver play and coaching. He only let his irritation slip out a few times in small ways but if he isn’t getting the football enough from Russell Wilson (and everyone else who plays QB), we can expect cryptic tweets or agitated postgame commentary pretty quickly.
14 — Jalen Redmond will be the breakout rotational DT
There is a serious DT battle behind the starters and while fans have probably heard more about Levi Drake Rodriguez and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, the ex-XFL’er is not to be forgotten. He posted strong grades last season in a small sample size and showed a unique ability to get into the backfield and blow up run plays. Alongside some better players, he has a chance to elevate his game even more and become a regular rotational player.
13 — Isaiah Rodgers will lead the Vikings in interceptions
In 2024, Byron Murphy Jr. had a breakout season in terms of taking the ball away, leading all corners in INTs. One thing we know about picks is that they usually don’t carry over from year to year. We can expect opposing QBs to be a little more discerning around Murphy Jr. this year and test the new starter Rodgers. The former Colt and Eagle will be playing in a system that allows him to use his quickness to read, react and make plays on the ball, giving him a chance to create turnovers.
12 — Christian Darrisaw will land his first All-Pro nod
This may seem extra bold since he is coming off a major injury but last season Darrisaw was trending toward making his case as the NFL’s best left tackle before he got hurt. Even if he misses a game or two to start the season, the former first-rounder is in his prime and has fully developed into an elite player. This is the season that he finally gets recognition for being that good.
11 — Mr. Mankato will be Silas Bolden
A short, skinny punt returner who is going to see a ton of preseason action? Oh, that screams Mr. Mankato. Bolden has some lightning to him that reminds you of Marcus Sherels when he’s returning punts. If there’s something there, he is in position to captivate Vikings fans and take home the coveted award for the best late-round pick or UDFA in camp.
10 — TJ Hockenson will have 84 receptions for 860 yards and five touchdowns
Last year Hockenson gutted through a mid-season return from an ACL tear to still post 41 receptions for 455 yards in 2024. Now that he’s back to full strength and has an entire offseason to work with JJ McCarthy, we can expect that they will develop similar chemistry to what Hockenson had with Kirk Cousins. Particularly with an inexperienced quarterback, it stands to reason that a pass-catching tight end can be his best friend underneath when there is chaos everywhere downfield.
9 — Jordan Mason will have 675 yards and seven touchdowns
The former 49er was brought over to play the thunder role to Aaron Jones’s lightning. While gaining just under 700 yards doesn’t seem like a lot, Mason is expected to bring a physical presence that the Vikings haven’t had in the backfield since early in Dalvin Cook’s career. Giving Jones more opportunities to rest and being able to blast into the end zone in short yardage will be a welcome sight for Kevin O’Connell.
8 — Aaron Jones will have 955 yards rushing and 50 catches
After carrying a crazy heavy load last year, the Vikings will return Jones to a similar role that he had in Green Bay when he was splitting carries with AJ Dillon. He will still be their main option in the backfield and a great weapon for McCarthy in the passing game, only this time the plan is to avoid having Jones wear down as the season goes along.
7 — The Lions and Vikings game on Christmas Day will decide the NFC North
The two strongest rosters in the NFC North belong to Detroit and Minnesota. It stands to reason that they will be back in battle for the division again. If it ultimately works out this way, the recent rivalry between the Lions and Vikings will solidify itself as one of the best in the NFL.
6 — The Vikings will rank as a top-five O-line by PFF
You never really know how a rookie is going to handle the transition from college to the NFL but the front office has surrounded Donovan Jackson with veterans on both sides and they spent top dollar to acquire Will Fries on the right side. They should be better in pass protection and much more nasty in the running game, especially in short yardage and at the goal line. The Vikings even have depth on the O-line with Justin Skule and Blake Brandel as proven veteran backups with starting experience.
5 — Jayden Daniels wins MVP
It isn’t just that Daniels has the potential to put together a top-five season in his second year but he would also make for a new MVP outside of the AFC monsters Mahomes, Allen and Jackson, who have dominated the award in recent years. It could probably go to any of those other QBs every year, so voters will be looking for somebody new to crown. If Daniels even takes a small step forward, he’s right there in the conversation.
4 — Dallas Turner will pick up 7.5 sacks and get two interceptions
Is this a high mark? Yes. However, when you consider that Patrick Jones racked up 7.0 sacks last season in a part-time rushing role, it seems more than reasonable that Turner would take a big leap forward in playing time and production. He was still able to put several highlight-reel sacks and pressures on tape in limited duty last season and now has a chance to show his development in Year 2. We can also expect him to drop back in coverage and — as he showed in Seattle — he can catch the football better than most edge rushers.
3 — The Buffalo Bills will win the Super Bowl
Curses aren’t real. If the New Orleans Saints could win one with Drew Brees, the Bills can with Josh Allen. They are one of the most complete teams and they have the league MVP at quarterback…they have to break through eventually.
2 — JJ McCarthy will throw for 3,875 yards, 26 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, have a 96.4 QB rating and rank 11th by PFF
How do we balance the production that we just saw from Sam Darnold under KOC with the inexperience of McCarthy? Well, by splitting the difference when it comes to expectations. It doesn’t seem highly likely that he will be in the MVP conversation as Darnold was toward the end of the 2024 season and it also seems highly likely that he will be able to effectively operate KOC’s offense efficiently. This type of season would put McCarthy right around the Bo Nix/CJ Stroud range for their rookie years. If he outdoes these expectations, the Vikings are going to be Super Bowl favorites.
1 — The Vikings will win 11 games and play in the Divisional Round of the playoffs
From top to bottom, the Vikings are one of the best teams in the league. If they can navigate the bumps of a first-year starter, they can be dangerous in the playoffs. Will they win in the Divisional Round? Hm. We’ll have to save that for a different prediction article…
"If Cousins didn’t have the sense that somebody would need him, he probably would have just retired." LOL, ESPN just inducted him into the NFL 'Bag' HOF. No one with his HOF credentials would make such a rookie mistake as to retire and leave $$$ behind. He will grab all the extra nickels and dimes on his way out the door.
>24 — The New Orleans Saints will draft No. 1 overall in 2026
Given how much they mortgaged the future for so many years and got zippo, it makes sense to pull the bandaid and suck for 2 or so years. Get your QBOTF and some other highly graded talent, clear out the dead cap etc. Will take a few years
Definitely intrigued by Redmond (and it should be noted he probably slowed down a bit at the end because he literally played 2 seasons last year.
Really interested to see how the DT room shakes out (LDR, Taimani, Redmond & TID shakes out).
Also Turner seems to ooze potential (glad he got bigger) and really seems to have his head in the right place. To misquote my favorite catcher ‘Football is 90 per cent mental. The other half is physical’