Pre-Draft Power Rankings | A surprise team at number 2?
By: Josh Shippen
Updated rankings will be released after the draft.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Not only do the Bucs have extremely good depth in every facet of their roster, they also won the freaking Super Bowl. So yes, I believe that the Bucs are certainly the best team in the NFL.
- Buffalo Bills
The Bills are set up for a lot of success in 2021, Josh Allen improves exponentially every year and although the Bills had a defensive recession, their defense is still good enough for them to survive in games.
- Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs finished with a 14-2 record and managed to still win the Super Bowl even with Chad Henne at the helm. Mahomes is still the best quarterback in the game, if anything his Super Bowl performance helped legitimize that.
- Baltimore Ravens
While the Ravens have yet to draft or sign a number one wide receiver, I think that Lamar is more than good enough to carry this team into the playoffs and this defense with Tyus Bowser and Marlon Humphrey is going to be a definite strength of this team.
- Green Bay Packers
The Packers roster has the reigning MVP in Aaron Rodgers and also has an improving defense with Kenny Clark, the Smith wall, and Rashan Gary. Expect the Green Bay Packers to be right back into the mix in 2021.
- Cleveland Browns
The addition of Troy Hill and John Johnson III makes the Cleveland Browns one of the most dangerous defenses in the league in 2020, and hopefully the Browns will be a powerhouse once COVID is no longer a concern.
- Tennessee Titans
Derrick Henry singlehandedly moves this team into the top ten. This offense with Tannehill, Henry, and A.J. Brown is one of the best three packs in the NFL, and the Titans are still going to be dangerous in 2021.
- Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys had the potential to be the best offense in the NFL early in the year, but after Dak Prescott’s best season was cut short by injury, and multiple injuries to many other positions, they were forced to tank down the stretch and ended up being disappointing. With better injury luck, that will not repeat in 2021.
- Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers tanked down the stretch after their impressive 11-0 start, but there is no doubting that they have one of the best defenses in the NFL with T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick. They have lost a lot, but at this point the institution has probably learned to put trust into Mike Tomlin.
- Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles’ Rams quarterback situation has not really changed too much in my eyes, but at least they have fresh, more experienced blood to play with. The Rams defense has lost a lot of key parts, but perhaps the offense can find its rhythm and get going.
- Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals are absolutely ready to be a contender. Kyler Murray was one of the best breakout quarterbacks of 2020, and the Cardinals have a great three pack to play with in DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, and Andy Isabella.
- Miami Dolphins
Tua is set for a big year, especially after being written off by multiple fans and writers after a slow start that was not even that slow in 2020. As long as the Dolphins improve depth on the rest of their offense they should be completely fine in 2021.
- New York Giants
The Giants had an extremely disappointing year, but please remember that they were affected by a slew of injuries, many of them to their most vital positions. Danny Dimes, Saquon Barkley, and Kenny Golladay are going to be a feared trio in this league very soon.
- Los Angeles Chargers
Justin Herbert had an extremely good rookie year in LA which leads me to think that he can only improve in his second year. Hopefully the Chargers will be able to break their streak of disappointing losses and muffed kicks in 2021.
- New Orleans Saints
I still do not trust Taysom Hill, even after his semi-impressive starts against prolific defenses such as the Atlanta Falcons (That was sarcasm, the Falcons defense was horrid). Add that to the depth they’ve lost at nearly every position and you are looking at a broken team.
- Washington Football Team
The Redskins are building a pretty good team with good depth, unfortunately they are not addressing the most important position in professional sports. No, Ryan Fitzpatrick is not going to be the future of this offense, this is not the New York Jets.
- Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders are building a good team, but the problem that isn’t even a problem has to be Derek Carr. Derek Carr is very much a progress stopper, I think of him as a rich man’s Tyrod Taylor in that sense. He needs a really good offense around him to make him good, and that may well be the case.
- Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts made in my opinion a pretty good move in the trading of Carson Wentz, but I do not believe it will be nearly enough to improve the Colts as a team, especially now that the Colts have lost Anthony Castonzo and seem to be on track to lose another lineman soon.
- Seattle Seahawks
I don’t see the Seahawks improving too much; the uncertainty surrounding Russ is very concerning and will create instability early on, and the team has very little depth outside of Russ. This team will start a gradual decline this year.
- San Francisco 49ers
Even though I feel that this is a more than fair ranking for the Niners, something tells me that Shanahan is going to end up putting it all together in the end. Whether he has Garoppolo or a random rookie, Shanahan will find a way to make it work.
- Chicago Bears
The Bears had one of the worst offseason moves with signing Andy Dalton and declaring him the starter over Nick Foles. The biggest Dalton cliche is that he needs a good team around him to be good, and the team around him is most certainly not a good team.
- New England Patriots
I really don’t understand the Cam Newton re-signing on any level; Newton was terrible in 2020 and was the reason that the Patriots ended up being so unsuccessful in the end. In addition to this, the Patriots are not deep at any position, and their former good players seem to be struggling.
- Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers have Sam Darnold as their starting quarterback, take that how you will. My personal thought is that the Panthers will be able to figure it out with Darnold after a couple years. He is young, and very impressionable.
- Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals desperately need to fix their offensive line. They are so close to success but if Burrow gets murdered again during the season there will be no winning seasons in Cincinnati.
- Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have a huge quarterback issue but seem to have no concern for fixing it on any level. Kirk Cousins was disgustingly bad in 2020 and there is nobody to back him up. Sean Mannion is not a suitable backup quarterback.
- Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos have claimed that they are going to stick with Drew Lock, and if this is the case then I think it is safe to say that another sad season is in store for them.
- Philadelphia Eagles
While Jalen Hurts might be an excellent quarterback, but the rest of the team is so shallow and untalented that I really do not see them having any chance. Every aspect of the team fell apart last year, and that is going to take a long time to improve.
- Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons have a horrendous defense, a struggling offense with an aging quarterback, and a whole new scheme and regime in place. I do not see any success for the Falcons in 2021.
- Houston Texans
The Texans have way too much uncertainty around them, and while I wholly believe that Deshaun Watson is an elite quarterback I do not think the Texans can start him for 17 games without coming under fire.
- New York Jets
The Jets are at least just a little better, and will be pretty amazing with Zach Wilson at the controls. As long as Robert Saleh is not as terrible as Adam Gase the Jets should be around a six win team.
- Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville has horrible depth but they did add some important pieces such as Shaquille Griffin in the offseason. They should definitely be relying on the draft to succeed this year.
- Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions have a horrible offense and an even worse defense. This is the worst team in the league and I don’t see one thing to be excited about in this game.
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