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Hogs Haven 2021 Season Predictions

The Hogs Haven writers predict division winners, individual award honors, the Super Bowl champion and more for the 2021 NFL season

President Joe Biden welcomes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the White House Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Before the 2020 season, 12 current and former Hogs Haven writers made their predictions about how the year would play out. And, I’ll confess, largely as a glitch in the way things were done last year, I held off writing a re-cap article. You see, in the past, at the “Welcome Home Luncheon” the team had named an offensive and defensive player of the year (which were two of the prediction categories). To the best of my knowledge, that tradition didn’t continue, leaving us with 27 categories rather than 29. For the sake of this analysis, I’ve simply dropped those two categories out.

Areas of Common Ground

In looking for trends in the predictions, I’m sorry to say the first one that pops out is that none of the writers had Washington winning the NFC East (though Ken, alone, did have them making the playoffs as a wild card team). All the writers accurately guessed the winner of the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens, incorrectly. It ended up being the Steelers. None of the writers guessed the eventual coach of the year - Kevin Stefanski - or the offensive rookie of the year - Justin Herbert - correctly.

All of the writers missed on the offensive player of the year - Derrick Henry - and only one, Andrew York, hit the eventual NFL MVP - Aaron Rodgers.

None of the writers guessed the teams record correctly (7-9) with Ken and I choosing 8-8, and several other writers choosing 6-10.

The lone bright spot? All of the writers nailed Chase Young as the defensive rookie of the year.

So Who Won?

Even with 12 entrants and hundreds of predictions, we were left with one clear winner: Matt-in-Bris-Vegas, which seems appropriate, since he’s a big data guy. Matt nailed 8 of the playoff teams, the worst team in the league (the Jags), and Chase Young as DROY. Ken Meringolo and Andrew York were a close second, with 9 correct answers. The rest of the writers fell into the 6 through 8 correct range. Congratulations, Matt!

Undaunted, we’ve decided to give it another shot this year.

2021 Predictions

I was able to wrangle 13 current and former staff writers at Hogs Haven and harvest their vast football knowledge for predictions of the future. In the ninth annual edition of this series, the site's writers and analysts were asked to guess team and individual award winners for this season.

Enjoy the predictions below, and please add your own in the comments below, as we prepare to embark, once again, into the most wonderful time of the year.

Writers 1-3

Category Bill-in-Bangkok Matt-in-Bris-Vegas James Dorsett
Category Bill-in-Bangkok Matt-in-Bris-Vegas James Dorsett
NFC East WFT WFT WFT
NFC North Packers Packers Packers
NFC South Buccaneers Buccaneers Buccaneers
NFC West Rams Seahawks 49ers
NFC Wild Card 49ers Rams Rams
NFC Wild Card Bears 49ers Seahawks
NFC Wild Card Seahawks Saints Vikings
NFC Champion WFT Packers Buccaneers
AFC East Bills Bills Bills
AFC North Browns Ravens Browns
AFC South Colts Titans Titans
AFC West Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs
AFC Wild Card Ravens Colts Ravens
AFC Wild Card Steelers Chargers Broncos
AFC Wild Card Titans Patriots Dolphins
AFC Champion Browns Ravens Browns
Super Bowl Champ WFT Ravens Buccaneers
1st Pick in the Draft (Team) Texans Texans Texans
Comeback POY Joe Burrow Prescott Dak Prescott
Coach of the Year Ron Rivera Rivera Shanahan
Offensive ROY Justin Fields Trevor Lawrence Justin Fields
Defensive ROY Micah Parsons Micah Parsons Micah Parsons
Offensive POY Josh Allen Josh Allen McCaffrey
Defensive POY Chase Young TJ Watt Myles Garrett
MVP Josh Allen Lamar Jackson Josh Allen
WFT Record 12-5 10-7 10-7
WFT Playoff Finish Super Bowl Win Divisional loss 1-1

Writers 4-6

Category Tom Garrett Phillip Hughes Scott Jennings
Category Tom Garrett Phillip Hughes Scott Jennings
NFC East WFT WFT WFT
NFC North Packers Packes Packers
NFC South Buccaneers Buccaneers Buccaneers
NFC West Rams Seahawks Rams
NFC Wild Card 49ers Rams 49ers
NFC Wild Card Seahawks 49ers Seahawks
NFC Wild Card Vikings Cowboys Bears
NFC Champion Packers Rams Rams
AFC East Bills Bills Bills
AFC North Ravens Steelers Browns
AFC South Titans Titans Titans
AFC West Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs
AFC Wild Card Chargers Browns Ravens
AFC Wild Card Patriots Chargers Patriots
AFC Wild Card Steelers Ravens Chargers
AFC Champion Titans Chiefs Browns
Super Bowl Champ Packers Chiefs Rams
1st Pick in the Draft (Team) Texans Lions Eagles
Comeback POY Kittle McCaffrey McCaffrey
Coach of the Year Staley Brandon Staley Kevin Stefanski
Offensive ROY Trevor Lawrence Trevor Lawrence Mac Jones
Defensive ROY Jamin Davis Jamin Davis Micah Parsons
Offensive POY Mahomes McCaffrey McCaffrey
Defensive POY Donald Aaron Donald Myles Garrett
MVP Mahomes Patrick Mahomes Matthew Stafford
WFT Record 10-7 11-6 9-8
WFT Playoff Finish 1-1 1-1 0-1

Writers 7-9

Category KyleSmith4GM Aaron Lesher Ken Meringolo
Category KyleSmith4GM Aaron Lesher Ken Meringolo
NFC East WFT WFT WFT
NFC North Packers Packers Packers
NFC South Buccaneers Buccaneers Buccaneers
NFC West Rams Rams Rams
NFC Wild Card 49ers 49ers 49ers
NFC Wild Card Saints Seahawks Seahawks
NFC Wild Card Cardinals Cowboys Cowboys
NFC Champion Packers 49ers Rams
AFC East Bills Biils Bills
AFC North Ravens Browns Browns
AFC South Titans Titans Titans
AFC West Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs
AFC Wild Card Patriots Patriots Ravens
AFC Wild Card Browns Chargers Chargers
AFC Wild Card Chargers Ravens Dolphins
AFC Champion Chiefs Bills Bills
Super Bowl Champ Chiefs Bills Bills
1st Pick in the Draft (Team) Texans Texans Eagles
Comeback POY Winston Dak Prescott Joe Burrow
Coach of the Year Rivera Shanahan McVay
Offensive ROY Mac Jones Trey Lance Trevor Lawrence
Defensive ROY Micah Parsons Surtain Jamin Davis
Offensive POY Pat Mahomes Christian McCaffrey Josh Allen
Defensive POY Montez Sweat Chase Young Chase Young
MVP Aaron Rodgers Josh Allen Josh Allen
WFT Record 12-5 10-7 11-6
WFT Playoff Finish 1-1 0-1 Loss in NFC Championship

Writers 10-12

Category Bryan Stabbe Mark Tyler Andrew York
Category Bryan Stabbe Mark Tyler Andrew York
NFC East WFT WFT WFT
NFC North Packers Packers Packers
NFC South Buccaneers Buccaneers Buccaneers
NFC West Cardinals Rams Rams
NFC Wild Card Vikings 49ers 49ers
NFC Wild Card Seahawks Cowboys Seahawks
NFC Wild Card Rams Seahawks Saints
NFC Champion Seahawks Packers Packers
AFC East Bills Bills Bills
AFC North Ravens Browns Browns
AFC South Titans Titans Titans
AFC West Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs
AFC Wild Card Chargers Ravens Ravens
AFC Wild Card Steelers Raiders Dolphins
AFC Wild Card Dolphins Steelers Chargers
AFC Champion Chiefs Bills Bills
Super Bowl Champ Chiefs Packers Bills
1st Pick in the Draft (Team) Jets Eagles Texans
Comeback POY Burrow Dak Prescott McCaffrey
Coach of the Year Staley Matt LaFleur Brandon Staley
Offensive ROY Najee Harris Zach Wilson Trevor Lawrence
Defensive ROY Surtain Micah Parsons Micah Parsons
Offensive POY Josh Allen Dalvin Cook Josh Allen
Defensive POY Donald TJ Watt Myles Garrett
MVP Mahomes Josh Allen Josh Allen
WFT Record 9-8 11-6 10-7
WFT Playoff Finish Divisional loss 1-1 Divisional loss

Writer 13

Categories Jamual Forrest
Categories Jamual Forrest
NFC East WFT
NFC North Packers
NFC South Buccaneers
NFC West Rams
NFC Wild Card Seahawks
NFC Wild Card Cowboys
NFC Wild Card Vikings
NFC Champion Buccaneers
AFC East Bills
AFC North Ravens
AFC South Titans
AFC West Chiefs
AFC Wild Card Browns
AFC Wild Card Chargers
AFC Wild Card Doplhins
AFC Champion Bills
Super Bowl Champ Buccaneers
1st Pick in the Draft (Team) Lions
Comeback POY Winston
Coach of the Year Staley
Offensive ROY Mac Jones
Defensive ROY Micah Parson
Offensive POY Lamar Jackson
Defensive POY Chase Young
MVP Josh Allen
WFT Record 9-8
WFT Playoff Finish 1-1

WFT and NFC East Predictions

  • What a difference a year makes. Last season, none of us predicted Washington winning the East. This season, every single writer has. Only Bill, however, was bold enough to project the WFT to win the NFC (and eventually, the Super Bowl) this year. The majority of the rest of the writers predict a victory in the wild card round and a loss in the divisional round of the playoffs, with the exception of Ken, who predicts a loss in the NFC championship.
  • Record wise, Bill and I are the most optimistic, predicting 12-5, though all of the writers predict an above .500 record this season. Scott, Bryan, and Jamual are the most pessimistic, predicting a 9-8 record for the WFT. That’s an incredible one season turnaround, given that .500 was the most optimistic estimate this time last year.
  • In the individual superlative categories, several WFT-associated individuals got votes: Ron Rivera as Coach of the Year (3); Jamin Davis as DROY (3); and Chase Young (4) and Montez Sweat (1) as DPOY.

Super Bowl Picks

  • In both the NFC and AFC, Conference Champion picks were all over the map. In the in the NFC, the top vote getter was the Packers (5), followed by the Rams (3), Buccaneers (2), 49ers (1), Seahawks (1), and WFT (1). In the AFC, things were only slightly tighter, led by the Bills (5), Chiefs (3), Browns (3), Ravens (1), and Titans (1).
  • The Super Bowl predictions were far more scattered this year than last year as well. The top prediction for Super Bowl winner were the Chiefs (3) and Bills (3), followed by the Packers (2), Buccaneers (2), Rams (1), WFT (1), and Ravens (1).

Other Prediction Trends

  • Besides the NFC East winner, there were 3 categories where there was unanimous agreement: NFC North winner (Packers), NFC South winner (Buccaneers), and the AFC West winner (Chiefs).
  • Brandon Staley (5) of the Chargers received the most votes for Coach of the Year. Trevor Lawrence was the top prediction (5) in the Offensive Rookie of the Year category, while Micah Parsons ran away with the Defensive Rookie of the Year category (8). Both Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald collected 3 votes for Defensive Player of the Year, while Josh Allen (5) was the most popular prediction for Offensive Player of the Year. Josh Allen received votes from over half the writers (7) for NFL MVP.
  • Nine of us predicted the 49ers would make the playoffs as a Wild Card in the NFC, with the Chargers collecting ten votes as an AFC Wild Card entrant.
  • There was strong agreement that the Texans (7) would be the worst team in the league, but the Eagles (3), Lions (2), and Jets (1) also notched votes in this category.

So there you have it; we’ve made all of our best guesses for the forthcoming NFL season. Now we get to enjoy the fruits of our labors and finally get to sit back and watch some football, and hopefully see the WFT play well enough to make us proud.

After the confetti drops at Super Bowl LVI, I’ll be back to do a full accounting, at which time you can either mock us for our fortune-telling failures or erect virtual statues to praise and worship our infinite wisdom and foresight.

In the meantime, let us know what you think of our picks and share your predictions for the season in the comments section. Happy season kickoff day and HTTR!

Poll

How many games will the WFT win in 2021?

This poll is closed

  • 0%
    4 or fewer
    (6 votes)
  • 1%
    5 or 6
    (15 votes)
  • 10%
    7 or 8
    (90 votes)
  • 60%
    9 or 10
    (514 votes)
  • 25%
    11 or 12
    (213 votes)
  • 0%
    13 or more
    (8 votes)
846 votes total Vote Now

Poll

Which team will win Super Bowl LVI?

This poll is closed

  • 17%
    WFT
    (85 votes)
  • 28%
    Chiefs
    (134 votes)
  • 25%
    Bills
    (121 votes)
  • 4%
    Rams
    (20 votes)
  • 3%
    Packers
    (18 votes)
  • 1%
    Ravens
    (8 votes)
  • 12%
    Buccaneers
    (62 votes)
  • 6%
    Someone else
    (29 votes)
477 votes total Vote Now