NFL Power Rankings 2015: Where Each Team Stands as Season Approaches

The next weekend without football will be in 2016.

Let that exciting news sink in as the NFL season rapidly approaches. Thanks to Sunday’s Hall of Fame Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings, there will be pigskin action throughout the rest of the calendar year.

That also means it is no longer too early to look at the landscape of the league and debate where each team stands with the 2015 campaign rapidly approaching. Finally, attention can turn to a brand-new season of games instead of discussions about PSI and destroyed cell phones.

With that in mind, here is a look at a complete set of power rankings entering preseason, based on roster changes (and continuity), last year’s performances and overall expectations for 2015.

Rank	Team	Brief Outlook
1	Green Bay Packers	Best quarterback in football, best team in football
2	Seattle Seahawks	Should be plenty motivated after last year's Super Bowl
3	New England Patriots	Plenty of talent to survive an early Tom Brady suspension
4	Indianapolis Colts	Added veteran offensive weapons around Andrew Luck
5	Denver Broncos	Don't bet against Peyton Manning
6	Baltimore Ravens	Still plenty of talent on this team surrounding Joe Flacco
7	Dallas Cowboys	Lost DeMarco Murray, but the offensive line was the real star
8	Pittsburgh Steelers	Offense should light up the scoreboard this year
9	Arizona Cardinals	Defense should lead the way again in 2015
10	Philadelphia Eagles	Chip Kelly has made headlines this offseason, and he has plenty of talent to work with
11	Cincinnati Bengals	The Bengals just want to get out of the first round of the playoffs
12	San Diego Chargers	Philip Rivers gets some more help with Melvin Gordon
13	Carolina Panthers	Cam Newton is the star, but the defense will once again be among the league's best
14	Minnesota Vikings	Watch out for the Teddy Bridgewater and Adrian Peterson combination
15	Kansas City Chiefs	Chiefs fans (and fantasy football players) certainly need Jamaal Charles to stay healthy
16	Detroit Lions	Defense could be an issue this season even with Calvin Johnson making highlight plays on the other side
17	Miami Dolphins	Shored up the defensive line with Ndamukong Suh but really need Ryan Tannehill to continue improving
18	New York Giants	Could surprise in NFC East if Eli Manning avoids turnovers
19	Houston Texans	Arian Foster is already hurt, and quarterback is still a question
20	Atlanta Falcons	The defense must improve dramatically from 2014
21	Buffalo Bills	Expect plenty of low-scoring and tight games
22	Chicago Bears	New coach, but still the same Jay Cutler
23	New Orleans Saints	Like the Falcons, the Saints need more consistency from the defense
24	San Francisco 49ers	Lost plenty of talent this offseason and are in a daunting division
25	St. Louis Rams	The defense will lead the way but won't get enough points to contend with Seahawks and Cardinals
26	New York Jets	If only they had an established quarterback
27	Jacksonville Jaguars	The Jaguars are headed in the right direction but still need a year or two
28	Cleveland Browns	All the attention will be on Johnny Manziel, but someone has to catch the ball too
29	Oakland Raiders	As long as Derek Carr stays healthy and develops, it will be a productive year
30	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jameis Winston won't be able to survive so many turnovers in the NFL
31	Washington	Just not enough talent around the inconsistent Robert Griffin III
32	Tennessee Titans	Marcus Mariota needs some help

Teams to Watch

No. 1 Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers were a heartbreaking collapse in the NFC Championship Game away from reaching last year’s Super Bowl, even though star quarterback Aaron Rodgers was dealing with a lingering calf injury and the contest took place in front of the raucous Seattle Seahawks fans.

Rodgers is healthy entering 2015, and he has more than enough weapons around him to put up ridiculous offensive numbers.

The wide receiver duo of Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb combined for 2,806 receiving yards and 25 touchdown catches last year, which seems downright unfair for opposing defenses, considering they also have to deal with wrecking ball Eddie Lacy (1,139 rushing yards) out of the backfield. 

If defenses somehow find a way to contain those threats, Rodgers can find emerging receiver Davante Adams or rookie Ty Montgomery streaking down the field. The Packers may even reach the end zone at times without trotting the offense on the field if Montgomery—who returned five kicks for scores during his Stanford career—proves to be a threat on special teams.

Morry Gash/Associated Press

With so much offensive firepower across the board, the defense only has to be average for Green Bay to accomplish great things this season. 

The Packers were 15th in the league in total defense in 2014, and there are enough individual pieces with Clay Matthews, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Casey Hayward and Julius Peppers to stay in the middle of the pack. That will be more than enough for Rodgers and his weapons to rack up plenty of wins.

No. 14 Minnesota Vikings

The Chicago Bears struggled on both sides of the ball last year, and the Detroit Lions lost both Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley during the offseason. That leaves the door for the title of second-best team in the NFC North wide open for the dangerous Minnesota Vikings to assume.

Minnesota finished with a solid 7-9 mark in 2014, with rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater firmly in the developmental stages of his career and superstar running back Adrian Peterson missing from the field. The Vikings now have Peterson back, and it is only natural to expect progression from Bridgewater with a year of experience under his belt.

Opposing defenses will have no choice but to stack the box against the dominant Peterson, who boasts six different seasons with at least 1,200 rushing yards and seven seasons with double-digit touchdown numbers. That will open up throwing lanes for Bridgewater. The Vikings probably had that in mind when they traded for wide receiver Mike Wallace this offseason.

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Wallace is a consistent threat to move the chains or find the end zone on every possession, and the speedy Cordarrelle Patterson is a potential game changer on special teams and deep routes.

In fact, Minnesota wide receivers coach George Stewart was not shy in his praise of his group entering preseason, per Ben Goessling of ESPN:

"

We've got some guys that can flat run. We're very blessed with speed. Jarius Wright, Adam Thielen, Cordarrelle Patterson, [Charles Johnson]. It's probably the fastest [group I've had]. Mike Wallace—explosive. I knew he was fast. But when you get a chance to be with him every day, he's real fast. 

"

Bridgewater was bound to improve this year based on experience alone, but the number of weapons around him makes this Vikings offense even scarier. Don’t be surprised when Minnesota challenges for a wild-card spot in the NFC.

No. 12 San Diego Chargers

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

The San Diego Chargers managed to finish 9-7 and contend for a playoff spot in the 2014 season without any resemblance of a dangerous rushing attack. In fact, the Chargers finished an abysmal 30th in the league in rushing yards and didn’t have a single player reach 600 yards on the ground.

It is a testament to Philip Rivers and his 4,286 passing yards and 31 touchdown tosses that San Diego remained as competitive as it did.

Enter Melvin Gordon.

The Wisconsin product was the No. 15 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft thanks to his ridiculous 2,587 rushing yards and 32 total touchdowns. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist and a threat to reach pay dirt every single time he touched the ball.

While he clearly won’t put up those video-game numbers during his first season in the NFL, Gordon’s presence will force opposing defenses to pick their poison against San Diego—something teams did not have to do in 2014.

Given the former Badgers’ rookie status, defenses will likely show respect for Rivers’ arm, meaning Gordon will have early opportunities to prove those college numbers were not a fluke. San Diego almost made the playoffs last season without any running game, so all Gordon realistically has to do is put up respectable numbers.

That will be even easier given the veteran offensive line in place, as Chris Trapasso of NFL.com pointed out:

Peyton Manning is 39 years old and appeared physically worn down by end of his playoff run in 2014. There may be an opportunity for the Chargers to make a move in the AFC West this season behind that offensive line, Gordon, Rivers and a defense that finished ninth in total yardage allowed last year.

Don’t assume the Denver Broncos are going to run away with the division in 2015.