Post-draft Power Rankings: Patriots, Panthers remain on top – ESPN
Dan Graziano breaks down the latest release of the ESPN.com NFL Power Rankings, which were voted on by a group of ESPN’s NFL experts.
Everyone always says that the smartest NFL teams use the draft as a means of improving their spot in the early-May Power Rankings. So here they are, hot off the post-draft presses.
Yes, it has been a long time since the post-Super Bowl Power Rankings we did in early February. Back then, Calvin Johnson was still in the league, the Broncos still had quarterbacks and the top two picks in the draft belonged to the Titans and Browns.
A lot has happened this NFL offseason. So ESPN’s NFL staff threw all 32 teams into the Power Rankings blender and came up with this delectable springtime smoothie. Here are my thoughts on the results. Enjoy.
Check out our post-free agency Power Rankings here, and our post-Super Bowl Power Rankings here.
2015 record: 12-4
Post-free agency ranking: No. 1
The top two teams have switched places since we did this in February, which tells you our voters are huge fans of either Josh Norman or Jimmy Garoppolo. Seriously, the Pats have averaged 12.5 wins a year for the past 13 years, so no one’s going broke assuming they’ll be good. But … pass rush? Run game? The second circuit court? Has this New England offseason really been that great?
2015 record: 15-1
Post-free agency ranking: No. 2
It’s easy to forget how good the Panthers were last year, mainly because no one ever seemed to buy it while it was happening. This is a team that could lose four games off its 2015 win total and still win its division by three. But Cam Newton should be fine with these rankings as long as he can’t overhear any Patriots players explaining why they’re ranked No. 1.
2015 record: 10-6
Post-free agency ranking: No. 6
Key additions: DT Kenny Clark, OT Jason Spriggs. Key losses: Eddie Lacy’s gut. Last year’s Packers won 10 games without Jordy Nelson and more or less without Lacy. There are worse bets than Aaron Rodgers turning it around in 2016.
2015 record: 10-6
Post-free agency ranking: No. 4
Seattle Seahawks: Using three of your 10 draft picks on running backs doesn’t scream, “We’re sold on Thomas Rawls!” and it’s hard to see how Russell Wilson can thrive behind this offensive line. But they didn’t have Marshawn Lynch or a line last year, either, and Wilson led the league in passer rating because he’s the NFL’s Harry Potter.
2015 record: 13-3
Post-free agency ranking: No. 3
How are they not No. 1? What’s not to like here? Just because Carson Palmer is 36 and went Full Delhomme in the NFC Championship Game doesn’t change the fact that no team is both deeper and better coached. Underestimate now, but don’t act all shocked in September when you look up and no one can cover all of their receivers.
2015 record: 10-6
Post-free agency ranking: No. 5
Little bit of inside-the-rankings info for you here: The Bengals had the No. 6 spot locked up. But just before the deadline, Joey Porter tapped one of our voters on the right shoulder then quickly ran away to the left. “Gets ’em every time,” Porter giggled.
2015 record: 12-4
Post-free agency ranking: No. 8
What a draft. Tyler Boyd in the second, Andrew Billings in the fourth, Cody Core in the sixth. April is one of the 11 months out of the year when the Bengals look like they’re doing this whole thing as well as any other team. It’s just pesky January that they can’t figure out.
2015 record: 12-4
Post-free agency ranking: No. 7
Brock Osweiler and Peyton Manning finished 24th and 28th in Total QBR in 2015, and their team won the Super Bowl anyway. So you can kind of see John Elway’s point if he thinks Mark Sanchez and Paxton Lynch can be good enough. But only kind of.
2015 record: 11-5
Post-free agency ranking: No. 10
Often, the surprise upstart playoff team takes an ugly step back the year following its breakthrough. The Eagles in 2014. The Chargers last year. The second season of “Friday Night Lights.” The Vikings could be such a team, but they shouldn’t get discouraged if it happens. Clear eyes, full hearts can’t lose.
2015 record: 11-4
Post-free agency ranking: No. 9
This team lost Jamaal Charles in October, Justin Houston in November and still managed to win 11 games in a row before the Pats took them out in the playoffs. Kansas City may be a baseball town now, but Andy Reid’s crew is as good a bet as any to end Denver’s streak of five straight division titles.
2015 record: 4-12
Post-free agency ranking: No. 13
The NFC East is the Charlie Sheen of the NFL. Used to be huge, hasn’t done a thing lately and people remain surprisingly fascinated. So maybe Tony Romo and Dez Bryant come back healthy and Ezekiel Elliott proves worthy of the collective Hall of Fame induction that followed his selection in the draft. If not, there are surely some “Two And A Half Men” reruns on somewhere.
2015 record: 8-8
Post-free agency ranking: No. 12
Flawed? Sure. Slow offseason? Absolutely. Worth wondering whether they let the wrong tight end leave? Go ahead and wonder. Just stop and ask yourself, while you’re asking yourself all these questions, where a healthy Andrew Luck ranks on the list of offseason acquisitions, league-wide.
2015 record: 7-9
Post-free agency ranking: No. 16
Popular sleeper alert! Everybody loves the Raiders’ offseason, and for lots of good reasons. Plus, the Broncos have no quarterback and the Chiefs could win a hundred 11 games in a row and still not scare preseason prognosticators as long as Alex Smith is theirs. Get ready for The Summer of High Derek Carr Expectations. Just spin, baby.
2015 record: 5-11
Post-free agency ranking: No. 14
In order to sustain their first losing season since 2007, the Ravens had to lose their starting quarterback, running back, No. 1 wide receiver and top pass-rusher to injury. Fair to assume they’ll be back to slug it out in the AFC North with the Steelers and the Bengals and the … the … hm. Guess it’s just the Steelers and the Bengals.
2015 record: 10-6
Post-free agency ranking: No. 15
Unprecedented in the annals of Power Rankings history, the Jets appear to have attained their ranking due to a collective belief that a quarterback not currently on their roster ultimately will be. Ryan Fitzpatrick is the most widely assumed return since Jon Snow’s. If it doesn’t happen? Well, 15 will seem high.
2015 record: 9-7
Post-free agency ranking: No. 17
The NFC East hasn’t had a repeat champion since the Eagles in 2003-04. (Coincidentally, the first two seasons of “Two And A Half Men.”) If Washington bucks that trend, Kirk Cousins will end up with a contract that makes Aaron Rodgers drool and Howie Roseman go out and get three more quarterbacks next offseason.
2015 record: 9-7
Post-free agency ranking: No. 12
What we know about Brock Osweiler is that the Texans will pay him $37 million guaranteed over the next two years to be their quarterback. What we don’t know is … really much of anything else. The Texans have long considered themselves a franchise quarterback away from something special. The question is whether that’s still true.
2015 record: 6-10
Post-free agency ranking: No. 19
This team has a franchise quarterback who has never been hurt and has won two Super Bowls. They killed it in free agency, and their draft has been well reviewed. So why only 18th? Because they haven’t finished .500 since Obama’s first term and they no longer get (or deserve) the benefit of the doubt.
2015 record: 8-8
Post-free agency ranking: No. 21
When the most interesting thing about your offseason is a Ryan Brothers reunion, that’s … well, that’s actually kind of awesome. But is it enough to prevent a 17th straight season out of the playoffs? Probably not.
2015 record: 8-8
Post-free agency ranking: No. 18
Remember when the Falcons were one of the best teams in the league? Sure you do. It was Halloween. They started 6-1, finished 2-7, and now we’re left to wonder whether Matt Ryan’s window closed before it ever fully opened.
2015 record: 6-10
Post-free agency ranking: No. 23
Until Laremy Tunsil’s draft night went up in smoke and he fell into their laps, there weren’t too many potential positives about the Dolphins’ offseason. Unless Mario Williams snaps out of whatever was bugging him in Buffalo last year and Ndamukong Suh is ready to start playing again, it’s hard to see how they can stop anybody.
2015 record: 7-9
Post-free agency ranking: No. 20
Hey! Sam Bradford is back! Which is great, because without him they may have run out of quarterbacks. Just kidding, of course. The question now is how many members of the Philadelphia Quarterback Club hit the field this year. If it’s more than two, the smart money says this ranking drops.
2015 record: 5-11
Post-free agency ranking: No. 29
The defense adds Jalen Ramsey, Myles Jack, Dante Fowler Jr., Tashaun Gipson and Prince Amukamara. The offense was top 10 in passing yards last year. They haven’t won more than five games in a season this decade (yes, seriously), but there appears to be reason to hope.
2015 record: 7-9
Post-free agency ranking: No. 25
In “Transformers,” when Megatron is defeated, his mind stays alive inside of his severed head until he gains the strength and opportunity to become reborn as Galvatron. The Lions are replacing Calvin Johnson with Marvin Jones.
2015 record: 6-10
Post-free agency ranking: No. 24
Bears linebacker Lamarr Houston decided to take a few shots at Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers this offseason. “He’s a little arrogant for me,” Houston said. “The whole championship belt thing kind of gets on my nerves.” In a written statement, Rodgers replied: “Who?”
2015 record: 7-9
Post-free agency ranking: No. 27
One of the stories of this offseason is Rams owner Stan Kroenke rolling out of St. Louis, Jed Clampett-style, in that two-decker convertible jalopy with Granny up on that big chair in the back, looking around. Swimmin’ pools, movie stars. But still not really anyone to catch the ball from No. 1 pick Jared Goff.
2015 record: 7-9
Post-free agency ranking: No. 22
Not to say the Saints’ defense was bad last year, but if you’d brought it to court to help you fight a parking ticket, you’d have ended up doing 25 to life. To fix it, they’re hoping for immediate contributions from their draft picks. Along with a lot of points from Drew Brees and the offense.
2015 record: 4-12
Post-free agency ranking: No. 26
Five months ago, the Chargers thought they were the ones in the driver’s seat to move to Los Angeles. Now, their best bet may be to be Jack Tripper to the Rams’ Mr. Furley. Tough times out there by Mission Bay. At least the weather’s nice.
2015 record: 6-10
Post-free agency ranking: No. 28
The Bucs fired their coach after their franchise quarterback’s first season — a move that looks patient by the Titans’ standards but makes you wonder how close they believe themselves to be. If nothing else, this could be a fun developmental year for Jameis Winston and his receivers — as long as the line can protect him.
2015 record: 3-13
Post-free agency ranking: No. 31
It’s easy to like the Titans’ offseason so far, and DeMarco Murray and Rishard Matthews should help Marcus Mariota. But this is a team that decided it needed much more help than the No. 1 overall pick could offer, and they were right.
2015 record: 5-11
Post-free agency ranking: No. 30
Great news, 49ers fans! Sure, Chip Kelly was a huge flop in Philadelphia. But the current Niners roster doesn’t have many really good players for him to trade away because he doesn’t like them.
2015 record: 3-13
Post-free agency ranking: No. 32
I don’t know. I’m all for new points of view, and I recognize that nothing the Browns were doing was working. But I’d love to get a look at the groundbreaking analytic study that says Robert Griffin III is worth $7.5 million a year.
