With the 2023 NFL Draft in the rear view mirror, it’s time to do my Post Draft NFL Power Rankings. At this time most teams are solidified with their rosters, so we can start to predict how your favorite team(s) will do.
Top 10
1 Kansas City Chiefs – Standing atop my Power Rankings, the reigning Super Bowl Champions. They may not be the most talented roster in the league, but Patrick Mahomes is the best QB in the NFL. He took a massive step forward last year and I don’t see what’s changed to make me think the team will regress in 2023. As Ric Flair once said, “to be the man, wooo!, you gotta beat the man”. At least in my Power Rankings!
2 Cincinnati Bengals – 2023 needs to be their year to get the job done. The Bengals are still operating on these rookie contracts but the time will come next offseason when tough decisions need to be made.
3 Dallas Cowboys – This team was a ‘Tony Pollard’ away from beating SF in last year’s playoffs. Add in Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks, the Cowboys will contend in the NFC. While everyone is predicting their fall, I can’t help but think that they got better.
4 Philadelphia Eagles – Their offense will be great again, but that defense will struggle with aging veterans and rookies who aren’t ready to play. I’m not as high on their draft as others in the media are.
5 San Francisco 49ers – This is the best team in the league if Brock Purdy is healthy. The talent on this roster is amazing and Purdy is the best option to run this team. If he’s out significant time, this becomes a different team.
6 Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens win 70% of their games with Lamar. That projects to a 12-5 record. Lamar will be more committed than the past couple years now that he has his contact. Over the next 3-5 years, I don’t like this team’s outlook. But for now, I believe the Ravens will be dangerous this year.
7 Jacksonville Jaguars – The jags took a huge step forward last year. And with the addition of Calvin Ridley to the offense, I see this team getting better. Great coach, franchise QB, and young nucleus.
8 New York Jets – I am buying what this team is selling. Rodgers is committed and motivated this year, and has weapons to make this a top 10 offense. The defense is already one of the best in the league and with that offense, they should be very dangerous.
9 New Orleans Saints – I love this team with Derek Carr at the helm. They have a great pool of young receivers and a solid offensive line. In a poor division, expect the Saints to march into the playoffs.
10 Miami Dolphins – I like the Dolphins a lot. This is a complete team, very tough to beat with Tua at QB. The speed of this team will cause problems for everyone they play. Even if Tua gets hurt, I think Mike White is a very capable backup. The defense should be great.
Middle of the Pack
11 Seattle Seahawks – The potential for this team in 2023 is great. Their ‘22 draft class should contribute even more in 2023. The offense is loaded with RB and WR talent. The defense should be better too, although they were pretty bad last year.
12 LA Chargers – I gave this team the nudge over the Bills because Kellen Moore was brought in to open up the Chargers offense. Herbert felt limited last year but should be an MVP candidate with more options. The defense continues to disappoint which limits their potential.
13 Buffalo Bills – Roster wise, I think Josh Allen carries too much weight for this team for me to take them more seriously in my Power Rankings. The AFC East seemed to have caught up with the Bills last year. This is a borderline playoff team with a brutal schedule.
14 New England Patriots – I like the Patriots more than most this year. They added some strong offensive talent (Smith-Schuster, Giesecki) and they actually hired a competent OC. I’m looking for a strong year from Mac Jones if he and Bill can get along.
15 Detroit Lions – Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell are building something special here. However, as a Lions fan for many years, I’ve been down this road before. I was Lukewarm on the Gibbs pick when they could have had Bijon at #6. Plus Goff needs to keep getting better in this offense and not take a step back.
16 New York Giants – A surprise team last season, the Giants will have a hard time duplicating what they did. With that said, I loved the Darren Waller trade, and their draft was solid. They might be better, even though they take a step back with their record this year.
17 Minnesota Vikings – The Vikings have a poor roster, despite the fact they went 13-4. Too many one score wins last year to duplicate what they did. With Dalvin Cook’s future with the team uncertain, I don’t know how they get better.
18 Cleveland Browns – This is supposed to be the year this Watson trade and contract pays off for them. Cleveland gave up a lot and now’s the time to do it. I’ll believe it when I see it.
19 Pittsburgh Steelers – This is a risky team to get behind. Pickett had two concussions last year and is at risk for missing time in 2023. TJ Watt needs to stay healthy for this defense to be competitive.
20 Washington Commanders – Excluding quarterback, this is a high level team. Great defense and offensive talent is there (for the most part). This team goes as far as their QB (Howell or Brissett) will take them.
21 Green Bay Packers – The jury is still out on Jordan Love. Usually for a guy entering his 4th season that’s not a good sign, but Daniel Jones proved that wrong last year. This is a solid roster but a lot relies on Love and that young receiving corps to step up and lead this offense.
22 Chicago Bears – It’s a make or break year for Justin Fields. Chicago really added some pieces to the offense to where there is no excuse for him. The division’s down, as is the NFC, but I’m not sold on this defense.
Bottom 10
23 Carolina Panthers – Rookie QB, new head coach, and defensive scheme change made for a tough analysis for my Power Rankings. There are a lot of pieces in place with this team, but they are still very young and unpredictable.
24 Houston Texans – Busy off-season for Houston as well. They find their franchise QB and cornerstone DE in the draft. Still a year away in my opinion.
25 Denver Broncos – New coach but the same QB. By all accounts, Wilson’s issues last year are more than just bad coaching. I expect more than 5 wins for this team but a playoff berth is unlikely.
26 Tennessee Titans – The Titans are in the midst of a rebuild. The offensive line is a mess and haven’t added any receiver help. They lost their last 7 games last season and I expect to see a lot of that in 2023.
27 Atlanta Falcons – What was Atlanta doing in the draft? Bijon is barely an upgrade over the stellar running game they already had. Desmond Ridder is still a big question mark and they have no resolution at DE or CB (outside of AJ Terrell).
28 Indianapolis Colts – Richardson should start immediately. He will struggle to start but get better as the year progresses. My concern with this team along the offensive line and the defense.
29 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Sorry to do this Bucs fans, but prospects don’t look great for 2023. Who is the QB? Is Mayfield or Trask viable options? How will the offensive line work together? Too many questions with this group to have much confidence in at this point.
30 Las Vegas Raiders – Of all the teams, the Raiders had the worst (or second worst) off-season of anybody. Hi Arizona! They downgraded at QB and didn’t appear to settle any of their off-season needs.
31 Arizona Cardinals – The Cards may be the only other team with a worse off-season than the Raiders. They certainly had the most tumultuous off-season, and that led them to slip in these Power Rankings. Bottom line for the Cards is Kyler is out for the part (or all) of the season and they have a lot of holes on the defense.
32 Los Angeles Rams – Their star players (Stafford, Kupp, Donald) are all coming off injuries and the rest of the depth chart are unproven players. Easily the worst roster in the league (in my humble opinion). If things get rocky early for this team, they could be looking to 2024 very early.
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