Post Draft NFL Power Rankings

Now that the draft is over I think an update in the power rankings is in order.  The last one I did, which was after the Super Bowl, is not on this blog for the obvious reason that the blog didn’t exist until a week ago.  So what I’ll do is tell you where they were previously ranked and explain why they're ranked where they are. Please keep two things in mind, 1) These rankings are also a reflection of the moves teams made in free agency in addition to their draft and 2) That in the post I’m assuming guys who missed last year are now healthy. (Peyton Manning, Jamaal Charles, Jay Cutler etc.)

By the way I want to establish that the way I rank teams is by asking the question: If team one and team two were playing each other, who would win? The team I think would win goes higher and than I attempt to use this method while ranking all teams. Meaning that I think the second best team would beat everyone except the best team, the same way the 31st team would lose to everyone except the 32nd team.. I realize this isn’t an exact science but it works for this. If you have a better way, I’m all ears.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s begin:

1) New England Patriots: I like the improvements they made through the draft, but I do worry about the loss of Green-Ellis in the backfield. If this was another team, I’d be more concerned, but Belichick will work around his losses like always.  I just get the feeling they’re a team trying desperately to win now. Brady isn’t getting any younger; their time to win another Super Bowl is now. (PR: 3)


2) Green Bay Packers: They’re not as pressed to win as New England and that is why they were bounced in the divisional round this year by the eventual champions.  They can’t expect to win in January with a lax attitude. The veterans need to address this issue and soon, or guys like Charles Woodson won’t have much of a chance at winning another Lombardi. Still amazingly talented, they just need to shore up that defense and stay focused. If they lose, it'll be because they beat themselves. (PR: 1)

3) New Orleans Saints: This ranking could change depending on what happens with the ruling on the players involved in the bounty scandal, but as long as Drew Brees is under center, the Saints are the favorites in the NFC South. Even if they lose a bunch of guys on defense, they brought in David Hawthorne and Curtis Lofton to come in and start this season anyway.  What people need to keep in mind is that while they've lost their Head Coach, if ever there were a team that could overcome that, it's a team with Brees at the helm.  No one on the offense is going to be missing any games and in New Orleans, they're the ones who win the games anyway. I suppose that has to be the silver lining in all this mess for Saints fans. That they're going to be just as competitive next year as in years past.  Gregg Williams was an awful coordinator anyway and a ten year old playing Madden could come up with a more intelligent defensive strategy. The Saints and the Packers are the cream of the crop in the NFC and have to still be considered the favorites to get back to the Super Bowl, which interestingly enough will be in New Orleans this season.  By the way, I'm saying right now that if the Saints have a good year, I would not be surprised at all if they let Sean Payton go next offseason when his suspension is up. (PR: 2)


4) Pittsburgh Steelers: I know. They’re old. They lost veterans and captains alike.  Wallace is pissed off, Casey Hampton’s knee isn’t working and the offensive line cant stay healthy. I’ve got a thought, shut up. Let’s take a look at the guys the Steelers lost, shall we? Chris Hoke retired, Max Starks is a free agent and William Gay signed with Arizona. Plus James Farrior, Hines Ward, Aaron Smith, Bryant McFadden, Arnaz Battle and Chris Kemoeatu were all cut. You want to know which one of the losses was the most significant? It was Gay, and it’s not even close. Losing Kemo will improve the line, simply by his not being there, while Battle and McFadden only played special teams anyway. I loved Ward, Farrior, Smith and Hoke. To see them leave depresses me because I’ve never known a Steeler team that didn’t have them, but the reality is, none of them did much of anything last year and they still went 12-4. The only thing the Steelers are losing, albeit a big loss, is their leadership. But it’s not as if they don’t have any left. Veterans like Foote, Clark and Keisel can be the vocal leaders on D. While the offense already seems to have crowned Pouncey it’s captain anyway. Losing William Gay was the worst because he was only true starter that left. After him, it was Max Starks, who arguably saved our season. However, I have high hopes for Cortez Allen at CB, and with the additions of David DeCastro and Mike Adams through the draft, plus the fact that Willie Colon will be back, I'm left somewhat indifferent to the loss of Starks. I like the guy, don’t get me wrong, but I’ll live, and there is still the possibility of bringing him into training camp to compete for a backup spot. Wallace’s contract situation will work itself out, as I fully expect him to get an extension before the start of the season. I suppose the point is, the Steelers are fine, in fact they’re in better shape than they were after that loss to Denver.  They’ve gotten younger, and the addition of Todd Haley might prove to be the most important of the bunch. I think this could be a great year and can’t wait for the season to start so I can see this brand new offense in action. (PR: 6)


5) San Francisco 49ers: When I was working on my mock drafts, the 49ers were one the tougher teams to figure out. They have virtually no holes. Their entire defense from last year is returning and offensively they've added Randy Moss, Mario Manningham and Brandon Jacobs as depth. Their biggest weakness on that side of the ball is QB, and Alex Smith showed that with some decent coaching he might yet prove to be worth that number one pick. They've got the easiest division in football to compete with so there's no reason they shouldn't be as competitive this year as they were in 2011.  (PR: 4)


6) New York Giants: I realize they won the Super Bowl in 2011, but that doesnt mean they’re the best team in 2012. It means they got hot at the right time. Rarely does the best team actually win it all. They are in good shape but their entire division is at their heels. If they stay focused they could certainly make another run in 2012, but at the same time, it wouldn’t shock me if they didn’t make the postseason at all, either. They drafted like a team that just won the Super Bowl. They took value at positions of lesser need.  David Wilson was a reach in my opinion but snagging Reuben Randle at the end of 2nd was solid value.  Their only noticeable losses in free agency were Brandon Jacobs and Mario Manningham. I'd say they addressed those losses quite well with their top two picks. (PR: 5)


7) Baltimore Ravens: Unlike the Steelers, the Ravens lost some valuable starters. The most significant of which was the departure of Pro Bowl guard Ben Grubbs, who dashed for New Orleans. They also lost Jarret Johnson to San Diego and Cory Redding followed Chuck Pagano to Indianapolis.  They failed to draft Ray Lewis' heir, but added talent with Coutrney Upshaw and Kelechi Osemele.  Upshaw should be starting opposite Terrell Suggs pretty quickly, while Osemele will compete with Jah Reid for Grubbs' old spot.  Baltimore has an extremely difficult schedule so in the tight race for the AFC North, they are at a disadvantage.  Lewis and Ed Reed aren't getting any younger so they are another team looking to win right now while they still have their services. (PR: 8)


8) Houston Texans: They might be the most complete team in the AFC, but that doesn’t mean they’re the best. If they won the division with Matt Schaub out half the year, imagine how good they can be with him and Andre Johnson back directing the offense.  I'm still waiting for Houston to finally add a true #2 WR to play opposite Johnson, as they passed on Stephen Hill at 26th and chose to instead add Whitney Mercilus (Who is certainly the better of the two, in my opinion) to improve the pass rush.  Admittedly, I do have some lingering concerns over the losses of Mario Williams and Eric Winston. I mean the defense did just fine without their best player for most of the year, but still, it’s not as if that should mean they were better without him.  No reason they shouldn’t repeat as division champions and if they stay healthy could really challenge for the AFC Title in 2012. (PR: 7)


9) Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles had the potential to be a top 5 team last year and based on talent, probably should have been, but they (more specifically the linebackers and Michael Vick) choked.  So they went out and brought in Demetress Bell and Demeco Ryans, traded away Asante Samuel and drafted Fletcher Cox and Mychal Kendricks with their top two picks in the draft.  If they stay focused there is no reason they couldn't make a run in 2012. (PR: 10)


10) Denver Broncos: If they can go 8-8 with a fullback under center, imagine what they can do with Peyton Manning.  The defense played great last year and if it's half as good as 2011 they'll be the easy favorite in the AFC West.  They added Brandon Stokley, Peyton's old teammate and close friend, as well as a pair of TEs in Jacob Tamme and Joel Dreessen. The biggest worry here is that Peyton will be coming back from a year and a half long reprieve from football.  It could be tough sledding for that first month or two and the complexities of Peyton's offense might be tough for young guys like Demarious Thomas to learn. (PR: 15)


11) Chicago Bears: When the Bears were healthy, they were playing at an elite level.  Matt Forte was in the discussion for Offensive Player of the Year before being put on IR.  But what really killed Chicago's season was the loss of Jay Cutler. If they can pickup in 2012, where they were before the slew of injuries, they could be a force to be reckoned with.  Add Brandon Marshall to the equation where he'll join forces with his old QB in Cutler and this offense is looking pretty explosive.  You have to wonder how much longer they'll have  guys like Urlacher and Briggs at their disposal, so they're another team pressed to win sooner, rather than later. (PR: 11)


12) Detroit Lions: This is a team that's finally gotten it's shit together.  Which is why it's a shame that they're in such a difficult division and in a conference at a time when there are nine or ten teams who are serious playoff contenders.  The offense was one of the most explosive in football in 2011 and should be right back at it, but the defense still has major question marks.  Detroit found out the hard way that you can't hope to win games by simply outscoring their opponent.  Unfortunately they don't appear to have done much to improve their weak secondary which concerns me going into this season.  Riley Reiff was a steal at 23 and should get considerable time as a rookie and Ryan Broyles will be a new toy for Matt Stafford in the passing game. So while the offense keeps getting better, until they show they can stop somebody defensively, they won't be able to make much of a dent come January. (PR: 9)


13) Dallas Cowboys: Their offense is one of the best in the NFL, and now, they've added Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne to their secondary.  The problem with the Cowboys though hasn't been a lack of talent, it's been an inability to finish or win when it matters most.  Tony Romo is a top 10 QB, but for some reason he chokes in the 4th quarter more often than most.  The only real problem they need to address is the lack of focus. Jerry Jones has done his part to bring the talent in, now it's up to the coaches and the captains to keep their guys from falling apart under pressure. If they do that, they're a Super Bowl contender, if not, they'll miss the playoffs again. (PR: 12)


14) Atlanta Falcons: All the pieces are in place for this franchise to make a run but so far they're 0-3 with Matt Ryan in the playoffs. They drafted Peter Konz and Lamar Holmes with their 2nd and 3rd round picks to help the offensive line after trading away their 1st and 4th rounders last year in the Julio Jones trade with the Browns.  If ever there were a year the Falcons should be motivated to make a run its 2012. What with all the issues in New Orleans, they may get off to a slow start which might open the door enough for the Falcons to take hold of the NFC South.  You have to imagine that it would be especially nice for them if they managed to win the Super Bowl in the Saints building in the midst of the bounty scandal. (PR: 14)


15) Cincinnati Bengals: In terms of value, the Bengals might have had the best draft of anyone.  Their biggest need was a #2 WR after they lost Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell in free agency which they addressed with Mohamed Sanu in the 3rd round. He won't be able to start immediately but has good potential.  Kevin Zeitler can step in where they lost Bobbie Williams, while guys like Dre Kirkpatrick and Devon Still can take time to learn Mike Zimmer's defense as backups. If not for the fact that they're in an extremely difficult division, they'd be a team bound for the playoffs. Assuming Andy Dalton continues to develop, this franchise will be in great shape for the next decade. (PR: 17)


16) Buffalo Bills: Getting Gilmore and Glenn were mood moves but I still would have liked to have seen them add a WR like Michael Floyd to play opposite Stevie Johnson. With a healthy Fred Jackson, a revamped defense headlined by the acquisition of Mario Williams and another year of experience for Ryan Fitzpatrick, this is a team on the cusp of a playoff berth.  The biggest issue they need to overcome is their hot and cold tendency of playing great one week and dropping a bomb the next. There is no reason they shouldn't win 9-11 games in 2012. (PR: 16)


17) San Diego Chargers: Melvin Ingram was a steal at 18th and should improve San Diego's porous pass rush. However, they lost more than they gained in free agency.  Vincent Jackson was the best threat that offense had, and with his departure for Tampa Bay, the number one receiver now becomes Malcom Floyd or the newly acquired Robert Meachum. Antonio Gates is beginning to show signs of wear and tear and is no longer considered the best TE in football.  Ryan Matthews can't stay healthy, they have holes in the secondary, not to mention Norv Turner is still the Head Coach. What else could go wrong? Oh yeah! Peyton Manning signed with Denver so now this once awful division just got the most consistent QB of the last decade to come in and become a perennial playoff contender. Great. Not to mention the Chargers as a whole seem only competent enough to play 2 months of every season. I look forward to another 8-8 finish, San Diego. (PR: 13)


18) Tennessee Titans: Drafting Kendall Wright doesn't make much sense to me. They've already got a speed threat in Nate Washington and Kenny Britt will be healthy and ready to go in 2012.  Their offense as a whole is actually in pretty good shape, so given the loss of Cortland Finnegan and the need for improvemnt in the pass rush why not address the defense with that pick instead?  I realize he was good value, and they stayed true to their board, but guys like Whitney Mercilus and Chandler Jones were available. Regardless this a team who I could certainly see challenging for a wild card spot this year.  Hopefully Chris Johnson is able to return to his former self, because while I still think this is the Texan's division to lose, the Titans are a team capable of winning double digit games. (PR: 18)


19) Kansas City Chiefs: No one in football last year suffered through injuries worse than the Chiefs did. They lost their best players on both sides of the ball in Jamaal Charles and Eric Berry. Add their QB and TE to the list and you have a team that was shit out of luck. They drafted Dontari Poe, who if he pans out could be a force inside. He's a huge boom/bust prospect so we'll have to wait and see before we pass judgement on that pick. They have the pieces in place, but I don't see them as much more than an 8-8 team until Matt Cassel shows he is anything more than serviceable. (PR: 20)


20) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Trading back with the Jaguars caused them to miss out on drafting Morris Claiborne so they took the next best defensive back in Mark Barron. Outside of losing that gamble they had a great draft. Doug Martin reminds me of Ray Rice and should be a nice complement to Legarrette Blount. Lavonte David will be staring before the year's end plus they added Vincent Jackson and Carl Nicks in Free Agency to help the offense.  If Josh Freeman plays to his potential this team could be on the cusp of the playoffs. They don't have many holes on that roster and with a few more drafts like this one, should be legitimate contender in another year or two. (PR: 27)


21) Carolina Panthers: I doubted Cam Newton last year and that came back to bite me in the ass big time.  But I'm going to question him again and say that I doubt he has the same kind of success in his sophomore campaign as he did in 2011.  Teams have started to figure him out so Ron Rivera will have his work cut out for him diversifying the offense to keep it effective.  I was hoping to see them get a WR to play across from Steve Smith but that didn't happen.  They addressed their need at LB with Kuechly who'll be a day one starter and grabbed Silatolu 2nd who should make for one hell of a guard.  I don't see them making the playoffs, simply because the NFC is so competitive and their division already has two playoff teams of it's own.  They're at least another year away but who knows? I was wrong about Newton before. (PR: 19)


22) New York Jets: Ahh the Jets. Their locker room's falling apart so who do they draft? Quinton Colpes. Gotta love the logic there.  As if it wasn't enough that they brought the circus to town with the trade for Tebow, they take the guy with the most question marks surrounding his character. This is a middle of the road team that has one of the worst starting QBs in the NFL.  There running game is anything but elite, and outside of Revis, that defense is questionable at best. Nothing going on there makes any sense. I mean I could think of 15 guys on that roster who are more qualified to be captain that Santonio Holmes. Expect another 8-8 season. (PR: 25)


23) Arizona Cardinals: I liked the addition of Michael Floyd, but that wont be enough to return the Cardinals to the playoffs. Why? It might have something to do with the fact they played better with their backup QB than with Kevin Kolb, as six of their seven wins came under John Skelton.  The defense has some good pieces in place in Dockett, Wilson and Peterson and given the momentum Arizona had in the latter part of the 2011 season, there is hope for a rebound.  They failed to find replacements for Joey Porter and Clark Haggans leaving them with little in the way of a pass rush.  What they did get was Bobbie Massie in the 4th round and Senio Kelemete in the 5th, both of whom are eventual starters on the offensive line. I have concerns with Kolb, but in his defense, he had no offseason last year to learn the playbook so he deserves at least another year before I pass final judgement. If not for the emergence of the 49ers, I'd say they have an outside shot at the playoffs but I don't see it happening for at least another year. (PR: 21)


24) Seattle Seahawks: Matt Flynn was effective in the Packer's offense but the Seahawks are more of a ground and pound offense and don't have the same kind of weapons that the Packers do offensively. The 49ers are miles ahead of the rest of this division so unless Flynn is actually as good as he looked in those two games for Green Bay, there chances at the postseason are slim to none. On a different note, I want to say that the Bruce Irvin pick wasn't as ridiculous as the media has portrayed it as. The Jets reportedly would have taken him with the pick after the Seahawks so it's not that they reached as much as it is that guys like Mel Kiper ranked the players differently than the teams had. (PR: 24)


25) Oakland Raiders: This team needs to stop trading all their draft picks away. They didn't add much of anything in free agency and when the draft came around their highest pick was a compensatory 3rd rounder they received for losing Nnamdi Asomugha.  The Carson Palmer trade was ridiculous and they waste their picks on guys like Terrelle Pryor. I fully expect them to come in 4th in the AFC West unless Carson Palmer decides to play like it's 2005. (PR: 23)


26) Minnesota Vikings: Christian Ponder looked promising last season, so hopefully with an actual offseason he can learn the offense and be effective.  They pulled off one hell of a bluff in the trade with Cleveland to still get their man, while attaining extra draft picks. I think trading back into the 1st round for Harrison Smith was a reach but at least they're being aggressive.  The secondary is still a major concern, and the offensive line lost their leader in Steve Hutchinson. Minnesota has little to no chance of coming any better than last in what might be the toughest division in football. Still, they have some nice pieces in place, but are at least another year away from being competitive again. (PR: 26)


27) Cleveland Browns: Hmm.....hmmm.....hmmmmm.....Brandon Weeden....hmm....I don't know about that....I mean he's 28 (soon to be 29) and they already have Colt McCoy, who I never thought had much of a chance to succeed given that his surrounding group of characters on offense included a convoluted nut-job who considered retiring so he could join the CIA, and a bunch of no-name receivers who can't catch. Having Trent Richardson should help that pitiful excuse for an offense but to what extent? The Vikings and Jaguars have proven that having elite RB's isn't enough to be competitive anymore. And they STILL HAVENT GOTTEN A WR. I don't care who's playing QB, Weeden, McCoy or Macruber. When their #1 target in the passing game is Greg Little, they have little chance of succeeding. (PR: 31)


28) Jacksonville Jaguars: Getting Blackmon was a nice pick, but Blaine Gabbert is still their QB. I would say quite confidently that he is one of the three or four worst starters in the NFL right now (The others are Sanchez, Kolb and Tannehill, though none has a very firm grip of their starting job).  The defense I have to give to Gabbert, and every other rookie who struggled last year, is that none of them had an offseason.  I feel sorry for MJD, who is spending his prime on a team that has been in rebuilding mode since 2007. Cutting Garrard still makes no sense to me. Oh, and a punter in the 3rd round....Seriously? (PR: 30)


29) Washington Redskins: I love RG3. Usually I see a fast QB and assume they will fail. But he is so smart, so charismatic and so talented, that there is a chance that the Redskins giving up the moon and stars to get him might not have been so foolish after all. This is still a team in rebuilding mode, in arguably the toughest division in football, but the future looks bright in D.C. for the first time in years. (PR: 28)


30) St. Louis Rams: Sam Bradford was probably really excited in the weeks leading up to the draft. His team was picking 6th overall after the trade back with the Redskins and in all likelihood was finally going to get him that franchise receiver he’d been waiting for. Then draft night came and before he knew what had happened, Jacksonville traded up and stole Justin Blackmon from him. “Okay,” he thought. “Michael Floyd is really good too, they’ll take him next instead.” But no, Jeff Fisher and Co. decided that they needed even more picks and traded back to 14 with the Cowboys. Floyd was taken 13th by the Cardinals. Sam Bradford began to weep... (PR: 31)


31) Indianapolis Colts: Even if Andrew Luck is the next Peyton Manning, Peyton went 3-13 his first year. So I don’t exactly have high hopes for this franchise in 2012 when you consider the fact that they have holes all over the place on that team. I liked them getting Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen but let's not forget that this is a team that cut not just Peyton, but Dallas Clark, Gary Brackett and Joseph Addai. Then lost Jeff Saturday, Jacob Tamme and Pierre Garcon in free agency. They bring a whole new meaning to rebuilding, especially considering they wanted to trade away Dwight Freeney, and came oh so close to losing Reggie Wayne in free agency as well. (PR: 29)


32) Miami Dolphins: If Matt Moore starts, I’ll move them up. If it’s Tannehill, I’ll probably drop them. If you take anything way from this, it’s that I don’t like that pick. Tannehill has tremendous bust potential plus the fact that he has no receivers to relieve the pressure. Reggie Bush is the only weapon on that offense, so teams will have an easy time stacking the box and shutting them down. (PR: 22)


Disagree? Let me know in the comments section or on twitter @TheBurghReport, where I've screwed up.