32nd Arizona Cardinals

Houston Texan fans rejoice! You are for once, at least for the time being, NOT the worst team in the NFL. What the Cardinals have achieved these past few seasons is nothing short of impressive and their place at the bottom of the pile has been well earnt. I don’t think anyone will really be able to disagree with their spot in this ranking, they were a bad team last season and only got worse in the offseason with probably the biggest improvement to the Franchise being their new uniforms. Their QB Kyler Murray is unavailable for the start of the season, and I can only assume that their GM is embracing the tank for Caleb Williams after letting LB/S Isiah Simmons walk for pennies on the dollar and releasing QB Colt McCoy in favour of QB Joshua Dobbs who has only spent a couple of weeks in Arizona. Let’s just say that there are many real reasons why this team is the only one who are underdogs every game this season, they no doubt miss the playoffs and the only entertaining part about watching this team play will be to see if they pull off the impossible and go 0-17 in 2023.

31st Houston Texans

Texans fans still shouldn’t get ahead of themselves, your team, whilst having improved significantly is still for lack of a better word, trash. Stroud looked woeful in the preseason which indicates to me that at the very least there will be we be a gradual learning curve for the rookie signal caller. This isn’t helped by playing in a stacked AFC division which leads me to believe that wins for the Texans will be a rare commodity. Could I be wrong? Could C J Stroud beat the S2 cognition test allegations? Could Will Anderson Jr be everything Jadeveon Clowney wasn’t? And could this team put together a respectable season? Absolutely, but I’ll only believe it when I see it. Texans’ fans should see the 2023 season as a success if their star rookies play at the level that justify their position they were drafted as in all reality they won’t be playing in the postseason.

30th Denver Broncos

This time last season the blockbuster trade for QB Russel Wilson had pundits and fans clamoring for a Broncos Super Bowl. Myself, I never bought into the hype seeing Wilson as past his prime with the cost of trading for the veteran as too steep and after last season I was clearly right to doubt the Broncos. The failure that was last season fell on then new head coach Nathaniel Hackett who was fired before the season was even done. Whilst the Broncos doubled down on Wilson by trading for new HC Sean Payton, who is in my opinion a top 3 head coach in the league, Wilson now finds himself on the hot seat if this season is even remotely close to the dumpster fire that was last year. Broncos nation may yet “ride” but I for one still have this team as the worst team in the AFC West and with injuries to the WR room that was once so enticing to Wilson, he now finds himself in a situation where he needs to put the team on his back and recapture the elite play that earnt him a reputation as a top-tier QB. Broncos’ fans had a reality check last season and aspirations of a Lombardi for this season have been firmly managed, but the expectation of a winning season still remain. As far as I’m concerned, I think the Broncos will once again underwhelm this season, leaving the Russel Wilson trade branded as a colossal failure.

29th Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons, much like the Buccaneers are a team that stands on the verge of a playoff spot, not because they are a particularly good team, but because they play in a second-tier division. The team never really bounced back after they lost to the Patriots way back when in the Super Bowl eventually forcing them to shed key players over the years that were past their prime like QB Matt Ryan and WR Julio Jones. In the hopes of accelerating their rebuild process they have prioritised drafting what I would describe as ‘unicorn’ players by the names of TE Kyle Pitts and RB Bijan Robinson. These players are unique talents at their positions with exceptionally high ceilings and whilst Robinson is yet to play a regular season game making it hard to criticise or credit picking him as high as they did in the draft, Pitts is a veteran of the league now and they need to get more out of him if they want to make noise going forward. Their QB Desmond Ridder enjoyed a solid career in college and will now get a chance to stake his claim as a franchise QB at the NFL level, but I’m not particularly sold on him as of yet. Regardless with a stacked RB room, a half-way decent O-line and a revamped secondary the Falcons could prove to be a dark-horse this season, but in all likelihood, I think they miss the playoffs and continue their rebuild.

28th Green Bay Packers

The Packers enjoyed post season wins up until last season with Aaron Rodgers leading the offence, but their Franchise QB became disillusioned with the team and the poor management of the roster resulting in him wanting out this offseason. The beginning of the end for Rodgers in Green Bay started when the team traded up to draft rookie QB Jordan Love in the 1st round a few years ago and this is who Packers fans will be looking towards to make them relevant again. The move baffled virtually everyone who follows the sport and with Love entering his 4th season in the league he is only now getting a chance to prove the doubters wrong. It isn’t exactly a stretch to say that the Packer’s seasons hopes rest on the shoulder of the unproven Love and with dwindling talent on the offensive side of the ball he has his work cut out for him. I have them low on my power rankings because I think they are the worst team in the NFC North. They struggled last season with Rodgers, and I think they struggle even more this year. At the very least they desperately need to see something special from Love this season else heads will roll in Green Bay.

27th Carolina Panthers

In all honesty the three bottom ranked NFC South teams are interchangeable, and I only have them in this order at the moment predominantly based on my own hunches. The reason I have the Panthers here is because I think they have the best QB out of the three teams in number 1 overall draft selection Bryce Young. The Panthers paid the price to trade up with the Bears the costliest of losses being the departure of WR DJ Moore*. They filled this particular hole by signing free agent Adam Theilen who at least in my opinion is one of the most underrated WRs in the league. The real question Panthers fans will be asking is: was the price of drafting what they expect to be their Franchise QB worth it? Young looked good during the preseason which is more than what can be said for other teams with Rookie QBs but, my biggest worry is whether or not they can create an environment which will help the QB of their future to not just survive but also thrive. I have questions marks about their ability to protect the undersized Young and worst-case scenario is their top commodity gets injured early into the season whilst their best-case scenario is that they come away from this season, confident that they made a good decision with their 1st round pick.

26th Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers had an elite roster just a couple of years ago when they trounced the Kansas City Chiefs in a very one-sided Super Bowl victory. Much of the talent is still there with the likes of WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin still being amongst the elite at their position. Their issue however is that they lost future Hall of Fame QB Tom Brady to retirement leaving their QB room in no man’s land. This season it appears as though Baker Mayfield is the first player to get a shot at the starting position, but Mayfield has a lot to prove after bouncing around the league last season and what I would assume is a short leash before he gets replaced. He has shown flashes of brilliance but not enough to earn a place as a franchise QB as he was let go from the Browns, Rams and Panthers respectively. Fortunately for the Buccaneers they play in arguably the worst division in football at the moment which means a playoff spot is not entirely out of the picture. However, the future of this team depends on their QB play. If Mayfield enjoys a career resurgence in Tampa they could roll with him for the future, on the other hand if they get off to a rocky start, I would expect them to enter into the Caleb Williams sweep stakes.

25th Indianapolis Colts

Its very hard to rank a team highly when their best player in All-Pro RB Jonathan Taylor wants out. Couple that with a rookie QB who even Colts fans will admit struggled at time in college and it’s no surprise they debut on my list near the bottom. It seems strange to me that it was only a few years ago that I felt that the Colts had a very talented roster, but the front office squandered this team’s chance at relevancy with the abysmal QB carousel of Rivers, Wentz and Matt Ryan. The Colts now enter a new chapter for their team but with an unproven rookie at the helm who is being thrown very much into the deep end. Given how competitive the AFC is its hard to see them making any significant waves this season. My guess is that they compete with the Texans for bottom of the AFC South and miss the playoffs as Colts fans pray that their bad run at the QB position since Andrew Luck retired ends with the commencement of QB Anthony Richardson’s reign.

24th LA Rams

Just two seasons ago the Rams hoisted the Lombardi behind the rallying cry of “fuck them picks”. This philosophy may have won them a Super Bowl but it now leaves them stranded near the bottom of the NFC West after posting an NFL record for worst season for a reigning Super Bowl Champion. Granted they were plagued by injuries, the most notable being WR Cooper Kupp and QB Mattew Stafford, but there is no indication that this season will be any better for the team. CB Jalen Ramsey was traded away to greener pastures and whilst Aaron Donald is still the best defensive lineman in the league, he is reaching the end of his career having recently considered retirement. The bottom line is this; there is a chasm between the Rams and the 49ers and Seahawks even though the Cardinals are easily the worst team in the NFC South. For this season there is a likelihood they get swept by the 49ers and the Seahawks on the way to missing out on a wild-card spot as they start a rebuild perhaps under the guidance of HC Sean McVay or another coach.

23rd Washington Commanders

The Commanders are a team that I honestly cannot figure out. They have invested heavily on the defensive front in recent years and whilst high overall picks like DE Chase Young are yet to pay the dividends they were expecting they still boast a very respectable defense. The problem they have is the uncertainty at QB. Much like the Colts the experiment with Carson Wentz didn’t work and they now find themselves with little choice but to name 2nd Year QB Sam Howell as their starter. HC Ron Rivera seems confident in the young signal caller, but the production is yet to be seen. He no doubt has the offensive talent around him to succeed boasting the likes of Curtis Samuel, Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson as targets in the passing game alongside a solid RB tandem of Antonio Gibson and Brian Robinson Jr. The issue they have is that the NFC East is one of the toughest divisions in football and whilst I personally don’t like the Cowboys or the Giants its hard for me to argue that the Commanders are good enough to compete, yet.

22nd Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are, to me, a head scratcher. I honestly believe that this team could be in the running for a wild card spot this season, but I could also see them completely flop. Justin Fields has demonstrated so far that his ability to run the ball makes him someone deserving of a starting position the only question is does he have the passing ability to match? The addition of DJ Moore gives Fields a true number 1 receiver whilst the likes of Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool means he should have no issues with the talent around him. My concern however is that the team still has holes across the roster as they lack true defensive playmakers. They went out and got a stud linebacker in free agency by the name of Tremaine Edmund and criminally undervalued pass rusher in Yannick Ngakoue but outside of that I think their defence will be quite porous to say the least. Only time will tell if they are moving in the right direction, but the NFC North is quite competitive this season and I just don’t feel like the Bears stack up to the likes of the Vikings and the Lions.

21st Tennessee Titans 

It wasn’t long ago when it felt like the Titans had a Super Bowl window built off the back of Derrick Henry being the best RB in the league and a stellar defense, but that window, if it ever truly existed, is now firmly closed. This franchise used to have the luxury of having their division locked up but after losing it by the finest of margins last year it now feels to me that it is Jacksonville’s division to lose. The Titans may yet compete this season with Tannehill at QB alongside the ageing Henry, but this team is past its prime and adding WR Deandre Hopkins to one of the most underwhelming WR rooms in the entire league isn’t going to shoot them up any power rankings. That being said the Titans are one of those teams that on any given day could beat any of the more talented teams in the NFL but this season is going to be an uphill march for them and only time will tell if they need to fully commit to a rebuild with one of their the three QBs on their roster. Regardless I have them on the outer bubble of wildcard contenders this season but even if HC Mike Vrabel can lead them beyond the regular season I wouldn’t expect them to win against whoever the top seeds are.

20th Las Vegas Raiders

This time last season I had the Raiders on the verge of making the playoffs, and of course they didn’t. Derek Carr was the casualty of the underwhelming season, but he finds himself on a new team in a wide-open division and every opportunity to succeed and prove he belongs in the conversation of top 10 QBs. To replace him Josh McDaniels went out and got a very capable QB in Jimmy Garoppolo, who whilst being often injured has taken the 49ers to a Super Bowl in recent years. Some will argue he is a game manager, and his success is a product of the team around him but in my books, winners win and Jimmy G has done nothing but win so long as he is on the field. If the Raiders can keep him healthy and get him on the same page as his talented WRs I could very easily see them finishing second in the AFC West but as it stands at the moment the Chargers and Chiefs stand in their way as their ceiling is a playoff spot whilst their floor is a sacked HC and a complete rebuild.

19th New England Patriots

As much as I would love to put the Patriots higher on my list, I just feel like a higher ranking than 19th has to be earnt with wins and the Patriots have the hardest schedule in football. To be quite honest I’m sure there are a lot of people that think even this is too high for the Patriots but trust me I have my reasons. Firstly, let’s talk about Mac Jones. The guy is not a bust at all. It’s conveniently forgotten how impressive Mac was in his rookie season as he vastly outperformed Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance. He is extremely accurate, makes good decisions and all indications suggest that when he has someone other than a defensive coordinator running the offence, he is actually a baller. Aside from Mac the Patriots have quietly acquired what I consider to be a sneakily good receiving room across both TEs and WRs but more importantly they have one of the best RB tandems in the entire league in Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliot and if the o-line can get/stay healthy then I fully expect the Patriots offense to be a marked improvement from last season. The real selling point for the Patriots however is that they have the best HC of all time still running the show which is why they will once again have one of the top defense's in the entire league. These are all qualities that make up a playoff caliber team and I truly believe that their ceiling is 2nd in the AFC East and a Wildcard spot, whilst their floor is obviously and abysmal season finishing bottom in the East for the first time since 2000. Beware of the Patriots, when every other team in the league Zigs the Patriots Zag, meaning that whilst there is a rush to build high power offences Belichick has instead opted to construct a team with an ELITE defense capable of containing other teams’ offences whilst utilizing an offence designed to keep the other team off the field. 

18th Cleveland Browns

I can’t decide if the Browns are still the joke franchise that they used to be regarded as or if they are legitimate contenders now. It’s clear that they made a mistake with the Baker Mayfield draft pick and instead of rolling the dice once more with a high round rookie QB, which if the past is any indication would end up as a bust, they took advantage of the Deshaun Watson situation trading for the star QB despite the ongoing off-field issues. Watson eventually made his return to the field last season but didn’t look like the same player he was on the Texans. The hope for the Browns is now with a full offseason with Watson as their starter that they can scheme up an offence to take full advantage of the playmaking ability the made Watson one of the best players in the league. If they do manage to combine his ability both passing and running with the ball alongside the power run game lead by RB Nick Chubb then the Browns could very well be a team that can cause upsets throughout the regular season and possibly in the postseason. The difficulty is that the AFC North is full of teams that have legitimate shots to earn a wildcard spot and its unlikely that they all do meaning some of them may miss out and at the moment the Browns upside is all theoretical and theory can only take you so far, the Browns will have to fight to earn a higher ranking than this.

17th Pittsburgh Steelers 

It seems to me as though Pittsburgh have their long-term replacement for Big Ben. Kenny Pickett was a rookie last season and played well down the stretch, well enough for the organization to think he is a viable franchise QB going forward but to me this comes as no shock. If you look at how the Steelers handled the rookie, you can see why it is that this team has enjoyed frequent success under the tenure of HC Mike Tomlin. They are consistently have a stout defense, consistently are a well-coached team, that is consistently well managed by the front office which identifies and develops WR talent better than any other team in the league. Pickett hit the lottery when he was drafted by the team that shares the city he played collage ball in because he walked into a situation where the defense is good enough to limit the amount of shoot outs the young QB needs to get into, but he also has the weapons around him and protection to succeed as a player and win games when he has to. For me I think the floor for the Steelers will still be a winning season, but if they play there best their ceiling could easily be not must a playoff spot but also potentially a road playoff victory.

16th Baltimore Ravens

When a team has a player the caliber of QB Lamar Jackson they have a chance to win any game they play in regardless of who they face. Let’s not forget how unstoppable he was during his unanimous MVP season and whilst he exceptional running the ball he has made his intentions to dominate whilst passing the ball this season very clear. With Lamar intent on beating the running back allegations his front office needed to equip him with receiving weapons other than TE Mark Andrews which they managed to do by paying veteran WR Odell Beckham Jr (coming of an ACL tear) as well as drafting WR Zay Flowers. These are very real threats to any secondary and I personally think Lamar is poised for his best season throwing the ball and if I’m right then having them at here on my rankings may be too low especially considering the big names they boast across their defense with the likes of MLB Roquan Smith, CB Marlon Humphrey and Safeties Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Smith. I fully expect them to be in the running for a wildcard spot, but their ceiling is a lot higher than that so beware of the Ravens in 2023.

15th New York Giants

The Giants surprised me last season as to be honest I wasn’t particularly high on them and to be entirely honest I’m still not. The main reason is that they are, at best, going to come 3rd in the NFC East which makes a playoff spot difficult to aim for. Fortunately, they have RB Saquon Barkley who, if he can stay healthy, should be up near the top of the league in total yards given the quality of player he is, on top of that they traded for TE Darren Waller who much like Barkley has a very high upside marred only by injury concerns. As for their QB Daniel Jones appears to have done enough to earn himself a contract extension off the back of his best season to date but he is now being paid top-10 QB money which means that if the Giants want to continue to make strides forwards he needs to elevate his play and build on his already notable improvements. Fortunately for Jones the Giants have invested well on the defensive side of the ball meaning he won’t have to do it all by himself and with player like DE Kayvon Thibodeaux, DT Dexter Lawrence and recently acquired S/LB Isiah Simmons they are loaded with talent. Could I see them giving the Eagles and Cowboys headaches? Absolutely. Are they good enough to make the playoffs? In theory yes. But will HC Brian Daboll be able to put it all together for them to make a deep run? I think that’s a bit too much to ask at this stage. The Giants are trending in the right direction but are still not at the stage where they can make significant waves, yet.

14th   LA Chargers 

The Chargers are right off the back of making their young QB Justin Herbert the highest paid player in the league and arguably for very good reason. After getting drafted from the University of Oregon Herbert has been nothing but prolific passing the ball setting multiple records both as a rookie as well as in the time frame he has been in the league. There is no doubt the Chargers have a top-tier QB and have done well to consistently surround him with talented offensive tools but have in my opinion felt to take proper advantage of their high scoring offence by fielding some fairly woeful defensive performances, the most being recent the playoff game they lost last season to Jacksonville when they squandered a 27-0 lead. This loss will no doubt be fresh in the minds of Chargers fans as they try to turn the corner into the 2023 season the issue is that they share a division with the Kansas City Chiefs meaning that they are almost guaranteed to only ever be in contention for a Wildcard spot. That being said I still think that this team will end the season in the hunt for a postseason place and if they do make it, its not like they can do worse than last year.

13th New Orleans Saints 

Anyone who knows me, knows I have a soft spot for the Saints but it is clear that they have struggled since the departure of HC Sean Payton and Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees. However, now that Tom Brady has retired the NFC South is theirs to lose given the talent they have on this roster. Last year’s rookie WR Chris Olave was exceptional despite having a mixture of Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton throwing the ball. Now he has a legitimate starting QB with the big addition of Derek Carr this offseason, as well as (I hope) a healthy Michael Thomas on the field meaning all indications point towards a return to the explosive Saints offence they have been known for. Of course, with Kamara being suspended for the first three games of the season that means fans will have to wait to witness the full potential of this team but they still have the depth across the offense to be a problem once more. Couple that with a stalwart defense lead by the likes MLB Demario Davis, DE Cameron Jordan and CB Marshon Lattimore it seems to me they have all the pieces to dominate the NFC South this season and punch their ticket to the postseason. The question is will they take advantage and live up to the expectations? I for one think that their stock will only rise as the season progresses and anyone who writes off the Saints may be surprised when they compete with some of the best teams in the NFC.

12th Detroit Lions

I am all aboard the Lions hype train. I love what HC Dan Campbell and the Front Office have done to this team in the last couple of years. They have built a culture built on the foundation of physical toughness and grit and I think that makes them a very hard team to play against. QB Jared Goff quietly had one of the best seasons of his career and I see no reason why he can’t build off of this success. Detroit is no longer the place where football comes to die, and players are getting excited about playing for Campbell and despite a questionable draft this year they undoubtedly made significant improvements. RB Jahmyr Gibbs, whilst a reach, should make and immediate impact same as MLB Jack Campbell who I expect to dominate from the outset. The Lions have quietly built themselves back to a competitive level and have earnt such a high initial ranking here but of course wins need to follow and I don’t doubt they will. I honestly believe the Lions have a very real shot at making the playoffs for the first time in forever and that’s as a Wildcard team, but don’t be shocked if they claim the North this season.

11th Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings played well last season on their way to reclaiming the NFC North but eventually crumbled in the post season essentially meaning their season amounted to nothing of significance. Do I think this year will be different? Perhaps but even if so, not dramatically. I like to think Minnesota have a good enough roster to not just win the North but also a playoff game but for that to be the case QB Kirk Cousins needs to channel his iced-out alter ego that made him go viral last season. He is helped out by having who I would argue is the best WR in the league Justin Jefferson as his number one target alongside top TE TJ Hockenson and freshly drafted Jordan Addison. So its safe to say that even though they released RB Dalvin Cook they still have all the makings of an electric offence and they will ride that all the way to a playoff berth, outside of that everyone knows the saying “defense wins championships” and I don’t think the players on that side of the ball are anywhere near the quality off the players they have on offence and to me that is what restricts theirs ceiling.

10th Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks were a team that surprised everyone last season. After they traded away QB Russel Wilson everyone thought they were embarking on a rebuild but instead they rallied behind Darkhorse QB Geno Smith who played beyond the expectations that people had of him. In doing so he earnt himself a big pay day, but this season is a fresh one and success of the past is irrelevant. I have them high on my list because I genuinely think that they are a playoff team this season purely based on the fact that they were last season, and this season their roster improved in particular via the draft (they have Denver to thank for that). Do I think they have enough to win their division, absolutely not, but I think they finish a close second and lock up a Wildcard slot giving whoever they play against a tough game where victory needs to be earnt. Last season there was no pressure to succeed on Seattle but the NFL world was put on notice and are now paying attention, being the underdog is nice but now wins are expected but I think they are up to the task.

9th Miami Dolphins

Is this the Dolphins year to reclaim the AFC East and make a playoff run? Potentially. They have all the pieces to do it, a young but talented HC, possibly the fastest offensive core in the league headlined by the lethal tandem of WR Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as well as a formidable defence. Their only glaring weakness is a mid-tier QB that is a couple more concussions away from retiring. Despite the Dolphins best intentions to kill their young Franchise QB Tua showed real grit, or stupidity, to finish the season after sustaining two scary concussions last season. If the Dolphins want to swim to the top of the East they simply cannot afford to have their starting QB out for any amount of games simply because the competition around them is going to be too close to drop a game or two. If all goes to plan and Tua stays healthy then the Dolphins could be a real team to watch this season, they have a home run offence that can go toe-to-toe in a shootout with any team in the league purely because of how hard it is to cover all the pace there is on that field but I think it ultimately comes down to the play from their signal caller, he needs to rise to the occasion and silence the doubters like myself. If he manages to do that, they could definitely be in the running for a couple playoff wins, equally they could sink to the bottom of the pond and fall beneath the Patriots in the East missing out on the postseason. Its boom or bust for the Dolphins this year, I have them high on my list because of the upside but if they can’t find ways to win games against tough opponents, they will slide down my rankings.

8th Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys have a very talented roster, they are also almost always in the conversation of ‘Super Bowl Contenders’ despite playing in a very competitive division where coming first is not guaranteed. For me the Cowboys are always overhyped which places unrealistic expectations on them. Dallas fans get behind their team with a rallying cry of “this is our year!” when it is never really “their year”. Yet with the caliber of players on their roster, with guys like WR CeeDee Lamb, RB Tony Pollard, CB Trevon Diggs and of course LB Micah Parsons they tend to do well in the regular season, often reaching double digit wins and making the playoffs but they never really achieve much beyond that. In my personal opinion their QB Dak Prescott is possibly one of the most overrated players in the league and I struggle to think of times where he put the team on his back and wills his way to victory, especially in the games that matter, with their last playoff win coming in 2018. I personally don’t expect them to break this streak this season and I only have them this high on my rankings based on how I think they will do during the regular season. Their ceiling is upsetting the Eagles to win the NFC East but I honestly see that as longshot and their floor is falling to third in the NFC East with a negative record but in truth for Dallas fans anything short of their first Lombardi since 1996 will be seen as a disappointment and I am quite confident in saying that that just won’t happen.

7th New York Jets

Let’s talk about things we know for sure about the Jets. For one QB Zach Wilson is, as it stands, a bust and taking him 2nd overall was a colossal mistake. But we do also know that whilst they made the wrong decision there, they hit home run picks with the like of CB Sauce Gardner and WR Garrett Wilson who I have no doubt will at one stage be regarded as the best players at their positions in short time. We also know that this team was on the brink of a playoff spot last season and if it weren’t for the mother of all implosions at the back end of the season then they would probably be higher on my list for this season. They have a very strong defensive group and a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball, that much is for sure and not to mention a HC that is significantly better than their last few in Robert Saleh. They clearly see themselves as a roster equipped enough to win a Super Bowl outside of the QB position which is why the made the blockbuster move for future Hall of Fame QB Aaron Rodgers, but the crucial thing we don’t know is what Rodger in the Jets uniform look like? Given Rodgers elite playmaking ability and his knack for winning league MVP the expectation of many is that the Jets finally take off and not just return to the post season but also win it all. Whilst I have no doubt the Jets will be a very difficult team to face considering their, it is also my opinion that ‘Jets do Jets things’ and in my book that means be a complete let down, and I have zero faith in their ability to win a Super Bowl regardless of fact that Rodgers is now their QB. I think there are at least four teams better than them in the AFC alone and I don’t even have them as the best team in their division. As with any prediction I could be wrong, and I’m prepared to eat my words but whilst most see this teams ceiling as a Super Bowl team I think it is much more likely they finish with a Wildcard spot and maybe win a game in the postseason whilst quite frankly their floor is missing the playoffs once more. But for now, they sit at number 7 on my list because this ranking is done predominantly based on paper, but much like the Bills, they are primed to plummet just as much as they are primed to soar.

6th Jacksonville Jaguars

There is something nice about the Jaguars not being a poverty team for once, granted that probably because they come to the UK every season and they feel like the closest team there is to a UK franchise but regardless of that I think everyone can admit the turn around in Jacksonville has been exemplar. This is what rebuilds should look like and whilst not every team rebuilding can draft a perennial talent like QB Trevor Lawrence (the guy has been touted as a future number 1 overall pick since high school), the Jaguars were the team fortunate enough to time being the worst team in the NFL the same year Lawrence declared for the draft. Lawrence struggled as a rookie something which wasn’t helped by having Urban Meyer as his HC, but once the front office realized just how bad of a coach they gave their rookie amends were made with Doug Pederson who immediately turned the team around to win the AFC South and helped his young QB thrive. This season the training wheels will be off and the new addition of WR Calvin Ridley fresh out of suspension sets Lawrence to up have his best season yet. The Jaguars also have a very capable defensive unit to match their loaded offence making them a very well-rounded team in a division that in all reality I expect them run away with. Is all this enough to get the number 1 seed? Probably not, but like they demonstrated last season in their come back victory over the Chargers, you can no longer count out the Jaguars. This team will not be an easy game for anyone and when the postseason comes around, I think they can give teams like the Bills, Chiefs and Bengals a run for their money. I’m very high on the Jaguars this season and for good reason, laugh if you want but don’t mistake their past track record near the bottom of the league as any indication that they will be anything other than a legitimate competitor this season.

5th Buffalo Bills

For the last several years the Bills have been a team that is often found near the top of NFL power rankings and rightfully so. Yet it baffles me how the Bills, lead by QB Josh Allen, always find a way to not win any meaningful games. Don’t get me wrong I think they deserve to be at the top of my list which is why I have them as a top 5 team coming into this season. But I do have serious doubts about their ability to be anything more than a dominant regular season team. I mean for all the double-digit winning seasons and AFC East titles, which by the way, ultimately mean nothing, Buffalo have never won an AFC Championship game and they aren’t exactly getting any better as players age and rookie contracts expire. Not just is their roster getting worse (losing MLB Tremaine Edmunds to Free Agency for example), but the competition around them is getting a lot better. This team is going to have to fight tooth and nail for their place atop the AFC East this season and with the Jets, Dolphins (and I would argue the Patriots) all very capable of beating the Bills I think its very likely that they have the worst season since they drafted Josh Allen and don’t win their division. If I’m right, and the Bills look anything other than the best team in the AFC East expect them to plummet down my rankings but for the time being they debut here, but Buffalo fans beware your Super Bowl window is closing, to be brutally honest it might have already closed. However, despite my bias as a Patriots fan and my desire to watch the Bills downfall they do still on paper have one of the most talented rosters across the league and for that reason their ceiling this season will be a deep playoff run, however I honestly think their floor is a 3rd place finish in the AFC East and possibly even a change at Head Coach, only time will tell how right I am.

4th San Francisco 49ers

Last season was heartbreaking for the 49ers. They were a legitimate Super Bowl contending team but the constant stream of QB injuries haunted them last season and losing Brock Purdy the surprise steal of the draft last year in the NFC Championship game was the final nail in their coffin. Of course, the big story line for their offseason was who would be QB1 to start the season, but Purdy distanced himself from the competition eventually resulting in the team trading away Trey Lance cementing that notorious draft trade as one of the worst of all time. Don’t let the circus of that situation distract you from that fact that despite the waste of draft capital this team is still up there with the rest of the best. This 49ers team still has all the components to win a lot of games this season and unlike the Eagles they don’t have a super competitive division with the only real threat to them being the Seattle Seahawks. I fully expect the 49ers to not just make the postseason but also push the Eagles and Cowboys for the number 1 seed on the road to what they can only hope to be an NFC Championship game repeat without devastating season-ending injuries to key players.

3rd Philadelphia Eagles

Last seasons loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII is still going to sting for Eagles fans, and whilst being a Patriots fan myself I have no love lost for the Eagles I had them winning that game. This year’s team looks in many ways quite similar to last year’s team but that’s not to say there wasn’t any roster turnover. S CJ Gardner-Johnson walked in Free Agency and at one stage it looked as though they were destined to lose CB Darius Slay for salary cap reasons, but like any other Super Bowl contenders there is a certain alure which encourages players to take pay cuts which allow the team to stay competitive. Jalen Hurts was one player however that didn’t take a cut as he got a bag this offseason, at one point making him the highest paid player in the history of the league but he is worth every penny. I think Hurts is the only true elite QB in the NFC which makes the Eagles my favorites to win the NFC once more. On top of that they boast one of the best offensive lines in the league and somehow the defensive front that led the league in sacks last season got even better when they drafted possibly the best player in college football in DT Jalen Carter as well as pass rusher Nolan Smith. Any QB that faces the Eagles will fear for their safety and any defense that stands up to Hurts could quite possibly get torched by the star player, so don’t be surprised if they play in the big game once more.

2nd Cincinnati Bengals

If any team other than the Chiefs is going to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl the Bengals have the best shot at it. Joe Burrow is in my opinion a top 2 QB in the league and the gap between him and Mahomes is smaller than a lot of people make it out to be. So just like any team with an elite QB they have every chance to make it to the Super Bowl this season and should be seen as locks to win the AFC North. However, the Bengals are nearing a stage where they need to open up the cheque book and this season could be the last where they can afford to keep the wealth of talent that they have generated on offence, players like Burrow, WR Higgins and Chase are key pieces to the puzzle that they will want to keep around but that will get expensive and in the salary cap era teams can’t afford to pay all their elite players market-setting contracts. So that being said the Bengals will be looking to make the most of their remaining rookie contracts and finish what they started two seasons ago when they lost to the LA Rams in Super Bowl LVI, expect them to make a deep playoff run and contend for the number 1 seed once more.

1st Kansas City Chiefs

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. The Chiefs are reigning Super Bowl Champions for a reason and since QB Patrick Mahomes won the starting job the Chiefs have always seemed to be the team to beat. Last season they faced doubters after the loss of Tyreek Hill to Miami but somehow Mahomes elevated the players around him as they once again climbed atop the NFL mountain. This season with the recent injury to TE Travis Kelce the Chiefs may end up getting off to a slow start but even if they drop a couple games the only real impact I would expect this to have is that they miss out on the number 1 seed in the AFC, and let’s be honest, an away playoff game won’t be enough to knock the powerhouse Chiefs off their pedestal. So as much as I’m getting bored of Chiefs winning, I fully expect them to make a deep playoff run again this season and I wouldn’t be surprised if their season culminated with a headline that reads “dynasty”.