5 non-playoff NFL teams trending upwards heading into 2016

The realization that you aren’t going to make the playoffs can be sobering for some teams around the NFL.

While the likes of the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants should be disappointed by their performances this year, other non-playoff teams have a ton to build on.

The Oakland Raiders had one of their best seasons in a decade and boast a tremendous amount of young talent. Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars young offense was about as electrifying as it gets in 2015.

These are among the five non-playoff teams trending upwards heading into 2016.

Oakland Raiders

Whether Oakland finishes this season with a .500 mark really doesn’t matter. Sure the team would like to hit that plateau for just the third time since the 2002 season, but head coach Jack Del Rio and general manager Reggie McKenzie have much larger goals.

Simply put, Oakland wants to dominate an AFC West that could be ripe for the picking as early as next season.

Despite struggling early in games (73.8 rating in the first quarter) this season, second-year quarterback Derek Carr has shown enough to be counted on as the franchise quarterback.

He enters Week 17 having thrown 31 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions and will likely cross the 4,000-yard mark on the year.

Carr’s success into the future will depend heavily on the continued progression of star rookie Amari Cooper at wide receiver.

The Alabama product has already tallied 1,000 yards on the season and should represent a tremendous one-two punch with the recently extended Michael Crabtree for years to come.

We knew Carr, Cooper and Crabtree had the talent to formulate a solid passing game.

The bigger surprise on offense has been the performance of the team’s offensive line. Carr has only been sacked 25 times on the season, an indication that this unit has stepped up big time.

With a young Pro Bowl caliber guard in Gabe Jackson and a tremendous veteran center in Rodney Hudson, this unit should continue to perform at a high level moving forward.

The Raiders’ biggest question heading into what should be an eventful offseason has to be the defense. With a projected $70-plus million to spend under the cap, that’s likely going to be McKenzie’s primary focus.

Defensive Player of the Year candidate Khalil Mack is going to be the cornerstone of this defense. Outside of that, there are a tremendous amount of questions marks.

Will Aldon Smith return to form after serving a year-long suspension? Who will the Raiders add to address a less-than-stellar pass defense?

If McKenzie is able to work his magic here, there’s no reason to believe the Raiders can’t win 11-12 games next season. After all, that should be the realistic goal.

Jacksonville Jaguars

It’s pretty remarkable that Gus Bradley was able to keep his team in playoff contention through 15 weeks.

While it does say a lot about the trajectory of the AFC South itself, Jacksonville had everything going against it heading into the season.

Remember when rookie top-five pick Dante Fowler Jr. tore his ACL in his first pro practice over the summer? That seems like ages ago.

Now with Fowler hopefully ready to return at 100 percent, it’s like the Jaguars will have two top-10 picks in the upcoming draft.

With the talent this team has on offense, building playmakers on the other side of the ball could set Jacksonville up for a division title run in 2016.

The better news here is that Jacksonville should have over $40 million to spend when March comes calling. That should enable the team to address a defense that’s among the absolute worst in the NFL.

Offensively, the Jaguars’ talent is akin to a fantasy football team.

Blake Bortles put up an uneven sophomore season, but was able to perform at a much higher level than most anticipated. He’s already tallied nearly 4,200 yards with 35 touchdowns. It’s the 16 interceptions he’s going to have to work on.

Helping matters here is a wide receiver group that boasts more upside than any other in the league.

A Pro Bowl snub this season, second-year pass catcher Allen Robinson leads the NFL with 14 touchdown receptions. He’s also added 75 total catches for nearly 1,300 yards in 15 games.

Fellow second-year receiver Allen Hurns is also at the 1,000-yard mark with double-digit touchdowns.

Simply put, Jacksonville can afford to put out a less-than-stellar defense with the weapons it possesses on offense.

That’s only magnified by the emergence of rookie running back T.J. Yeldon (over 1,000 total yards) and veteran tight end Julius Thomas (44 receptions).

It’s all going to be about roster building for the Jaguars at the turn of the calendar. Can they get enough pieces on defense to perform at a decent level? Is Bortles going to be able to take that next step in his second full offseason program?

There are questions that need to be answered here, but for the first time in what seems like ages the Jaguars have the talent to contend.

Buffalo Bills

If nothing else, the Bills found out that they actually do have a franchise quarterback on the roster in Tyrod Taylor. Outside of that, the 2015 season has to be considered a downright failure for Rex Ryan and Co.

We have absolutely no idea if Mario Williams will be back next season. He’s due $19.9 million with a dead cap hit of just $7 million.

Meanwhile, fellow defensive linemen Kyle Williams suffered through an injury-plagued 2015 campaign. Releasing the 32-year-old former Pro Bowler would save Buffalo $5 million against the cap.

This seems to be an indication that Buffalo will go out there and look to add young reinforcements along the defensive line.

That would be a sound strategy considering the talent this team has at the linebacker group and in the secondary. Rookie Ronald Darby joined Stephon Gilmore to form a tremendous corner tandem in 2015.

Linebacker Preston Brown, despite some struggles this season, should continue to anchor the team’s linebacker group.

While the Bills have taken on a defense-first mentality under Ryan, the team’s success will largely depend on what has to be considered a talent-laden offense.

Taylor has put up over 3,400 total yards with 23 touchdowns compared to just six interceptions on the season. While not asked to do a whole lot in the passing game, he’s more than proven himself capable of holding down the starting job for the foreseeable future.

If LeSean McCoy (1,187 total yards in 12 games) can stay healthy, the Bills will have an electric backfield. That’s only magnified by the performance of rookie running back Karlos Williams, who will end the season having averaged over 5.5 yards per rush.

As we saw this year, health is going to be the huge factor here. Second-year receiver Sammy Watkins has been nearly unstoppable when healthy throughout his career. He has, however, missed three games with myriad injuries as a sophomore. His ability to stay healthy will be huge moving forward.

Buffalo hasn’t earned a playoff spot since 1999. It headed into this year with high expectations. And in reality, missing out on the postseason was a failure.

With that said, the talent is most definitely here for the Bills to inch closer to New England in the AFC East next year. It’s now all about adding important pieces to fill in at areas where there are pretty big holes.

Chicago Bears

This is an odd team to find here. Outside of a solid span of play in October and over the first two weeks of November, the Bears have been nothing more than a bottom feeder this season.

Though, it must be noted that six of their nine losses thus far this year have come by one score.

This tells us a story of a team that simply doesn’t have the necessary talent to get over the final hurdle. After all, there’s little doubting the ability of the John Fox-led coaching staff.

And that right there is why Chicago finds itself in this article. What offensive coordinator Adam Gase was able to do with what seemed to be a broken Jay Cutler is absolutely huge.

Cutler enters Week 17 having thrown just eight interceptions while compiling what would be a career-best 92.8 quarterback rating.

What’s so astonishing about this is the fact that rookie first-round pick Kevin White hasn’t played a single regular season snap and Pro Bowl receiver Alshon Jeffery has continued to be dogged by injuries after a breakout 2014 campaign.

Get those two guys back in the mix, and the Bears passing attack should be fun to watch.

With Matt Forte unlikely to be back next season, rookie Jeremy Langford should take over the primary ball-carrier duties. He’s performed at a high clip this year, and should continue to excel in a running back-friendly system.

Unlike previous years, the biggest question mark in Chicago is going to be the defensive side of the ball.

Outside of Pernell McPhee, the team doesn’t have a single pass rusher that fits its 3-4 scheme. This is going to have to be addressed.

 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Rookie quarterback Jameis Winston has played at an exceedingly high level this season. He enters Week 17 with an opportunity to finish the season at 4,000-plus total yards with 30 touchdowns. Those are numbers we just don’t see from rookie quarterbacks.

We can talk about the improved play of Doug Martin at running back and the vast amount of weapons Winston has at his disposal. That’s more than fine. But he’s the primary reason Tampa Bay will conclude the 2015 campaign with at least three times the amount of wins it had in 2014.

The Buccaneers also played it pretty darn smart in the 2015 NFL draft by adding two offensive linemen in the picks immediately following the Winston selection.

While second-round pick Donovan Smith struggled a great deal in pass protection at left tackle, he gained the necessary experience after being thrown into the fire. If nothing else, Smith projects as a solid right tackle moving forward.

It is, however, the play of Ali Marpet at guard that should have Buccaneers fans excited. He’s played at an exceptionally high level, especially from a run-blocking standpoint. The small-school product projects as a multiple-time Pro Bowl performer.

And this right here is why Tampa has such a bright future. It boasts a franchise quarterback, a stellar running back, one of the most up-and-coming offensive lines in the NFL and a tremendously talented wide receiver group.

Defensively, there is going to have to be work done. Though, the likes of Gerald McCoy and Lavonta David are already All Pro-level performers in the front seven.

Add in a couple young defensive backs, and the secondary could very well catch up.

Check out Vincent’s other work on eDraft.com and follow him on Twitter. His work can also be seen on MSN, Fox Sports and Forbes.