Week 1 NFL Power Rankings

We did it everyone! We are a mere 3 days away from our first NFL Football game. We are so very excited, and we know you guys are too!

As will happen every Tuesday throughout the year, nine of our contributors — Zach Lyons, Mike Herndon, Justin Melo, Jimmy Morris, Robert Greenlaw, Wes Wisley, Austin Nelson, Josh Hong, and Justin Graver — have submitted their full rankings, 1 to 32. Below is the aggregate results of those rankings.

Biggest Risers: The Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers both jumped up 2 spots.

Biggest Fallers: New York Giants dropped 2 spots.

Here’s where we landed in our final offseason rankings as we head into Week 1 of the regular season…

To see the full list of everyone’s individual rankings click here.

Robert: I have the Titans ranked third, a couple spot jump from where I had them the last time these rankings came out. Why? Jadeveon Clowney.

Adding Clowney into the Titans defense closes the gap between the Titans and the Chiefs, but also helps them leapfrog, in my opinion, teams like the Ravens and the 49ers.

The Ravens lost to the Titans in the playoffs, and while they bolstered their team this offseason, I think a Tennessee team with Clowney is more formidable. Comparing the Titans to the 49ers, I see two very similarly built franchises. However, I’m taking Ryan Tannehill over Jimmy G.

Expect the Titans to build on their success from a year ago after improvements on both sides of the ball.

Zach: Everyone is expecting the San Francisco 49ers to repeat their 2019 success. I am not everyone.

I was very close to dropping San Francisco out of the Top-10 altogether but they do have a fantastic defense on paper. However, the injuries that continue to decimate their receiving core is keeping me from being excited about this team.

I know this is a run first team, and I am a big believer in Raheem Mostert, but their own divisional opponents all got better, and they play against the much improved teams in the NFC East.

I think they will end up an uninspiring 9-7 team or worse, and we will all be left wondering where did all the magic go.

Josh: Now, I want to preface my column by stating that I do think the Vikings will be a very competitive team this year. However, they do have some legitimate concerns.

First, the Vikings have an extremely questionable situation at cornerback. The average age of their cornerbacks is just 23 years old and only Mike Hughes — not good — has had any significant playing time. While they drafted Jeff Gladney and Cameron Dantzler, you never know what you going to get from your rookies.

With the departure of Stefon Diggs, the Vikings are relying on a 30 year old Adam Thielen and a bunch of young unproven talent. Again, Justin Jefferson as a fine prospect, but it’s unfair to expect huge contributions from a rookie receiver.

In Kirk Cousins nine year career, he has around a .500 winning percentage, only reaching more than nine wins once in his career. I would expect the Vikings to be in that range again in 2020.

Jimmy: The Eagles have a good coaching staff, a good quarterback, and added the speed at receiver they were missing last season. They play in a division with two terrible teams and one that is probably overrated coming into the season. They are a Super Bowl contender with a healthy Carson Wentz.

Wes: The Colts having one of the easiest schedules & also being one of the teams traveling the least miles for away games are legitimate advantages.

They had a good offseason adding DeForest Buckner to the Dline & adding promising rookie offensive talents in WR Michael Pittman and RB Jonathan Taylor. QB Philip Rivers will be an upgrade but I do believe he is on the decline.

The main reason I have them as high as I do is their coaching staff. The team was the least penalized team in the NFL last year and could see both offensive and defensive coordinators are head coach candidates in 2021. Depending on how fast the new pieces gel will determine the direction of the team in 2020.

Justin Melo: Will this Denver offense be as good as it looks on paper?

That’s the big question surrounding this Broncos team. They have the potential to be one of the more exciting teams in the league. Potential can be a dangerous thing, though. Despite me having them as high as 15th, that fact is not lost on me.

Drew Lock played well in limited action last season. He now enters his sophomore year knowing that he’s “the guy.” There will be lots of pressure on him to perform. Can he get the ball to the plethora of weapons he has at his disposal? 

I’m excited about watching this team. They’ll either live up to expectations or be labeled as the 2020 Cleveland Browns, who were in an eerily similar situation heading into last season.

Mike: Listen, there is a lot to like about what the Dolphins are doing right now. Brian Flores is going to be a good head coach. Tua was a risk worth taking. Signing Byron Jones and building your defense around your cornerbacks is smart roster management.

Miami is going to be interesting… in a couple years. It’s way too early for some of the wild predictions I’ve seen about this football team (like Peter King calling for them to win the AFC East at 10-6). The Fins offensive line is going to have two rookie starters — and Ereck Flowers — which is a recipe for disaster in a normal season and figures to be even more troublesome coming off a COVID-shortened offseason. The defensive line features zero players who have posted at least 7 sacks in a single season. If you believe controlling the line of scrimmage and winning in the trenches are critically important to winning football games, like I do, fade the Dolphins in 2020.

Justin Graver: I had the Jaguars one spot higher than everyone else at 31, which I guess was an egregious enough difference that I was assigned to write this blurb on them. I want to use this chance to clarify my position: The Jacksonville Jaguars are a terrible team, and in fact a dumpster fire of a franchise. By offloading basically every talented veteran on the roster, they’ve made their intentions clear this season: they are tanking. But that doesn’t guarantee them the top overall pick, and I think one other team could be in worse shape this year. But I don’t feel strongly about that, and wouldn’t argue with anyone who had Jacksonville at 32.

Who is too high? Who is too low? Drop a comment down below!

Have your own power rankings? Click here to go to the forum and put yours up!

Author: Zach LyonsWith over 17 years experience of losing Fantasy Football games, Zach has been a Titans fan since moving to Nashville in 2002. A die-hard Alabama fan, but he doesn't let that cloud his judgement of the Elite Players they have put in the NFL. Players like Derrick Henry, Julio Jones, and AJ McCarron. You've heard him on Football & Other F Words giving his Unfiltered Opinions as facts and that won't change. He's always 100% right even if he has to revise earlier statements. Lawyered.