Training Camp Rankings & Storylines

07/20/2023

By: Jeff Yoder

NFL Power Rankings & Stories to Watch Before Training Camps Begin

Buckle up, football fans! Your time has come. It’s been a long offseason to get to this point, but training camps are just days away. Rookies are already reporting to camps, and the veterans are packing their bags. That leaves us in limbo for a few weeks before teams begin to put the product on the field, and even then, it won’t be final until September. Roster cuts and depth-chart shuffling will dominate the next month of NFL news, but it’s never too early to look ahead to the 2023 season. Here’s where we’ve slotted each team in the football hierarchy based on a collection of NFL experts, 2022 records and offseason acquisitions. There are also a few holdouts and positional battles you’ll want to keep an eye on.

NFL Preseason Power Rankings (2022 Record)

1. Chiefs (14-3)

2. Eagles (14-3)

3. Bengals (12-4)

4. 49ers (13-4)

5. Bills (13-3)

6. Jets (7-10)

7. Chargers (10-7)

8. Cowboys (12-5)

9. Dolphins (9-8)

10. Ravens (10-7)

Teams 11-20

11. Seahawks (9-8)

12. Jaguars (9-8)

13. Lions (9-8)

14. Vikings (13-4)

15. Giants (9-7)

16. Browns (7-10)

17. Bears (3-14)

18. Broncos (5-12)

19. Saints (7-10)

20. Commanders (8-8-1)

Teams 21-32

21. Steelers (9-8)

22. Patriots (8-9)

23. Panthers (7-10)

24. Packers (8-9)

25. Titans (7-10)

26. Raiders (6-11)

27. Falcons (7-10)

28. Rams (5-12)

29. Buccaneers (8-9)

30. Colts (4-12-1)

31. Cardinals (4-13)

32. Texans (3-13-1)

Analysis & Predictions: Our initial rankings feature last year’s Super Bowl teams at 1-2, and there’s likely little debate about the top-5 teams on the list. We expect to see a lot of the same playoff teams making deep runs again this year, but four sleeper teams have our attention — Jets, Broncos, Lions, and Bears. Aaron Rodgers shakes up the AFC East and puts New York in the postseason, and the addition of Sean Payton in Denver sends the Broncos back into contention. In the NFC, we’ll replace two playoff teams (Vikings and Giants) with the Lions and Bears. Detroit finished last season on an 8-2 run from November on. As for the Chicago? It’s now or never for QB Justin Fields, and we think it’s now.

Training Camp Battles to Watch

49ers QBs: Brock Purdy, Trey Lance & Sam Darnold

Colts QBs: Gardner Minshew vs. Anthony Richardson

Bucs QBs: Baker Mayfield vs. Kyle Trask

Titans QBs: Ryan Tannehill, Malik Willis & Will Levis

Jets OTs: 5 Players, 2 Spots (Who Protects Aaron Rodgers?)

Chiefs WRs: Who is No. 1 After Juju Smith-Schuster Departure?

Panthers WRs: Who is No. 1 After D.J. Moore’s Departure?

Training Camp Holdouts to Watch

RB Saquon Barkley (Giants)

RB Josh Jacobs (Raiders)

OL Zack Martin (Cowboys)

DT Chris Jones (Chiefs)

DE Danielle Hunter (Vikings)

The Score: NFL Power Rankings: Every Team’s Biggest Question Entering Training Camp

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images