4 legitimate playoff sleepers for the 2021 NFL season
The 49ers and Patriots are obvious sleeper picks to make the playoffs ... but what about the real sleepers?
If you polled the fans of the 18 NFL teams that failed to make the playoffs in 2020, I’d guess that 16 of them would tell you that things would change in 2021. Outside of the Texans, who should probably just take a year off, and the Lions, who seem fully committed to a one-year tank, every other team seems to have realistic playoff aspirations.
Now, some of those aspirations are more realistic than others. The 49ers and Patriots, having been decimated by injuries and COVID a year ago, should be feeling pretty good about their chances of turning things around. But nobody would be surprised if either team made the playoffs in 2021. Just like nobody was surprised when the Bucs ended their postseason drought in 2020.
So for this exercise of picking out playoff sleepers, I’m ignoring any team with odds better than +200 (or 2/1) to make the postseason. So no 49ers (-177), Patriots (+132), Dolphins (+130) or Chargers (+149).
Now, I’m not advising you to put any money down on these teams. Just don’t be surprised if they crash the postseason party next January. Teams are ordered based on my confidence in them…