NFL Power Rankings Heading Into the 2019 Season
By Liam McKeone
The NFL season is almost upon us. Just under six months after the New England Patriots hoisted the Lombardi Trophy once again, everything will be reset as the new season begins. Some teams will build on their success from last season, while others bottom out in search of a bright future.
Despite the optimism that a new season brings for teams and fanbases around the country, there’s still a clear pecking order within the league. Preseason power rankings rarely hold up in the long run, but they do give us an idea of how things will shake out early in the year. There will be surprises, as some teams make an unexpected leap and others suffer injuries and declines that will derail their season. Here are our NFL Power Rankings as the first kickoff of the regular season on September 5 draws near.
32. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins fired Adam Gase, brought in Brian Flores after just one season as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator, and shed as much money as possible. They’re going to be bad, and they don’t mind. They want their young guys to develop and their new head coach to create a culture that players want to be a part of. There are not a lot of wins in the future for Miami, and it’s all according to plan.
31. Arizona Cardinals
Similar to Miami, the Cardinals are looking towards the future, and if that means sacrificing wins in 2019, so be it. They’re going to let Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury work out all the possible kinks in the duo’s first professional season. They’ll be bad again. They’ll maybe even secure the first overall pick again. The goal is not to win, but to see development from the coach-QB pairing they’ve placed the future of their franchise on.
30. New York Giants
After trading Odell Beckham Jr. and taking a project quarterback (at best) with the sixth overall pick, it is very hard to imagine the Giants winning many games. Saquon Barkley is the generational talent advertised, but things are grim other than that. Eli Manning was at the helm for their 6-10 2018 season, and appears to be leading the charge once more, but with a worse team this time around. It’s rebuilding time for Big Blue, and their record will reflect that.
29. Buffalo Bills
The Bills were savvy over the offseason and brought in a lot of impact veterans while getting a high-end talent in Ed Oliver during the draft. Unfortunately, NFL teams ride and die with their quarterback, and Josh Allen has too far to go for the Bills to be competitive this year. Allen has a cannon and is more talented than most QBs running the ball, but his accuracy was so bad last year that it would take an astounding improvement for the Bills to be a threat to anyone.
28. Washington Redskins
Whether they stick with journeyman Case Keenum in a transition year or go to first-round pick Dwayne Haskins in Week 1, Washington won’t be particularly good. They just don’t have any talent at receiver, and relying on 34-year-old Adrian Peterson to generate offense seems unwise. They could scrape out a few tough wins off their defensive prowess to get to the middle of the pack, but unless Keenum or Haskins makes an unforeseen leap, they’ll be in the cellar by the end of the year.
27. New York Jets
Similar to the Bills, the Jets need to see some substantial improvement from their sophomore QB to become even a middle-of-the-pack team. Unlike the Bills, the Jets brought in high-profile teammates to help Sam Darnold; Le'Veon Bell and C.J. Mosley will lead their squads on both sides of the ball. The Jets still don’t have decent options for Darnold to throw to, and new head coach Adam Gase doesn’t have a stellar track record. They seem at least a year away from moving up the ranks.
26. Cincinnati Bengals
On paper, the Bengals should be at least a .500 team; A.J. Green and Geno Atkins remain two of the best at their position, and Joe Mixon was a top-five running back last season. But they’ve never been fortunate in the injury department, Andy Dalton is average on a good day and terrible on a bad one, and Zac Taylor is a complete question mark. With perhaps the most variation of any team in the league, we lean towards another lost year in Cincy as Taylor gets the hang of being a head coach and their key guys aren’t enough to elevate them higher.
25. Oakland Raiders
After adding Antonio Brown, the Raiders’ offense should be better, but their defense is still porous. Clelin Ferrell will be a good selection, but he’s not an instant-impact starter, and their secondary is all potential and no production at this point. Jon Gruden is in it for the long run, and the team might ship off Derek Carr before the year is out. It’s hard to see them making a big jump from last year, but AB’s presence means they’ll have a chance to win a few more times than 2018.
24. Tennessee Titans
This is a huge year for Marcus Mariota. If healthy, he’s a decent-to-good QB who can make the throws necessary while stretching teams horizontally on the ground by himself. But he’s never played a full season in the NFL and injuries have hindered more than half his starts in his career. The Titans are merely average in all other aspects of the game, and it won’t be enough to make up for Mariota’s glass bones.
23. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars hope Nick Foleswill take them to the promised land of steady QB play. He’s better than Blake Bortles, but the team needs him to sling the ball if they’re going to stay in games offensively, and he’s not good enough to do that (Super Bowl run aside). Their defense will steady out after a bit of a down year last season, but they need to return to historically dominant levels to get back to the playoffs. It’s hard to see that happening.
22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jameis Winston is on his last straw as Bucs QB, and they brought in the perfect coach to try and help him reach his potential. Bruce Arians’ air-it-out style, coupled with a harsh disciplinary attitude, should allow Winston to flourish with Mike Evans and O.J. Howard on offense. There are still a lot of questions yet to be answered on the defensive side of things, though. There are too many unknowns in Tampa to consider them much better than last season.
21. Denver Broncos
The Broncos brought in Joe Flacco to keep their offense steady and let Philip Lindsay and their defense win games. But Flacco was bad last year! He completed 61 percent of his passes and threw six picks in nine games. The mountain air isn’t going to help him that much.Along with the Broncos’ average offensive line and lack of receiving options, there’s too much to worry about here. Von Miller is still a stud and Bradley Chubb is on his way up, but its no guarantee Flacco will make them better than they were last year with Keenum.
20. Detroit Lions
The Lions are relying on continuity to improve their team. Another year in Matt Patricia’s defense would help that unit theoretically make the leap, while Darrell Bevell’s run-first offense should help Matthew Stafford. But it’s all in practice for now. One season isn’t enough to determine Patricia’s quality as a head coach, and Bevell’s career as playcaller in Seattle didn’t come to end gracefully. The Lions could mesh into a cohesive unit with good balance on both sides of the ball, but it seems like a longshot at this point.
19. San Francisco 49ers
The Niners have talent all over the place defensively, trading for Dee Ford and drafting Nick Bosa to add to an already-stacked defensive line. Offensively, their biggest boon will come from the return of franchise QB Jimmy Garoppolo. But given how much of an unknown Garoppolo is after only eight games as a starter, it’s hard to bank on the Niners getting much better. Their defense will improve, but the talent on the back end of that unit remains suspect. A lot has to break right for San Francisco to be true contenders this year.
18. Carolina Panthers
The Panthers’ season rides and dies with Cam Newton, who will be returning after losing the end of last year to a shoulder injury. He will presumably be throwing more to cut down on physical wear-and-tear; this will be a good thing if he worked on his accuracy over the offseason (when he could throw), but if he’s the same caliber-thrower he’s always been, the team will need their other skill players to step up in a big way. The defense will stay very good. But they don’t have a quality target for Newton to throw to at receiver, and their offensive line remains a weak spot.
17. Cleveland Browns
The Browns are everyone’s favorite Upstart Team in 2019, and for good reason. Baker Mayfield flourished after they finally canned Hue Jackson, and the defense had flashes of dominance. They only got better once the season was over, adding a superstar in Odell Beckham Jr. to make their offense even more dangerous. But none of this is guaranteed. Mayfield may yet hit a sophomore slump, and Freddie Kitchens has never run any locker room, much less one with these personalities. OBJ is a stud and playing with his best friend in Jarvis Landry, but if he finds that he’s unhappy in a small market like Cleveland, everything could go down in flames. Still, they have enough talent to be a middling team, an improvement from the last decade.
16. Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens were rejuvenated as a unit when Lamar Jackson took over the starting QB spot last year. They were then dismantled by the Chargers in the playoffs and lost a few key guys in free agency like C.J. Mosley and Za'Darius Smith. Their playoff loss shouldn’t be an indictment of Jackson, and with a full offseason to design schemes for the young QB, the Ravens’ offense should be at least league average. Jackson’s improvement will ultimately determine their ceiling. He’s a talented runner, but his flaws as a passer were glaring even when the team was winning games. Unless he takes a leap in that area, Baltimore will tread water in the middle of the league.
15. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings now know Kirk Cousins’ strengths and weaknesses intimately. How they address those issues determine how good they’ll be. Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen remain a top receiving duo in the league, but Cousins can’t operate under pressure. Picking Garrett Bradbury in the first round will help matters, but the unit as a whole has to get better. Similar to the Lions, however, they’re banking on continuity more than any one guy. Until Cousins proves he can consistently be a top-15 QB, the Vikes won’t be making another playoff run soon, even with an upper-echelon defense in the NFL.
14. Dallas Cowboys
Dallas had a scorching end to 2018 and fought their way to the second round of the playoffs. It remains to be seen if they can keep that pace. Given his track record, it seems likely Amari Cooper won’t be that good all season, and Dak Prescott has his known limitations. The group needs to make a big leap defensively to stick as a top team in the league. Their offense is good and occasionally great, but has reached its ceiling unless Prescott makes the leap to superstardom. Where Prescott’s limitations end will define their season.
13. Houston Texans
If the Texans’ offensive line is only slightly better, the Texans have a chance to repeat as division champions without breaking a sweat. They didn’t make any major moves to address that particular issue over the offseason, however, and picked a project tackle in the first round of this year’s draft. Still, as long as they have Deshaun Watson, J.J. Watt, and DeAndre Hopkins, they have a chance to win every game. Not much will change from last year; it’s how their rivals got better that pushes them down the list.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers lost Brown and (technically) Le'Veon Bell, but James Conner and Juju Smith-Schuster are both quite good in their own right. This won’t be the world-destroying offense of years past, but it will still be borderline top-five. Ben Roethlisberger hasn’t fallen off yet (although he’s getting there), and their defense led the league in sacks last year. The secondary is still suspect, however, and it’s impossible to not experience some kind of dropoff after a player of AB’s caliber departs. Their defense needs to lock down opposing passers to move higher than their current spot.
11. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were not very good last year, but more than any other team, they can point to injuries as the cause. Now they’re healthy, Matt Ryan is coming off a season equal to his MVP year statistically, and they invested heavily in the offensive line. They don’t need to worry about too much offensively. How guys likeDeion Jones and Keanu Neal come back after season-ending injuries will determine Atlanta’s ceiling, but they should be looked at as contenders.
10. Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson is, in fact, a very good quarterback. Therefore, Seattle will be good this year despite their porous offensive line, lack of consistent options at running back, and a thin receiving core. Wilson made something out of nothing and got Seattle to the playoffs last season, so he can do it again. They shouldn’t fall off much defensively, if at all. Bobby Wagner is a perennial DPOY candidate. The Seahawks are good enough to make the playoffs; how far they’ll make it depends on some surprise contributors emerging offensively.
9. Green Bay Packers
Matt LeFleur has a decent resume, but in his one season as offensive coordinator in Tennessee, they had the seventh-worst offense in the league. He will obviously have much better personnel in his first season at the helm in Green Bay, but there should be some doubt regardless. All that said, as long as he doesn’t piss Aaron Rodgers off, the Packers will be contenders. Rodgers tossed 25 TDs last year on a fractured leg, Davante Adams is a top-10 receiver, and their secondary is coming along very nicely. Just how good they are will be determined by LeFleur’s scheme, but they’ll be battling with Chicago for the NFC North crown.
8. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts had an excellent second half last year once everyone got familiar with Frank Reich’s offense. They should continue on a similar, if less torrid, pace. Andrew Luck will be fully, truly healthy for the first time in who knows how long. Their offensive line is stellar. They have young talent worth getting excited about at every level of defense. The flip side is that Luck’s injury history could rear its ugly head at any time, and while there’s young talent on the defense, their secondary isn’t great as a unit. If Luck elevates back to MVP-caliber form, they could beat almost anyone, but their team isn’t as well-rounded as the other top-tier teams.
7. Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers had a great 2018, but ran into the wood chipper that is Foxboro in January and ended their season with a whimper. Fortunately, they’re returning all of their major contributors, and will see improvement from defensive studs like Joey Bosa and Derwin James. What happens with Melvin Gordon will play a big role on how their season goes. They also need to see a leap in strategic game-planning from Anthony Lynn after getting outclassed by New England. But with their most important players back and improving and Philip Rivers coming off a resurgent year, they should be contending once more.
6. Chicago Bears
Chicago’s defense last year was one of the best we’ve seen in years, and they didn’t lose anyone too important other than Adrian Amos. Khalil Mack should continue his warpath, while Kyle Fuller and Eddie Jackson both appear to be franchise cornerstones on that end of the ball. As was always the case, Chicago will go as far as their offense (and kicking) allows them to. Improvement from Mitch Trubisky on basic throws is paramount; Matt Nagy is smart enough to scheme guys open, he just needs Trubisky to make the pass. The defense alone will be more than enough to keep Chicago in games. Trubisky’s progression will make or break their championship contention.
5. Philadelphia Eagles
How Carson Wentz looks after a second season cut short due to injury is obviously rather important to this Eagles team. But they’ve been so good over the last three years that you just can’t count them out. Their defensive line is as good as any unit in the league, and Doug Pederson will once again design an excellent offense that will win games. Philly has earned the benefit of the doubt after winning a Super Bowl and making it as far as the second round with their backup QB. There’s little reason to assume they’ll fall off that pace with their franchise QB back on his feet.
4. Los Angeles Rams
The Rams were the most talented team in football last year. Todd Gurley had an outstanding year, Jared Goff continued to be one of the best statistical QBs in the league, and they had the best individual player in football with Aaron Donald. They just couldn’t put it together defensively despite their talent, and fell apart on the biggest stage. The state of Gurley’s knees will determine how far they can go. But Super Bowl 53 was a learning experience for Sean McVay, and given his track record, it’s reasonable to think the Rams will have another excellent year offensively and end up as a top three seed come playoff time.
3. New Orleans Saints
Another year, another brutal playoff loss for the Saints. Still, their only major personnel departure was Mark Ingram, and Alvin Kamara is good enough to make up for most of the production lost. They started slow defensively, but pulled it together near the end of the year, and are still stocked with talent on that side of the field.Drew Brees and Sean Payton will lead one of the league’s top offenses. Their top defenders should improve. They have talent at every important position. Barring another horrendous officiating mistake or a blown coverage at the worst possible moment, the Saints are a good bet to finally make it to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2009.
2. New England Patriots
Death, taxes, and the New England Patriots, man. They lost Rob Gronkowski, and their receiving group is thin as Josh Gordon’s situation remains unresolved. Yet everyone considers it folly to count New England out of championship contention as long as Tom Brady and Bill Belichick lead the charge, and everyone would be correct. With a defense stocked with talent and the greatest quarterback to play the game under center, the Patriots are never out of it, and will likely make their tenth straight AFC Championship Game.
1. Kansas City Chiefs
Despite the looming shadow of the Patriots, the Chiefs earned the top spot on this list. They have the reigning MVP who could somehow get better in his second year as a starter. The NFL didn’t suspend Tyreek Hill, a crucial part of their offense, and they didn’t miss a step when they found themselves without Kareem Hunt at the end of the season. Their defense didn’t get that much better, which was a major issue. But Patrick Mahomes is so good it doesn’t matter. He can make any throw at any time to each level of the field. He’s the best player on the field at almost any moment at the sport’s most important position. The Chiefs are favorites until proven otherwise, and the best team in the league.