POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 1

Well, when you win the Super Bowl, you get to be the number 1 team in power rankings to start the next year, it's one of the benefits that come with it. I think one thing that we will see this year from the Chiefs is what the offense will look like with out Kelce. Sure, he's still healthy, but he is old, and coming off a statistically not great year for him, meaning he is on the decline. I imagine Andy Reid and Co. will be aware of this, and try and not have the offense rely on him too much.

Much like the Chiefs, the 49ers were in the Super Bowl, which punches them a ticket to be the #2 team in power rankings. They were an OT away from having a ring last February, and still have one of the best rosters in the entire NFL. It will be interesting at this point to see what this team looks like without Aiyuk for their first game, as it seems something happening between now and then seems impossible. Much like Kelce is for the Chiefs, Aiyuk is a huge cog in the machine that is the 49ers offense. Not to say it will be worse without him, but Pearsall has been struggling so far this pre-season.

I personally think that this is likely one of the best rosters in the entire league. There isn't much that they do wrong on defense, and I don't think they do anything wrong on offense. I am excited to see their two rookie corners play, and create one of the best secondaries in the league. The only hold up I have with this team, is their WR depth. I would love it if they traded for a receiver before the trade deadline to sure it up, but it isn;t necessary.

Derrick Henry's debut with the Ravens in week 1 is my most anticipated debut to look forward to. I feel like it gets swept under the rug this offseason, that the most dominant rusher of the generation is now with the best rushing offense and maybe best rushing QB we've ever seen. Sure he's older, but if you pretend that he can't still wreck games, you will be in for a rude awakening this season.

Realistically, if this team is number 1 in power rankings in a few weeks, would anyone be surprised? Stroud taking a second year leap with improved weapons on offense, and a better defense? This team could be absolutely nasty and win 13 games this year, or they can do what they did last year, which was pretty good too.

I don't know where to feel with the Eagles. They had an absolute disaster of a finish to their season last year, yet they had a fabulous free agency. One thing I don't think should be in question is Jalen Hurts QB play. An MVP season may seem like a long shot for him now, but if he can simply be a distributor of the football, and continue to add his legs to the running game, then he will be a better QB than over half the league.

I think the Bills generally get undervalued as a team because of their playoff success. Sure, they haven't gotten it done in the playoffs the past few seasons, but they are still a well built team who can win big games. Josh Allen is the likely the biggest weapon in the NFL still, and their defenses haven't disappointed yet. Will they find playoff success? I don't know, but I know they are going to get there.

The Packers are sort of like the anti-Bills. They do have pretty good playoff success, but they lose a lot of silly games during the regular season. However, like it has been said a million times about them, this team has a very young core. They are going to sure up a lot of that with maturity and experience, which will come this season. Their race with the Lions for the NFC North will be a fun one to watch,

You hate to say it, but there is a world where this is the last year of the Bengals Super Bowl window. I don't think it is, but with the pending free agency of Chase and Higgins, to go along with the fact there isn't really any superstars on defense, the Bengals should make the most of this season.

Say what you will about this team on offense with their weak running back core, and mishandling of Lamb and his contract, this defense is still great. It may have not been the statistical number 1 defense in the league last season, but it was the only one where the defense could absolutely take over a game and embarrass the opposing offense. Keep in mind this defense also gets one of its best playmakers back in Trevon Diggs.

It's time to give credit to the Ram's front office. After the season that was their Super Bowl hangover, while having no first round picks, they have rebuilt and alreadt have a good young core of great players. I don't know what kind of splash they could make deep down the year in the NFC, but this team has just as much talent as anyone else in the NFC.

There are people selling their stock on Anthony Richardson because of one pre-season game. The pre-season doesn't really matter. There are very little things you can take away from the pre-season and apply to the regular season, and by very few, I mean very few. I don't think the Chiefs are going to be bad this year because they went 0-3 in the pre-season, no one thinks that. Don't sell your stock on Anthony Richardson because of a pre-season game.

The Falcons are the highest ranked team that will be featuring a different QB under center this year as oppose to last year. It may feel low for what this team could do this season, but we haven't seen what Kirk looks like on the field for the Falcons. Until we do, it will be hard to put them over already established good teams.

Add this to the list of times I have defended Russell Wilson on this website, but I seriously don't get the hate and negativity. Firstly, there was no QB competition. Fields was traded for a 6th round pick, so they could see if they could do something with him, and so far, they haven't. Secondly, Wilson is coming off a good year! He was statistically really good last year, and is now in a system that more closely resembles those of his prime in Seattle. As long as there is a run game, and there is a receiver who can get seperation deep down field, then it'll all be good.

I have faith in Wilson, but I don't really have that much faith in Watson. He really feels like a shell of himself in Houston. The defense carried this team last year very hard, and with Nick Chubb coming back, he will carry the weight on offense. This team will be really hard to beat, but also at the same time, everyone knows how to beat them, and it's take advantage of their QB play.

I want the Dolphins to prove me wrong and set the league on fire again, but I just don't see them beating these teams I have in front of them. I don't think they are bad by any means, but I wouldn't pick them to beat any of these 15 teams I have higher.

This is about as high as I can put the Bears going into the year with a rookie QB, even if that QB is Caleb Williams.

Words don't do justice just how bad Staley was last season for this team. Going from a Head Coach that holds your team back to one that will make everyone play better will be night and day. That being said, I can only put them at 17 given the state of their roster and their record last season.

This feels like the direct middle of the pack. All the teams above here I feel are at least average to above average, and everything below this point, is so-so to bad. As for the Bucs, I don't think they are bad, but I am not expecting them to win the NFC South this season, nor do I think most people are.

If you can take away anything from this off-season, its that the Seahawks defense looks a lot better than it was a year ago. They made sure of it when they looked very fine tuned during the preseason. This is already going to be a weird season for Seattle, so it will be nice for them to have some normalcy of a great defense.

Whether or not Will Levis is good or not is more important to the Titans overall success than anyother player/team. If Levis is good, expect this team to maybe sneak in the playoffs. If he is bad, they will miss the playoffs. But if he is great, this team could win the South.

It is certainly not unrealistic to want to see it to believe it when it comes to the New York Jets. Yes their defense is good, but it's certainly not top 5. Aaron Rodgers is a hall of fame QB, but he hasn't played in a real NFL game in awhile. I'm not saying this is all impossible, I am just saying this is why they are sitting at 22 until proven otherwise.

I don't want this to come off mean-spirited, but there isn't much to get excited about with the Saints this season. Sure there is Spencer Rattler, but he may not see the field at all this season. There aren't a lot of pieces I am jumping up and down about either. The crazy thing is, that there is still a very plausible way they can win the division.

The Cardinals feel like the little brother of the NFC. They have some really nice young pieces, but no one quite takes them seriously. I think they deserve to be taken seriously, but I wouldn't call them a threat just yet.

The Jags are a lot like the Eagles in the sense that the wheels completely fell off to end the season last year. Only they missed the playoffs entirely, had a medicore offseason, and don't have the roster the Eagles have. It will have to be an uphill battle for them to reclaim their reputation in the division.

Not to say Sam Darnold is bad, but having him as your QB1 at the moment is not going to get you put very high in the power rankings. I think he will actually be decent this season, it's the rest of the roster that is a bit of a question mark to me.

Jayden Daniels is going to be pretty good this season if he can stay healthy, and I am personally more excited to watch a Washington game than I have for the past few years. The Commanders have kind of had the attitude this offseason to throw **** at the window and see if it sticks. We will see if it sticks. 

Gardner Minshew was just named the starter for the Raiders. A.K.A. the bridge season has officially begun for the Raiders rebuild.

There is a very real and likely scenario that the Giants end up at the bottom of the power rankings relatively soon. However, I am going to hold out a little less hope for Daniel Jones than the Giants have, but still have some hope nonetheless. I hope they shock people.

This ranking is based off how they finished the season last year. After benching Wilson, they lost to the Raiders, plain and simple. Also, they lost pieces like Simmons on defense, so I am going to need more than Bo Nix being solid in a meaningless preseason game to give me hope for them. Also, I would hope that Nix is exceeding in preseason, he was the most NFL ready QB prospect, and this is the prime if his career age-wise.

The Panthers had a really good offseason all things considered. The public opinion was very kind to Young, and they gave him a little more to work with offensively. I think the roster is still decently far away, but I am not really expecting them to sit around here at the bottom for much longer.

Please don't read too much into this. Someone had to be at the bottom of the power rankings for week 1, so I just went with the worst roster in the league. Whether or not they stay here can change, but they are here for now. I like some pieces, but it's a rough look right now until Maye is ready.