The 2024 season has begun. The Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs kick things off tonight, followed by a Friday night duel between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles.

Without wasting any time, let’s take a look at The athleteNFL staff picks for MVP, Super Bowl champion and more.

42 employees responded (some chose not to answer everything, so there aren’t always 42 answers). Here’s what they thought.

Patrick Mahomes has already won the award twice – in 2018 and 2022 – so why not a third time as the Kansas City Chiefs look to win their third straight? Our staff overwhelmingly selected the soon-to-be 29-year-old quarterback for just that.

Although quarterbacks dominated our MVP voting, they lagged in this category. Tyreek Hill finished fourth in the AP Offensive Player of the Year voting last season and was second last season when he led the league with 1,799 receiving yards, 13 TDs and a career-high 112.4 receiving yards per game. Our team believes he will continue his dominance in catching passes from Tua Tagovailoa in Mike McDaniel’s offense in Miami.

In his three NFL seasons, Micah Parsons finished second, second and third in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. His sack numbers have increased each year — from 13 to 13 1/2 to 14 — and all signs point to the former Penn State star linebacker breaking out in 2024. Myles Garrett won last season after a 14-sack season that followed five consecutive seasons of double-digit sack numbers. It looks like a battle between Parsons and Garrett early in the season, and we’ll see the two on the same field on Sunday when the Cowboys visit the Browns.

Six quarterbacks were selected among the first 12 picks of the 2024 NFL Draft, and three are among the five rookies who received votes from our team in that category. No. 1 pick Caleb Williams received 31 of 42 total votes. Expectations for the Bears quarterback are high, to say the least.

As long as Mahomes is in Kansas City, that seems like the safest bet. The Chiefs have won the last two Super Bowls, three of the last five, and have played in four of the last five. Mahomes has been named MVP in every Super Bowl victory the Chiefs have had. The Bengals and Texans both received four votes. Cincinnati lost the 2021 Super Bowl to the Los Angeles Rams, and the Texans have not reached a conference title game since joining the league in 2002.

The Lions made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2016 and reached the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991 – losing 34-31 to the 49ers. Can Dan Campbell lead Detroit to the first Super Bowl in franchise history? According to our editors, the Packers and 49ers will not make it easy for them.

Surprise… it’s the Chiefs. OK, that’s not really a surprise. But that’s what happens when you win two Super Bowls in a row and have Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Chris Jones on your side. The 49ers finished with the second-most votes, which is fitting after losing to the Chiefs in overtime in last season’s Super Bowl.

Kansas City had the most votes in the three games, receiving votes against six different opponents. However, our team likes the Chiefs-Lions matchup the most, followed by Chiefs-Packers and a Chiefs-49ers rematch. The best Super Bowls without the Chiefs? Texans vs. Eagles and Bengals vs. Lions.

What they said

“Mike McCarthy. McCarthy has proven he can win in the regular season with three consecutive 12-5 seasons. But that regular season success hasn’t translated to the playoffs. If that doesn’t change, the Cowboys coach will.” — Dan Duggan, Giants writer

“Nick Sirianni. If you fire and replace both of your coordinators, you’re under pressure. You have to win or get fired yourself.” — Adam Jahns, Bears author

“Robert Saleh. He’s entering his fourth year in New York with a record of 18-33. Saleh’s personality and his place in the league’s most famous city give him more prestige than his results. With Aaron Rodgers back from injury, Saleh and the Jets have no excuses. If this team doesn’t get going, there will be big changes in New York.” — Josh Kendall, Falcons writer

“Sean McDermott. He only gets a limited number of chances with Josh Allen to prove he can get the Bills back to the Super Bowl.” — Paul Dehner Jr., Bengals writer

“Mike McCarthy: He has 36 regular season wins and one playoff win in the last three seasons and his contract as coach under Bill Belichick is expiring. That’s a lot of pressure.” — Jeff Howe, NFL writer

“Robert Saleh. If he can’t win this season with this defense and a healthy Aaron Rodgers, he may not keep his job much longer.” — Adam Hirshfield, NFL editor

“Nick Sirianni. Was the collapse in the second half of last season a fluke or the sign of a bigger problem? The Eagles are talented, but a slow start will put more pressure on the manager.” — Doug Haller, Cardinals writer

“Dave Canales. He is the least proven head coach in the league in terms of overall performance, which means he has the most to prove. There are other coaches who face more pressure this season, but they are much more experienced/proven.” — Mike Sando, NFL writer

“Dennis Allen. The Saints are on the short list of mediocre teams that could hit rock bottom this year as some of their top talent gets older and a little worse. They have issues at the quarterback position and could have problems on both the offensive line and defensive line. New Orleans seems a little sluggish, and Allen needs to prove that’s not the case.” — Joe Buscaglia, Bills writer

What they said

“Arizona. Last year the culture was established, now the talent level has increased with Kyler Murray for a whole season.” — Stretcher

“The Falcons are in a really good position. The mood in the building with Raheem Morris is through the roof, and Kirk Cousins ​​​​and OC Zac Robinson should really help the skill players shine. They’re also in a division where they have a very good chance of winning.” — Howe

“Tennessee Titans because they will be forging their way into the AFC South and having a chance at the playoffs after an aggressive offseason that followed another season of double-digit losses.” — Mike Jones, NFL writer

“Denver Broncos. I’m convinced the Sean Payton-Bo Nix pairing will work well. I’m not a fan of the skill position players around Nix, but it’s the first time since Payton coached Drew Brees that he has full confidence in a quarterback. I could see a second place finish in the AFC West and a possible wild card spot.” — Larry Holder, NFL writer

“The Chargers – they have the talent to turn things around and they have a head coach who knows how to win.” – Dan Pompei, NFL writer

“Cardinals. I’m going to dig deep on this one because anyone can say Bears. But the Cardinals could be a secret team for the biggest turnaround, even if they’re still far from being a serious contender. In Jonathan Gannon’s first season as head coach, they were more competitive than the typical 4-13 team. They were also 1-8 without Kyler Murray and 3-5 after he returned to the lineup. A healthy Murray combined with Marvin Harrison Jr. could turn things around quickly for the Cardinals.” — Duggan

“Seattle Seahawks. Geno Smith should recover well this season and the Seahawks’ defense should be much better positioned under new head coach Mike Macdonald with more young players. The Seahawks also have a very good game plan that should give them a shot at the playoffs.” — Nate Taylor, Chiefs writer

“Falcons. Atlanta gets a new coach in Raheem Morris with strong defensive performance and leadership skills and a proven quarterback in Kirk Cousins ​​​​to work with up-and-coming playmakers Bijan Robinson and Drake London. It also helps that the Falcons play in the NFC South.” — Joe Person, Panthers writer

“Washington. The Commanders only won four games last year. I think they could double that win total and maybe challenge for the NFC East title if things go badly for the Eagles and Cowboys. Dan Quinn is improving the defense and Jayden Daniels is showing they have a franchise QB.” — Jon Machota, Cowboys writer

(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The athlete; Photos: Todd Rosenberg, Cooper Neill, Kara Durrette / Getty Images)