Our Frank Schwab counts down his NFL power rankings, assesses each team’s offseason, asks fantasy football advice and previews what the 2024 season has in store for each team.
We’ll reach our No. 1 team on July 31, one day before the Hall of Fame Game kicks off the preseason when the Chicago Bears take on the Houston Texans.
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The Panthers hired a new head coach, Dave Canales, who had a very good season as Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator. He did wonders for the career of Baker Mayfield, who should pique the interest of the Panthers. Carolina spent $153 million on guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, traded for receiver Diontae Johnson and drafted receiver Xavier Legette, running back Jonathon Brooks and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders. Those were the first steps in helping QB Bryce Young reach his potential.
It is not that the dark cloud has disappeared. Team owner David Tepper is still there, harassing bar owners who take shots at him, ready for the Panthers to reverse all their plans if he gets impatient to lose again. Young still has a long way to go and he may never come close to Stroud as a player or pay off what the Panthers gave up in that trade. The roster still has huge holes on both sides of the ball.
The Patriots have drafted North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, who will team up with head coach Jerod Mayo to lead the Patriots into a brand new era. The fact that multiple teams, including the Giants and Vikings, were very eager to trade up for that third overall pick should tell the Patriots that staying put and drafting Maye was the right choice. The Patriots need to replenish the roster, but you don’t turn away a potential franchise quarterback. Rebuilding New England will be a lot easier if Maye is a success.
Maye had a lot of buzz. He was the QB1 in this draft class for Nate Tice of Yahoo Sports. He has the full skill set to succeed, as long as his aggressive nature doesn’t become a major problem on turnovers. One problem is that the Patriots still haven’t done much to improve the offense around him. They were trying to get free-agent receiver Calvin Ridley, and while team owner Robert Kraft said Ridley chose the Tennessee Titans because his girlfriend wanted to be in the South, Kraft’s comment was that “some of it might also be the quarterback situation probably more accurate. The Patriots are not a destination yet. That will take time. The first step should be for Maye to become the type of QB other players want to join forces with.
Rookie Bo Nix isn’t guaranteed to start Week 1, but he will start soon. The problem is that there isn’t much around him. Patrick Surtain II is one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, the offensive line isn’t terrible, receiver Courtland Sutton scored 10 touchdowns last season and… well, that’s about it. This isn’t a team equipped to win quickly, even if the QB6 in this draft class is an instant hit. That’s what happens when you pay a high price for Russell Wilson and Sean Payton in trades. The Broncos somehow went 8-9 last season because Payton is still an excellent head coach, but it will be a challenge this season, next season and perhaps in 2026.
None of this should have been a surprise. When Payton came on board, everyone knew a total decline was likely as the team suffered the consequences of cutting Wilson. One of these days there will be something for Broncos fans to cheer about other than dusty memories of Peyton Manning and that 2015 team.
Grabbing a coach that was in high demand, a GM that everyone wanted and a quarterback that almost everyone picked second overall in the draft class is a good offseason. That’s the kind of core that can transform a franchise very quickly.
The problem with using the Texans as an example of a quick turnaround is that they are getting an unprecedented number of green lights. They hired a great head coach in DeMeco Ryans, who probably wouldn’t have looked their way if he had been drafted by another team at the time. They didn’t have the first pick of the draft, but CJ Stroud fell to them at No. 2 and ended up becoming arguably the greatest starting quarterback in NFL history. Many young players broke out at the same time. It’s hard to replicate all that.
