evisThe NFL draft is over. Most of the big names in free agency have found new homes, save for a few veterans still looking to sign. Now, all that’s left are small roster moves and tweaks before NFL teams take on the 2014 season.
Now that the major moves are over, we have a pretty good idea of where each team stands, so how do they stack up with training camps just two months away now?
32. Houston Texans
Everyone in Houston should be incredibly excited about pairing J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney, but there’s just not enough offensive firepower here. Andre Johnson wants a change of scenery, Ben Tate isn’t there to back up Arian Foster and we have no idea who the quarterback is going to be. The defensive is really shaping up, but they simply won’t score enough points to win games.
31. Oakland Raiders
Khalil Mack was a great pick to fit the Raiders’ play style and attitude, but there are just too many holes in Oakland for them to legitimately contend for anything. Unless Derek Carr can win the starting job in camp and come out in Week 1 to play, Oakland doesn’t have enough offensive weapons to be a productive team, although the moves this offseason have them trending in the right direction.
30. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars have gained a few supporters this offseason from their signings and draft picks, but I’m not a big believer in Blake Bortles producing right away and Toby Gerhart is unproven as a starting back. Their ceiling this year is six wins with the holes in the secondary and on the offensive line.
29. Washington Redskins
To be fair, Washington isn’t necessarily a bad team. But there’s so much parity in the NFL right now, you have to bump them down a few spots looking at the head-to-head matchups against the teams above them. A lot of offensive firepower now with the addition of DeSean Jackson, but the defense could give up 40 points a game.
28. Buffalo Bills
This is a young team continuing to grow (remember, E.J. Manuel and Kiko Alonso are only entering their second years in the league) but losing Jairus Byrd will hurt the defense and the Bills don’t really know what kind of player they have in Manuel.
27. Tennessee Titans
Out of all the new head coaches in the league, Ken Wisenhunt enters the worst situation. Jake Locker is kind of a lame-duck quarterback now that Tennessee has already said it won’t pick up his option for next season, and they lost Chris Johnson and Alterraun Verner in the offseason.
26. Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota has climbed up a lot of other power rankings because of a new coaching staff and the drafting of Teddy Bridgewater. They are looking good on offense minus some issues on the right side of the offensive line, but the defense is weak along the front seven after losing Jared Allen. The Vikings also have a tough draw in their division, and may pick up four or five losses alone from playing against the Packers, Lions and Bears.
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
There’s a lot to like about Tampa’s offense — Mike Evans paired with Vincent Jackson and Doug Martin returning from injury. The defense is even better, adding Verner to replace Darrelle Revis, but you can’t sell me on a Josh McCown-led team (for the whole season) competing for a playoff spot.
24. Dallas Cowboys
Dallas is on pace for another incredibly average season. They’re in a relatively easy division with Washington and the New York Giants, but this defense is just awful. Tony Romo, Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray will be able to take the offense far enough, but you can’t look past the Cowboys losing Demarcus Ware.
23. Cleveland Browns
If Josh Gordon can stay in the lineup for at least half the season, the Browns could be a playoff contender with Johnny Manziel, Ben Tate, Jordan Cameron and the rookie Terrance West on offense. Justin Gilbert, Joe Haden and Pierre Desir will also make up one of the toughest secondaries in the league, but the team is so young, experience has to be a concern, plus the looming suspension of Gordon.
22. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins are locked in to yet another .500, average season. They didn’t make any particular flashy free agent moves besides signing Knowshon Moreno, but Ryan Tannehill isn’t a playoff quarterback just yet and the offensive line is too flawed to open up any big holes for Moreno or protect Tannehill.
21. St. Louis Rams
The Rams have the potential with a strong defense and now a great rushing attack of Zac Stacy, Tre Mason and Greg Robinson blocking, plus the best pass rush in the league. But they play in such a difficult division, I don’t see them pulling out more than eight wins this season.
20. New York Giants
Even if Eli Manning has a good comeback year, the Giants didn’t do enough to solve their offensive line problems. But, if Manning can stay on his feet, the defense is coming together, adding Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie at corner to work with Antrel Rolle and Prince Amukamara. This could be a surprising team, but the O-Line really needs to step up first.
19. New York Jets
I’m definitely a believer in New York’s defense and their rushing game with a strong offensive line and Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory. But I’m not convinced that Michael Vick will all of a sudden turn this passing game around, and Eric Decker has never had to be a No. 1 receiver on a team. This is the basement ranking for the Jets, but they could end up moving up as high as a top-15 team.
18. Atlanta Falcons
If they can stay healthy, the Falcons are primed for a bounce-back season. Julio Jones and Roddy White have had plenty of time to get healthy, and Jake Matthews will definitely help along the offensive line. Atlanta will be a playoff contender once again if the defense can adjust to the new 3-4 scheme.
17. Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh’s championship window with Ben Roethlisberger is closing quickly. It lost Emmanuel Sanders, Heath Miller will be 32 at the end of October and Ryan Shazier isn’t enough youth to try to save this aging offense with Troy Polamalu, Lawrence Timmons and Ike Taylor, but there’s still enough talent here to make some noise in the AFC North.
16. Detroit Lions
By adding Eric Ebron and Golden Tate in the offseason, the Lions could score 45 points a game. But, their defense could potentially allow 50 points again. Both Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley’s statuses with the team are up in the air, and I can’t get behind any team to win a division that has Darius Slay and Chris Houston as its two starting corners.
15. Kansas City Chiefs
After blowing that 28-point lead in the playoffs to the Indianapolis Colts, a lot of people will have a sour taste in their mouth when the Chiefs come up. But their front seven is top-notch, and I’m not concerned about Jamaal Charles’s workload. There’s offensive line problems after losing several key players this offseason, but Charles can produce enough offense to get the Chiefs back to nine wins and a Wild Card spot.
14. San Diego Chargers
I’m putting the Chargers in the same Wild Card category as the Chiefs, they should be able to pick up nine wins with Philip Rivers and Keenan Allen in the passing game, and now a three-headed monster in the rushing game with Donald Brown, Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead. Adding Jason Verrett at safety really helps the defense, and if they can get a second receiver to step up, they’ll have an easy time competing for a playoff spot.
13. Carolina Panthers
The Panthers have been knocked for what’s left of their receivers, but I’m a Kelvin Benjamin fan, and a healthy Jonathan Stewart should allow Carolina to get back to its traditional rushing style with the mobile Cam Newton under center. Their secondary took some blows in free agency, but this front seven will rush the passer and clog rushing lanes.
12. Arizona Cardinals
Say what you want about how much Carson Palmer does/doesn’t have left in the tank, but Arizona’s defense has the ability to make up for in whatever Palmer and the offense lacks. After drafting Deone Bucannon, the Cardinals have the best secondary in the NFC now behind Seattle in Bucannon, Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu and Antonio Cromartie. Unfortunately, Palmer’s propensity for turning the ball over holds them back.
11. Baltimore Ravens
There were times last season when the Ravens looked bad, and I mean bad (especially Weeks 16 and 17). But adding Steve Smith and Owen Daniels on offense should help Joe Flacco get back into the swing of things, and C.J. Mosley and Terrence Brooks will help get the defense back on track.
10. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts didn’t improve all that much this offseason besides adding D’Qwell Jackson at inside linebacker and Hakeem Nicks to give Andrew Luck another weapon. But, in the AFC South, they’ll easily reach 10 wins and return to the playoffs as Luck continues to get better in each game.
9. Chicago Bears
Chicago’s offense took off last year (even with Josh McCown under center), with Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall taking over games at times. The reason they’ll get farther this year is because they improved on the defensive line, which was a huge weakness last season, by adding Jared Allen, Willie Young, Lamarr Houston, Will Sutton and Ego Ferguson.
8. Philadelphia Eagles
What’s not to like about a Darren Sproles and LeSean McCoy backfield, along with a quarterback who only threw two interceptions last year? The Eagles cut DeSean Jackson, which hurts their passing game, but McCoy and Sproles will be able to do so much out of the backfield it won’t matter. The secondary will be an issue again, but in the NFC East, it won’t matter, and the Eagles will fight for 10 wins.
7. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals are one of three deepest teams in the league, yet Andy Dalton seems to be holding them back from greatness. Still, there’s so much talent on both sides of the ball that Cincy will be fine, and they should easily capture the AFC North title.
6. New England Patriots
Besides switching in Darrelle Revis for Aqib Talib, this is basically the same Patriots team that made the AFC Championship game last year. Losing LeGarrette Blount won’t hurt them as much as some think it will. As long as Tom Brady around, it’s impossible to pick against the Pats.
5. New Orleans Saints
The Saints are going for another Super Bowl win now before Drew Brees’s window shuts. They added Jairus Byrd on defense, and drafting Brandin Cooks could prove to be one of the best moves of the draft. This is a stacked team on offense and defense, and if they can get anything out of the running game, they certainly won’t find themselves as a Wild Card team again.
4. Green Bay Packers
Even with Aaron Rodgers out for most of last year, the Packers still made the playoffs. They could have addressed the offensive line earlier in this year’s draft, but adding Julius Peppers on defense will give them some much-needed pass rush on the D-Line, and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix will come in automatically to improve the defense.
3. San Francisco 49ers
For the second year in a row, the most likely NFC Championship matchup seems to be the 49ers and Seahawks. By adding Stevie Johnson and Carlos Hyde, San Francisco will be a much better offensive team this season, but their secondary isn’t good enough to surpass Seattle.
2. Seattle Seahawks
Yes, I’m aware the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. But, I’m also aware that the offensive line is still a problem, and that their best receiver (Percy Harvin) has played in a total 10 regular season games in the last two seasons. The defense is back again, which makes them the favorite to reach the Super Bowl again, but the Broncos simply did more in the offseason to improve their team.
1. Denver Broncos
Peyton Manning now has more weapons on offense, with the Broncos adding Cody Latimer and Emmanuel Sanders. Montee Ball is perfectly capable of taking over the top back duties with Moreno gone. The main reason Denver hasn’t claimed a Super Bowl the last two seasons is because of their defense, and they did more than enough to improve that, adding Talib, Ware and T.J. Ward in free agency and drafted Bradley Roby to line up on the other side of Talib. The Broncos are going for it this year, and they are in perfect position to get that championship.