After all this time of discussing the draft, free agency moves and trades during the offseason, it’s finally time to get down to some meaningful football games.
As we’ve seen in the past few NFL seasons, even the worst team in the league can upset the best, and that’s what makes the league so great. But prior to Week 1, let’s look at how the teams stack up after the offseason and what their outlooks are for the year.
32. Oakland Raiders
The Raiders are building their roster in the worst way possible — by signing tons of veteran free agents. You want to bring in veteran free agents to make a contender better, but not to completely rebuild a team. This will be another long year for the Raiders.
31. Buffalo Bills
Buffalo signed Kyle Orton earlier this week, which means they really like E.J. Manuel right? Right? Their quarterback position is going to be a problem all season, and Sammy Watkins is already showing like he could have some injury problems. The defense is going to be OK, but this offense could be in the bottom five by the end of the year.
30. Jacksonville Jaguars
This is a similar situation to the Raiders. Instead of drafting well, the Jaguars have signed a bunch of free agents this offseason (most of whom are former Seahawks). They overpaid Toby Gerhart, and until Blake Bortles starts, Chad Henne won’t be moving the offense up and down the field.
29. Tennessee Titans
Nothing about this team is exciting. Bishop Sankey is a solid running back, and the Titans have a group of solid receivers in Justin Hunter and Kendall Wright. The offensive line is solid, but this is just an overall boring team, and they’ll be lucky to get six wins this year.
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Like the Bills, the Buccaneers have a solid defense that has top five upside. But on offense, I’m not a believer in either Josh McCown or Mike Glennon, which will hold this team back, even with Mike Evans and Doug Martin.
27. St. Louis Rams
The Sam Bradford injury hurts them slightly, but not as much as losing someone like Matt Ryan would for the Falcons. The front seven in St. Louis is amazing, but the wide receivers and secondary really hold this team back, especially in the NFC West.
26. Cleveland Browns
The passing game in Cleveland will likely be one of the five worst in the league without Josh Gordon, but the Browns do have the upside to go 8-8 or 7-9 this season with a power running game and solid defense, which is more than can be said for the other six teams on this list so far. The defense is stacked, and a backfield of Ben Tate, Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell is the deepest group the Browns have had in years.
25. Minnesota Vikings
Sure Teddy Bridgewater isn’t starting, but they still have Adrian Peterson and Cordarrelle Patterson, and the overhauled defense has top 12 upside. I’d be even higher on the Vikings if Bridgewater was starting, which he will at some point this season.
24. New York Jets
Geno Smith actually had a solid preseason, but I’d still like to see Michael Vick in the lineup on Sundays. Chris Johnson should take some of the pressure off Smith as well, and they finally have a receiving weapon in Eric Decker. The Jets will also prevent almost every team from running the ball.
23. Houston Texans
The defense is going to be amazing. The offense, not so amazing. As soon as Arian Foster goes down (which will happen at some point) they are thin at running back, and they just traded for Ryan Mallett, so the Texans could potentially start three or more quarterbacks at various points this season.
22. Dallas Cowboys
Tony Romo, Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray could score 40 points a game, but the defense could be historically bad and allow 50 points a game.
21. Arizona Cardinals
All of a sudden, the Cardinals lost half their defense in free agency or due to suspension or injury. The secondary is still very good, but nothing about the front seven would scare me as an opponent. Carson Palmer will also have a tough time staying healthy in facing the Seahawks, 49ers and Rams in six of his games this year.
20. New York Giants
I try to not overreact to the preseason, but boy did the Giants’ offense look bad in the preseason. The secondary is better after adding Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, but I’m not sure if the offensive line and Eli Manning can turn things around.
19. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers suffered last season from having an aging defense, and the only thing they did to improve that was draft Ryan Shazier. Shazier already looks like a prototypical Pittsburgh linebacker, but this is still an aging defense, and the offensive line is a huge question mark.
18. Washington Redskins
Just like their rivals, the Cowboys, the Redskins added DeSean Jackson and could score 40 points a game, but their defense would have to stop their opponent on at least three drives a game (an exaggeration, obviously) and I’m not sure if they can do that.
17. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins are destined for another 8-8 or 7-9 season, but it will be a convincing seven or eight wins. The running game could be better than expected with Knowshon Moreno and Lamar Miller, and this will be a make-or-break year for Ryan Tannehill.
16. San Diego Chargers
Big believer in the offense, not a believer in the defense. A backfield of Ryan Mathews, Danny Woodhead and Donald Brown is very diverse and deep, should Mathews miss time. Philip Rivers and Keenan Allen will also make for quite the connection once again. If they want to make the playoffs, though, they’ll need some sort of production out of their linebackers.
15. Atlanta Falcons
If Julio Jones and Roddy White were guaranteed to both stay healthy all season, the Falcons would be somewhere around the 12th spot on this list. But the threat is real for one or both of those guys to miss time, along with Steven Jackson, making them a very risky team to rely on.
14. Baltimore Ravens
The passing attack has the potential to be great this season with Dennis Pitta healthy and adding Steve Smith, but Baltimore’s secondary could be one of the worse in the league this season. We still don’t know who Ray Rice will be as a rusher when he returns from suspension, and Joe Flacco will only be as good as the players around him.
13. Kansas City Chiefs
I’m higher on the Chiefs than most, but I think Jamaal Charles and Travis Kelce will give Alex Smith some weapons. The offensive line could hurt this team in the long run, but for now, I think Kansas City could control the clock with Charles on offense and slow offenses with a solid group of linebackers.
12. Detroit Lions
The Lions are in the same category as Dallas and Washington, but I like what the Lions have on offense now more than both those teams, and they are much better on defense in the box. Joique Bell and Reggie Bush will be a great mix at running back, and Golden Tate is the best receiver Calvin Johnson has ever played with.
11. Carolina Panthers
You could certainly make the case for flipping Detroit and Carolina, but I still think the front seven of the Panthers defense will be good enough to keep them in games, and Kelvin Benjamin could turn out to be a big playmaker as long as his hands improve from where he was in college.
10. Chicago Bears
Chicago’s defense will go from being one of the worst in the league last season to at least middle of the pack this year, and the offense will likely finish in the top 10 with Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. If the defense can stop teams from throwing all over them, the Bears will be a lock for the Wild Card spot.
9. Indianapolis Colts
Having Andrew Luck on your team will basically guarantee you nine wins a season, and having T.Y. Hilton and Reggie Wayne will get you to 10 wins. But after that, it all depends upon what happens with the running game, and if anyone on the defensive side of the ball can step up.
8. Philadelphia Eagles
Another year of Chip Kelly means another exciting year for the Eagles. Nick Foles is due to regress this season, but any quarterback could excel in Kelly’s system, and pairing LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles gives them a ton of firepower out of the backfield.
7. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals are one of the deepest teams in the league. They could use some help at linebacker, but the defensive line gets Geno Atkins back, and a backfield of Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill could be very dangerous. Plus, A.J. Green is still there, which is always good.
6. New England Patriots
Moving Logan Mankins will hurt the Patriots along the offensive line, but they get another year of development for their young receivers, and Rob Gronkowski seems to be healthy for the time being. The defense is also underrated headed in to the season. The Pats have 13-win upside this season.
5. New Orleans Saints
Their strong defense from last year only got better during the offseason, and Brandin Cooks was one of my favorite fits for any player in the draft. Khiry Robinson will step up to replace Sproles (and could end up becoming the feature back), and Drew Brees is still Drew Brees.
4. San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers improved on offense by adding Steve Johnson and getting Michael Crabtree back for the regular season, but I moved them below the Packers because of what they lost on defense. Donte Whitner left in free agency, Aldon Smith is out for the first nine games now, Ray McDonald could be facing a suspension himself and NaVorro Bowman won’t start the season.
3. Green Bay Packers
The Packers are the second best team in the NFC. Up front, losing B.J. Raji isn’t as big of a deal as it sounds, given how poorly he played last season. The secondary is underrated after the Packers drafted Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, and Aaron Rodgers is unlikely to break his collarbone again.
2. Denver Broncos
There’s definitely a case to be made for the Broncos to be No. 1 on this list given what the Seahawks lost on defense this offseason, but Wes Welker’s most recent concussion is very concerning for his own wellbeing and the team, and they are very thin at linebacker. Still, Peyton Manning is going to throw 400 or so yards a game again, and the Broncos are going to be very good once again.
1. Seattle Seahawks
Losing Golden Tate is tough for the offense, but any games that Percy Harvin plays will give a huge boost to the offense. The rest of the defense remains largely intact despite a few players leaving in free agency, but there’s no reason to think why the Seahawks won’t make another push for the Super Bowl this year.