Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Unio / USA TODAY NETWORK
The National Football League has wrapped up its 2023 season with Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. Now, it’s time to look ahead to 2024 with our early 2024 NFL power rankings and an outlook for every team next season.
Our NFL power rankings 2024 will be updated throughout the offseason. After every big free-agent signing, blockbuster trade and the 2024 NFL Draft, we’ll provide updated analysis for all 32 teams across the NFL.
Let’s dive into our 2024 NFL power rankings heading into the summer.
The Carolina Panthers are the worst NFL team in 2024. We will give the new regime credit for making some much-needed improvements to the roster. Xavier Legette, Diontae Johnson, Ja’Tavion Sanders and Jonathon Brooks will make a massive difference for Bryce Young. However, Carolina might have the worst defense in football so even a below-average Panthers’ offense makes this a very bad football team.
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We want to be positive with the New York Giants, so we’ll start with kudos to the team for not overdrafting J.J. McCarthy. The Giants’ front office is paying the price for the Daniel Jones contract extension, but at least they are finally putting together a supporting cast for the next Giants’ quarterback. Plus, New York’s defense should be decent this fall.
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The New England Patriots did very well in the 2024 NFL Draft. While we might’ve preferred trading down to build a good environment for the next franchise quarterback, New England did give Drake Make the pairing of Ja’Lynn and Javon Baker at wide receiver. It’s enough to at least give us confidence that Maye, who has the physical talent to develop into a top-10 quarterback, could slowly make strides in New England over the course of his rookie season.
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Jayden Daniels should be a fine starter for the Washington Commanders, but the offensive line that will be tasked with protecting him is an alarming weak spot for this offense. On the bright side, the Commanders’ offense should finally be exciting and it’s clear the new regime should at least bring some respectability to this organization moving forward.
The Denver Broncos are certainly convinced that the Sean Payton-Bo Nix combo will work wonders for them long-term. We’re quite suspect of that happening, considering the state of the Broncos roster and Nix’s physical limitations as a passer. One thing is for certain, we’ll get a definitive answer in two years, but Denver won’t be competitive this fall.
The Arizona Cardinals certainly could’ve traded down from the fourth overall pick, but sometimes you have enough draft picks and just want elite talent. Marvin Harrison Jr. isn’t just the best wide receiver Kyler Murray will have ever worked with, he could become a perennial All-Pro selection. While we didn’t love the Cardinals’ moves in free agency, Arizona’s draft picks have us feeling a lot better about this team picking up a few more wins in 2024 and then making a leap the following season.
We’re simply not believers in Gardner Minshew. The box score as a fill-in starter last season was deceptive, he is a gambler at quarterback whose decision-making often results in more negative plays than positive ones. It also doesn’t seem like a great decision by the Raiders’ front office to wait so long to address cornerback in the 2024 NFL Draft. While we don’t expect the Raiders to be an awful team this fall, they aren’t anywhere close to being a playoff threat in our evaluation.
The Tennessee Titans’ offseason was unexpected. Instead of rebuilding with a first-year head coach, Tennessee kinda took the all-in approach by landing Lloyd Cushenberry, Calvin Ridley, Tony Pollard, Chidobe Awuzie and L’Jarius Sneed. We also tip our cap to a good Titans draft class. It’s all coming down to quarterback Will Levis, for now, we need to see him deliver to believe Tennesse can be a big surprise.
This ranking has nothing to do with our long-term view of the Los Angeles Chargers. If these were future NFL power rankings, Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert’s team would rank closer to 10th. However, the Chargers roster is a multi-year project and Harbaugh has a lot more work on his hands than in his first year with the San Francisco 49ers. Set expectations low for the 2024 season, then buy in later.
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A team that keeps kicking the proverbial can down the road, constantly borrowing from the future, is still slowly bleeding. The New Orleans Saints couldn’t address their major needs this offseason as there are plenty of aging, declining or injury-prone starters who this team has to rely on. We’ll wait for the Saints to prove us wrong because we don’t see this as a roster or coaching staff worth believing in.
Maybe Baker Mayfield can repeat the breakout year he delivered in 2023. Losing Dave Canales decreases the likelihood of that happening, but Tampa Bay kept its skill group in place and Mayfield deserves some benefit of the doubt. However, the rest of the NFC contenders improved more than the Bucs, resulting in them heading into training camp lower in our 2024 NFL power rankings.
The Seattle Seahawks used the 2024 NFL Draft to improve their interior offensive line and make some much-needed additions to the defensive front. However, for as much as we love the Mike Macdonald hire, it took a veteran-heavy Baltimore Ravens roster two years to really get a true grasp of how Macdonald wanted things done. Because of that, even with an above-average offense, Seattle seems like a fringe contender for the 2024 NFL season.
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J.J. McCarthy will only be 21 years old in his rookie season and Kevin O’Connell’s playbook famously takes a lot of time to learn. We know what the Minnesota Vikings defense is capable of, especially with the talent added in free agency, and McCarthy is walking into a fantastic situation for a rookie quarterback. However, we just expect this to be an up-and-down year for Minnesota, but the future is bright.
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We’re buying all the stock in Chicago Bears. Offensively, quarterback Caleb Williams is arguably walking into the best situation ever for a first-year passer drafted in the top 10. He gets to play behind a solid offensive line with a cast of weapons led by Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, DJ Moore, Cole Kmet and D’Andre Swift. Oh, Chicago also finished the second half of the 2023 season with a top-10 defense. The Bears have their franchise quarterback and they genuinely could make the playoffs this upcoming season.
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If not for the retirement of Aaron Donald, the Los Angeles Rams would’ve been challenging for a top-10 spot in our NFL power rankings. We did like the free-agency additions to the secondary and drafting Jared Verse and Braden Fiske gives the Rams’ defensive line a quarter that will be very effective. Health is obviously a critical factor to watch for a team with Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford, but Sean McVay is working with a better 53-man roster this year than he did in 2023.
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Bravo to the Pittsburgh Steelers for their work in the 2024 NFL Draft. The offensive line was transformed, which will do wonders for both the run game and the starting quarterback. Pittsburgh already had a top-10 defense set to roll in 2024 and with even a league-average offense, Mike Tomlin should consistently have Pittsburgh winning games.
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The Cleveland Browns being ranked this low is in large part a testament to the improvements made around the NFL this offseason. However, it’s also been years since we’ve seen Deshaun Watson play at a Pro Bowl level, Nick Chubb is returning from a major injury and Cleveland’s defense experienced significant regression late in the 2023 season. What we’re saying is, there are reasons to be uncertain with Cleveland.
There’s no defense for the Michael Penix Jr. pick. While the Atlanta Falcons are saying they hope it lights a fire under Kirk Cousins just as the Jordan Love pick did for Aaron Rodgers, the two situations have nothing in common. Atlanta had a chance to further improve its roster for 2024 and it passed on that opportunity. Fortunately, the Falcons roster is still good enough that it can win a sub-par division, but the 2024 NFL Draft was a complete waste for Atlanta’s contention window.
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Call it the Anthony Richardson effect. Even with Jonathan Taylor missing plenty of action last year, first-year coach Shane Steichen made this Indianapolis Colts offense look good with Gardner Minshew under center. In 2024, he gets the ultra-talented Richardson back at quarterback with a receiver trio featuring Michael Pittman Jr, Josh Downs and Adonai Mitchell. Yeah, there’s more than enough here for the Colts to at least compete to the finish for a Wild Card spot.
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There are no concerns with the Cincinnati Bengals offense. Heck, the unit looked half-decent with Jake Browning on the field and we know it will be a well-oiled machine with Joe Burrow operating the controls. The defense, however, is an alarming issue. Trey Hendrickson’s trade request complicates matters further and there isn’t a ton of talent outside of him. It’s all going to be on the offense’s shoulders in 2024.
One of our favorite moves of the offseason was the Jacksonville Jaguars hiring defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. He transformed the Falcons defense in 2023 and with the talent available at his disposal in Jacksonville, there’s a very good chance the Jaguars have a top-12 defense this fall. As for Trevor Lawrence, injuries are largely responsible for a disappointing end to the 2023 season. Jacksonville isn’t an AFC title contender by any means, but it’s good enough to make the playoffs.
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Potential season-opening absences for Bradley Chubb (ACL) and Jaelan Phillips (Achilles) are the primary reason why the Miami Dolphins come in 10th in our NFL power rankings heading into the summer. We know what to expect from Mike McDaniel’s offense, especially with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa playing for a contract extension this year. However, what we can’t get out of our minds when comparing Miami to the best NFL teams in 2024 is how this team has often fallen short late in seasons against those clubs.
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It turns out that ‘all in’ for Jerry Jones just means an inactive offseason where the Dallas Cowboys let other teams drive up the prices on eventual contracts for Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons. While the Cowboys roster is still very good, it lost plenty of depth this offseason and we can’t forget this is a team coached by Mike McCarthy. If the Cowboys couldn’t get past the Divisional Round in previous years, it’s hard to see how Dallas will even win a playoff game next season.
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This felt like the perfect offseason for the New York Jets. Aaron Rodgers didn’t run for VP, Mike Williams came to town and the Jets offensive line was overhauled. Making things even better, New York did the smart thing in the 2204 NFL Draft and snagged offensive tackle Olu Fashanu. There are still durability and age red flags at key positions on this roster, but the Jets’ upside is a team that could hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
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Our reservations with the Baltimore Ravens in 2024 come down to the personnel and talent drain experienced on the defensive side. Yes, general manager Eric DeCosta replaced some of the players who left in free agency with top prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft, but there’s a transition period for rookies. It’s not like we’re expecting Baltimore to miss the playoffs, we’re just inclined to believe the Ravens roster and coaching staff is worse than it was this past January and that could lead to disappointing results.
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The Stefon Diggs trade wasn’t necessarily addition by subtraction, but getting that drama out of the locker room should offset the lost impact at wide receiver. We do like the Keon Coleman pick and there’s some intrigue on the Bills depth chart at wide receiver. However, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect a small dip from Buffalo considering the massive roster transition it experienced this offseason. Even still, Josh Allen makes this one of the 10 best NFL teams in 2024.
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The Philadelphia Eagles were one of the biggest winners of the 2024 NFL Draft. Everyone saw the glaring need in the secondary, so, Howie Roseman got a pair of first-round talents in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. DeJean’s positional versatility should make him a defensive weapon for Vic Fangio and Mitchell could blossom under the tutelage of Darius Slay. Our primary concern with Philadelphia now, which holds them a bit back in our 2024 NFL power rankings, is how this offensive line looks without Jason Kelce.
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The Jordan Love plan worked and the Green Bay Packers should be a better NFL team in 2024 than Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets. Green Bay upgraded its running back tandem, replacing Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon with Josh Jacobs and MarShawn Lloyd. Plus, they filled huge needs at safety and off-ball linebacker. Oh, this was also the youngest NFL team last season. Green Bay might not win the NFC North, but it has the upside to reach the Super Bowl.
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The Detroit Lions were everyone’s breakout pick in 2024 and they still exceeded expectations. After falling a few self-inflicted wounds short of the Super Bowl, Detroit just made itself stronger this offseason both through NFL free agency – Kevin Zeitler, DJ Reader and Marcus Davenport – paired with the 2024 NFL Draft (Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr.). Detroit has everything it needs to challenge the San Francisco 49ers to be the best NFC team in 2024, though, the NFC North is going to be a brutal fight all year.
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A year ago, the Houston Texans were one of the worst NFL teams and now they are right near the top of the NFL power rankings. C.J. Stroud and DeMeco Ryans did insane work last season to transform this franchise. Their reward this offseason was Stefon Diggs, Kamari Lassiter, Calen Bullock, Blake Fisher, Joe Mixon, Daniel Hunter, Denico Autry and Azeez Al-Shaair. We feel confident in saying Stroud will be an MVP candidate this fall and Ryans’ defense could be one of the 10 best in football. All of that makes the Texans one of the best NFL teams in 2024.
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The San Francisco 49ers didn’t trade Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel during the 2024 NFL Draft, so both star offensive weapons should be around for the entire upcoming season. We do still have to acknowledge the absence of Dre Greenlaw (Achilles) an injury that will be felt defensively well into the regular season. However, we’ve learned to never bet against Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy with all the talent around them especially in the regular season.
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The Kansas City Chiefs are No. 1 in the NFL power rankings after the 2024 NFL Draft. While trading away cornerback L’Jarius Sneed is a blow for this defense and the looming Rashee Rice suspension will hurt in the regular season, we’ve seen Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid win Super Bowls with issues on the roster. The newest NFL dynasty will be the No. 1 team in our eyes until someone proves otherwise.
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The Kansas City Chiefs are the best NFL team in 2024, sitting at No. 1 in the NFL power rankings.
The Carolina Panthers are the worst team in the NFL, coming in last in our 2024 NFL power rankings.
The three worst NFL teams in 2024 are the Carolina Panthers, New York Giants and New England Patriots.
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