1. Chiefs: Having Chris Jones absent from the team isn’t ideal, but they still have Patrick Mahomes.
2. 49ers: If they can keep Brock Purdy healthy all year, they have enough around him to win it all.
3. Eagles: They have an incredible roster. The challenge will be forgetting about last season’s near-miss and repeating the climb with a target on their back.
4. Bengals: It’s easy to forget that, for a while in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship, it felt like the Bengals were going to win the game.
5. Dolphins: It’s been 50 years since they last won a Super Bowl. If they can keep all key players healthy, they can end that streak.
6. Jets: However it turns out, it’s going to be a fun ride.
7. Jaguars: If this collection of players and coaches was named anything other than “Jaguars,” they’d be getting a lot more hype.
8. Bills: It feels like this team is a Jenga tower, 20 moves in. There’s plenty of wobble; can they hold it all together?
9. Seahawks: If the Eagles and 49ers falter, the Seahawks could be ready to steal the George Halas Trophy.
10. Cowboys: As usual, everything looks great. As usual, potential flaws are lurking just below that shiny exterior.
11. Giants: Last year might not have been a fluke but the start of something that will endure.
12. Ravens: The Ravens have the players, but Todd Monken has never been confused with Bill Walsh. They need the offense to work if they hope to seriously contend.
13. Steelers: A month ago, this would have felt high. Currently, it feels low.
14. Lions: It’s great to get attention and respect. But no one will view them as an easy team to beat this year, which will make every game harder.
15. Chargers: The seat can’t get much hotter for Brandon Staley, and the only man who can put out the fire is Kellen Moore.
16. Packers: A team that has consistently contended for most of the last 30 years is finally going to fall to the back of the pack? I’ll believe it when it happens.
17. Titans: They’re largely overlooked and ignored. Just the way Mike Vrabel would want it.
18. Vikings: The defense can’t get much worse. How much better can it be?
19. Patriots: They used to be the Harlem Globetrotters. They’re now in danger of becoming the Washington Generals.
20. Commanders: They could go 0-17 and the fans would still be happy about the departure of Daniel Snyder.
21. Bears: They’ll rise as far as Justin Fields can take them.
22. Browns: Deshaun is the biggest wild-card player on the NFL’s biggest wild-card team.
23. Broncos: It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. With Sean Payton, they have a chance to finish much higher.
24. Saints: They’re good enough to win the division. Will they be good enough to win in the playoffs?
25. Panthers: How long will it take Bryce Young to adapt to the NFL game?
26. Falcons: It all comes down to what Desmond Ridder can, or can’t, do.
27. Buccaneers: Even if Tom Brady hadn’t re-retired, they’d be facing an uphill climb.
28. Raiders: In the NFC, they’d possibly be a fringe playoff contender. In the AFC? Not.
29. Rams: Last year was bad. There’s a decent chance this year will be worse.
30. Texans: They’re gradually digging their way out of what seemed to be incurable dysfunction.
31. Colts: They’d be higher if the owner hadn’t botched the relationship with Jonathan Taylor.
32. Cardinals: If they could be lower than 32, they would be.
