As the dog days of summer roll along, with each passing day we become one day closer to the return of football. It's been several months since the green confetti rained from the sky as the Eagles defeated the Chiefs to claim their second ever Super Bowl. Free agency and the draft came and went, and training camps and preseason action are underway. I.e. we're getting close...
Before creating this year's rankings, I thought it would be a fun exercise to go back and review last year's and see how they faired. The perennial lesson learned is that no matter how hard you try to accurately predict these things, or how much of an expert you believe yourself to be, there will always be surprises. I had the Eagles outside of the top 5 and they ended up winning the entire thing. San Francisco was my #2 ranked team and they didn't even make the playoffs and finished with a losing record. Washington was in my bottom 5, and then found themselves in the Final 4. Denver was also in my bottom 5 and ended up being a playoff team. It just goes to show the parity and competitiveness of this league and how much things can change year to year. Every year there's at least one team we think will be a Super Bowl contender that ends up falling off a cliff, and every year there's at least one team we think will finish towards the bottom that ends up being a surprise playoff team.
Who will be this years surprises for better or for worse? No one knows, but I for one am excited to find out. The offseason is always a fun time where every fanbase becomes filled with optimism and hope, and now we finally get to see it all unfold. Per usual, the 32 teams are ranked from worst to best from my perspective. I have once again organized them into tiers as well, this year there are 5 of them. So without further to do, I give you the preseason 2025 NFL power rankings.
Tier 1: Bad/Rebuilding
#32. New Orleans Saints
Somebody has to be last and this year I'm going with New Orleans, as they're a team I don't believe is actively trying to win. The Saints have been mediocre at best since the retirement of Drew Brees back in 2021. They traded for Derek Carr as an attempt to keep the team relevant, but this never really got them any higher than middle of the pack. Following a season that ended in a serious shoulder injury, the 34-year old Carr announced his retirement leaving the Saints with no real direction at quarterback. They used a second round pick on Tyler Shough from Louisville, but the probability of him stepping in and immediately being a true difference maker feels low.
If there's one thing we can credit New Orleans for, it's accepting the reality of the situation and accepting that they are a bad football team rather than putting all their energy and resources into being average. While it may not be fun this season, in the long-term this is a good thing as the Saints will accumulate higher draft picks and more salary cap space which ultimately will be helpful down the road. The hiring of former Eagles' offensive coordinator Kellen Moore to be the head coach also feels like a possible step in the right direction.
#31. Cleveland Browns
Slightly ahead of New Orleans we have Cleveland. An argument could be made for the Browns to be
at the very bottom, but at least they're throwing darts at quarterbacks and they have one elite defensive playmaker in edge-rusher Myles Garrett.
The Browns quarterback room could have it's own reality series. 5 different players including two rookies (Shadeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel), a 40-year old veteran (Joe Flacco), a former first-rounder who never lived up to his draft value (Kenny Pickett), and an injured star with a troubled past (DeShaun Watson). There's no way all of them will make the opening day roster, which makes it one of the more compelling offseason storylines. Sanders, the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders, was the big storyline of these 5, and the NFL draft as a while. Once predicted to be a top 2 or 3 pick after a stellar college career at Colorado, Sanders plummeted all the way to the 5th round, where the Browns finally elected to end the free-fall and roll the dice on Sanders. This was a bit puzzling as the Browns had already selected a rookie quarterback, Gabriel, in round 3, but they felt the value at this point was too good to pass up and felt throwing an extra dart at the most important position was a good strategy.
In addition to the gaping holes on the roster, further complicating matters for Cleveland is the fact that the rest of the division rivals will be competitive. Baltimore is a perennial top 5 team, the Bengals have one of the league's most explosive offenses, and Pittsburgh is a fringe playoff team every year. The Browns have been one of the poorest performing teams of the 2000's and sadly that seems likely to continue at least one more season.
#30. Tennessee Titans
It's a new era in Nashville. The Titans have a shiny new quarterback in #1 overall pick Cam Ward, a second-year head coach, and a brand new stadium coming in 2027. In many ways, the football team emulates the city itself with its youth movement and rapid growth. Historically, the team that finishes last-place almost never does so again the following year, so for the Titans it's only up from here.
Ward is coming off a stellar season at Miami where he was a Heisman finalist, and he wowed and impressed NFL scouts with his strong arm, good mobility, and ability to make all the throws. While the hype is real, these things still take time. Rome was not built in a day. While he may be a legitimate rookie of the year candidate, Ward will need to time to adjust and develop, and the Titans will need time and opportunity to further build the roster around him in the coming years.
#29. New York Giants
It seems as though the Giants have been trying to rebuild for a decade and can't seem to climb themselves out of the bottom of the barrel. They finally waived the white flag on the Daniel Jones experiment after 6 underwhelming seasons and their QB room saw a complete overhaul after signing some cheap veterans in Russel Wilson and Jameis Winston and trading up to draft Jaxson Dart from Ole Miss. Wilson's leadership and veteran presence should positively impact New York, especially the mentorship he can provide for Dart, but it feels like a matter of time before the transition happens from the aging veteran to the rookie.
While the offense is a question mark, the Giants defense actually has the potential to be pretty good and should be the strength of the team. Drafting edge-rusher Abdul Carter (Penn State) with the #3 overall pick further bolsters an already strong pass-rush and they made multiple investments in the secondary in free agency as well.
Still, this doesn't seem like a playoff team yet, especially when the division rivals are the Eagles, Commanders, and Cowboys. I'm not sure if there's a head coach/GM combination more on the hot-seat than Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen, and both could be gone if New York isn't better than expected.
Tier 2: Average at Best
#28. Indianapolis Colts
Another franchise where it feels like we are in uncertain times due to a hot-seat head coach and a quarterback dilemma. Shane Steichen is entering year 3 as head coach and if ends in another losing record and non-playoff trip then getting a 4th year will be up for debate.
Two years ago the Colts spent a top-5 pick on Anthony Richardson (UF) with the expectation that he would become the franchise QB. But due to both injuries and poor performance, that's beginning to seem more and more unlikely. The Colts did sign Daniel Jones in the offseason as an insurance policy after he and the Giants cut ties, but the early reports out of camp suggest that Jones is currently ahead of Richardson and that there's a good chance the Colts open the season with Jones as the starter and Richardson as the back up. Still, I wouldn't consider Jones a long term solution, more of a stop-gap for finding one if they determine Richardson isn't it.
Like many other teams, the Colts success is very much tied to the quarterback position. And I'm just not confident in the current options and think the Colts may be heading for a reset come 2026.
#27. Carolina Panthers
The Panthers were the league's worst team in 2023 and 2024, and for the first half of last season it looked like they were maybe heading there again, but in the back end of the season the Panthers got frisky and showed signs of life and improvement. Things seemed to finally click for second year quarterback Bryce Young and first year head coach Dave Canales, and the Panthers were able to string together some late wins and remain competitive against some of the league's best teams.
Carolina hasn't won more than 7 games since 2017, but if Young takes another step forward in year 3 then 8 wins seems in play. The Panthers also used their first round pick on wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who should add some much needed speed and juice to the pass-catching game. The defense remains a work in progress and one that ranked towards the bottom of the league in most metrics. That probably ultimately still holds them back this year, but if the offense continues to improve then Carolina can invest more resources into improving its defense in future offseasons.
#26. New York Jets
Fun fact: the Jets have the longest active playoff drought of any professional sports team (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA) at 14 years, having last made the playoffs in 2011. Most experts believe that will carry on at least one more season. Much of this can be attributed to the Jets' inability to find a solution at quarterback, with the 2 year Aaron Rodgers fiasco being the latest failed attempt. I do think the Jets made the right call in moving on from Rodgers and some of the other more veteran players to prioritize young talent.
It's a new era for the Jets after cleaning house and hiring a new GM (Darren Mougey - former assistant GM for the Broncos) and new head coach (Aaron Glenn - former defensive coordinator for the Lions). It's interesting to me that they would again opt for a defensive minded head coach after firing Robert Saleh, who was previously (and now currently again) the defensive coordinator for the 49ers, but the Jets' brass believes Glenn is a defensive guru who in time can elevate the Jets' defense to an elite level.
Obviously the Jets needed a new quarterback to help usher in this new era as well, and they found one in free agency signing Justin Fields. Only 26 years old, Fields was selected 11th overall by the Bears in 2021 and spent three seasons there. The Bears inherited the #1 overall pick from a previous trade they made with the Panthers the season prior, and the Bears ultimately decided to use that pick on Caleb Williams and make him their franchise quarterback moving forward. With Williams now in the fold and only 1 year left on Fields' rookie contract, Chicago traded Fields to the Steelers last season. Fields only started 6 games, since Russel Wilson was the team's primary starter, but he did win 4 of those 6. With Fields it feels like the potential is there, he was nearly a top-10 pick after all, but he just hasn't been placed in the right situation to succeed yet. In terms of play style, Fields is definitely a threat with his legs, but is still improving as a thrower.
The Jets do have a pair of promising young weapons on offense in wide receiver Garrett Wilson and running back Breece Hall, both only 24 years old. If Fields can step in and provide average or better quarterback play, there's a world where the Jets can be far better than #26. And because the Jets have a couple good pieces in place already, it feels like their rebuild in theory shouldn't take as long as some of the other teams ranked behind them.
#25. New England Patriots
It's been tough times in New England since Tom Brady left them for the beautiful white sand gulf coast beaches in Tampa back in 2020, a humbling experience for a fan base and city that had become so accustomed to winning and high expectations. In the 5 seasons since Brady's departure, the Patriots are 33-51 with only one playoff appearance and no playoff wins. They have finished 4-13 the past two seasons.
Like many other teams below them, the Patriots are trying to usher in a new era. They fired last year's head coach Jerod Mayo after just one season and replaced him Mike Vrabel, who played defense for the Patriots during part of the Brady era and won 3 Super Bowls with the team as a player. Vrabel also has head coaching experience, he coached the Titans from 2017-2023 where he had a winning record and led them to 3 playoff appearances and 2 division titles.
The Patriots also drafted their quarterback of the future last season when they used the 3rd overall pick on Drake Maye (North Carolina). Despite the lack of talent around him, Maye actually showed some good flashes of potential as a rookie and the organization is hopeful he can take another step forward in year 2. Using their first-rounder this year on Will Campbell (LSU), the highest rated offensive lineman in this year's draft class, should further help protect Maye's blindside.
New England also entered free agency with the most cap space of any team, and there was a concerted effort to use that money to help bolster the roster as well. Additionally they play one of the league's most favorable schedules. I think the Patriots will be markedly improved from the past couple seasons, however I'm not sure that they're ready yet to contend for a playoff spot and still far away from challenging Buffalo for the division.
#24. Las Vegas Raiders
The reoccurring theme of a new era continues here with Vegas, as the Raiders have new ownership (sort of), a new GM, new head coach, and new starting quarterback. Starting from the top, Mark Davis is still the majority owner of the Raiders, however Tom Brady and his business partner purchased a 10% stake in the team, and they have definitely influenced some of the hiring and decision-making. For example, the first order of business was finding a new GM, and Brady lasered in on John Spytek, a former assistant GM for the Buccaneers who overlapped with Brady during his 3 years in Tampa. Vegas then hired Pete Carroll to coach the team. Carroll is the oldest active NFL head coach, turning 74 in February, but he's a proven winner having won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks in 2014 (and was a yard away from going back to back in 2015) and a national championship with USC in 2004. The Raiders also needed a new quarterback, and in free agency they signed Geno Smith, whom Carroll coached in Seattle for 5 seasons. Further adding to the season of change and excitement, the Raiders hired Chip Kelly to be the team's offensive coordinator and used the 7th overall pick in the draft on Boise State running back Ashton Jeantry. Kelly is known for explosive fast-paced offenses and despite being a coordinator now has a wealth of head coaching experience from time spent coaching the Eagles at the NFL level and then Oregon and UCLA at the college level. Jeantry was the highest ranked running back in the draft class and was a Heisman finalist last season.
Despite all that change and excitement, the Raiders roster does still have its fair share of holes. They lack good receivers, the offensive line is leaky, and the defense still needs fixing. A turnaround doesn't just happen overnight. Factor in as well that their other 3 division rivals all made the playoffs last year (Chiefs, Chargers, Broncos) and this still feels like an uphill battle for Vegas, but at the very least you can argue that they're closing the gap.
#23. Seattle Seahawks
Moving from Vegas to Seattle feels like an appropriate transition seeing as it was the old stomping grounds for both Peter Carroll and Geno Smith. The Seahawks have actually finished with a winning record each of the past 3 seasons, however that "success" has only amounted to one playoff appearance and zero playoff wins.
Smith was shipped to Vegas and replaced with Sam Darnold, who just had the best season of his career in Minnesota last year. Darnold was a former #3 overall pick who began his career with the Jets and also had brief stops in Carolina and then as a back up in San Francisco. He never quite lived up to his high draft value, and it seemed like his career path was going to transition to a travelling veteran back up, which is actually what he was brought to Minnesota to do as well. But then an ACL tear to rookie JJ McCarthy thrust Darnold back into a starting job, and he took the opportunity and ran with it, leading the Vikings to 14 wins and a playoff appearance. The big question is whether or not Darnold has actually turned a corner, or if last year was an outlier and more a product of Minnesota's elite wide receivers and good play-calling. If Seattle gets the version of the 28-year-old Darnold who played in Minnesota last year, then he'll be both a short-term and long-term upgrade from the 34-year-old Smith.
The Seahawks also traded away their best wide receiver, DK Metcalf to the Steelers, and replaced him with aging star Cooper Kupp. This is a bit of a role-reversal of the Darnold/Smith situation as Metcalf is just 27 and in his prime while Kupp is 32 and past his. The move clears the way for 3rd year receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba to become to #1 receiver now, after he took a big step forward in his sophomore season, while Kupp can be more of a support receiver and 2nd or 3rd option.
Did Seattle actually get better replacing Smith and Metcalf with Darnold and Kupp? I'm not really convinced that they did, and even if the answer is "yes" I'm not sure how much it truly moves the needle. This still feels like a middle of the pack team.
#22. Arizona Cardinals
There's plenty of pressure to go around in the Valley of the Sun in 2025. Head coach Jonathan Gannon enters year 3 as a hot-seat candidate with a 12-22 record over his first 2 seasons. Former #1 overall pick Kyler Murray enters a make or break season as well. Since arriving in 2019, he has a record of 36-45 as the starting quarterback. The natural talent is there, but questions exist about the drive and work ethic and so far the talent has translated to more losses than wins. Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr was selected with the 4th overall pick last season and had extremely high hopes and expectations of his own, but his rookie season was widely considered a disappointment.
On a more positive note, the Cardinals invested heavily in their defense, specifically up front. They won the bidding war for edge-rusher Josh Sweat in free agency, who was a key piece of the Eagles' Super Bowl winning defense last season but one they couldn't afford to keep. They also used their first-round pick on Walter Nolan (Ole Miss), and signed a pair of veterans to help up front in run stuffer Dalvin Tomlinson and aging edge-rusher Calais Campbell. Gannon is a defensive-minded coach and GM Monti Ossenfort did what he could to provide Gannon with a defensive front that aligned with his coaching philosophies.
It's possible that this is another subpar season and Arizona hits the reset button with Gannon and Murray no longer with the team. It's also possible that a locked-in Murray and Harrison play to their full potential and the defense is markedly improved and the team makes some surprising noise. But until we actually see it, Arizona feels like a mediocre at best team.
Tier 3: Possible Playoff Teams
#21. Jacksonville Jaguars
It was an aggressive offseason in north Florida but sometimes high risks yield high rewards. The Jaguars coveted Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen to be their new head coach, so much so that they ended up firing their GM, whom Coen did not want to work with after the past two head coaches were quickly fired. Then on draft night they made an aggressive trade, dealing away multiple first round picks to move up to the #2 overall pick to draft Travis Hunter, arguably the draft's most exciting and intriguing player since he can play both offense and defense.
Coen is only 39 and the Jags were enamored with what he accomplished with the Buccaneers offense last season, which ranked top 5 or at minimum top 10 in just about every offensive statistic. With Jacksonville still looking to tap into Trevor Lawrence's full potential, they viewed Coen as the right man to help Lawrence take the next step and take the Jaguars offense as a whole to the next level. Similar to Kyler Murray, Lawrence signed a massive extension with Jacksonville but needs to prove that he's worth the lucrative contract the Jags are paying him.
If he plays wide receiver, Hunter should absolutely help with this as well. Hunter is an electric playmaker with a rare combination of speed, athleticism, and endurance who can step in and immediately provide a spark to this offense. Jacksonville also drafted wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr last year who ended up being one of the best performing rookies in the NFL. That pass-catching duo might be the best young pass-catching duo in football, and Lawrence in turn should greatly benefit from having two legitimate young weapons to throw to, in conjunction with Coen's influence.
Time will tell whether these ultra-aggressive moves will ultimately pay off for the Jaguars, but at the very least you have to give them credit for swinging for the fences and attempting to change the narrative. If the offense is as good as people believe it could be, Jacksonville may be able to contend with the Texans for the AFC South.
#20. Miami Dolphins
I'm probably a little more bullish than most on all of the Florida teams, and Miami is no exception because when healthy this offense is still loaded with talent and blazing speed. Wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and running back DeVon Achane are all among the fastest players in football, and when he's healthy Tua Tagavailoa does a good job of getting each of them the ball in open space. Two years ago this offensive was top-5 in generating chunk plays (plays of 20 or more yards). But the elephant in the room is Tua's health and history of head injuries. He's probably one major concussion away from ending his career.
Despite all the talent, there are some weird vibes in South Beach. Hill claimed he wanted to be traded at the start of the offseason and then later rescinded those comments. Top cornerback Jalen Ramsey requested and was granted a trade, which also included starting tight end Jonnu Smith. Edge-rusher Bradley Chubb made comments that players "lied" about culture issues previously before insisting all was now well. Head coach Mike McDaniel went from an offensive mastermind to a hot-seat candidate that people seem to have figured out. And of course there's Tua making $53 million a year but never being able to play the full season.
It's a hard team to pinpoint because despite the strange off-the-field stuff, the firepower and explosiveness is still there to score in bunches and win games. But at the same time if things start poorly it feels like an implosion and full reset is looming.
#19. Chicago Bears
There's a lot of buzz and excitement around the Bears this offseason, deservedly so. Last year's #1 overall pick Caleb Williams is entering his second season. His rookie year saw its ups and downs, as most rookies do, but many feel that if he reaches his full potential Williams could be a Mahomes-esque type player with his ability to scramble and throw from abnormal angles across his body and his ability to improvise when a play breaks down and make plays out of nothing.
Further adding to that excitement is the hiring of Ben Johnson as the team's new head coach. Johnson, only 39 years old, was the offensive coordinator for the Lions and was probably the most coveted candidate for teams searching for a new head coach due how intelligent and innovative of a play caller he is. Johnson likes to get creative and develop occasional trick plays, a great example of this is seen in Netflix's Quarterback series when he creates the "fake fumble" play with Jared Goff that results in a touchdown. Chicago's last head coach, Matt Eberflus, was a defensive coach, so the hope is that pairing Williams early in his career with an offensive guru like Johnson will do wonders for his development, and under Johnson, Williams will play in a well-designed system.
On paper, the Bears have a roster good enough to contend for a playoff spot. The bigger problem is the NFC North, which in my opinion is currently the best division in football. Chicago will have to play Detroit, Green Bay, and Minnesota twice each, all of whom were playoff teams with double-digit wins last season. The Bears seem well positioned for the future, and in time their contention window may begin to open while their division rivals begins to close, but for 2025 we're not quite there yet and probably still at least a year away.
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