The NFL’s new league year kicked off with a flurry last week as marquee names like Saquon Barkley, Christian Wilkins, and others changed zip codes.
After a reshuffling of the deck, new faces are in new places, so it’s time for the first offseason power rankings as we firmly turn our attention to the 2024 season.
Here’s where all 32 teams stand after free agency.
Kansas City Chiefs: The defending champs re-signed Chris Jones and replaced Marquez Valdez-Scantling with Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. They should be able to add a good receiver and defensive lineman with their first two picks. They’ll once again enter the season as the Super Bowl favorites, even if they trade star cornerback La’Jarius Sneed.
San Francisco 49ers: Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch were one score away from a Super Bowl title, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. The 49ers tinkered with their defense this offseason. The Niners swapped out Arik Armstead and Chase Young for Leonard Floyd, Yetur Gross-Matos, and Maliek Collins. San Francisco might have a Brandon Aiyuk dilemma to solve, but the Niners remain the cream of the NFC crop right now.
Detroit Lions: Detroit’s biggest win of the offseason was keeping offensive coordinator Ben Johnson in-house. But the Lions also did a good job of adding skill to their secondary by trading for Carlton Davis and signing Amik Roberts. Defensive tackle D.J. Reader should make the Lions’ run defense even better, and Kevin Zeitler is an upgrade over departed guard Jonah Jackson. The time is now in Detroit.
Cincinnati Bengals: As long as Joe Burrow is 100 percent healthy, I’m going to ride with the Bengals. Cincinnati brought in tight end Mike Gesicki and safety Geno Stone and swapped in offensive tackle Trent Brown for Jonah Williams. The Tee Higgins trade request looms over Cincinnati’s offseason. In the end, I think he’ll end up playing on the tag, and the 2024 season will potentially be the last ride for the trio of Burrow, Chase,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/schrocks-nfl-power-rankings-where-120000543.html
Author : NBC Sports Chicago
Publish date : 2024-03-21 12:00:00
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