I have no idea who will win the game between San Francisco and Kansas City. The league isn't scripted (really, it isn't), so whatever happens happens. But the one thing I do know is that the AFC field looks awfully crowded for 2024, with a league's worth of talented teams crammed into just one conference. I think a lot more successful fantasy players will come out of the AFC than the NFC next season.

The usual suspects should be competitive: Kansas City, Baltimore, Buffalo, and Cincinnati with a healthy Joe Burrow. But now we have to add Miami and Houston to the mix as well. I'm also throwing in a Jets team with Aaron Rodgers, and a Chargers squad led by Jim Harbaugh. That's eight teams who could threaten a deep run, and there are only seven playoff spots. And I'm not even counting Jacksonville or an upstart team like Indianapolis who might have something special in Anthony Richardson. I'm not saying they're all Super Bowl favorites, and a number of them have glaring issues. But if any of those teams won a couple of playoff games, nobody should be surprised. And they mostly have potent offenses and middling defenses. Good for fantasy managers, right?

Oh, Cleveland should have somebody good at quarterback and Nick Chubb. The AFC is deep.

Not so in the NFC. I see San Francisco, Detroit, maybe Philadelphia, maybe Dallas and just maybe Green Bay. That's a lot of maybes, and there are still two more playoff spots left. There are also good teams in the other divisions, but I don't know if any of them look like they're built for a deep playoff run. Some teams surprise us every year, so that means underdogs should round out the playoff field. But I don't see too much getting in the way (aside from injury) of the same teams being the major players next season.

So what does that mean now? Not much, admittedly. We shouldn't pay too much attention to what we see in the playoffs. The last few football games shouldn't weigh heavily in making our evaluations in the summertime. But NFL league business includes more than the postseason. Coaching changes give new optimism to some teams, and the return of injured players will raise expectations as well. And I'm seeing a lot more in one conference than the other.

I also know that it's an offensive-minded league. The rules favor the offense, so I'm expecting these talented players will be lighting up the scoreboard, whether they win or lose. In fact, these teams might beat each other up so that nobody has an amazing record. And that's fine with me. The tighter the playoff races, the less chance anybody packs up their tent when I need them to perform.

It’s not just optimism about the AFC, though. I’m kind of disappointed at how the NFC is shaping up. Does anybody in the NFC South look poised to make a big leap? Is Seattle or Arizona getting better? Is Washington preparing to be anything but a disaster? Maybe Chicago overperforms, I guess. Or maybe the draft or free agency helps a team emerge. It just looks like a boring conference next season, at least from a competitive standpoint.

I’m trying not to form any concrete opinions about the next fantasy season, while still looking at things with a manager’s eye. And I’m more excited about players from the AFC. Maybe I’ll change my mind later, but for now I have a couple of weeks to think about generalities while I wait for my squares and the last game of the season. If you’re still playing a fantasy playoff game, good luck this week.

Am I missing something from the NFC? Do you disagree with my assessment of the major players in either conference? Share your thoughts below.