The past few months have made for a very eventful offseason in the NFL. Quite a few teams have gotten better, though of course, not everyone was so fortunate. There is a plethora of new faces in locker rooms across the league. Players are “all in” and ready to “bring a Lombardi Trophy home to insert city here“. Fans are full of hope and enthusiasm, as they prepare for another year of NFL football. Winning the offseason is great, but will it translate into wins on the field? Here are my post-draft NFL Power Rankings. In this section, you can see the teams expected to finish in the lower half of the league.
Post-Draft NFL Power Rankings (32-17)
32. Cleveland Browns
Let me start off by saying that I feel very strongly that Hue Jackson can absolutely be the right guy for the job, if given the necessary amount of time. The Browns also had an excellent draft, leading the league with 14 selections. They clearly focused on highly productive players, a lot of whom are ready to come in and contribute early in their careers. This is exactly what the Browns need. However, when a team goes 3-13 and then loses a handful of their best players in free agency, you know they’re in for a tough season.
31. San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers brought in Chip Kelly this offseason. That seems like it will either be a genius move or an utter disaster. My vote is for the latter. I don’t think anyone doubts Kelly’s coaching ability from an X’s and O’s standpoint. Kelly’s biggest question mark is, can he be a leader of men and get his players to buy into his system? Only time can answer that question fully. But in the meantime, it could be a rough year for the Niners, especially if Blaine Gabbart is their starting quarterback.
30. Tennessee Titans
The Titans have done some really nice things this offseason. First year general manager Jon Robinson got a king’s ransom for the first overall pick in the draft and put the team in a rather favorable position moving forward. Keeping Marcus Mariota off of the injury report is key for the Titans, who attempted to solidify their offensive line with first round pick Jack Conklin. A star-studded backfield with 2014 NFL rushing champion DeMarco Murray and 2015 Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry should be interesting. However, the Titans still have a lot of holes in the roster. At least they seem to be moving in the right direction.
29. Los Angeles Rams
The Rams have had a lot going on so far this year. If relocating back to the second largest market in the U.S. wasn’t a big enough splash this offseason, the Rams traded a multitude of picks to the Titans to trade up for franchise quarterback, Jared Goff. If the Goff pick works out for the Rams, they could realistically be competing for a playoff spot by next season. However, the NFC West is certainly not a friendly place for a rookie quarterback. As a result, it may be tough to get the ball rolling for Goff in Los Angeles.
28. Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles have had a very eventful offseason. They moved on from the train wreck that was the Chip Kelly era in Philadelphia, re-signed Sam Bradford, acquired Chase Daniel in free agency, and traded up for Carson Wentz in this year’s draft. Then Sam Bradford demanded a trade, but quickly realized he didn’t have much of a market. So for the time being, he will be the starter for the Eagles. Did you get all that? Pairing all of this with a rookie head coach and some pretty big holes Kelly left on the defense, it could be a long season in Philly.
27. San Diego Chargers
The surprise selection of Joey Bosa with the third overall pick really epitomizes the Chargers offseason. Average. It almost seems like they’re just content with where they are as a team. They won just four games a year ago, and they really didn’t do too much this offseason to improve on that. Free agent receiver Travis Benjamin will help stretch the field. Keenan Allen will likely put up big numbers in his return from a lacerated kidney he suffered last year. And an aging Philip Rivers will throw way too many passes. If the Chargers want any chance of improving, they’ll need to get Melvin Gordon going to have a more balanced offense. He’ll need to improve after an abysmal rookie season.
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers started playing a lot better down the stretch last season. Their team’s success hinges primarily on the development of sophomore quarterback Jameis Winston. He had a very solid rookie season, and looks to improve in his second year in the NFL. Despite selecting a kicker at the end of the second round, the Bucs improved their roster quite a bit in the draft. Cornerback Vernon Hargreaves and edge rusher Noah Spence could be immediate impact players.
25. Miami Dolphins
This could be a big year season for Ryan Tannehill in determining the trajectory of his career. I think new head coach Adam Gase, as well as new general manager, Chris Grier, would be happy moving forward with him if he plays well. If he doesn’t, they should have no issues severing ties with the former first rounder. We could see the best Tannehill that we’ve ever seen this season. But will that be enough to propel the Dolphins out of mediocrity?
24. Detroit Lions
The surprise retirement of Calvin Johnson this offseason will be tough to overcome for the Lions in 2016. Golden Tate is a good second option and so is free agent acquisition Marvin Jones. But can either one of them really step up and be a legitimate number one for Matthew Stafford? We’ll see. The return of DeAndre Levy should greatly help improve the defense, if he can return to his pre-injury form.
23. New Orleans Saints
It really feels like the Saints are wasting the twilight of Drew Brees’ career. They’ll win some games because Brees can sling the ball with the best of the quarterbacks in the NFL which will keep them in shootouts. That said, the Saints defense still needs a ton of work. Rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins should help against the run. But the secondary really needs to improve on their awful performance last year if the Saints expect to win more games in 2016.
22. New York Jets
This ranking is based on the Jets current roster. If they’re ever actually able to come to an agreement with last year’s starting quarterback and current free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick, they would probably be ranked a bit higher than this. But as it stands now, Geno Smith is the starting quarterback. I can’t bring myself to rank the Jets any higher as long as that’s the case.
21. Chicago Bears
The Bears had a pretty solid off-season and the return of star receiver Alshon Jeffery from injury will help. But the loss of Matt Forte, the lack of depth at receiver, and Jay Cutler’s mediocrity really limit what this team will be capable of this year. Another big question mark is second-year receiver Kevin White. He will be playing opposite of Jeffery in what is essentially his rookie season after missing all of last year due to injury. The defense, however, should be much improved, with a influx of young talent added over recent years.
20. New York Giants
The Giants were big spenders this off-season. The primary focus was improving a defense that was one of the worst in the league last season. The Giants payed big bucks for cornerback Janoris Jenkins, nose tackle Damon Harrison, and defensive end Olivier Vernon. They also drafted Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple with the tenth pick in the draft. The offense could also be held back by the absence of a serious home run threat in the backfield and the impending regression of Eli Manning.
19. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons started last season off red hot before imploding mid-season. They were, however, able to redeem themselves with a win over their previously unbeaten division rival, the Carolina Panthers. If the Falcons play the way that they started and ended the season last year, they could be a playoff team. The offense has some really nice players and defensive minded head coach Dan Quinn has been given some nice young players on the defensive side of the ball to work with. Can the Falcons turn that into wins in 2016?
18. Buffalo Bills
It was definitely a bit surprising to see the Bills defense regress under defensive guru Rex Ryan in his first year as head coach. Nevertheless, the team was able to add multiple day one starters in the draft this year on the defensive side of the ball. Ryan was able to get the team to play well in spurts last season, but they could never really build up any momentum. One of the biggest things to watch with Buffalo will be seeing if second-year starter Tyrod Taylor can build on some of the unexpected success that he had last season.
17. Jacksonville Jaguars
The amount of talent that the Jaguars were able to add to the defensive side of the ball this offseason was almost unreal. Jalen Ramsey and Myles Jack could be the cornerstones of an elite defense. Couple that with the emergence of a possible franchise signal caller in Blake Bortles as well as receivers Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson and Jacksonville could be making a playoff push sooner rather than later. The AFC South is extremely wide open, with the top three teams incredibly close.
Click here for part two of the power rankings where teams 16 through 1 are revealed.
