1. Carolina Panthers
They still have pretty much the same team, with their only notable losses being cornerback, Josh Norman and future hall of famer, Jared Allen. They also still have the most explosive offense in the league, and receiver Calvin Benjamin will be returning for this season, which will only cement the No. 1 offense of 2015. Their recent additions to their defensive line, notably Vernon Butler, should pay dividends in pressuring opposing quarterbacks and reducing some pressure on their weakened secondary. That being said, Luke Kuechly should continue to lead one of the best scoring defenses in the league, making this team a two-headed dragon that looks poised to win just a few games this upcoming season.
2. Arizona Cardinals
Between the arm of Carson Palmer and the glue hands of Larry Fitzgerald with the help of the speedy John Brown, the Cardinals have a powerful offense that can stretch the field at any moment. And they have one of the top defenses in the league from last year. They solidified their offensive line in the draft with T, DJ Humphries. But I think they are really excited about DE, Markus Golden, who should help them get after the quarterback, something they struggled with last season, although his speed and less then ideal size makes him a better fit at linebacker.
3. Denver Broncos
They won the Superbowl. Yes they lost Peyton Manning on offense, and DE Malik Jackson and ILB Danny Trevathon on defense. As far as Peyton Manning goes, I think the Broncos actually benefited, his nine TD's to 17 INT's proved to be one of the worst performances over the course of the season by just about any quarterback in the league. Even the unproven rookie, Paxton Lynch, at QB, should make the teams offense more productive. That being said, their defense has been considerably weakened which is why I can't rank them any higher. But the recent pickup at S, Karl Joseph, while in limbo over an ACL tear that ended his senior season, looks to combat the losses.
4. Cincinnati Bengals
Fine, they've made it to the playoffs six of the last seven seasons, and lost in every appearance. As far as the regular season goes, they still have one of the most consistent defenses, with strength at nearly every position. On offense they can always give you a run for your money, so long as Andy Dalton, Tyler Eifert, and A.J. Green can stay healthy. They had a very strong draft class with recent additions such as CB, William Jackson III, and WR, Tyler Boyd, who only go to add depth and further bolster their lineup.
5. Minnesota Vikings
They have one of the strongest defenses in the league and that alone set them up to win the NFC north title, as their offense was ranked 16th in scoring. They possess a strong front seven and arguably the most talented secondary in the league, and that makes them one of the toughest teams to run up the score against. That being said, they will continue to keep games close, and give Bridgewater and their offense a chance to win. Now that they've added G, Alex Boone in free agency, and their offensive line is healthy again, Teddy should have more then ample time to get rid of the ball in an effective way, something that hampered his play all of last season. Yet even still he did manage to have a decent season statistically speaking in light of this, so he may breakout as a very solid quarterback, especially with their addition at WR in Laquon Treadwell. Oh I almost forgot, they have Adrian Peterson too, which means opposing teams will have to pick their poison.
6. Green Bay Packers
This is a team that year in and year out will compete for a playoff spot, especially under the guidance of undeniably one of the best QB's in the league, in Aaron Rodgers. Even still they struggled to find consistency on the offensive side of the ball last season, with Jordy Nelson's ACL injury, and Eddy Lacy's lackluster year. That being said, with Nelson's return, they should look to return to a more familiar form. In the draft they took a focus on the defensive side, further bolstering an underrated and under-appreciated defense in the league. They will be a hard team to beat, but I had to put the Vikings higher, because although they split games, they had an almost identical schedule and one team won that NFC north title.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers
As always, this team has always been built on the premise of defense. This draft only further shows as the majority of their draft picks were spent on strengthening it. But something that makes these Steelers standout and so special is their highly effective offense run by Ben Roethlisberger, who as of recent has been playing some of the best football of his life. Solid on both sides of the ball, this team looks poised to compete with the Bengals for their own division title, provided Big Ben can stay healthy and continue his recent hot streak of tearing up opposing defenses.
8. Kansas City Chiefs
They are your classic, west coast, ball control, run the ball down your throat offense that perfectly complements one of the strongest defenses in the league. Alex Smith looks to continue to play some of the most beautifully mediocre football that will keep his team alive, without making stupid mistakes and producing just enough to win games. That being said, this is one of the most talented teams in the NFL, and the fact that only their first two draft picks, CB, KeiVarae Russell, and DL, Chris Jones, are remotely guaranteed a spot on the 53-man roster only goes to show this.
9. New England Patriots
Yes, under Tom Brady, they are a much better team then this placement would be telling of. But now that he will miss the first four games of the 2016 season, this team could start out 0-4, which would make the playoff race an uphill battle for them. Aside from this they still have a solid defense, and their receiving corps headed by Gronk looks to be as productive as ever, but thats only if Tom Brady, who turns 39 in August, continues to play at an extremely high level as father time looks to catch up to him much as it did Peyton Manning in 2015.
10. Seattle Seahawks
Oh the Seahawks. They have one of the best, if not the best defense in the NFL, and they certainly do statistically speaking, allowing the least amount of points for the 4th straight season. That being said, without Marshawn Lynch their offense is lackluster, relying on Russell Wilson to pick up the slack, something that he hasn't quite been capable of doing given his skill set as playing a similar style to Alex Smith. To combat this they went ahead and drafted three running backs in this years draft in the hopes of revitalizing their running game and returning to a super-bowl caliber of play.
11. Houston Texans
Last season the Texans defense, its only bright spot, played very poorly to start the season, but by the time they made the playoffs, it proved to be a tool that they can rely on. Headed by JJ. Watt, they quickly turned their bleak season around and ended up winning the AFC South Title. On the other side of the ball, they have added QB Brock Osweiller and drafted WRs, Will fuller and Braxton Miller, all in the hopes that they can bring back some semblance of their high powered offense that they had with Matt Shaub.
12. Buffalo Bills
The Bills have been quite average on both sides of the ball in the past few seasons, and the problem with that is it only wins you an average number of games a year. But now that Tyrod Taylor has broken out into an effective passer, they will look to increase the role he plays in their total offense. In this years draft they set out to build a more noteworthy defense by using their first three draft picks on front seven personnel.
13. Washington Redskins
The Redskins went ahead and made a lot of moves in free-agency. They snagged Josh Norman and Vernon Davis to name a few. In the draft they snagged WR, Josh Doctson, and also heavily addressed the defensive side of the ball. After an impressive season by Kirk Cousins they look to build a top offense with these pickups, and their defense looks primed to play well in the upcoming year. Should all of these pickups perform as they hope, the Redskins should be a tough team to beat in 2016.
14. Oakland Raiders
This team is the up and coming story in the NFL. They seem to have found a franchise QB in Derek Carr, and they had a decent season offensively, all things considered. With another season under their belt they should improve enough to pull off a few more wins. On the other hand, their defense has been a weak spot, and they certainly made a few solid draft picks to reinforce it, but time will tell if they pay off. If any team might, maybe, potentially, sneak into the playoffs as a wildcard, its the Raiders, but don't get too excited kids. You might jinx it.
15. Indianapolis Colts
They have totally revamped their pourous offensive line with a few draft picks, which kept Andrew Luck from playing the type of football that we know he's capable of playing. That aside I was abit taken back on their lack of renewing an offense that looks spent for weapons as of late, with their only notable players being T.Y. Hilton and Frank Gore, but Gore has slowed down significantly from his Hall of Fame type play, and looks to be on his way out. Now even if Andrew Luck returns to 2014 form, their defense will continue to cause them grief.
16. Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys. Oh how America's team always finds a way to fall short of expectation. Yes, they played like $*** last season, but that was in light of injuries to QB, Tony Romo, WR, Dez Bryant, LT, Tyron Smith, and CB, Orlando Scandrik. There is no denying that todays league is a passing league. If you can pass well, and defend the pass well, the rest is gravy, for the most part. This team can be insanely good, but ONLY if they can stay healthy, something that they have struggled with. They drafted RB, Ezekiel to fix the whole Lesean Mccoy issue, but otherwise went out to strengthen their defense in the draft, which is exactly what they should have done. In that sense, on this rare occasion, I give Jerry Jones my seal of approval.
17. New York Jets
If any team has can call themselves a 'dream team' in terms of the skill positions, its the Jets. But after they lost Ryan Fitzpatrick and added Christian Hackenberg, there are too many questions at quarterback to say for sure whether or not they can bring their offense to the same form as last season. Something that will work in their favor is their solid defense that ranked #9 in scoring last season. They went ahead and used this draft mainly for depth at QB, WR and defense, which only goes to show how talented this team already is. The question remains, can they put it together?
18. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons spent this years draft mainly on trying to improve their defense, something that I was a bit surprised by. They have a decent defense as it is, but thats not to say it can't be improved, which it certainly has been. On the other hand, their offense, while fully capable of moving the ball up and down the field with ease, struggled to punch the ball into the end zone which is how you actually win games. This could be a matter of an off year, but its hard not to notice how one dimensional their passing game has become. Matt Ryan to Julio Jones is the Falcons main storyline.
19. New York Giants
This has to be one of the most inconsistent teams of the past decade. But the fact of the matter is that Eli Manning is playing some of the best football of his life statistically speaking, with the help of Odell Beckham Jr.. The unfortunate thing is that for all the money they've pooled into their offense, they're defense was quite pitiful. To combat this they spent most of their draft building a defense that can at least make things interesting between the Giants and there opponents.
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers are another up and coming team in the NFL. They have a solid running game in Doug Martin, and Jameis Winston looks to further improve his passing game after a respectable rookie season. They basically spent the whole draft on their defense, and look to to build one that can take at least some pressure of the sophomore quarterback. That being said, don't expect them to make any magic in the 2016 season.
21. Jacksonville Jaguars
You might be a bit surprised to find them this high, but the Jaguars are starting to build a respectable team. Yes, they had a less then satisfactory defense last season, but as with a lot of other teams in this years draft they almost exclusively addressed it. If they can pull these things together they may just be win more than five games next season,
22. Detroit Lions
Fine they lost Calvin Johnson, but they still have a respectable starter in Matthew Stafford, and lets face it, Megatron had a lackluster season. In the draft they went after improving their offensive line which has hampered Staffords play for most of his career, in addition they look to build on a defense that has never quite met expectations.
23. New Orleans Saints
The only reason I rank them this high is because they have always relied on Drew Brees alone to win games, and thats what they've continued to do. Their defense has always been bad, but they had the worst defense of 2016 and they addressed it this year in the draft. their skill positions have usually been filled with mediocre names, but that being said, Drew Brees while still technically playing at a high level, has certainly began to slow down, meaning they need to change their formula fast, or prepare lay down the Super Bowl MVP on his career death bed.
24. Baltimore Ravens
After their Super Bowl Victory, they seem to have completely fallen of the face of the Earth. The Joe Flacco lead offense has never been good at producing magical numbers, and as such have always relied on a strong defense to win games. But now, most of what made them great on that side of the ball has all but disappeared, making their prospects bleak at best. With recent additions they may improve slightly, but they won't impress anyone next season.
25. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins have the benefit in having a franchise quarterback in Ryan Tannehill but their team has seemed to fall apart in recent years, as they looked to be a team poised to make a name for themselves. All things aside, they had a promising draft, filling most of the holes they have, especially at CB and RB, as well as their offensive line.
26. Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles went ahead and drafted who they think will be the future of their team in QB, Carson Wents. In the draft they went ahead and tried to solidify their offensive line in the hopes of giving the Bismarck native a fair chance. However, the rest of their offense is lacking in talent, and their defense was horrid, something they looked to address with a few free agent signings, but none of them particularly stand out as capable of turning it into anything respectable.
27. Chicago Bears
Statistically the Bears may have merely had a down year, but their offense has been mostly lackluster. Jay Cutler, while serviceable, and I do believe thats the perfect word to describe him as a QB, hasn't done much to impress over the course of his career with them. In the draft the team spent most of their time building up a defense, and while it should improve because of it, I don't see the Bears being overly successful this season.
28. Tennessee Titans
Now they had a lot of high draft picks, and they sprinkled them smartly all around their team. So they should improve, especially as Mariota gets more experience under his belt. But much of their players are unproven, and this team is taking the slow route in building their team mostly through the draft. While they probably won't do much next season, they should get excited about the future, especially as their players get more seasoned.
29. L.A. Rams
Their offense has been pretty embarrassing in terms of production in the last couple of seasons, but they look to improve by selecting QB, Jared Goff, and in addition they gave him four new receiving targets. They actually have a strong defense, and that should go to take some pressure off the rookie and help him properly develop. I don't think they can expect much success with Goff looking at a battle with growing pains, but if any QB in this draft looks to turn into anything in the future, its him.
30. San Diego Chargers
They added a few names into the mix on defense, which were much needed. But even with Phillip Rivers playing statistically great football, their offense wasn't productive enough, and I don't think it will be nearly enough to turn this team around. I fully expect Rivers to either leave, or retire in the very near future, because this team doesn't really have a future at all.
31. San Francisco49ers
Another team that has recently disappeared, the 49ers have little to look forward to in the 2016 season. Their defense was alright I suppose, and that's what they also chose to address in this years draft, in addition to their offensive line. That being said, I was a bit surprised considering they made little effort to improve the worst offense last season in terms of personnel, but Colin Kaepernick may benefit from a Chip Kelly type offense, who knows.
32. Cleveland Browns
No team has more turmoil, and as many questions on both sides of the ball. They had a decent draft, and added quite a few players, but everything on their team is unproven. Nobody should be surprised to find them at this spot.
