2025 NFL schedule: J.J. McCarthy, Travis Hunter among most anticipated Week 1 debuts 

The Vikings are one of the teams with a new starting quarterback this year after they let Sam Darnold walk in free agency, opening the door for J.J. McCarthy. The second-year pro missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury and has received nothing but praise from head coach Kevin O'Connell as he works toward his return to the field. McCarthy is the perfect signal-caller for O'Connell's scheme because of his mobility, processing ability and accuracy. Of course, it helps that the Vikings did some major work on the offensive line to make him feel more comfortable. McCarthy is set up to succeed in an offense full of big-time playmakers, including Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson and Aaron Jones. 

I’m most excited to see the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner, Travis Hunter, make his NFL debut. You know, the guy who has a chance to alter the sport itself, according to Jaguars general manager James Gladstone, who, in his first draft on the job, mortgaged the future to trade up for him. Will Jacksonville use Hunter at wide receiver and cornerback right away? If he majors in offense, as expected, how much will he be utilized on D? Will he immediately live up to the unprecedented hype that will follow him into the league? We might be on the verge of seeing something that’s never been done in the NFL’s modern era. Get your popcorn ready.

Ben Johnson was the hottest name in the head coach hiring cycle and he’s taking over a team that was supposed to do big things last year with 2024 first overall pick Caleb Williams operating at quarterback. The Bears have done plenty to help Johnson succeed this offseason, including rebuilding their interior offensive line, selecting a couple playmakers in the draft (tight end Colston Loveland and wideout Luther Burden III) and adding more talent to the defensive line. All Johnson has to do now is go out and win consistently in the extremely competitive NFC North. It won’t be an easy task but Week 1 will give us some idea of where Johnson can take this group.

The Commanders made it to the NFC title game on the back of Jayden Daniels' transcendent rookie campaign. They've made several key moves this offseason, including trading for versatile playmaker Deebo Samuel, in the hopes of making it back to Championship Sunday to give themselves a chance at a Super Bowl title. Though Samuel had success under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, this will be the best quarterback he has played with, along with the best receiver he has played with in Terry McLaurin. I'm interested to see how Kliff Kingsbury uses Samuel in this offense and how much better the unit will be with Samuel in tow.  

Justin Fields has yet to reach his full potential in the NFL, falling out of favor in Chicago before spending a season in Pittsburgh, where he was benched for Russell Wilson after going 4-2 as the starter. This offseason he signed with the New York Jets, who are hoping he can stop their QB carousel. Right now, it appears Fields is in a position to finally break out with a coaching staff that believes in him, a talented supporting cast and a system that showcases his strengths as a passer and rusher. 

The Jaguars made the blockbuster move of the 2025 NFL Draft when they traded up for two-way star Travis Hunter. Now the question is: How will first-year head coach Liam Coen utilize Hunter and his immense talent? Last season at Colorado, he played 1,460 snaps (average of 112.3 per game) as a full-time receiver and cornerback. For reference, no NFL player has averaged more than 78 snaps per game in the past decade, per NFL Research. I'd love to watch the generational talent play both sides of the ball, as he could impact Jacksonville's passing game as a playmaking receiver and the pass defense as a ballhawk in the secondary. We won't know exactly how Coen plans to deploy the rookie until September.