Probably the biggest change is adding Neyor and more importantly AD Mitchell. We were complete shit at throwing down the field last year, which is especially a problem when your play caller is fucking obsessed with taking those shots. It's an embarrassment of riches when you have studs like Cook and Moore coming in off the bench as your 5th or 6th option.
Ewers should be loads better. No idea how close he gets to his ceiling but his floor should be much higher this season. He totally rededicated himself to grinding; he seemed to think he could get by on his talent alone. I have complete confidence we'll see the fruits of that this year.
OL will undoubtedly be improved, to what degree is anyone's guess.
If Catalon can stay healthy, that pretty much turbocharges what was a pretty good defense last year. And every position other than LB is going to be improved over last year. And it's possible even LB will end up being so.
Kickoffs will be a lot better. Many more touchbacks are on tap this year. Punting was fine last year but should be a strength now.
All that said, I still don't really know what we have in Sark as a game day HC and play caller. For that reason and because of his resume, it wouldn't necessarily shock me if your 8 or 9 win prediction ends up correct. Also the ref fuckery that's inevitable.