Preliminary 2025 NFL Power Rankings

There’s just one more week to go in the 2024 regular season and this is about as stratified as the NFL has been in a while. There are only two playoff spots up for grabs and a staggering nine teams with four or fewer wins. As far as 2024 power rankings go, there is not much that would be controversial at this point in the year. 

So in lieu of another batch of 2024 rankings, it feels like a good time to start looking ahead to the 2025 season. Obviously, a lot will change with the whole offseason still to come. There will be firings and hirings, free agency and the draft. Plenty of teams will get better and we’ll have a far better picture of which ones pulled it off in June. But consider this a vibe check around the teams best equipped to navigate the coming year. 

And just for fun, we’ll invert the order, worst to first. 

32 – Las Vegas Raiders

Thinking back to where the Raiders were at the end of last season, it’s hard not to see this team as regressing. The good vibes from HC Antonio Pierce’s interim stint that got him the full-time gig have dissipated and the roster might be worse with the subtraction of stars like WR Davante Adams and RB Josh Jacobs. Pierce is on the hot seat, too, and even if he is retained for a second season, he might be hiring two new coordinators which will be challenging given his iffy job security. 

Most importantly, the team still doesn’t have a long-term solution at quarterback, and two wins against the Jaguars and Saints in the past few weeks have pushed Las Vegas down to No. 8. That’s usually not high enough to get a top prospect, and while the 2024 class has options who might be available that late in a normal year, the number of QB-needy teams is expected to push those players up the board. The Raiders have a lot of challenges ahead of them to get back to relevancy. 

31 – New York Giants

As fun as the Giants’ win this past week was, it did push them out of pole position for the No. 1 pick and the chance to control their destiny at quarterback. Finding a quarterback upgrade is the top priority for Giants GM Joe Schoen and HC Brian Daboll — assuming they’re the ones making the decision. Giants owner John Mara has said he wants to stay the course but it’s been ugly this year and it could cost at least one of those men their job. If one or both remain, the leash will almost certainly be short. 

The Giants have been racking up the travel points scouting this upcoming quarterback class and there’s a strong chance they select one, even if they have to trade up. The other challenge is this roster is not in great shape despite it being the third year of Schoen being in charge. Better quarterback play could make a few things look better but the Giants have needs on the offensive line and secondary, to name just a couple.

30 – Tennessee Titans

If the Titans were a higher-profile team, their struggles this season would have drawn more attention. Expectations weren’t high for first-year HC Brian Callahan as he and GM Ran Carthon continued a rebuilding project but it’s evident the two were trying to get results quick with how many veterans they pursued in free agency. The Titans threw money and resources around in free agency to get WR Calvin Ridley, CB L’Jarius Sneed, RB Tony Pollard, CB Chidobe Awuzie and LB Kenneth Murray. 

Pollard is the only one who’s been a positive return on investment. Sneed and Awuzie have dealt with injuries — extra concerning for cornerbacks getting into their late 20s — and while Ridley has been held back by the poor quarterback play, he’s due $22.5 million guaranteed next year when he’ll be 31. 

Speaking of quarterback, the Titans are one of about a half-dozen teams who are going into the 2025 season in flux at the position. Right now they’re slated to pick in the top three but unless the team views a prospect as a clear upgrade over QB Will Levis, who remains under contract for two more years, it might make more sense for Callahan and Carthon to pursue a veteran. There hasn’t been a lot of heat on them this year but that would almost certainly change if the results in 2025 are as bad as they’ve been this year. Tennessee has money to spend in free agency again but the pro personnel department needs much better results than this past year. 

29 – New Orleans Saints

The Saints are facing an offseason filled with as much uncertainty as any since 2006 in the first year post-Katrina under former HC Sean Payton. They’ll be hiring their third head coach since then and have one more year of salary cap tightrope walking before the books seem to clear up a bit in 2026. The new coach will have to figure out how to rebalance a roster that’s starting to get old and shallow, and could be tasked with figuring out a new plan at quarterback if the team decides to move on from veteran QB Derek Carr. 

There’s enough veteran talent that the Saints could sneak into a wildcard spot or win an underwhelming NFC South if the new coach hits the ground running. If they stick with Carr and he stays healthy, the Saints probably won’t bottom out either. But this season has shown the kind of floor the team can hit and it might not be much better in 2025 when the core of the team is another year older. 

28 – New England Patriots

The good news for the Patriots is they’ll have tons of cap space yet again in 2025 to pursue upgrades, another round of high draft picks capped off by what would be the No. 1 selection if the season ended today, and a promising young passer in first-round QB Drake Maye. 

The bad news is the roster has a long way to go with deficiencies at offensive line, receiver, pass rusher, cornerback and more. And the 2024 season has not inspired a lot of confidence in either HC Jerod Mayo or de facto GM Eliot Wolf as the leadership to get the Patriots back into the ranks of contending teams in the AFC. 

27 – Cleveland Browns

The Browns have a morass of a cap situation to navigate in the next few years due to the anchor of QB Deshaun Watson’s fully guaranteed contract, which will weigh down the cap for years to come. Cleveland has to figure out how to find an upgrade at quarterback while still paying Watson — though between what’s looking like a top-five selection in the first round and the potential availability of veteran QB Kirk Cousins, there are some options. 

The Browns also have to rebuild the offensive line, receiving corps and secondary this offseason and don’t have many assets to do that plus find a new quarterback. The silver lining is that HC Kevin Stefanski is a much better coach than a lot of the other ones clustered around him here in the rankings, so that should give the Browns something to build around. 

26 – New York Jets

The Jets will be wiping the slate clean this offseason with a new GM, head coach and in all likelihood a quarterback. That injects a lot of uncertainty into their outlook for 2025, including some upside if they hit a grand slam on all three. If the Jets can land a solid quarterback, there’s still a decent amount of talent on this roster. There will be challenges when it comes to replacing QB Aaron Rodgers, though, given how shallow the quarterback options are compared to how many teams need help. 

Had owner Woody Johnson not bailed on HC Robert Saleh so early, the Jets almost certainly would have had a more respectable record even if the end result of missing the playoffs and Saleh getting his walking papers didn’t change. That put an exclamation point on the biggest problem facing the Jets right now, though, and it’s a lot harder to get a new owner than it is a new anything else. 

25 – Carolina Panthers

The Panthers are right in the thick of all the bad teams in the league but the vibes in Carolina are a lot different thanks to the positive improvement shown from QB Bryce Young over the course of the season. Young went from looking inept in the first two weeks and getting benched to regaining his job due to injury and playing more like the player Carolina thought it was getting with the No. 1 pick last year. It’s given the team something real to build on this offseason. 

There are still a host of challenges, chiefly a defense that’s been ravaged by injuries and offered up the resistance of wet toilet paper for most of the season. Major talent upgrades are needed at all three levels, and there could be a new coach with DC Ejiro Evero’s status uncertain. The offense needs help, too, with more weapons for Young and HC Dave Canales to continue building on that side of the ball and figure out what exactly Young’s ceiling is as a passer. The Panthers are making progress but they still feel at least a year away from being relevant. 

24 – Chicago Bears

Chicago was supposed to take a leap this season after snaring first-round QB Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick and dropping him into an environment that was supposedly “the best ever landing spot for a No. 1 pick.” Instead, Chicago’s dropped 10 straight and done multiple waves of in-season firings leaving just a skeleton crew coaching staff. Someone else will be tasked with maximizing Williams’ potential and turning things around. Bears GM Ryan Poles seems safe but it’s fair to question his standing with team president Kevin Warren taking more of a front-facing role. 

The Bears have a solid roster and Williams’ talent has still flashed despite having no shortage of areas of his game he needs to refine. This team could push for a playoff spot but the history of organizational struggles and the strength of the rest of the NFC North are major obstacles to overcome. 

23 – Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars were another team that was supposed to take a leap in 2024, and the failure to launch is why they most likely will be cleaning house in 2025 by moving on from HC Doug Pederson and GM Trent Baalke. A fresh start could do a lot of good for Jacksonville which has some quality pieces on the roster to work with. Starting QB Trevor Lawrence hasn’t lived up to the hype as a former No. 1 pick but there are plenty of teams that would trade their starter for him in a heartbeat. Other building blocks include OLBs Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, WR Brian Thomas Jr., OT Anton Harrison, CB Tyson Campbell and LB Foye Oluokun. 

There’s some clutter to clean up. Baalke’s draft record was a little spotty and he supplemented that with a lot of free-agent deals with mixed results. The Jaguars will likely make a few high-profile cap cuts in the coming months. The components to a fast turnaround are in place with the right coach and GM, though. 

22 – Indianapolis Colts

The Colts were one of the teams seemingly poised to take a step forward after coming within a game of winning the AFC South in HC Shane Steichen’s first year. Instead, they took a baffling step backward in what was effectively QB Anthony Richardson’s rookie year. Richardson showed off his precocious talent but also how much he needs to develop, highlighted by a surprise midseason benching. Steichen hit every right button in his first year but fumbled around more this season. And preseason criticisms of GM Chris Ballard for not better stocking the defense turned out to be well-founded. 

Of those three key stakeholders, Ballard probably faces the most heat and another loss in Week 18 wouldn’t be good even if Indianapolis already blundered its way out of the playoffs by losing to a two-win Giants team. Still, it seems more likely right now all three are back — and under a lot of pressure — in 2025. 

21 – Arizona Cardinals

It’s discouraging that the Cardinals couldn’t hold onto first place in the NFC West after taking hold of things midseason but this was never expected to be the year where they ascended into contender status. Year 2 for HC Jonathan Gannon and GM Monti Ossenfort was going to be about showing progress and they accomplished that, going from four wins to seven. They’ve added talent to the roster the past two offseasons and QB Kyler Murray is a quarterback worth building around. 

It’s much easier to go from bad to average than it is from average to great in the NFL, however, and the Cardinals are about to run into that ceiling. The 2025 season will be about figuring out if they can take that next leap. They need more firepower on defense and to put things together on offense where the available talent has not always produced at the level it should. 

20 – Miami Dolphins

Ultimately the turnover on the roster due to QB Tua Tagovailoa’s major contract and the early-season concussion to Tagovailoa proved too much for the Dolphins to overcome this year. They’re 8-8 and have a shot at a playoff berth still but even if they rolled snake eyes they’d likely be looking at another one-and-done playoff trip. The Dolphins are 2-3 in games Tagovailoa hasn’t started and it doesn’t look like he’ll be available for the finale. 

Miami started the process of evolving the team this year after back-to-back seasons in which they faded as the weather got colder. The various injuries made it hard to tell how much progress they made, so 2025 will be the real indicator of whether HC Mike McDaniel can get this current iteration of the Dolphins over the hump. 

19 – Dallas Cowboys

Even though Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy entered this year without a contract extension, it seems like momentum is building for him to be back with the team despite not making the playoffs. While folks have been trying to fire McCarthy for the past four years, he’s probably a better coach than some people give him credit for. It’s clear the team hasn’t quit on him these past few weeks. 

That said, the Cowboys were struggling even before injuries hit the roster hard. The Jones family seems to be bracing fans for another quiet offseason in terms of outside additions with contracts for QB Dak Prescott, WR CeeDee Lamb and potentially LB Micah Parsons weighing down the books. If McCarthy is back, that would mean the bulk of the 2024 squad will be back in 2025. It’s hard to feel particularly enthused about that. 

18 – Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons will go into next season with much more uncertainty at the quarterback position, as first-round QB Michael Penix Jr. is unproven compared to the resume veteran Cousins brought to the table. If Penix is as big a star as the Falcons thought he’d be when they drafted him No. 8 overall, the Falcons could surge just like the Commanders did this past season. If he’s like most rookie quarterbacks, Atlanta’s due for another rollercoaster year. It would help if they improved the defense which struggled against opposing pass attacks in 2024. 

17 – Denver Broncos

While the selection of QB Bo Nix with the No. 10 pick this past April was viewed by some as a panic move by a Broncos organization desperate not to be left without a quarterback, Payton has been vindicated by Nix’s performance as a rookie. It hasn’t always been pretty but Nix has proven to be well worth the pick as a rookie. Denver is a win away from its first playoff berth since 2015 when it won the Super Bowl and vastly exceeded meager preseason expectations. 

Going into 2025, the Broncos won’t have nearly as much dead cap from the Russell Wilson trade weighing them down and can try to maximize the window Nix’s cheap rookie deal will give them, loading up an already potent defense and making sure Nix has more weapons around him. It’s up for debate what kind of ceiling Nix has as a pro but it’s probably safe to say Payton will help him find it. If he takes a step forward and the Broncos remain tough on defense, Denver is going to be a tough team to deal with. 

16 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It hasn’t always been sexy but the Buccaneers are poised to win their fourth-straight NFC South title with a win against the Saints this week, including two straight with QB Baker Mayfield replacing Tom Brady. They are quietly becoming one of the more solid organizations in the sport. While Tampa Bay will play down to its competition at times, it’s the only team so far this year to beat both the Lions and the Eagles. 

There are challenges on the horizon, like potentially losing star OC Liam Coen to a head coaching job and rebuilding the defense, particularly the secondary which has been an Achilles heel. But the Buccaneers are starting to become one of those teams that gets the benefit of the doubt that they can overcome those challenges. 

15 – Seattle Seahawks

If the Seahawks lose to the Rams in Week 18, this will be the third straight year the Seahawks have finished with a 9-8 record. They’re already guaranteed to miss the playoffs for the second straight season, and finishing outside of the postseason last year prompted ownership to force out longtime HC Pete Carroll. First-year HC Mike Macdonald won’t get the same treatment but he was hired to take the team to a new level and missed that standard in his first season. 

There are some promising signs to build on. Macdonald’s defense improved over the course of the season as players got used to his scheme and he figured out the best way to deploy his players. Something similar happened when he was with the Ravens where they struggled for the first half of his first season as a defensive coordinator, picked up some steam, then dominated the league in Year 2. Obviously Macdonald would love for history to repeat itself. 

On the other side of the ball, the Seahawks have some real issues to sort through. Veteran QB Geno Smith is capable but was probably asked to do too much this year by OC Ryan Grubb, who hadn’t called plays in the NFL before. Grubb should have a long list of improvements to make and the top priority should be rebuilding the interior of the offensive line to give the team a chance. Beyond that, the long-term status of Smith, WR D.K. Metcalf and some other skill players is in question, so 2025 will be a big “two roads diverged” year for Seattle. 

14 – Cincinnati Bengals

Having one of the three or four best quarterbacks in the sport will carry a team a long way, but the past couple of years for the Bengals have been proof that it’s not enough to remain a contender. The team is in the process of wasting an MVP-caliber season from QB Joe Burrow because the defense and situational football have been so bad. On top of that, star WR Tee Higgins is in the final year of his contract and Cincinnati might not be able to keep the trio of him, Burrow and WR Ja’Marr Chase together long-term — though the recent agent change by Higgins to hire the same rep as Chase is an interesting wrinkle. 

The bottom line is the Bengals have to be as good around Burrow as other top teams are around their star quarterbacks. So far the front office and probably the coaching staff haven’t met that standard. This offseason will be a big year as far as getting back on the right track. 

13 – San Francisco 49ers

I don’t know that I’d say the Super Bowl window for the 49ers has outright closed, but if they’re going to get back to the big game, it’s going to have to be with major changes to how the roster is built. 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan is a proven commodity as a play-caller and coach, and he has a quarterback he can count on in Brock Purdy — talk show takes be damned. Purdy’s contract will necessitate reshaping the rest of the roster but we’ve seen Shanahan do this before. Just as important will be restoring the status of the defense as one of the top units in the NFL after some slippage the past two years. 

12 – Washington Commanders

Not only did first-round QB Jayden Daniels take the NFL by storm, but other key question marks for Washington entering the season turned out to be non-issues. Analysts questioned whether OC Kliff Kingsbury could adapt his scheme after the NFL figured him out in Arizona. Turns out the answer was yes and Kingsbury will get more head coaching interviews this offseason. The offensive line was expected to be a weakness but it’s largely been solid, and the defense has been better than expected as well. Even the lack of weapons outside of WR Terry McLaurin and 34-year-old TE Zach Ertz hasn’t seemed to hurt Washington that much. 

With a wealth of cap space and draft picks and a star quarterback on a rookie deal, Washington will be a popular pick to take a huge step forward and challenge the top teams in the NFC. Whether or not they’re successful remains to be seen. Just look at our next team…

11 – Houston Texans

The Texans were in a similar spot to the Commanders last year with QB C.J. Stroud, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, pulling Houston out of years of awful play and piloting the franchise to the playoffs with legit high-caliber play — not just compared to the curve rookie quarterbacks get graded on. They were heavy hitters during the offseason in an effort to dethrone the Chiefs and Ravens at the top of the conference. 

Instead, the Texans have struggled. They still locked up a playoff berth by winning an underwhelming AFC South but in their matchups against other top teams, the Texans have looked overmatched. Stroud is struggling a lot more than his rookie season and it’s not completely clear why, with poor offensive line play, injuries to his receiving corps and un-intuitive play-calling from OC Bobby Slowik (a rising star last year) getting portions of the blame. There’s still a lot to like about Houston’s outlook long-term but they have work to do going into 2025. 

10 – Los Angeles Chargers

I had some skepticism about the Chargers going into this year because I wasn’t sure if new HC Jim Harbaugh’s formula for success would still work in the NFL in 2024 the same way it did in 2014. Turns out it’s worked well enough to win 10 games and clinch a playoff spot, and Harbaugh’s return to the NFL came at the perfect time as more and more teams embraced physical, downhill, run-oriented offenses. 

It’s helped to have star QB Justin Herbert as the engine to make things go, and the Chargers’ front office deserves massive credit for hitting on player additions like second-round WR Ladd McConkey, RB J.K. Dobbins, first-round OT Joe Alt, fifth-round CB Tarheeb Still, trading for S Elijah Molden and more. A second offseason to build the defense more and shore up other areas could give the Chargers some real staying power. 

9 – Los Angeles Rams

The Rams haven’t been clicking on all cylinders on the field necessarily, but in the win column where it matters most they have been nails since a 1-4 start to the year. The Rams have won 10 games and locked up the NFC West with a win over the Cardinals this past week. Core parts of the team like QB Matthew Stafford, WR Cooper Kupp and maybe even HC Sean McVay might not have another decade in Los Angeles, but there’s a good chance they’ll be back in 2025 and ready to do some damage, along with some ascending stars on defense. 

8 – Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers are always going to be a team with high floor as long as HC Mike Tomlin is around. Figuring out how to unlock more of a ceiling remains a work in progress. Tomlin should get a lot of credit for pushing the right buttons at quarterback this year with both Justin Fields and the switch to Russell Wilson, but the Steelers have faltered a little bit in recent weeks against the cream of the crop in the AFC. They figure to be a similar team in 2025, but maybe more time on task can unlock a little more out of either Wilson or Fields if both end up back with the team. 

7 – Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota has been the biggest surprise of the 2024 season thanks to HC Kevin O’Connell generating another career year out of a veteran quarterback — this time with former Jets and Panthers castoff QB Sam Darnold. With each passing week as the Vikings continue to win and Darnold continues to pile up stats and highlight reel throws, he looks more and more like the real deal and someone the Vikings have to keep and figure out the consequences later. 

That’ll dominate a lot of the discussion around Minnesota this offseason but it will be just as impactful to see what happens on defense with DC Brian Flores, who will earn some well-deserved head coaching interviews. If he lands a head coaching job, the Vikings will have their work cut out to replace him. No one else is running what Flores is running right now, which will be a big part of his appeal. 

6 – Green Bay Packers

The Packers have been great this year, but are still just the third-best team in the NFC North due to outstanding years from Detroit and Minnesota, both of which play for the No. 1 seed this weekend. The good news is there’s a ton of continuity going forward for Green Bay to continue to build with what is still a young roster overall. The Packers have been a model of stability and there’s no reason to think that will be different with HC Matt LaFleur, GM Brian Gutekunst and QB Jordan Love all locked up to deals. 

5 – Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens are the best in the NFL at navigating organizational attrition. They have perfected the pipeline of having players ready to go to replace the ones who age out or who Baltimore can’t afford to keep. From 2023 to 2024, they replaced their defensive coordinator, three of five starters on the offensive line and a handful of key defensive starters and role players and still maintained a spot near the top of the AFC thanks to potentially a second straight MVP-caliber season from QB Lamar Jackson. Change is the only constant in the NFL, but the Ravens handle that change better than just about any other organization out there. 

4 – Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia has a quality front office and does as good a job as any team in the league of maintaining strength on both sides of the line of scrimmage. That gives the team an incredibly high floor and makes them one of the most physical in the league, which helps them to bounce back from momentary setbacks like in 2023 or 2020. The Eagles were in the Super Bowl just a couple of years ago and it would not be a surprise to see them back in the near future. 

3 – Buffalo Bills

With Buffalo, it comes down to QB Josh Allen. The superstar quarterback has kept the Bills knocking on the door for their first-ever Super Bowl the past several years, they just haven’t been able to get past the Chiefs or the Bengals to get the organization’s first-ever title. Things feel a little different this year — the Bills have more of a physical edge to them than past versions — but there’s still a murderer’s row to get past in the playoffs. Regardless, as long as Allen is healthy, the Bills will keep knocking on the door. 

2 – Detroit Lions

Despite all the cash the Lions handed out this past offseason, including major market-rate deals for QB Jared Goff, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, RT Penei Sewell and DT Alim McNeill, they are still in a strong salary cap position for 2025 with over $60 million in current space. Some of that will be earmarked for future extensions for players like DE Aidan Hutchinson and the Lions have never been a team to go hog-wild in free agency. But the point is, the powerhouse the Lions have built should be sustainable. The biggest test might be the coming brain drain, with OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn up for potential head coaching jobs and the front office potentially a target for teams looking for a new GM. 

1 – Kansas City Chiefs

For as well-publicized as the Chiefs’ struggles have been this year, they’re still all alone in first place in the NFL with just one loss and once again seem to be peaking at the perfect time late in the season. We’ve seen QB Patrick Mahomes win in a variety of ways the past few years, both pretty and ugly, and what he keeps proving over and over again is that it’s foolish to doubt him. Kansas City might not have the best team in the NFL every year, but as long as Mahomes is under center, they will always be a threat to win the whole show.