Some tough questions from readers for Peter King: Rhule is an example of what’s wrong with the coaching scene, and I should have pointed it out.From Stephen Pratt, of Braintree, Mass.: “Clearly you feel strongly about the lack of minority hiring in recent years. However, a few weeks back you led your article with a feature on Matt Rhule, his background, how he is handling the challenge of being a first time NFL coach remotely and what he stands for. But isn’t Matt Rhule (never played in NFL, one year as an NFL assistant, experienced HC at Temple/Baylor), who is white, the exact type you think should NOT be a HC over a minority like Eric Bieniemy, Byron Leftwich, Perry Fewell, etc. If you truly felt that the system was as broken as you are writing it is, wouldn’t it have been more apt to lead your article with why Rhule should NOT be a head coach?”   Because Matt Rhule should be an NFL head coach. He turned around two troubled college programs with major issues; he’s the kind of fix-it man who appeals to NFL owners, and rightfully so. This is not about one single white person who got a coaching job that raised some eyebrows; it’s about a culture that got comfortable with the status quo so that it stopped investing in bright young coaches and stopped looking for bright young coaches. By exposing coaches of all colors (as with the then-unheralded Herman Edwards, who got the Jets job in 2001 at least in part because he was exposed to the 32 owners on a panel in 2000) to the group of people who do the hiring, you’re increasing the pool of qualified candidates for all to see.   On minority hiring. From Levi Newman: “I have to massively disagree with your most recent story regarding minority hiring. I find that it’s easy to say, ‘Well, there aren’t enough minority X positions.’ But that’s just it, it’s easy to say. What you really mean is there aren’t enough black people in X positions. That’s because by and large it’s a single community in America that has an issue with this so-called unfairness—at least in terms of the NFL. What’s the current black to white player ratio, 70-30? Does that kind of thinking go both ways? Do we need more white players in the league? Are Asians banging the drum for more Chinese coaches? Vietnamese placekickers? Russian defensive ends? Israeli linebackers? You’re a world-class writer and an even greater thinker. But stop using politics and legislation to try to make the world better. You can’t dictate happiness and right or wrong simply by wishing it.”   Where do I start . . . Levi, the problem with the minority coaching issue is multifaceted and based on the fact that in a league with 70 percent African-American players, having only four minority coaches after having seven and eight in past years is an issue. You may not see it as an issue. But in the egalitarian environment the NFL is trying to promote, it’s a failure. Where is the pool of Chinese coaches in college and pro football? I’m sure there are some, but many? Ditto the other groups. Where is the pool of Vietnamese placekickers? It’s an insult to compare the situation of qualified coaches like Eric Bieniemy and Jim Caldwell and young prospects trying to climb the ladder to nonexistent pools. As far as white/black player ratio, I have not heard from a soul in football, white or black, that there are too many of one race in the league. You could also throw Joe Judge of the Giants and Kevin Stefanski of the Browns as fast-rising white coaches who, like Sean McVay and Matt LaFleur and Zach Taylor, have jumped the line.

NFC NORTH

MINNESOTA Joe Lockhart, a PR flack whose career with the NFL was not successful, still can’t help giving football advice (with a heavy dose of PR spin) to the Vikings.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com: Former White House press secretary Joe Lockhart served as the NFL’s primary spokesperson during the anthem controversy in 2017. He has become the first current or former league executive to make a clear, candid statement about the league’s approach to free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick.   Lockhart, in a column posted at CNN.com, argues that the Vikings should sign Kaepernick.   In the column, Lockhart summarizes the anthem controversy and Kaepernick’s role in launching the protests as a way to bring awareness to the mistreatment of African-Americans and people of color by law-enforcement authorities. Although not every single factual assertion is accurate (e.g., Kaepernick did not have “several” workouts with NFL teams . . . in reality, he has had no workouts with any teams but just a single visit to the Seahawks), Lockhart peels back the curtain on the things that transpired as the league and its franchises tried to grapple with the issues arising from the protests and Kaepernick’s lingering unemployment.   “Kaepernick was not blocked because the league wanted to punish him for setting off the protests,” Lockhart asserts. And he’s right, as it relates to the league office. But the teams ignored the league’s “prodding and pushing” to get Kaepernick a job — due directly to fears over fan reaction to hiring someone who set off the protests.   “Signing Kaepernick, they thought, was bad for business,” Lockhart writes. “An executive from one team that considered signing Kaepernick told me the team projected losing 20% of their season ticket holders if they did.”   So while the refusal to do business with Kaepernick may not have been go-to-bed-without-supper-style discipline because of his protests, he received adverse treatment (i.e., the cold shoulder) from 32 NFL teams because of his protests.   Lockhart explains that he justified the unemployment of Kaepernick at the time by focusing on the “millions” being spent by the league “to help address the problem of racial division in the country.” Lockhart admits in his column that he was wrong.   “I know now it was not enough just to spend money to make progress on the issue of racial disparities,” Lockhart writes. “That is crucial, but so are symbols that reflect that attempt at progress — and also the failure to reach it. And Colin Kaepernick became the symbol of black men being treated differently than white men in America.”   The column builds to Lockhart arguing that, given the presence of the Vikings in the epicenter of the current controversy, the Vikings should sign Kaepernick.   He’d definitely fit the offense; the Broncos flirted with trading for Kaepernick in 2016, when Vikings offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak was Denver’s head coach. Still, it’s unlikely that Kaepernick would fit the budget. If offered a job as a backup to Kirk Cousins, one of the highest paid players in the league, Kaepernick would have to take far less than the $12 million that he made in his final season with the 49ers, or the $20 million that he reportedly wanted from the AAF or the XFL. Given the team’s salary-cap situation, the Vikings possibly would be limited to offering Kaepernick a deal for the veteran minimum.   Lockhart likely hasn’t analyzed the situation from a football perspective, however. He’s simply connecting two large dots between Minneapolis and the football team that plays there.   And so the better argument is that someone (not necessarily the Vikings) should offer Kaepernick a contract for 2020. Even then, the current inability to give him a physical or an in-person workout due to the pandemic complicates any effort to move quickly.   It doesn’t stop any team from making a statement immediately that Kaepernick is invited to visit, to submit to a physical to work out, and possibly to enter into contract negotiations as soon as facilities open. Given the broader societal circumstances and the fact that the issues for which Kaepernick protested have reached an obvious tipping point, the potential damage to a team’s bottom line should be far less now than it would have been in 2017.   Especially if, due to the pandemic, fans won’t be attending games, anyway. These are the three QBs behind Kirk Cousins.  Will Ragatz at SI.com: The Vikings re-signed 2019 backup Sean Mannion this offseason, giving him a one-year deal worth just over $1 million. Mannion is a firmly below-average backup in terms of his on-field talent; in his one start last season (the meaningless Week 17 game against the Bears), he went 12 for 21 for 126 yards and two picks. However, the Vikings don’t seem to have any plans for their backup quarterback to ever have to see meaningful snaps. They value Mannion for what he brings to the quarterback room in meetings and film study. He’s a smart player who is an important part of helping Cousins prepare every week.   If the Vikings want someone with more upside, there are two younger developmental options who could challenge Mannion for the backup job next season. The Vikings spent big money to sign Jake Browning as an undrafted free agent last year and took Nate Stanley late in the seventh round of this year’s draft.   Browning had one incredible year at Washington (2016) and three solid ones. He’s not the biggest guy at 6’2″, 210, and doesn’t have ideal arm strength. Browning also didn’t show much in last year’s preseason, going 10 for 13 for 64 yards and an interception. But his year on the practice squad gave him experience in the Vikings’ system, and he probably offers more upside than Mannion on the field. Browning has good mechanics and his accuracy and touch helped him thrive in college.   The newcomer is Stanley, who the Vikings took with the 244th pick last weekend. They likely would’ve tried to sign him as a UDFA if they didn’t have so many late-round picks to work with. Stanley is bigger than Browning at 6’4″, 235, and offers more arm strength. He has the arm talent to make nearly any throw, but his numbers were only decent at Iowa as he struggled with consistency in reading the field and performing against pressure. Presumably, Mannion would be immediately jettisoned in Lockhart’s world to clear the way for employment justice for Kaepernick.

AFC WEST

DENVER The Broncos have added a VP to the title of Matt Russell (and presumably some cash to his bank account going forward) among a slew of new titles.  Russell has overcome a career embarrassment that might have sidelined others.  Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post:   The Broncos announced several promotions within their team’s personnel department on Friday, led by the naming of Matt Russell as vice president of player personnel.   The chief adviser to general manager John Elway for nearly a decade, Russell was previously the Broncos’ college scouting director (2009-12) and director of player personnel (2012-20).   Russell, brought to the Broncos by then-coach Josh McDaniels in 2009, will continue to organize the team’s day-to-day college and pro scouting efforts and be heavily involved in trade talks.   Elway will remain the final say on all personnel decisions.   According to the Broncos, only New England and Dallas have had top-of-the-personnel-department continuity longer than the eight-year Elway-Russell partnership.   “Matt gets better every year and I try to give him more responsibility every year,” Elway told The Post at the scouting combine earlier this year. “He does a great job with the scouts. He’s great to work with and he’s been a big help to me.”   Russell has earned a stellar reputation around the NFL for his work as a scout for the Patriots and Eagles and his development within the Broncos’ front office.   “Very well-deserved,” a team executive said Friday. “He’s been with the Broncos for a long time and has been loyal to the organization and has an excellent skill set of identifying players and understanding what it takes to build a championship team because of his playing and scouting experience.”   Russell has assisted Elway in turning over a roster that has gotten younger throughout the depth chart. At the end of 2019, the Broncos had the league’s third-youngest roster (25 years, 264 days) and led the NFL in number of offensive players (14) and combined starts (88) among players with two of fewer years of experience.   The Broncos have been widely praised for their draft work the last three years; as many as six Week 1 offensive starters were added in the draft.   Russell, 46, played college football at Colorado (1993-96) and was a fourth-round pick by Detroit. After retiring because of a knee injury, Russell was a graduate assistant at CU in 2000 before joining the NFL scouting ranks, working for New England (2001 and ’03-05) and Philadelphia (2006-08). He has been a part of four Super Bowl-winning teams.   Russell’s career appeared in doubt in July 2013 when he was arrested on charges of DUI, no proof of insurance, careless driving causing injury and having an open container when he rear-ended a Breckenridge police SUV. He was suspended by the Broncos for one month and, in May 2014, was sentenced to seven months in jail. His work release allowed him to conduct business at the team’s facility.   The Broncos also announced several other promotions/title changes, led by a merging of the team’s football technology and research departments.   Mark Thewes was promoted to vice president of football operations and compliance. He will continue to serve as the team’s liason to the NFL office regarding collective bargaining agreement matters, roster management and scheduling. Thewes initially joined the Broncos in 2009 as assistant to the head coach (McDaniels).   Tony Lazzaro was named senior director, football technology and research and he will lead the newly-merged technology and analytics departments. Lazzaro is in his 19th year with the Broncos.   Darren Mougey was promoted to assistant director of college scouting, working with Russell and college scouting director Brian Stark. Mougey, who joined the Broncos as an intern in 2012, was most recently their western regional scout for three years and he will maintain those duties.   Karl Schreiner was named director of football informations systems, responsible for building and maintaining the team’s internal systems. A graduate of Highlands Ranch High School and Metro State, Schreiner is in his fifth year with the Broncos.   Scott Flaska was named senior manager, football analytics. Entering his fifth season with the Broncos, he graduated from Colorado and was previously a professional development program engineer for Northrop Grumman.   Richard Hildebrand was named senior software engineer, contributing to the technology/research department’s software development. He is beginning his third season with the Broncos.   And Emily Kuehler, an intern last year for the Broncos, was promoted to full-time status as a data scientist assisting the technology/research department. How times have changed where an NFL team would employ a “data scientist.”

AFC SOUTH

JACKSONVILLE The DB admits that we are interested to see where QB JOSH DOBBS ends up when his playing (or non-playing might be more accurate) days are over.  Peter King: I think I’ll write more about this in a future column, but I noticed something very cool that I wanted to point out: Did you notice how Jacksonville backup quarterback Josh Dobbs was an intern (through the NFL Players Association externship program) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center this offseason? He was at the launch of the SpaceX/NASA corroboration Saturday, and got emotional talking with me about the experience Saturday night.   @josh_dobbs1 Mission Success! Today, Americans return to space from FL’s Space Coast for 1st time in 9 yrs. What a tremendous honor to have been here. A cohesive team can accomplish anything! Congrats to @nasa, @spacex, @nasakennedy & all involved in today’s historical mission. Godspeed!🍊🚀   Dobbs, an aerospace engineering major at Tennessee, told me, “I really felt the nervousness watching the countdown, knowing what those astronauts have gone through to get to this moment. Being able to see the teamwork involved in preparation for this launch was incredible for me. It’s so much like a football team—you see how everyone doing their job fits together and makes something great happen. That’s what I really appreciated about the experience.”

THIS AND THAT

BEST FREE AGENTS Grey Papke of Larry Brown Sports identifies five free agents still on the street who have value: June is here and NFL free agency was already a few months ago, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any good players available to NFL teams looking for late offseason upgrades. Multiple Pro Bowlers are still available as free agents, whether they were cut for cap reasons or simply haven’t found the right fit or contract for their liking. Plenty of other players remain unsigned as well.   Here are the five best players still available on the NFL free agent market.   5. Larry Warford, OG A three-time Pro Bowler, the Saints made Warford a cap casualty earlier this month after drafting Cesar Ruiz in the first round. The guard has an impressive pedigree and has been excellent at protecting Drew Brees in his three years in New Orleans. Only 28, Warford is in his prime, and could slot in as a starting guard for a lot of NFL teams. He should have little trouble finding a job ahead of training camp, but for now, he’s taking his time.   4. Logan Ryan, CB The 29-year-old was a huge part of the Titans’ secondary in 2019, and it was his interception that sealed Tennessee’s road playoff win at New England. He’s been linked with the Jets, but nothing seems imminent. An experienced veteran who has been a starter for nearly his entire career, Ryan can face top receivers and would upgrade any weak cornerback group. He’s a trustworthy starter and great value at this point of the offseason.   3. Cam Newton, QB Newton’s health is the biggest question about him. When he’s been on the field, he’s produced. It was, after all, four short years ago that he was the league MVP and one of the most electrifying players in the sport. Newton is struggling to find a home due to a lack of available starting jobs, and may ultimately have to settle for being a backup. He’d be a very good one, though, and would be entirely capable of taking over as a starter somewhere.   2. Jason Peters, OT Peters turned 38 in January, but he’s still ready to play and will probably get the chance. The stalwart tackle is a nine-time Pro Bowler, making it as recently as 2016 with the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s been able to stay mostly healthy, playing in 13 games last season. Peters is nearing the end of the line, but he’s still capable of playing tackle at a high level and is understandably drawing interest from around the league.   1. Jadeveon Clowney, DE Clowney is coming off a disappointing season numbers-wise, but he’s still capable of wrecking opposing offenses. He had only 3 sacks in 2019, but had 9 and 9.5 in the two preceding seasons. The three-time Pro Bowler has been slow to drop his demands, and will likely have to find a new home as a result. Clowney may be waiting some time for an offer he likes, but whatever team that gets him will be landing a player who’s capable of causing major havoc in the backfield.

BROADCAST NEWS WR DeSEAN JACKSON wants you to hear everything this fall.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com: If the NFL has to play some games in empty stadiums this season, Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson thinks the league should take advantage of the audio responsibilities.   Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson and Jackson had a YouTube conversation that featured Johnson suggesting “mic’ing up everybody” so that fans watching at home can get an idea of what football really sounds like. Jackson said that’s what he wants.   “Yeah, it’s gonna get crazy. I think they should, though. They should give the fans the inside to really see what goes on between the white lines,” Jackson said, via BleacherReport.com. “It gets crazy, bro. I know in the trenches it gets crazy, and I know out there on the outside it gets crazy too with the conversations we going back and forth on.”   The NFL is planning to start the season on time, and with fans in stands. But if the stadiums need to be empty, the silver lining would be the opportunity for great television audio. Jackson is right that it could get crazy, in a good way. We would think that would mean two different broadcasts – one with the PG soundtrack with occasional profanity we are used to and the other that would be a hard verbal R.

GEORGE FLOYD & RIOT REACTION Many in the NFL spoke out in support of justice in the death of George Floyd, and not always the usual suspects. The media highly approves of the statement from Dolphins coach Brian Flores:   Brian Flores’ statement on race relations and the events that led to the death of George Floyd in Minnesota earlier this week continued to resonates as Friday turned to Saturday.   A tweet of the statement on the Miami Dolphins Twitter account was up to 8,600 retweets Saturday morning, with more than 31,000 likes. On Instagram, the tally was up to more than 25,000 likes.   And a lot of those supporting comments came from current and former NFL players, some of whom played for Flores.   The list of players included former Dolphins such as Byron Jones, rookie fifth-round pick Curtis Weaver and Eric Rowe, current Patriots safety Duron Harmon, former Dolphins players O.J. McDuffie, Sage Rosenfels, Jay Ajayi, Troy Stradford and Jermon Bushrod, longtime Bears linebacker Lance Briggs and former Patriots offensive lineman Damien Woody.   On Instagram, those who “liked” the statement included current Dolphins players Davon Godchaux, Nik Needham, Kalen Ballage, Raekwon McMillan, Jakeem Grant DeVante Parker, Xavien Howard, Matt Haack, Albert Wilson, Christian Wilkins, Rowe, and rookie draft picks Raekwon Davis, Robert Hunt and Blake Ferguson.   Several people tweeted that they became Dolphins fans as a result of the statement.   This was Flores’ statement, first released to ESPN:   “I’ve had the privilege of being a part of many different circles that have included some very powerful and influential people of all different races and genders. The events of the last few weeks have brought some of the memories of those conversations back to light. I vividly remember the Colin Kaepernick conversations. ‘Don’t ever disrespect the flag’ was the phrase that I heard over and over again. This idea that players were kneeling in support of social justice was something some people couldn’t wrap their head around. The outrage that I saw in the media and the anger I felt in some of my own private conversations caused me to sever a few long-standing friendships.   “Most recently, I’ve had conversations about incentivizing teams for hiring minorities. Again, there was some outrage in the media and talks that this would cause division amongst coaches, executives and ownership. I bring these situations up because I haven’t seen the same OUTRAGE from people of influence when the conversation turns to Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and most recently George Floyd. Many people who broadcast their opinions on kneeling or on the hiring of minorities don’t seem to have an opinion on the recent murders of these young black men and women. I think many of them QUIETLY say that watching George Floyd plead for help is one of the more horrible things they have seen, but it’s said amongst themselves where no one can hear. Broadcasting THAT opinion clearly is not important enough.   “I lead a group of young men who have the potential to make a real impact in this world. My message to them and anyone else who wants to listen is that honesty, transparency, and empathy go a long way in bringing people together and making change. I hope that the tragedies of the last few weeks will open our hearts and minds to a better way of communicating and hopefully create that change.” One of the strongest statements came from Bengals rookie QB JOE BURROW.  Dave Clark of the Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow expressed support for the black community and human rights as people nationwide call for justice following the March death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville and the more recent death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, among others.   Cincinnati Bengals first-round draft pick, quarterback Joe Burrow, speaks in a virtual press conference after the Bengals selected him at the overall No. 1 spot in the 2020 NFL Draft on Thursday, April 23, 2020.   @Joe_Burrow10 The black community needs our help. They have been unheard for far too long. Open your ears, listen, and speak. This isn’t politics. This is human rights.   Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was arrested Friday afternoon after video circulated of him holding his knee to Floyd’s neck before Floyd died.   Earlier this week, Burrow retweeted Rex Chapman and W. Kamau Bell tweets about unfair treatment of Floyd. Earlier this month, Burrow retweeted Donte’ Stallworth’s tweet about Ahmaud Arbery’s family deserving justice for his death. Peter King singles out Jed York of the 49ers from among the ranks of NFL owners: I think lots of teams have made strong statements about the George Floyd killing. What I liked most is San Francisco CEO Jed York making this call: “Before we are able to realize impactful change, we must first have the courage and compassion as human beings to come together and acknowledge the problem: black men, women, children and other oppressed minorities continue to be systemically discriminated against. The 49ers organization is committing to support the legislative priorities of the Players Coalition and to donating $1 million to local and national organizations who are creating change.”   There actually is near unanimity about the unjust nature of Floyd’s arrest (a $20 counterfeit bill gets you in handcuffs?) and death.  So too, about the right to peacefully protest (although that right had been suspended unilaterally by LockDown Governors for the last month or so). We all can agree in condemning the actions of Derek Chauvin. However, it’s when the “protests” turned to fires (both of official government targets and a random assortment of private businesses and residences) and random vandalism that opinion starts to diverge. Many in the media are making connections to QB Colin Kaepernick, saying if we had only listened to him a few years ago, if we had only elevated him to a paid position to promote his cause as an NFL back-up, if we had only given billions to his causes rather than tens of millions, if only – there would be no Trump, no Antifa, but unicorns and rainbows.  Here’s Sally Jenkins in the Washington Post: Two knees. One protesting in the grass, one pressing on the back of a man’s neck. Choose. You have to choose which knee you will defend. There are no half choices; there is no room for indifference. There is only the knee of protest or the knee on the neck.   NFL owners chose the knee on the neck. They did. They may rationalize it as controversy avoidance or respect for the flag or audience mollification or economic strategy or business exigency. But when they collectively ostracized Colin Kaepernick for his protests against police brutality on unarmed black citizens, they chose the wrong knee. They chose the knee on the neck, the knee that pressures, stifles, gags, chokes and silences.   Kaepernick is still so present in the American consciousness that he might as well be playing in the league. Oh, the owners thought they made him disappear with a settlement. But the image of the kneeling, bow-headed Kaepernick becomes newly indicting each time someone is pinned down by a brute in a blue uniform and dies pleading in a street. The owners misidentified the problem, you see. The problem they can’t get rid of isn’t Kaepernick or his knee. It’s themselves. Their own denial, that’s what dogs them.   The result of indifference, evasion and avoidance, of stoppered ears and shaded eyes, is not benign. It leaves people defenseless. Anyone who isn’t against this drumbeat of unredressed wrong is exposed as a guilty abettor. Former NFL player Desmond Marrow was body-slammed to the ground and choked by a Georgia cop, though he was already in handcuffs, over a simple roadside argument. “I thought I was going to die,” he said. Retired tennis star James Blake was tackled and cuffed on a New York City sidewalk simply because his skin color met a criminal description. Jaylan Butler, the only black member of the Eastern Illinois University swim team, had a police gun put to his forehead for wandering too far from a team bus. Matthias Askew, a retired NFL defensive lineman, was plied with a stun gun in front of his ­7-year-old daughter during a traffic stop.   A recent study out of Stanford shows that black drivers are 20 percent more likely to get pulled over than white drivers.   How is this not the NFL’s problem? Seventy-five percent of the league’s players are black.   How are Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd not the NFL’s problem, too?   Kaepernick was treated as un-American and radical simply for asking the question, “Isn’t this lethal racism every American’s problem, and aren’t we letting down our flag by not fulfilling its promise?” Instead of defending him, most NFL owners stood by and quailed or in some cases projected tacit acceptance as Donald Trump called him a son of a bitch and suggested any player who took a knee be thrown out of the country. It was the ugly political version of a chokehold. Oh, the owners protested the “divisive” language. They issued statements. But where was their full-throated resistance to such an obvious, aggressive, bullying wrong?   All those who vilified Kaepernick, where is the same demand for banishment, the same level of ugly feeling, the same red-faced, foaming sense of injury over the insult to America in that video of Floyd’s death, three white cops with all of their weight on his burdened back, grinding him into that pavement?    “I haven’t seen the same OUTRAGE from people of influence when the conversation turns to Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and most recently George Floyd,” Miami Dolphins Coach Brian Flores said in a statement. “Many people who broadcast their opinions on kneeling or on the hiring of minorities don’t seem to have an opinion on the recent murders of these young black men and women. I think many of them QUIETLY say that watching George Floyd plead for help is one of the more horrible things they have seen, but it’s said amongst themselves where no one can hear. Broadcasting THAT opinion clearly is not important enough.”   You know what else isn’t important enough to NFL owners? Curing their abidingly racist hiring practices. There are surely some fine individuals among NFL owners whose hearts burn on the issue of race — the Atlanta Falcons’ Arthur Blank quickly comes to mind — but collectively they act with such lazy consciences that they need “incentives” to address the fundamental disparity of just three black head coaches out of 32.   The truth about Kaepernick is that he’s not a radical or a SOB. He’s a reformer, in the great American tradition. As Frederick Douglass said of reformers, “They see what ought to be by the reflection of what is, and endeavor to remove the contradiction.” The NFL might have been proud of that, but it wasn’t.   You cannot seal off murderous racial injustice in American life, partition it, any more than you can restrict a defective murmur to a single chamber of your own heart. “Do not blink it out of sight,” the great abolitionist Sen. Charles Sumner warned of racial violence at the end of the Civil War. “Approach it. Contemplate it. Study it. Deal with it.” Too many of us have tried to blink it out of sight, and NFL owners more than most. Time and again they have placed race into a separate compartment, tried to soundproof it like their glass-paneled limos, gate it like their subdivisions and say, “This isn’t our problem, it has nothing to do with the game, and don’t make it the problem of our audience, either.”   Colin Kaepernick’s real offense was to open the box and hold up what is in front of the audience, instead of the triumphalist, self-congratulatory image the NFL wanted. The league owners had a chance, with Kaepernick, to be more than hucksters guarding their brands and bottom line. They might have been tremendous influencers on the problem of injustice in this burning moment. They might have been real allies of — and advocates for — their great players. They might have been examples of true, righteous Americanism. They might have been bonders rather than dividers, healers of mistrust. But who would ever buy that now? They missed their chance. They chose the wrong knee. It was a terrible choice. One that may even make you weep. Here is Peter King, who apparently wants former officer Derek Chauvin sent directly to the gas chamber without a trial, as no lawyer should take his case: Taking a stand on increasing minority coaches is applauded, but spurning Kaepernick for exercising his civil rights—that’s a business decision. He was radioactive. No owner wanted to sign a quarterback who the president called a “son of a bitch” and whose signing would anger a sector of the team’s fans, even if that quarterback would be a far better backup than the team currently had, and in some cases a better starter. As former NFL VP of Communications Joe Lockhart wrote for CNN on Saturday, it was widely suspected in the league that signing Kaepernick would have been bad business. So forgive me if I shook my head late Saturday when I read the statement from commissioner Roger Goodell, sending condolences to the family of George Floyd, the Minnesota man who died at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer Monday. “We recognize the power of our platform in communities and as part of the fabric of American society,” the statement read. “We embrace that responsibility and are committed to continuing the important work to address these systemic issues together with our players, clubs and partners.”   The NFL will address the systemic issues—so long as addressing them doesn’t affect the bottom line. We’ll stand up for what’s right and fair, as long as it doesn’t alienate a portion of the fan base.   What percentage of our country loved it when the president called Kaepernick a “son of a bitch?” Thirty percent? More? What percentage hated him taking a knee? Thirty percent? At least. Addressing the systemic issues is fine for the league when it’s something as simple as condemning the killing of a black man by a white police officer. Not so fine, though, when it’s a matter of principle that a third of the country adamantly disagrees with—even if it’s right.   This is a brutal time in our country. I’m white, grew up in a white Connecticut burb, played sports with and against white boys almost exclusively, went to a predominantly white university, worked on predominantly white sports staffs. I can’t know the anger and the fear and the loathing of so many black people as they go about their lives, because it’s not my experience. But the shame I felt when I saw the video of police office Derek Chauvin suffocating the life out of George Floyd last week was devastating. Since that first time seeing and hearing it, my stomach turns when I hear Floyd’s voice—the voice of a man pleading, who knows he’s about to die.   No wonder the black world is so incredibly pissed off at the white world. Black people should be inflamed. We all should be. This isn’t a black/white issue. It’s a human issue. No human being, other than a sick one, should be on Derek Chauvin’s team today.   I was struck by something I heard from a writer I know and respect, Terez Paylor of Yahoo, on his podcast the other day. Paylor is black. Excellent writer; the football-writing world’s in good shape with men like him gaining a national voice. On the pod he said: “Thank God for camera phones, because now we’re starting to see the visual proof of things that we’ve been talking about internally, amongst ourselves, for decades. So this is the mentality, which it is, within in an entire community. [If] you’re tired of hearing about this, I urge you to consider how tired the black players you watch are of complaining about it. That’s why they kneel. That’s been the only reason they kneel. And that’s why Colin Kaepernick’s message continues to resonate among black players.”   Man, I hope we can heal, somehow. Clay Travis sees a contrast in how our media treated the closely-packed masses of Floyd protestors with the behavior of frustrated Americans in general: @ClayTravis A couple of weeks ago blue checkmark brigade told us peaceful people protesting lockdowns were selfish for violating social distancing rules. Now there are infinitely bigger & violent protests & zero blue checkmark brigade comments about social distancing rules being violated.   @ClayTravis So which is it, are all protesters horrible human beings for violating social distancing orders or not? This is why most people don’t trust the media in this country. Because there is zero consistency to their arguments. They pick & choose arguments based entirely on politics.

PETER KING’S PRESEASON 1 TO 32 As Peter King heads to his annual June sabbatical, here is how he, the King of Conventional Wisdom, lines them up in a preseason best to worst (somewhat edited). 1. Kansas City (15-4, won Super Bowl 54 over San Francisco 31-20) I hate picking teams to repeat. It’s happened once this century, and not for the past 15 years. Too much can happen. And the Chiefs absolutely are vulnerable on defense. It’s not a superior defense—31st overall in 2018, 17th last year—but defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo used Chris Jones in the front and Tyrann Mathieu in the back so well last season, all the way through the Super Bowl. All three return. I just love the offense too much to pick anyone else first.   One of the big factors this year is how teams come off the challenges of this unconventional offseason. And in the Chiefs’ case, whether they come back to training camp fat and happy.   2. Baltimore (14-3, lost AFC divisional game to Tennessee 28-12) Thou shalt not overreact to two games. That’s the Eleventh Commandment in Maryland these days. Lamar Jackson has been an amalgam of John Elway and Michael Vick in the regular season, the justifiably unanimous MVP winner in 2019. In postseason home spirit-crushers the last two years, he’s a 51-percent passer with a 68.3 rating. There’s nothing he can do about that till January, and there’s nothing he should do, either. Two games do not make a rule. But it does hang over the Ravens.   Jackson could be better at 23 than he was at 22 if the Ravens can somewhat ably replace one of the best guards of this century, the retired Marshal Yanda; either of the last fourth-round picks, guards Ben Powers or Ben Bredeson, will likely win Yanda’s spot at left guard. In the draft, Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins was a gift at 55 overall—it’s almost ridiculous to think a team that averaged 5.53 yards per rush last year could be improved—and wideout Devin Duvernay a good get at 92 overall.   The AFC North is better with Ben Roethlisberger back and Joe Burrow in it, but I think the Ravens will be neck-and-neck with the Chiefs for best record in the conference—because the AFC West will be markedly improved, and because Baltimore has a favorable end of season: Dallas at home on a Thursday, at Cleveland on a Monday, Jacksonville and the Giants at home, and at Cincinnati. Five straight games to finish against teams that didn’t make the playoffs last year. Baltimore should be 13-3 or better.   3. New Orleans (13-4, lost NFC Wild Card game 26-20 to Minnesota) Endings are not always pretty. Tom Brady’s finale last year, for instance, with the pick-six to Logan Ryan on the last play of his New England career. Brett Favre, on a snowy night in Minnesota, getting concussed in an ugly 40-14 loss to the Bears. And I’ve thought of what this season might be like for Drew Brees in New Orleans, particularly after three straight ignominious ends to Saints seasons. I don’t see another ugly finish from this team, and this coach. Brees is not exactly stumbling into the end, if indeed this is the end; I think it probably is, based on the fact that Brees was so close to walking away in January. In the last two years, he’s had the two most accurate seasons in NFL history, had a combined 59-9 TD-to-interception ratio, and had his best two passer ratings of a 19-year career.   This is mostly the same team that stalled in the Superdome against the Vikings in the wild-card game, except for Jameis Winston as an intriguing backup QB, Emmanuel Sanders as a proven alternative to Michael Thomas, and uber-leader Malcolm Jenkins returning to key the secondary in what could also be his last year. Jenkins is the player Sean Payton always regretted letting get away after spending his first five seasons in New Orleans. It’d be fitting for both Jenkins and Brees to go out on top.   To make it to Super Bowl 55, New Orleans will have to be better than up-and-coming San Francisco and the pesky Bucs. In its last 33 regular-season games, New Orleans is 23-5 against the rest of the league and 3-2 against the Bucs . . . and now Tampa will have Tom Brady playing quarterback. A fascinating January should be on tap, whatever happens.   4. San Francisco (15-4, lost Super Bowl to Kansas City 31-20) There isn’t a team that responded to its problems better than the Niners this offseason. San Francisco needed a left tackle after Joe Staley’s April retirement; GM John Lynch went out and got Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams, cheap. Knowing that he couldn’t pay all his top defensive frontmen, Lynch dealt DeForest Buckner for the 13th pick in the draft—and used that pick on South Carolina DT Javon Kinlaw. And needing a long-term receiver threat, the Niners traded up in the first round for Arizona State wideout Brandon Aiyuk. The one long-term position Lynch needs to attack is the secondary—and not because of the late collapse against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Richard Sherman is 32, and greatness for a corner at 32 cannot be assumed. But a deep defensive front will help any issues defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has in the back end.   The 49ers have an excellent chance to stay atop the tough NFC West, though a Lombardi Trophy will come only with more consistency from Jimmy Garoppolo… The only one who can do anything about this is cool Jimmy G, and I think all the badgering will push him to be better. But we haven’t seen it yet. That’s why the Saints are 3 and Niners 4 in this totally scientific rating of the teams.   5. Tampa Bay (7-9) Last year, my email bag got overstuffed with zingers after I picked the 49ers, coming off 6-10 and 4-12 seasons, number seven in my spring power rankings. You all turned out to be right about my misjudgment of the Niners, sort of. Actually, I underrated them. So I learned my lesson: I’ve inflated the Bucs. It’s part Tom Brady. – – – This is also about the team Brady inherits. Last year, the Bucs entered the final two weeks on a four-game win streak, 7-7, with winnable home games against Houston and Atlanta. Three Jameis Winston picks in the first 16 minutes doomed Tampa against Houston, and Winston’s overtime walkoff pick-six lost the Falcons game. So easily, with just a little ball-security, the Bucs could have been 9-7.   6. Seattle (12-6, lost NFC divisional game at Green Bay 28-23) You might prefer other quarterbacks if you had the first pick in an NFL QB draft. I might too. (Give me Mahomes.) But what Russell Wilson has done in his Seattle tenure is phenomenal. Since making Wilson the third-round pick in 2012, the Seahawks have played 143 games, 15 in the postseason. Wilson has started every one. He’s made the playoffs in seven of his eight seasons, and won at least one playoff game in six of those seven seasons. (In those eight seasons, a total of 400 NFL MVP votes have been cast. Wilson has never gotten one of those MVP votes.) Seattle doesn’t have the greatest offense, or the most explosive numbers, but over the past three seasons, Wilson has thrown 100 touchdown passes and 23 interceptions. He’s the reason, basically, that I have the Seahawks this high in my rankings. He’s been the deodorant for an oft-sketchy offensive line.   7. Tennessee (11-8, lost AFC Championship Game to Kansas City 35-24) I don’t think we appreciate enough what the Titans did after the leaves changed last fall. In the last 10 games, including playoffs, Tennessee was 7-3, averaged 30.6 points per game, traveled to beat the Nos. 3 and 1 seeds in the playoffs, and were down four entering the fourth quarter to the eventual world champions in Kansas City. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill rescued the season in October and compiled the league’s best passer rating in seven years in the process. Derrick Henry was the perfect powerback, going into the wayback machine to run it 386 times in 19 games—for a 5.1-yard average.   What they can do for an encore is hold off Indianapolis (and maybe Houston) for the AFC South title, and maybe get off the 9-7 treadmill. (They’ve been 9-7 four straight years.)   Mike Vrabel’s done a good job with this team—he knew when to pull the plug with the ineffective Marcus Mariota—and with this coaching staff. He brought back Dean Pees to be his defensive coordinator for two needed seasons (Pees retired in January), and promoted the right man, Arthur Smith, to offensive coordinator when Matt LaFleur took the Packers head-coaching job last year. Smith was imaginative and superb in his first year running the offense. There’s no reason why it won’t continue.   8. Las Vegas Raiders (7-9) This is going to be a fun floor show in the new Allegiant Stadium, in the first year ever for an NFL franchise in Nevada. A shame, really, that crowds may not be able to flock to see this team due to the pandemic. What fun it could be, with the speedy Henry Ruggs III paired with returning Tyrell Williams and Hunter Renfrow—and with twin third-round picks Lynn Bowden and Bryan Edwards fighting for receiver snaps too. Tight end Darren Waller is an emerging star and could get a few snaps stolen by in-the-twilight Jason Witten with a strange stop, at 38, on his late-career tour.   GM Mike Mayock paid so much attention to the offense because it was simply too inconsistent last year; the Raiders scored 24 points or less each week in the last six, going 1-5 down the stretch. – – – There’s a good chance that the significantly better AFC West will neuter the progress the Raiders, Chargers and Broncos have made, because they’ll all unmistakably improved. But this first edition of an NFL team in Vegas is a fascinating one.   9. Dallas (8-8) So now we’ll find out how much Mike McCarthy really learned in that gap year in his luxury garage in Green Bay. [Trust me: I was there. Having a luxe office space upstairs and an indoor full-court basketball floor downstairs makes it pretty darn nice.] On his desk in that garage was a sign that said LESS VOLUME, MORE CREATIVITY. Which is a smart thing for a man who, with Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback, was 23-23-1 in his last three Green Bay coaching seasons. McCarthy didn’t like how in Green Bay he got away from the quarterback being under center; he’d rather play the QB under center 50 or 60 percent of the time to take advantage of stressers for the defense—play-action especially but also the relatively nouveau threat of the Jet Sweep. He’ll have much better weapons to use with the Cowboys, led by CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup at receiver and Ezekiel Elliott in the backfield.   I still feel like the Cowboys would have been wiser to go defense with the pick that nabbed Lamb—even better, a trade-down to get a corner and a safety in rounds one and two—after losing sack leader Robert Quinn and top cornerback Byron Jones in free agency. Dak Prescott certainly can win his share of 33-30 games; now, for the Cowboys to beat Philadelphia for the NFC East crown, he’ll have to. I think the Cowboys are the team to beat in the division, but one of the toughest November/December slates in football (Eagles twice, Steelers and Niners at home, Ravens and Vikings away) will make it very difficult.   10. Pittsburgh (8-8) One day I’ll understand team-building. One big thing that I didn’t quite get this offseason is Pittsburgh GM Kevin Colbert, one of the best team architects in the NFL, not backstopping Ben Roethlisberger with a better backup. – – – If Roethlisberger can return as Roethlisberger (“I’m throwing without pain for the first time in years,” he said this spring) and play a full season, he’s got two significant weapons added to his arsenal: 238-pound rookie receiver Chase Claypool and free-agent tight end Eric Ebron. The defense, with ace safety Minkah Fitzpatrick likely better after being thrown into the starting lineup with the September trade from Miami, should be a top-five NFL D again.   11. Minnesota (11-7, lost NFC divisional game to San Francisco 27-10) I love the deal GM Rick Spielman made prior to the draft, sending 26-year-old Stefon Diggs and a seventh-rounder to Buffalo for first, fourth, fifth and sixth-round draft picks, then choosing LSU slot receiver Justin Jefferson (who turns 21 in two weeks) with the 22nd pick. – – – Dalvin Cook could win a rushing title with his ability and the Minnesota love of the run. I’d be more worried about the run defense than the run offense. Minnesota allowed 4.3 yards per attempt last year, leading to a swap of free-agent run-stoppers: Linval Joseph out, Michael Pierce in. – – – I like the Vikings, but this is a team with some defensive questions.   12. Green Bay (14-4, lost NFC Championship 34-20 to San Francisco) Eyebrow-raising over/under bet of the 2020 NFL teams (to me): Green Bay came out of the chute at 8.5 wins, and is now, depending on the book, at 9 or 9.5. Interesting, after the Pack went 13-3 in Matt LaFleur’s first regular season. It’s probably because the Packers used many of the nine lives last year—nine of their 14 victories (including 28-23 over Seattle in the playoffs) were one-score games. But you could also say that a supremely motivated Aaron Rodgers (perhaps out to stick it to GM Brian Gutekunst for drafting his supposed heir, Jordan Love, in the first round this year) will be better in year two under LaFleur than the 62-percent passer he was in 2019.   The strangest thing of the Packers’ offseason, to me, wasn’t picking a young passer. It was ignoring the receiver position (other than picking up the marginal Devin Funchess). – – – Gutekunst—give him credit—did hit two defensive home runs last season with linebackers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith (25.5 combined sacks) in free agency. Those signings mean Rodgers doesn’t have to put up crazy numbers. I feel good about Green Bay being a playoff team, but we’ll see if they have enough firepower to compete with the explosive teams of the league.   13. Buffalo (10-7, lost AFC wild-card game 22-19 at Houston) “We gotta score more points,” GM Brandon Beane said this offseason. One more TD in January would have helped. The Bills led Houston 16-0 with 20 minutes to play five months ago, but the NFL’s 23rd-ranked scoring offense managed zero touchdowns in the last 68 minutes of that game. That dictated a desperate move by GM Brandon Beane. He dealt first, fifth and sixth-round picks this year and a fourth next year for Stefon Diggs (three-year average: 76 catches, 1,000 yards, eight TDs) and a seven, which is a heavy price, particularly in a year with such strong receiving stock in the draft. Diggs will be judged on whether he can lift an offense in a slumber. But if any of the receivers available with the 22nd pick that Buffalo deal to the Vikes—Justin Jefferson, Brandon Aiyuk, Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman—turn into stars, Diggs had better be one in Buffalo. – – – I think Buffalo’s the best team in the division with one proviso: Allen must be better. But I’m counting on the weaponry around Allen and what’s going to be a top five D to be the difference. There’s a reason the NFL made the Bills a prime-time team this year, with four night games—three coming in the last five weeks. The league thinks the Bills will be in the pennant race all season, as do I.   14. Indianapolis (7-9) The noise in Indianapolis this offseason has centered around the acquisitions of one-year fix-it quarterback Philip Rivers (and for one season and $25 million, he’d better fix it), top-three-NFL defensive tackle DeForest Buckner in a trade from San Francisco and wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. with the Colts first choice in the draft. All good additions, to be sure. But the pickup that struck me was second-round running back Jonathan Taylor. When I spoke to him on draft weekend, he said, “I got picked by the perfect team for me.” – – – I’m bullish on the Colts. I think they’re a playoff team, perhaps a division championship team if Rivers returns to form. By the way, I found it odd that, even with the Rivers and Buckner additions before the schedule was announced, the NFL didn’t give the Colts a Thursday or Sunday game; their lone primetime show is a Monday-nighter in Week 10 at Tennessee. I’ll bet that gets mentioned to the team 16 or 18 times by Frank Reich in the next few months.   15. Philadelphia (9-8, lost NFC wild-card game 17-9 to Seattle) What a hard-to-read team. So many “yeah, buts.” The biggest: Eagles were 5-7 last year and needed to win four in a row to ensure a playoff spot—and did . . . but the beat-up offense scored 10, 9 and 9 points against playoff teams in the last eight games. Everything was a struggle last year. But quarterback Carson Wentz had a mostly redemptive season, playing all 17 games after missing the ends of the previous two years with injuries.   Wisely, GM Howie Roseman decided to stock up to help the offense, drafting wideout Jalen Reagor, who needs to be impactful from day one, and quarterback Jalen Hurts, who needs to be impactful in season one. For five years, the Eagles kept hoping Nelson Agholor would be something more than a complementary piece, but he never was. He’s gone, and now Reagor needs to show up from day one.   I’m amazed at the anti-Hurts sentiment out there. Dinosaur thinking, I believe. Baltimore loved Jalen Hurts, for instance. Not saying the Ravens would have taken him, particularly with J.K. Dobbins left on the board, but Baltimore wouldn’t have been afraid to insert him in the offense six or eight plays a game to scare the crap out of the defense. Same with Doug Pederson, who can handle the mental state of Wentz and be sure he knows that all Hurts can do is make Wentz better.   16. Los Angeles Rams (9-7) I like them more than most. But in reality, it’s hard to know what to make of this team after the major makeover this year. Has there been a team in NFL history with a coaching braintrust this young—Sean McVay 34, offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell 35, defensive coordinator Brandon Staley 37? If the Rams return to the playoffs this year, Jared Goff will have to have a turnaround season, and that’s an iffy proposition. – – – Solidifying the middle of the line, which the Rams think they’ve done after last year’s interior mess on offense, should help Goff. And I think the addition of O’Connell, who can be the alter-ego of McVay and a hard teacher like him, gives Goff a good chance to reclaim what he had. We’ll see. All that’s riding on Goff is the near future of the new anchor tenant of SoFi Stadium, the first new NFL palace to be built in Los Angeles since forever.   17. Chicago (8-8) Good on GM Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy to address the elephant in the room by trading for Nick Foles, who might have been the perfect veteran quarterback candidate for the Bears. Foles needs to be one of two things: a Josh McCown-type tutor/mentor for Mitchell Trubisky, or a 16-game starter who can lead the Bears to 10 wins and a playoff spot. Foles can be either—and he won’t be all mopey in any way if he has to sit and help Trubisky reclaim a foundering career. “We’re going to be very honest and open with them,” Nagy said of the QBs. That’s all Trubisky can ask in year four.   Regardless of the outcome of the QB competition—my money is on Foles—the Bears have to forget Trubisky’s head space and roar into a winnable, manageable season. Chicago doesn’t play a 2019 playoff team in its seven games before Halloween, and by the time a killer November (Saints, at Titans, Vikings, at Packers) rolls around, the quarterback dilemma should be solved. I’m more bullish on the Bears than many, in part, because the defensive front should be as good as it was in 2018.   18. Arizona (5-10-1) In all the excitement about the offensively intriguing Cardinals—has there ever been the kind of national sis-boom-bah about a team coming off a five-win season?—it’s good to remember a couple of things. As compelling as the Kyler/Kliff Kards are entering year two of their marriage, they were 21st in total yards and 16th in points last year, and 29th in Red Zone efficiency. But I have them rising nonetheless. Kliff Kingsbury, though no one believed him, kept saying last year the key to his offense was the run game, and he proved it: Only one team had a better per-carry average than Arizona’s 5.03 yards. – – – I’d have had the Cards higher if I trusted the defense (28th in points allowed, 32nd in yards allowed in ’19). Other than Joe Burrow, Isaiah Simmons is probably the rookie with the most juice in the NFL entering the season. Will he be an enforcer safety? A hybrid safety/linebacker who, in a pinch, lines up in the slot? Strictly linebacker? Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph seems inclined to make him a linebacker as a rookie, which, in this odd offseason without much onfield practice time to experiment, might make the most sense. Putting Simmons in the middle of the defense could still enable the Cards to play a bunch of imbalanced defenses, with Simmons still able to spy or cover or blitz. So many interesting teams to watch in 2020 . . . Arizona’s in the top five.   19. Miami (5-11) Most Overused Peter King Stat of the Offseason . . . 2019 records (including playoffs) since Halloween: Miami 5-4, New England 4-5. And then the Dolphins added an electric quarterback, half the Patriots roster, and reinforcements for the offensive line. I look at the two coordinators Brian Flores let go with a mixture of suspicion and praise. Chad O’Shea’s offense may or may not have been too encyclopedic, and Patrick Graham may or may not have meshed with Flores’ defensive philosophy totally, but I like a coach who has the guts to open himself up for criticism for having two new coordinators (the offensively simplistic Chan Gailey and Josh Boyer) in year two.   As for who plays quarterback: Around the draft, I kept hearing Miami’s the perfect place for Tua Tagovailoa, because he can take a redshirt year to get his ankles and surgically repaired hip absolutely perfect for 2021. So Tua behind Ryan Fitzpatrick was the perfect scenario. It could be, but not because the Dolphins drafted him to take a rehab season. If we learned one thing from watching Flores last year, when half his roster got traded to get in position to have the first pick in the draft, he’s not coaching for next year. He could have played Josh Rosen and likely won less and been in the derby for Joe Burrow. But Flores showed last year he coaches for this week, this minute. If Tagovailoa’s better in August (assuming there’s a typical August in the NFL), he’ll play over Fitzpatrick. If he’s not better, he won’t.   20. Denver (7-9) Denver’s gone 5-11, 6-10 and 7-9 in the last three years, and those three losing seasons match the total of the Broncos’ previous 22 years. Which is why the emergency button has been pressed in the office of franchise architect John Elway. The Broncos acquired some short-term adrenalin for the defense in trades—defensive tackle Jurrell Casey and cornerback A.J. Bouye, and Bradley Chubb comes back to try to fulfill the pass-rush promise that he flashed briefly as a rookie since he was the fifth overall pick two years ago. I trust Vic Fangio to put together a defense at least as solid as last year, when the Broncos held eight of their last 12 foes to 20 points or less. Fangio will be tested early: Denver opens with the resurgent Titans, Steelers and Bucs in the first three weeks. Derrick Henry, Big Ben and Tom Brady. Some tests.   Of course, Elway decided to try to match nuclear arsenals in Kansas City in the offseason, adding receivers Jerry Jeudy and speedy K.J. Hamler with the first two picks—Fangio’s a pretty magnanimous head coach to continue to see Elway building the offense and not jump on the table for prime defensive draft pieces—and plucking Melvin Gordon from the Chargers in free agency. Denver may have the best young skill group in the NFL, with Jeudy, Hamler, Courtland Sutton and DaeSean Hamilton at wideout, Noah Fant at tight end and Gordon to supplement two-time 1,000-yard rusher Phillip Lindsay in the backfield. Few quarterbacks have as much pressure entering this season as Drew Lock, the 2018 second-rounder with all of five NFL starts to his name.   This is going to be a fun team to watch. I could see the Broncos, in a rising division, anywhere between second and fourth, anywhere between six and 11 wins.   21. New England (12-5, lost AFC wild-card game to Tennessee 20-13) Well, Bill Belichick and the Patriots are set up to answer the age-old question: Can Belichick win without Tom Brady? In regular-season games in his coaching career, Belichick’s teams are 219-64 with Brady starts, and 54-63 when he doesn’t. Without Brady, Belichick’s won at a .462 clip. With Brady, it’s .774.   This year reminds me of Belichick’s first year or two in New England, when he and Scott Pioli got the cap right by making do with lesser players and the highest-paid player in football, Drew Bledsoe. By 2002, it was Brady’s team, and he flourished. Now, after jettisoning Brady, Rob Gronkowski, center Ted Karras, kicker Stephen Gostkowski and keystone linebackers Kyle Van Noy, Elandon Roberts and Jamie Collins, Belichick and Nick Caserio can clean out the cap and rebuild.   The reviews on the 133rd pick in the 2019 draft, Jarrett Stidham, are good, but the shadow of the 199th pick in 2000 will always be a long one for anyone who plays quarterback in New England.   22. Houston (11-7, lost AFC divisional game 51-31 at Kansas City) Not much has gone right for the Texans in 2020. It started with getting totally embarrassed, outscored 51-7 in the last 40 minutes of the playoff debacle at Kansas City. It continued with the trade of a top-three NFL receiver, DeAndre Hopkins, to Arizona for 55 cents on the dollar. Left with one draft choice in the top 80, Houston used it to replace D.J. Reader, a defensive tackle lost in free agency to Cincinnati, with TCU’s Ross Blacklock. The Texans acquired a pair of vet receivers, Brandin Cooks (on his fourth team at 26) and Randall Cobb, for Deshaun Watson.   But the Texans’ path to the playoffs will depend on the defense, which sunk from 12th in 2018 to 28th last year, then gave up four touchdowns in 10 minutes in the collapse at Kansas City. New defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver takes over for Romeo Crennel, and he has to wonder which J.J. Watt will play this year—the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, or the one who’s missed 32 of the last 64 games with injuries. – – – The Texans should know where they stand by the end of September. They open against the last two MVPs—at Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson at home—before traveling to play the rehabbed Ben Roethlisberger and one of the best defenses in football.   23. Los Angeles Chargers (5-11) The NFL’s schedule release showed what it thinks of the Chargers: an October Monday night AT the Saints, a December Thursday night game AT the Raiders. In other words, the league thinks the Chargers will rebound from 5-11 with two new quarterbacks and a retooled defense, but skepticism of the home crowd at new SoFi Stadium, or lack thereof, put them on the road for the two prime-timers. The Chargers could be eighth in these rankings and they could be 24th . . . so much depends on how Tyrod Taylor (31 on opening day) plays early.   Let’s reflect on Taylor’s three-year run as Buffalo’s starter after backing up Joe Flacco in Baltimore for four years. A 63-percent passer, not a risk-taker, 51 touchdowns, 16 picks, 92.5 rating, rushed for between 420 and 580 yards each year, let go after leading the Bills to the playoffs in 2017 but scoring just three points in the postseason loss at Jacksonville. Always well-liked by his mates. “The players here respect the hell out of him,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. But when you draft a quarterback (Justin Herbert) sixth overall, it’s pretty clear your team retains doubts about the incumbent.   As for Herbert, this is a perfect spot for him. He’s a West Coast kid, never lived anywhere but Oregon, and now his practice facility and agents and friends are in Orange County. Should be a good learning environment.   24. Cleveland (6-10) Since the turn of the century, the Patriots have had one coach (obviously) and the Browns 12. Kevin Stefanski’s the 12th, and that has nothing to do with 2020. I just raise the issue because Bill Belichick been the coach of the Patriots that long, in large part, because he partnered with a quarterback he got the most out of. That’s precisely how Stefanski will be able to avoid being the typical Browns’ short-termer.   25. Atlanta (7-9) The Falcons have started 4-9 and 1-7 in the last two years, so it’s easy to say, Just start faster. Opening with Seattle, Dallas, Chicago and Green Bay might make that tough. And another strong finish might be tough too, with Atlanta capping this season against Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady. (Strange schedule: Atlanta doesn’t see Brady till Christmas week, then faces him twice in 15 days.)   The Falcons have surrendered 25.7 points per game over the past two years, and the hope is that new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris—his last DC job was at Kansas State in 2007—will mix new pieces to overhaul a disappointing unit. – – – There was general surprise when owner Arthur Blank gave Dan Quinn a sixth season to get Atlanta back to prominence. Give the Falcons credit for not being knee-jerk after a 6-2 finish. But I doubt Blank will be as patient with another sub-.500 finish.   26. Detroit (3-12-1) Big year for lots of people in Detroit. Matt Patricia, in his two seasons as coach, is 9-22-1 and has finished last in the division both years. This is Matthew Stafford’s 12th year in Detroit since being the first overall pick in the 2009 draft. The Lions haven’t won a playoff games since he arrived, and haven’t hosted one either. He was off to a good start before a back injury kayoed him after eight games last year, on pace for a 5,000-yard season. Now, Stafford is 32, and the Lions have done nothing with his prime. He’s got a strong receiver group—Kenny Golladay is one of the NFL’s untrumpeted gems—and should be primed for a strong year.   I won’t be shocked if Detroit contends, because the Lions will score. The big question is the D.   27. Cincinnati (2-14) When the Bengals released Andy Dalton in late April, it was one of the great shows of confidence in a draft choice in recent years. – – – So many ifs in Cincinnati, and a single player can’t fix it all. But Burrow’s will should push the Cincinnati culture north.   28. New York Jets (7-9) The Jets had one of the most deceiving years in the league, finishing 6-2 in their last eight games while facing only one premier team—Baltimore. Otherwise, they beat Daniel Jones, Dwayne Haskins, Derek Carr (in one of the great no-show East Coast games by a Raider team in history), Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mason Rudolph and Josh Allen, and got creamed by the Bengals. The Jets spent huge on Le’Veon Bell and then rushed for 78.6 yards a game as a team, 31st in the league; I don’t see a vast improvement.   Sam Darnold looked like a golden boy some weeks and Mitchell Trubisky in others.   29. Carolina Panthers (5-11) Nobody’s saying it loudly, but I’m pretty sure it’s on the minds of most Carolinians inside and outside the Panthers: Tank for Trevor. Except losing to get in draft position for Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence is not very easy, and I doubt it happens in this case. It’s true that Matt Rhule bottomed out at both Temple (2-10) and Baylor (1-11) in his first seasons in his two college jobs, but I don’t see how these Panthers can go 1-15 and fall into Lawrence. Christian McCaffery’s not going to purposely suck for the first time in his life; the third player in history to rush and catch for 1,000 yards in a season has played in all 49 games since being the eighth pick in the 2017 draft. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady and QB coach Jake Peetz, who are very good schemers, are not going to get Teddy Bridgewater ready to fail.   30. New York Giants (4-12) Steelers, Niners, Rams, Cowboys in the first month, and Seattle, Baltimore and Dallas in the last month: Welcome to the new job, Joe Judge. The Giants are pretty far removed from being any sort of factor in the NFL. The last playoff win was the Super Bowl trimming of the Patriots nine seasons ago. – – – I trust the Giants to score. I don’t trust them to defend.   31. Washington (3-13) Not many teams have the potential pass-rush juice of the Chase Young/Montez Sweat/Ryan Kerrigan trio. The defensive front is about the end of the good news here. Ron Rivera and new VP of Player Personnel Kyle Smith have a major rebuilding job to remake this roster. That starts at quarterback. This is a prove-it year for Dwayne Haskins.   32. Jacksonville (6-10) I’m sure if Vegas has such a toteboard, it’d list Doug Marrone with the best odds of any NFL coach to be fired this season. It’s hard to blame him for the mass exodus of good players (Ramsey, Campbell, Bouye, Dareus, Foles) from the Jags. Still, Jacksonville is 11-22 since the day of the blown 10-point fourth-quarter lead in the 2017 AFC Championship Game at Foxboro, and at some point soon, the coach has to pull his team out of that to keep being the coach.   Marrone will need a good season from starter Gardner Minshew and a new coordinator (Jay Gruden) and QB coach (Ben McAdoo) for this team to have any chance to survive. There’s a good young nucleus on defense—pass-rushers Josh Allen and K’Lavon Chaisson, linebacker Myles Jack and cornerback C.J. Henderson, though it’s hard to predict that two rookies will hit the ground running the way Allen did as a rookie last year. I wonder which lucky GM and coach will get handed Trevor Lawrence if the Jags are truly awful this year.