Sampling of preseason NFL Power Rankings

[Inigo Montoya]

Thought I'd collect a sample of the preseason power rankings and post them here together to look at.  I added the links so you could read the reasoning behind their rankings.  Bills are a near consensus 3rd seed with only one outlet putting them in 4th.  As a long suffering Bills' fan, it's crazy to look at these preseason power rankings and not automatically scroll down to the middle of the article to find where the Bills are ranked somewhere in the 16-26 range.  The Bills are now an elite team.  It's been a long time coming.

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/nate-davis/2021/05/05/nfl-power-rankings-draft-packers-aaron-rodgers-jaguars-buccaneers/4952639001/

1. Bucs

2. Chiefs

3. Browns

4. Bills

5. Ravens

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/05/05/nfl-power-rankings-2021-draft-49ers-saints-chiefs-cowboys

1. Chiefs

2. Bucs

3. Bills

4. Rams

5. Ravens

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-power-rankings-browns-on-the-rise-after-2021-nfl-draft-bucs-and-chiefs-remain-on-top/

1. Bucs

2. Chiefs

3. Bills

4. Packers

5. Browns

 

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-power-rankings-bears-49ers-on-the-rise-after-2021-draft

1. Bucs

2. Chiefs

3. Bills

4. Packers

5. Ravens

 

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriots/post-2021-nfl-draft-power-rankings-standings-all-32-teams

1. Bucs

2.Chiefs

3. Bills

4. Ravens

5. Rams

 

https://www.thelines.com/betting/nfl/power-rankings/

1. Bucs

2. Chiefs

3. Bills

4. Rams

5. Ravens

 

https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nfl/news/nfl-power-rankings-2021-browns-49ers-seahawks-raiders/4c9q7echav7x19jqosghumup0

1. Bucs

2. Chiefs

3. Bills

4. Browns

5. 49ers

 

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by Inigo Montoya

[Matt_In_NH]

All looks reasonable to me.

[gjv001]

On paper I think the Browns have surpassed the Bills. But there's a reason they play the games. GO Bills!!!

[teef]

yup.  all very reasonable.

[Alphadawg7]

Pretty consistent on us being top 3 with chiefs and Bucs.  Browns are all over the place, from 3 to not in top 5.  Personally I don’t think they are top 5 either as I would still have Ravens ahead of them at 4 and then either Rams or Packers at 5 (unless Rodgers gets traded, then they fall out of top 15 for me).  

[Kwai San]

My response this this?  

 

These are great days we're living, bros. We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth as Bills Fans!

[P Riv]

Look at last year's rankings and how far off they were by season's end, for the most part.  Injuries will dictate a lot of how the season will go, just depends on who and when they go down.  I think we have solid depth and can weather the storm, but many of the rest can't say that.  

7 minutes ago, Kwai San said:

My response this this?  

 

These are great days we're living, bros. We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth as Bills Fans!

 

Sounds good to me.  I think TB runs away with it this year though, they have an All-Star team.  

[msw2112]

Top to bottom, the Browns have potentially the best roster.  That said Mahomes>Mayfield and Allen>Mayfield.  Also, the Browns have a lot more "me first" guys and the Bills have a superior team culture.  The Ravens also have an excellent roster and a great culture, but Lamar holds them back a bit.  He's a great player, but more limited in the passing game than Mahomes and Allen.  I believe the Bills will make adjustments to improve their run game and pass rush an Allen will continue to improve (and benefit from the better run game).  Thus, I will go with:

 

1. Chiefs (until proven otherwise by the Bills)

2. Bills

3. Browns

4. Ravens

5. Bucs

6. Rams

 

I didn't talk much about the Bucs, but I think they caught the Chiefs in the SB with a banged up OL and QB and were peaking at the right time.  I don't think they're the better team going into next season.  I'm not that impressed with the rest of the NFC.  The Packers look like they're ready to implode, the Seahawks "run" is over, and the 49ers will suffer from the loss of Saleh and uncertainty at QB (Jimmy G is underwhelming and Lance too raw/not ready).  The Rams, with Stafford, could be in the mix if they stay healthy.  Their defense is great and Stafford may be able to get their offense over the hump.

Edited May 6, 2021 by msw2112

[Freddie's Dead]

The most interesting thing is the majority of these preseason rankings have the Pack out of the top 5.  The Rodgers Rift is the biggest story of the 2021 season.

[auburnbillsbacker]

37 minutes ago, gjv001 said:

On paper I think the Browns have surpassed the Bills. But there's a reason they play the games. GO Bills!!!

I think their 53 might be a little better but the Bills QB is better and that means a lot.  

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Kudos for the effort - Thanks!

 

IMHO preseason NFL power rankings are right up there with immediately-after-the-draft grades

But folks do enjoy them, and it is gratifying to see the Bills mentioned!!  Been a while!

 

18 minutes ago, msw2112 said:

Top to bottom, the Browns have potentially the best roster.  That said Mahomes>Mayfield and Allen>Mayfield.  Also, the Browns have a lot more "me first" guys and the Bills have a superior team culture. 

 

To give Stefanski due credit, he has apparently done a lot to turn that culture around and without doing the wholesale "throw the guys off the bus, bring in new guys" technique McDermott and Beane employed

[LABILLBACKER]

44 minutes ago, gjv001 said:

On paper I think the Browns have surpassed the Bills. But there's a reason they play the games. GO Bills!!!

I agree. The Browns have a better overall team and we have the superior qb. With the Rodgers drama I put the Packers out of the top 5.

[NewEra]

41 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

Pretty consistent on us being top 3 with chiefs and Bucs.  Browns are all over the place, from 3 to not in top 5.  Personally I don’t think they are top 5 either as I would still have Ravens ahead of them at 4 and then either Rams or Packers at 5 (unless Rodgers gets traded, then they fall out of top 15 for me).  

I was looking at the ravens roster and I’m not impressed.  They made some solid additions @ WR (Bateman, watkins, tylan wallace) but losing Ngakoue and Judon and replacing them with backups McPhee and Bowser is massive imo.  I don’t see Oweh making a big enough impact to get their D back to where they need it.  All of that could change if Roman makes the necessary adjustments to open up their offensive playbook and Lamar can be efficient throwing the ball. I’ll take the Brown over the ravens but subject to change if Lamar can take his passing game to another level 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

10 minutes ago, NewEra said:

I was looking at the ravens roster and I’m not impressed.  They made some solid additions @ WR (Bateman, watkins, tylan wallace) but losing Ngakoue and Judon and replacing them with backups McPhee and Bowser is massive imo.  I don’t see Oweh making a big enough impact to get their D back to where they need it.  All of that could change if Roman makes the necessary adjustments to open up their offensive playbook and Lamar can be efficient throwing the ball. I’ll take the Brown over the ravens but subject to change if Lamar can take his passing game to another level 

 

That's where I got to on the Ravens.  Also concerned about their situation on OL esp at Center.  They arguably lost or almost lost some games on C-QB exchange last season.  They let Skura move on in FA.  Not clear Mekari is ready to replace him full time and who else they got?  Haven't heard any buzz about Ben Cleveland being a possible C.  I'd feel better about them if they'd managed to draft Creed Humphry who, BTW, we could have benefited by drafting IMHO (but if Basham Boogies at QB pressure, Come Home Beane, All is Forgiven).

 

The one thing I'll say is that if any team can develop Oweh to contribute this season, that team would be the Ravens. 

 

Ngakoue was a 50-70% of the snaps guy for them last year and contributed 3 sacks, 3 QB hits, and 2 TFL during the season.  IMHO their big loss is Judon.  That said they've had a top-10 defense since 2015 and almost every year since 2008 before that.  And they've shown they're not afraid to make aggressive trades during the season if their D isn't getting 'er done.

 

But, it ultimately does come down to Lamar and whether the Ravens can get more from the passing game.

[Logic]

The thing for me with the Browns is this: they have an elite running game, but ranked 23rd in passing yards per game last season. Maybe that was just due to OBJ being on the shelf most of the year. However, until they show they can hang with the NFL's passing elite (which, amazingly, for the first time in my life, includes Buffalo), I'm not buying much stock in them.

They have a great running game and are likely to have a much improved defense. Defense and running game are great and will likely win you 10+ games. It's hard for me to buy them going far in the playoffs, though, until they show they can pass the ball. It's a passing league.

[Doc Brown]

Not used to this.  Fifteen years of being a sleeper in the 16 to 25 range is my comfort zone.

[billsfan89]

Bills being ranked 3-5 seems fair. Anything out of the top 5 is ridiculous but hard to put them over a largely retained Tampa Bay team and a slightly improved KC team.  

[HOUSE]

1 hour ago, teef said:

yup.  all very reasonable.

 

The Browns paid somebody off to be ranked top 5 in anybodies power rankings

[teef]

2 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

 

The Browns paid somebody off to be ranked top 5 in anybodies power rankings

oh no doubt.  there were some back room shenanigans going on there.

[Inigo Montoya]

3 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

 

The Browns paid somebody off to be ranked top 5 in anybodies power rankings

 

Just now, teef said:

oh no doubt.  there were some back room shenanigans going on there.

 

It was me.....

 

😁