Every week of the season and postseason I, Joe Zagelski, will be discussing whom I think are the top 10 teams in the league and why. I take into consideration potential holdouts, injuries, suspensions, etc. If you disagree with my rankings or noticed I made a mistake, contact me at 21500@jcpstudents.org.
The Top 10 of Week 1
1. Kansas City Chiefs
The AFC championship game came down to a coin toss and the Patriots won it. If the Chiefs won that coin toss, they would’ve gone to the Super Bowl and defeated the Rams who lacked a healthy Todd Gurley in the Super Bowl, unlike when they played them in Week 11. Despite the loss of Kareem Hunt, the Chiefs’ numerous offensive weapons and boosted defense make the Chiefs “the team to beat”.
2. New England Patriots
The returning Super Bowl Champions locked up Tom Brady for two more years, who has looked better than ever. My reasoning behind their #2 spot is because of Rob Gronkowski’s retirement. I think Bill and Tom will change things up to make it work. However, even with the greatest Coach and QB of all time, losing a Hall of Fame tight end hurts.
3. Los Angeles Rams
The Rams have just as good, if not, a better defense, coach, and offensive weapons (especially if Gurley can comeback healthy) as the Patriots. However, when it comes to the QB battle, Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees are in a class of their own. Jared Goff is a good QB in the perfect scheme with Sean McVay. I worry that his ceiling is too low and he will never become great.Â
4. New Orleans Saints
Drew Brees is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. He has the ability to throw receivers open and score at will. With weapons like Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas and a young talented defense anchored by Marshawn Lattimore, the Saints are easily Super Bowl contenders.
5. Philadelphia Eagles
I struggled placing the Eagles. I could see them either competing in February or having a Top 5 draft pick in April. It all depends on Carson Wentz and whether or not he can stay healthy. If he’s healthy and playing like the MVP we saw in 2017, they will be feared around the league, especially since his supporting role features Pro Bowlers Deshawn Jackson, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox and the best secondary in the League. However, if he gets injured, I don’t think Nate Sudfeld will be the “Nick Foles miracle” Eagles fans are praying for.
6. Chicago Bears
Similar to the Rams, the Bears easily have a top-3 defense in the league, a revolutionary coach Matt Nagy, and electrifying artillery in Alston Jeffery and Tarik Cohen on offense. However, I believe Mitchell Tribusky is just a worse version of Jared Goff; While he is reliable, can throw good balls consistently, and mobile-enough, he has very little potential.
7. San Diego Chargers
Chargers- I originally had the Chargers ahead of the Bears, but after Derwin James got injured, I dropped them a spot. The Chargers are a solid playoff team, but they are too predictable to be a Super Bowl contender. With a lack of running game (due to Melvin Gordon’s holdout), they seem too one dimensional to be any higher up on my list.
8. Houston Texans
The Texans finished the season 11-5 behind Deshaun Watson despite the horrific offensive line, which was the worst in the league, allowing 62 sacks. They did spend their first two picks on improving this horrid front. If Tytus Howard and Max Scharping can protect their little brother in the backfield, they could be a dark horse to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February. That is a BIG if.
9. Baltimore Ravens
Every prediction and ranking I have seen about the Ravens says that they are not winning the division and are in a risky situation, especially if Lamar Jackson gets hurt. However, I disagree with all of them. The Ravens were 6-1 with Lamar Jackson starting. Even if they don’t stay on that pace, I predict them to win their division. Lamar Jackson doesn’t have a steady or accurate pass attack, nevertheless, he does not need it for the Ravens system. With their stellar defense and good run game, no team should mess with the Ravens. By the way, even if Lamar Jackson gets injured, they drafted Trace McSorely, who has an identical play style and could handle the starting role very well.
10. Cleveland BrownsÂ
I know one thing for certain about the Browns this year: they will have a lot of eyes on them and they will be exciting to watch. However, they are an extremely young team with players like Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward, Greedy Williams, and Myles Garrett who are either entering their first, second, or third year in their league. These young players are talented and have loads of potential, but they are young. Young players are prone to making mistakes, making the wrong reads, being impulsive, and not knowing how to finish games. I think the Browns will be Super Bowl Champions by the end of the decade, even though they’re still developing. They will lose a couple of games late that will cost them the division, but they might get the wildcard.
Just Missed the Cut
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings threw $84 million dollars down the drain and will be suffering the consequences of that signing for the next two years. However, they drafted two offensive linemen and signed another one. Gary Kubiak is going to implement a run-first offense with Dalvin Cook who has shown flashes of all-pro potential when he hasn’t been plagued with injury. If it works, and the defense is as stellar as always, they could win a weak division.
Dallas Cowboys
With Zeke back on the team, the Cowboys are fully loaded and ready to go. They are young on both sides of the ball. Look for them to make a playoff push in a top heavy division. If Jason Garrett can step it up, the Cowboys will be feared.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks are a team built on stilts; the O-Line is shaky, their running game is average at best, and the Legion of Boom is long gone. The only reason they are not one of the teams in the bottom ten is that they have a top 5 QB-coach combo, which is the most important part of any team.
Stay tuned to the Roundup for more NFL coverage!
