THE BEST NFL SLEEPERS FOR THIS SEASON via THE SMART MONEY #LCB2018

The kickoff to the 2018 NFL Season is only 70 days away. It's a perfect time to look at some teams that could turn out to be this year's “sleeper”. Every year there are teams that seemingly come out of nowhere to have big impacts on the season. Here are 6 teams that missed the playoffs last year but Lock City thinks could emerge as potential players in the 2018 NFL postseason. Watch out for these “sleepers”. AFC LOS ANGELES CHARGERS 2017 record 9-7. After dropping their first 4 games the Chargers rebounded strongly to have a respectable 2017 season. They finished the season by winning 6 of their last 7 games. Lock City experts expect them to carry that momentum into the upcoming season in a big way. The Chargers are still a great value at 20-1 to win the Super Bowl but they have emerged as the Vegas favorites to win the AFC West. The Chargers have a very talented offense that can put points on the board with ease when they're clicking. And they have a defense that can get after the passer. That's a recipe to thrive in this league. This team has all the pieces to win their division & make a deep postseason run in 2018. HOUSTON TEXANS 2017 record 4-12 Derrick Deshaun Watson was an absolute BEAST last year until he suffered that mid-season ACL injury during practice. He was on a historic pace as he had 19 TDs after 7 games. That number led the entire league. He was one yard shy of 1,700 yards too. He was a fantasy superstar in the making. In the 5 games before his injury Houston put up 33 points at New England, 57 versus Tennessee, 34 versus K.C., 33 against Cleveland, then 38 at Seattle. Deshaun was a legitimate MVP candidate. Need proof? After his injury the team lost 8 of their last 9 games. If Watson returns to play like he did last season then the sky is the limit for this offense this year. DeAndre Hopkins bounced back in a huge way last year too. He benefited more than anyone with Watson under center. He's a legit number one receiver again. And with Watt, Mercilus and Clowney anchoring the front 7 this team can make a postseason run. DENVER BRONCOS 2017 record 5-11 The Broncos started last season strong. They headed into their week 5 bye with a 3-1 record. Then things went dramatically downhill as they only won 2 games the rest of the year. Their season fell apart after that bye week, losing the next 8 contests. But 2018 could emerge as a different story. The Broncos have always had a talented roster. And they have always had a very talented defense in particular. The problem in Denver the last few seasons is obvious. When Peyton Manning retired after winning Super Bowl 50 the team struggled to find a suitable replacement at the QB position. This offseason the team added former Vikings signal caller Case Keenum. He was very solid in Minnesota and could stabilize the position for the Broncos. If so this team has the potential to emerge from their 5 win season in a big way. They have talented wide outs and they added the steal of the draft in Bradley Chubb, the pass rusher from Georgia. He should add a lethal element to an already dangerous rush. NFC DETROIT LIONS 2017 record 9-7 The Detroit Lions are in a division with the Vikings and Aaron Rodgers. That's tough. But they are an incredible 50-1 underdogs to win the Super Bowl and 33-1 underdogs to win the NFC. We think they're better than that. In fact we KNOW they are. They're still led by a true franchise QB in Matthew Stafford. And they used their first round pick on Center Frank Ragnow who should help stabilize the offensive line. That will help the entire offense. This team had some nice wins last year. They beat Green Bay twice. And they were the only team who could beat the Vikings in Minnesota. And in three losses they scored 26 points against Atlanta, 38 on the road against New Orleans, and scored 23 points at home in their other game against the Vikings. All three of those were playoff teams last year. Detroit has a tough hill to climb. But if the pieces fall in place this team has the potential to shock some people. We have a very good feeling that they will. NEW YORK GIANTS 2017 record 3-13 The Giants went 11-5 in the 2016 season, making the playoffs as a wild card. They followed that up with a disastrous 2017 campaign. They finished with a dismal 3-13 record. The nightmare season cost head coach Ben McAdoo his job as the team opted to replace him with former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. Despite the dramatic slide we think New York has a chance to turn things around in 2018. The Giants will welcome back superstar WR Odell Beckham Jr. with open arms. His early season-ending injury helped fuel the Giants downfall. They also will add Penn State RB Saquon Barkley to the offense. A lot of people had him listed as the best player in the draft and the Giants took him with the 2nd overall selection. Recent history is on the side of a New York rebound season as well. Since the year 2000 teams that draft a RB in the top 5 on average add almost 5 more wins the following season, more than any other position. The Giants play in a division with the emerging the World Champion Philadelphia Eagles so it won't be easy to make the playoffs. But this team could be a lot better. Keep your eye on them. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 2017 record 6-10 The 49ers started the 2017 campaign off with 9 straight loses. It looked like they were on their way to battling the woeful Cleveland Browns all season long for the right to make the first overall selection in April's Draft. But the team finished very strong as they won their last 5 games. They found their QB in Jimmy Garoppolo after they traded for him during the season. Garoppolo has a 7-0 career record as a starter and has shown significant signs that he is a franchise caliber quarterback. He better be. San Francisco signed him to a 5 year $137.5 million dollar contract. General Manager John Lynch is building this team into a contender. This team could battle the Rams for the AFC West if they continue the momentum they established at the end of last season.