(24) Cincinnati Bengals:
Best move this offseason: Drafting Joe Mixon.
Worst move this offseason: Letting Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler walk.
Did they get better?: No, they added two playmakers in the draft with John Ross and Joe Mixon but they let two experienced and dominate offensive lineman leave in free agency and doing that could mean more trouble for Andy Dalton. It’s hard to get the ball downfield to A.J. Green and John Ross if you don’t have time for them to get there.
Speculation for 2017: The Bengals struggled last season in large part due to a mediocre secondary and the lack of depth at the receiver position when A.J. Green got hurt after losing Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones in free agency, expect the Bengals to finish near the bottom of the AFC North once again if the offense can’t recover from losing Whitworth and Zeitler but with a healthy A.J. Green there are reasons to be optimistic.
(23) Indianapolis Colts:
Best move this offseason: Hiring Chris Ballard and firing Ryan Grigson.
Worst move this offseason: Not looking into finding a better backup quarterback.
Did they get better?: Yes, I felt the Colts had a great offseason and so far the hiring of Chris Ballard as general manager has been a slam dunk. I love the Malik Hooker and Quincy Wilson picks and they are taking steps in the right direction. The signing of Jabaal Sheard will help fill the gap left behind in the pass rush after Robert Mathis retired as well, in the next few seasons Indy will get back to being a playoff team if they can keep Andrew Luck healthy.
Speculation for 2017: The Indianapolis defense was awful last season but it looks improved due to smart offseason acquisitions, the main concern that Colts fans should be having headed into the season is the fact that Andrew Luck was unable to throw a football this offseason and his health is becoming an increasing concern. If Luck stays healthy he will be one of the AFC’s top quarterbacks and fans in Indy will be rooting for a team with a bright future.
(22) Baltimore Ravens:
Best move this offseason: Drafting Marlon Humphrey.
Worst move this offseason: Letting Rick Wagner walk.
Did they get better?: No, I like the Tony Jefferson signing and the Ravens had a pretty good draft but their offensive line has the potential to be much weaker without Rick Wagner who was ranked very high on my right tackle rankings. The Ravens also lost two good receivers with Steve Smith retiring and Kamar Aiken leaving in free agency, also the Danny Woodhead signing was smart but at the same time they lost football’s best fullback with the departure of Kyle Juszczyk in free agency.
Speculation for 2017: The Ravens have reasons to be optimistic with new players in their secondary but they will have a weaker receiving corps and a weaker offensive line which will probably hurt Joe Flacco’s numbers, expect them to be competing with the Bengals for second place in the AFC North.
(21) Los Angeles Chargers:
Best move this offseason: Drafting Forrest Lamp and Dan Feeney.
Worst move this offseason: Signing Russell Okung.
Did they get better?: Yes, the interior offensive line will have stability with Forrest Lamp and Dan Feeney coming in and the addition of Mike Williams will help the Chargers have one of the more exciting young wide receiver pairs in the AFC.
Speculation for 2017: The Chargers have to be happy about getting Keenan Allen back and I am excited to see how Mike Williams does in L.A., the only problem is that they play in one of football’s toughest divisions and they have a new head coach. I am a little concerned about Philip Rivers as he gets older but Chargers fans have plenty of reasons to be excited for the 2017 season.
(20) Carolina Panthers:
Best move this offseason: Drafting Christian McCaffrey.
Worst move this offseason: Firing Dave Gettleman.
Did they get better?: Yes, the Panthers added one of the most exciting players in college football last season by drafting Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel will help out tremendously in the passing game as well. I felt they overpaid a little for Matt Kalil but he has the potential to get better with a new team and I am happy to see that they are focused on protecting Cam Newton, the Kony Ealy trade was also a little puzzling and I never recommend trading with Belichick.
Speculation for 2017: The Panthers have plenty of reasons to be excited for this upcoming season due to a great draft and a OROY candidate, I hate the firing of Dave Gettleman and I am interested to see how they adjust without him leading the front office. There is potential for Cam Newton to have a bounceback year if Matt Kalil is as good as they are paying him to be.
(19) Arizona Cardinals:
Best move this offseason: Drafting Haason Reddick.
Worst move this offseason: Not drafting a QB.
Did they get better?: No, they lost two great veterans in Calais Campbell and Tony Jefferson, I am fine with them not re-signing Calais Campbell since his salary could have had a big impact on the Cardinals salary cap but they could have re-signed Tony Jefferson for a fairly good deal and then focused on drafting a potential heir to Carson Palmer. I love the Reddick pick and he will help alleviate the loss of Calais Campbell.
Speculation for 2017: The Cardinals will have plenty of exciting players on both sides of the football but many of their top players like Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald are becoming older and older, Bruce Arians is one of my favorite football coaches and I trust the Cardinals front office but I am concerned about a few things in their future. Despite all of this the Cardinals will still be a force in the NFC West in 2017.
(18) Denver Broncos:
Best move this offseason: Extending John Elway.
Worst move this offseason: Not pursuing Tony Romo more.
Did they get better?: Yes, Denver finally has stability on the offensive line with the additions of Garett Bolles, Ronald Leary, and Menelik Watson. If they could have pursued Romo harder and potentially kept him from retirement they would be a serious threat in the AFC, despite all of that I am excited to see who wins the QB competition between Paxton Lynch and Trevor Siemian. I also love the hiring of Vance Joseph and I think combining his defensive mind with that defense could cause nightmares for other teams.
Speculation for 2017: The Broncos have plenty of reasons to be excited for this season and the only reason why they are not higher on this list is the uncertainty that they are facing at the quarterback position with two young quarterbacks. I am excited to see how Vance Joseph does in his first season as a head coach and I expect Paxton Lynch to win the starting job, the Broncos seem more well-rounded headed into this season compared to last year.
(17) New Orleans Saints:
Best move this offseason: Signing Adrian Peterson.
Worst move this offseason: Trading Brandin Cooks.
Did they get better?: Yes, the loss of Brandin Cooks is a big minus but they have an exciting backfield with the additions of Adrian Peterson and Alvin Kamara. They had a pretty good draft and Larry Warford was a great addition in free agency, they look like a playoff team if you just look at their offense but their defense looks atrocious once again and they have a messy cap situation.
Speculation for 2017: New Orleans made some smart decisions this offseason and they are headed in the right direction but their defense needs work and as good as Brees is he can’t put up forty every game. Losing Nick Fairley hurts a lot but if Sheldon Rankins can stay healthy for a full season than the Saints shouldn’t be too concerned. I am interested to see how Peterson does outside of Minnesota and the Saints will have one of the most fascinating backfields in all of football, the receiving corps will be a lot weaker after they traded a great receiver for a late first round pick. Expect New Orleans to still make a push for the playoffs.
Previous Rankings: 25-32
