With training camps just hitting its stride now, we bring to you our first edition of our 2015 NFL Power Rankings.
By Griffin Gallagher
Peyton Manning became the touchdown king by surpassing Brett Favre’s record of 508 touchdown passes; Johnny Manziel scored his first touchdown; Odell Beckham Jr. made one of the greatest catches the game has seen; and Tom Brady deflated some footballs two weeks before becoming a Super Bowl champion yet again.
It’s always fun to think about what may happen between now and the next training camp.
Which players will break out? Which teams will take the next stop forward? Which teams will fall flat on their faces?
Too many questions, so few answers.
As a matter of fact, we still don’t even know whether the defending Super Bowl Champions will have their leader under center to start the season.
Lucky for you, at least a few of these answers are available in Elite Sports NY’s 2015 NFL Training Camp Power Rankings – our first edition for the brand spanking new season.
32. Tennessee Titans
After finishing last season 2-14 and losing most of their defensive weapons, it’s safe to say that we won’t be seeing the Titans in the playoffs anytime soon.
The Titans will probably start rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota to throw to a group of mediocre receivers behind a weak offensive line. Recently acquired linebacker Brian Orakpo will attempt to help Ray Horton’s beat up defense, and rookie inside runner David Cobb will help improve the run game, but overall, the Titans just don’t have enough talent to be legitimate contenders this year.
31. Cleveland Browns
Josh Gordon’s suspension, Jordan Cameron’s departure, and the signing of two wideouts who aren’t necessarily known for scoring makes the Browns the second to last team in these rankings.
The Browns once again enter training camp with a quarterback competition involving second year quarterback Johnny Manziel. However, his new opponent is Josh McCown following Brian Hoyer’s departure to Houston. The Browns actually didn’t have a bad defense last season finishing 9th in points and 23rd in yards, and the arrival of Tramon Williams and Randy Starks will only help the cause. In the end, the Browns offense will not be able to be productive, and the’ll have another rough season.
30. Washington Redskins
Where to begin. Redskins fans suffered through watching Barry Cofield, Ryan Clark, Jarvis Jenkins, Brandon Meriweather and Brian Orakpo all move on this offseason, leaving the defense in shambles.
Quarterback Robert Griffin III has struggled with injuries throughout his NFL career and his backup, Kirk Cousins, makes too many mistakes to be a reliable starter in the NFL. The Redskins will continue to sit at the bottom of the NFC East.
29. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars are several seasons away from being a Super Bowl contending team. Blake Bortles had a disastrous featuring a cringeworthy touchdown to interception ratio of 11 to 17. Yep, that bad.
Julius Thomas was acquired over the offseason to bring Bortles some sort of a target, but Thomas will have to adapt to catching balls from Bortles, a big step down from being one of Peyton Manning’s favorite targets in 2014.
Their defense took a hit when this year’s third overall pick Dante Fowler went down with a torn ACL that should hold him out for the entire season. Just the Jaguars luck. It looks like Jacksonville is focusing on the future, and rightfully so.
28. St. Louis Rams
The Rams have replaced injury prone quarterback Sam Bradford with Nick Foles, who has yet to play a full season in the NFL. They’ve also drafted Todd Gurley to help out with the run game after he’s finished recovering from his torn ACL. Second year pro Tre Mason will be the lead back until Gurley is 100%.
The offensive line took a hit this year after losing Jake Long, but the Rams will have powerful 2014 first round draft pick Greg Robinson fill in for him. The Rams made key moves over the offseason to beef up their defense by adding Akeem Ayers and Nick Fairley, but the offense is too shaky for me to put them any higher than 28th on this list.
27. Oakland Raiders
Derek Carr’s rookie season went even better than expected. Carr had a touchdown to interception ratio of 21 to 12 last season, an impressive ratio, especially for a rookie quarterback who’s number one receiver was James Jones. Now with the addition of Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper, expect the young quarterback to perform even better on his sophomore season.
The Raiders largest issue is not the offense, but their defense that has struggled for several years now.
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Jameis Winston era has officially begun in Tampa. The Buccaneers drafted Winston with the 1st overall pick in the draft, and with good reason. The 6-4 rookie out of Florida State is coming from a pro style offense. His only problem is his off the field issues that have hurt him in college.
Winston will be throwing to Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson, both caught over 65 receptions for over a thousand yards, and look to build on those numbers with a new quarterback calling the shots. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier’s unit finished 25th last year, and gained some big talent over the offseason. There is a lot to look forward to in Tampa Bay as far as football is concerned, it’s just a matter of when.
25. New Orleans Saints
The loss of Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills show that the 49ers are shifting away from the passing game and going towards more of a run heavy offense. Newly acquired running back C.J. Spiller will pair up with Mark Ingram to form a dynamic duo in the backfield to help take the load off of All Pro quarterback Drew Brees.
The Saints defense finished 30th last year, but the additions of Brandon Browner, Dannell Ellerbe, Kyle Wilson, and Anthony Spencer should give the Saints a bit more help. Even at no. 22 in these rankings, the Saints could still make the playoffs due to the weakness of their division.
24. San Francisco 49ers
The departure of head coach Jim Harbaugh was immediately followed by several of his former players including Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore, just to name a few. Quarterback
Colin Kaepernick lost two of his favorite receivers in Michael Crabtree and Stevie Johnson, and lost the 49ers all time leading rusher Frank Gore in the backfield. Kaepernick still has veteran receivers Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin to throw to. The defense looks beaten down following the massive amount of departures over the offseason. I can’t see the 49ers as a playoff team this year.
23. Carolina Panthers
The Panthers were pretty much average last season. However, the departure of longtime running back DeAngelo Williams puts the back in Jonathan Stewart’s hands for the first time. Stewart has missed 20 games in the past three seasons and is an unreliable option at the starting running back position. This means the offense will have to really more on quarterback Cam Newton to get the job done.
Although he has evolved into one of the games most dynamic quarterbacks, he lost offensive linemen Byron Bell and Kevin Matthews, which may affect his ability to throw in the pocket. The Panthers defense, lead by star linebacker Luke Kuechly, looked terrific last season, and the additions of Kurt Coleman, Jason Trusnik and Charles Tillman will help improve an already solid defensive unit.
22. Arizona Cardinals
It doesn’t look too good for the Cardinals, who finished last season with an 11-5 record. Carson Palmer went down with a torn ACL in week 10, and although Palmer is coming into this season injury-free, the 35 year old veteran is only getting older, and his backup Drew Stanton, also is coming off of an injury plagued season. A foot injury and hip pointer ruined running back Andre Ellington’s second season in the NFL, and number one receiver Larry Fitzgerald only caught two touchdown last season, a career low. After losing Larry Foote, Darnell Dockett and Antonio Cromartie over the offseason, the Cardinals defense doesn’t look the same under new coordinator James Bettcher, but Bettcher still hopes to run the same attacking style defense that his predecessor Todd Bowles had success with.
21. Chicago Bears
Even though the Bears traded star wide receiver Brandon Marshall, quarterback Jay Cutler still has a lot of solid targets in Alshon Jeffery and rookie Kevin White, whose much needed speed gives the Bears a reliable option for deep passes. Matt Forte to is fresh off of an NFL record of 102 catches by a running back. But don’t expect another big year for Forte after the departure of Marc Trestman.
Adam Gase enters as the new offensive coordinator, and unlike Trestman, he likes to run a pass-heavy offense like the one he has ran in Denver for the past two years. The departures of Charles Tillman and Lance Briggs leave a massive question mark over Chicago’s defense. The Bears signed Jarvis Jenkins and Antrel Rolle to try and help out, but ultimately it’s not enough for me to see the Bears making the playoffs this year.
20. Detroit Lions
You can’t really argue the fact that Detroit has one of the best passing games in the NFL. Quarterback Matthew Stafford committed a career low 14 turnovers last season and put up a 60.3 completion percentage, 2nd in best in his career. He throws to Calvin Johnson, the fastest receiver to ever hit 10,000 career yards, and the NFL’s sixth leading receiver Golden Tate.
The Lions improved in the running game that has held their offense back in recent years by drafting Ameer Abdullah from Wisconsin. Detroit’s biggest problem this season is their defense. The team lost star defensive tackles Nick Fairley and Ndamukong Suh over the offseason, and signed five-time Pro Bowler Haloti Ngata to try to fill in at defensive tackle. The lack of defense makes me doubt the Lions ability to make the playoffs.
19. Atlanta Falcons
Kyle Shanahan will enter Atlanta as the new offensive coordinator as he’ll look to utilize the already dominant passing game that finished top 10 in passing yards last year for the fourth straight time. The passing game features three time Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White who are both phenomenal receivers when healthy.
The Falcons also acquired some tight ends in the offseason in Tony Moeaki and Jacob Tamme. Offense clearly isn’t the problem for Atlanta. It’s the defense, the worst in the NFL in 2014, who need the most help, and the departures of Dwight Lowery, Osi Umenyiora and Sean Weatherspoon certainly did not help the cause.
18. New York Jets
After finishing 4-12 last season, the Jets took massive strides towards building a playoff contending team. Cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie returned to New York to add to the already impressive Jets defense and Ryan Fitzpatrick will provide reliability at the quarterback position, behind shaky starter Geno Smith.
Star receiver Brandon Marshall will join Eric Decker and Jeremy Kerley to give the Jets some great targets for Smith and Fitzpatrick to pass to.
17. San Diego Chargers
The drafting of Melvin Gordon in the first round of this year’s draft shows that the Chargers are planning on switching to a run dependant offense, which doesn’t make sense considering how great of a season Philip Rivers had last season.
The departures of Marcus Gilchrist, Dwight Freeney, and Shareece Wright leave the Chargers defense without proven difference makers for the fifth time in six years, the Chargers will come short just short of the playoffs.
16. Dallas Cowboys
Following the departure of DeMarco Murray, Dallas signed veteran running back Darren McFadden who will join Lance Dunbar and Joseph Randle. This is a massive downgrade for the Cowboys. McFadden is decent when healthy but missed ten games last season and has struggled with injuries his entire career. Randle is inexperienced and will have a tough time to fill Murray’s big shoes.
Tony Romo is coming off of a career year, and with Dez Bryant resigning in the offseason, the Cowboys passing game should still be a serious threat.
15. Philadelphia Eagles
DeMarco Murray and Sam Bradford, who played together in Oklahoma, will take the reigns on Chip Kelly’s new offense. Bradford, a heisman winning quarterback, is a terrific athlete who has had some major injury issues in his NFL career. After missing 25 games in the past two years, Bradford hopes to stay healthy all season. If not, the Eagles have former Jets first round pick Mark Sanchez to back him up.
Murray comes to Philadelphia following a career year in Dallas where he rushed for an NFL leading rushing 1,845 yards, and lead the league in touches with 449. Chip Kelly also rearranged the defense by acquiring Kiki Alonso, Walter Thurmond, EJ Biggers and Byron Maxwell.
14. Cincinnati Bengals
Injuries have turned a once intimidating Bengals defense into a weak one whose soft play has lost the Bengals playoff games and division battles. Quarterback Andy Dalton needs to find a way to be productive this season after putting up a TD to INT ratio last year of 19-17. Running back Jeremy Hill looks to continue where he left off following his breakout year last season, rushing for 1,124 yards and 9 touchdowns.
After being ruled out of three games last year, star wide receiver A.J. Green looks to have another productive year after putting up 1,041 receiving yards last year for 6 touchdowns. Offseason arrivals of AJ Hawk, Michael Johnson and Pat Sims will help a Bengals defense that finished 22nd in yards allowed per game.
13. Houston Texans
If Arian Foster can stay healthy this year, the Texans could be in a great situation coming into the 2015 season. After rushing for nearly 1,600 scrimmage yards, however, we were once again left wondering what could’ve been after he missed three games with a hamstring injury.
The Texans are still without a franchise quarterback, or even a confirmed starting quarterback, but quarterbacks Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer who have competed against each other before in New England, will each try to be week 1 starters in a tight position battle this summer.
J.J. Watt will once again lead one of the NFL’s best defenses. The 26 year old defensive end is the first player in NFL history to twice reach 20 sacks in one season. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney who missed last season due to injury and new defensive tackle Vince Wilfork from New England will try to lead this defense to first in the NFL once again.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers
The current Steelers defensive depth chart gives me a headache. With young and unreliable player playing on the D-Line, at linebacker and cornerback. This is not the Steel Curtain you have seen in past years. So why are they ranked 12th?
Their offense is just too damn good.
All Pro veteran Ben Roethlisberger throwing to Antonio Brown, who lead the NFL in receptions and receiving yards last year, and Martavis Bryant, who shows massive breakout potential this year after scoring 8 touchdowns in 2014, 14th in the NFL. If you’re still not convinced, lets throw in Le’veon Bell who rushed for 1,361 yards and 8 touchdowns last season. However defense wins championships, and that’s just not something Mike Tomlin’s Steelers have at the moment.
11. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings brought in Mike Wallace this offseason to replace Greg Jennings. Wallace, whose speed and elusiveness leaves opposing cornerbacks looking silly, caught 10 touchdowns in Miami last season and has potential to score even more this year. Young quarterback Teddy Bridgewater found his go-to guy last season in Charles Johnson, who was referred to be coordinator Norv Turner as “far and away our best receiver”.
The Vikings used the 1-to overall pick in the draft to snag cornerback Trae Waynes out of Michigan State. He will pair with Xavier Rhodes to give the NFC North it’s best defensive back tandem. I’m not counting the Vikings out this year.
10. New York Giants
Coming off one of the best statistical seasons of Eli Manning’s career, the veteran quarterback should pick up right where he left off, and now that Victor Cruz is returned from injury, Cruz, Rueben Randle and breakout sensation Odell Beckham can become one of the scariest receiving trios the NFL has seen in a while.
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has returned to the Giants this offseason and is looking to fix up a Giants defense that struggled last season following the loss of linebacker Jon Beason. Rookie safety Landon Collins is already being counted on to lead the Giants secondary, and after watching the way he played in college, there’s no doubt in my mind that he could do just that.
Jason Pierre-Paul finished last season on a great note, but after losing a finger and some serious flesh in a fireworks incident in South Beach this summer, it doesn’t look like he will be ready for week one. But the return of Beason and the addition of Collins, George Selvie, Victor Butler, and Kendrick Ellis should do more than enough to help the Giant defense and lead the team to the playoffs.
9. Buffalo Bills
*Skip Bayless sigh.* Most NFL fans will tell you that a team can’t win without a quarterback. If there is one team that I could see as an exception to that rule this year, it’s Rex Ryan’s Bills. The combination of Ryan and Greg Roman equals an extremely run dependant team, and with the offseason addition of LeSean McCoy, that shouldn’t be much of an issue for Buffalo.
The arrivals of Charles Clay and Percy Harvin should help new Bills quarterback Matt Cassel have some sort of help in the passing game. The loss of linebackers Kiko Alonso and Brandon Spikes along with safety Da’Norris Searcy will hurt the Bills defense. But if guys like Harvin, Robert Woods and Sammy Watkins can help out Cassel in the air, and McCoy performs at his usual elite level, the Bills will be playoff contenders.
8. Kansas City Chiefs
Andy Reid’s squad will once again give Denver a run for their money with help from the arrivals of wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, safety Tyvon Branch, and rookie cornerback Marcus Peters, the Chiefs also have the return of the secondary’s top player Eric Berry to help their defense continue to be as shut down as it has in the last few years.
Also, I can’t fail to mention the NFL’s top running back Jamaal Charles in the backfield who will continue to be the best weapon on Reid’s offense. Kansas City should be able to squeeze their way into the playoffs.
7. Miami Dolphins
Could too much change mean troubling times are ahead of the Dolphins? Doubtful. Fourth year quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been better and better every year, and that should continue with the arrival of wide receivers Kenny Stills, Greg Jennings, and rookie DeVante Parker, along with tight end Jordan Cameron.
Jarvis Landry will continue to lead the team in receptions and will hopefully provide a leadership role on a rearranged receiving squad. Brent Grimes will continue to be able to shut down receivers, and the arrival of Ndamukong Suh will elevate the play of an already solid defensive line.
6. New England Patriots
Tom Brady deflated the reigning Super Bowl champions’ chance of being a top-five team in my power rankings this year. Brady will serve a four game suspension at the start of the regular season, and will be replaced by Jimmy Garoppolo whose skills will be tested when he fills in for Brady.
Starting running back LeGarrette Blount will also be on the bench for the first game of the season following a suspension, but the strong runner should be a key part of the New England offense following the departures of Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley.
The defense is also a mess due to cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner leaving the team, as well as defensive tackle Vince Wilfork. But hey, it’s Bill Belichick we’re talking about. He’ll find some sort of way to pull this team together and become a championship contender again.
5. Denver Broncos
The offseason hiring of Gary Kubiak showed that the Broncos are looking to move to a more run heavy offense that will result in less throws by 39-year old quarterback Peyton Manning, and more rushes from breakout running back CJ Anderson who enters his fourth year as an NFL running back this season.
Wade Phillips will step in to take over as coordinator of one of the best defenses in the NFL. The additions of Antonio Smith and Vance Walker should help fix up the defensive line, and Von Miller, who after returning from his ACL year in 2013 notched 14 sacks and immediately became one of the NFL’s most feared linebackers again, will once again lead the Broncos defense to more success.
4. Baltimore Ravens
The NFL draft brought in younger targets for Joe Flacco to throw to following the departures of Torrey Smith and Owen Daniels. Rookie receiver Breshad Perriman out of Central Florida will use his blazing speed to get open deep so Joe Flacco can use the cannon of an arm that was on display two or three years ago.
Rookie tight end Maxx Williams will run a two tight end system with Dennis Pitta, who the Ravens hope will return from his second hip dislocation.
3. Indianapolis Colts
The additions of super bowl hungry veterans Frank Gore and Andre Johnson should help the Colts offense lead by star fourth year quarterback Andrew Luck be a force to be reckoned with yet again this season.
Robert Mathis should become an immediate help again by Week 1 after suffering ruptured Achilles that kept him out for all of last season. He will help coordinator Greg Manusky’s defensive unit once again become one of the league’s top defenses.
2. Green Bay Packers
I was very tempted to put these guys at the top of the list, but there’s a big question mark on how the defense will be able to adapt after the departures of AJ Hawk, Tramon Williams, Davon House and Brad Jones.
Still, the Packers still have the one of the league’s best offenses.
Eddie Lacy appeared in every game for the last year and the 240 pound workhorse should continue to be a consistent player in the backfield. Aaron Rodgers is coming off his second MVP campaign and continues to dominate opposing defenses with his rocket arm and ability to get out of trouble in the pocket. Rodgers will once again be throwing to All Pro receivers Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb who ranked 2nd and 7th in receiving yards last year. Behind one of the best offensive lines in football, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers should yet again be Super Bowl contenders this season.
1. Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks somehow found a way to become even better over the offseason. Seattle gained considerable help on a defense that was already one of the league’s best with the additions of cornerbacks Will Blackmon, Cary Williams and hardworking veteran nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin.
All-Pro tight end Jinmmy Graham will give quarterback Russell Wilson a reliable option in the red zone, something that Wilson hasn’t had in any of his first three years in the league. Marshawn Lynch is coming off one of the best seasons of his career and will continue to be one of the NFL’s top power backs.
Well Griffin, very disappointed with the Jets ranking. Top 3 defense in 2015!!!! Yeah no QB, but still, they'll be the closest competition to the Pats this season.