Basically they can be a contender if X number of things from this list happen: stay relatively healthy, Love improves and plays at Pro Bowl level, Golden looks legit, Van Ness finally looks like something not resembling a bust and they’re able to start generating a pass rush without blitzing, and the offensive line meshes well and holds up.
But there’s 20 teams in the league with a “we can contend if X number of things happen from this list.”