Welcome to the first edition of the 2024 NFL Power Rankings. After the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, we are now looking ahead to next season.
Sure, it’s way too early to know what the teams will look like in the fall. After all, free agency doesn’t start for another month, and the NFL draft is over two months away. But let’s take stock of the early outlook for each team and preview what the offseason has in store.
In addition to our way-too-early rankings, our NFL Nation reporters offer up three words to describe this offseason for every team. Eight teams have new head coaches, other teams need to find a quarterback and a few have more than 20 looming free agents they must make a decision on.
Our power panel of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities evaluates how NFL teams stack up against one another, ranking them from 1 to 32.
Jump to a team:
ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN
CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND
JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN
NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF
SEA | TB | TEN | WSH
2023 record: 13-4
Offseason in three words: Busy, busy, busy
The Ravens have 25 unrestricted free agents, including 15 who totaled at least 200 snaps this season. The list includes three Pro Bowl players in defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, inside linebacker Patrick Queen and guard Kevin Zeitler. Baltimore won’t have a lot of salary cap space to keep all of its free agents, who combined for 24 touchdowns and 42 sacks this season.
“Well, we’ll be busy,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said at the end of the season. “At some point, you get to the point where you have to play with who you have, and you have to draft well, and you have to hit on players, and we’ve done that the last couple of years.” — Jamison Hensley
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2023 record: 11-6
Offseason in three words: Goodbye, Chris Jones?
The Chiefs wouldn’t give Jones, a potential unrestricted free agent, the money he wanted on a long-term contract last season when he was holding out, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to give it to him this time around. It also isn’t logical for them to make him the franchise player, so it’s possible Jones will be moving on. The Chiefs tried to prepare for that eventuality over the past two years, drafting George Karlaftis and Felix Anudike-Uzomah in the first round, but losing Jones would still be immense. — Adam Teicher
2023 record: 12-5
Offseason in three words: Keep Brandon Aiyuk
Last offseason, the Niners received trade interest in Aiyuk but remained steadfast that they had no intention of trading him. Aiyuk rewarded that belief by posting a career year in which he had 75 receptions for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns.
San Francisco has a lot of big contracts on the books, but there’s a path to keep Aiyuk (who has one year left on his rookie deal) by structuring a new, big-money deal in which his biggest cap hits won’t come until some of those other big contracts are off the books. Aiyuk and quarterback Brock Purdy have undeniable chemistry, and the 49ers must find a way to keep them together as foundational players for the long haul. — Nick Wagoner
2023 record: 12-5
Offseason in three words: Address the defense
Offensively, the Lions have very few holes to fill. But the defense is a different story. After an NFC Championship Game appearance, the Lions hold the No. 29 overall pick in the draft. They should consider adding talent to the front four on the defensive line and in the secondary, with another cornerback to help with a pass coverage unit that allowed the sixth-most passing yards (247.4) per game this past season. Lions general manager Brad Holmes says they will continue to be “very strategic” and “very selective” in their process of…
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