NFL Power Rankings 2016: Where Each Team Stands as Season Approaches

The long wait is almost over. The Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts kick off the preseason with the Hall of Fame Game Sunday night to begin a stretch of six straight months of NFL action before a champion is crowned in Houston next February.

Three tiers of teams head into the campaign: the likely contenders, the muddled middle and the long shots. What's intriguing about this season is the lack of a clear-cut favorite, at least for now, and the increased size of the middle of the pack outside of the top seven or eight teams.

So let's check out an initial set of power rankings before the preseason gets underway. That's followed by a closer look at the top squads as the new season inches closer.

Preseason Power Rankings

Rank	Team	2015 Record
1	Denver Broncos	12-4
2	Carolina Panthers	15-1
3	New England Patriots	12-4
4	Seattle Seahawks	10-6
5	Pittsburgh Steelers	10-6
6	Green Bay Packers	10-6
7	Cincinnati Bengals	12-4
8	Arizona Cardinals	13-3
9	Indianapolis Colts	8-8
10	Kansas City Chiefs	11-5
11	Minnesota Vikings	11-5
12	Oakland Raiders	7-9
13	New York Giants	6-10
14	Dallas Cowboys	4-12
15	Buffalo Bills	8-8
16	Philadelphia Eagles	7-9
17	Baltimore Ravens	5-11
18	Atlanta Falcons	8-8
19	Houston Texans	9-7
20	Washington Redskins	9-7
21	Jacksonville Jaguars	5-11
22	New Orleans Saints	7-9
23	New York Jets	10-6
24	San Diego Chargers	4-12
25	Detroit Lions	7-9
26	Miami Dolphins	6-10
27	Chicago Bears	6-10
28	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6-10
29	Los Angeles Rams	7-9
30	Tennessee Titans	3-13
31	San Francisco 49ers	5-11
32	Cleveland Browns	3-13

Breaking Down Top Teams

1. Denver Broncos

The reigning champion Broncos deserve the top spot until their play during the regular season proves otherwise. The only exception would be if the quarterback play is atrocious during the exhibition slate, but it's important to remember the bar is low.

Peyton Manning's retirement and Brock Osweiler's exit in free agency made a lot of headlines. Yet it's not like they lit the NFL on fire last season. They combined for a 76.3 passer rating, which ranked 31st in the league, ahead of only the then-St. Louis Rams.

While that's bad no matter how you slice it, the numbers are even worse when you consider they had wide receivers such as Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders at their disposal. So it shouldn't take much for the QB triumvirate of Mark Sanchez, Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch to meet that low standard.

One thing is for sure: The outlook hasn't changed for Broncos general manager John Elway, who discussed his view of the offseason during an appearance on the NFL Network, per NFL.com:

"

We're chasing another championship is what we're doing. We not going to try to 'defend' it. I think you go through an off-season, we won the world championship last year, I'm very proud of that. We lost some good football players, we picked up some good football players. The great thing about training camp is we get to go figure out where we are ... we feel good about where we are. We feel like we have a chance to be as good defensively, even though we played as well as any defense could possibly play in the playoffs last year but we still feel like we got a great defense and we feel like we're better on the offensive side.

"

Elway is right. It would be tough to replicate what the defense was able to accomplish during the team's playoff run last season. But it should remain one of the most impactful units in the league, especially since the Broncos were able to keep superstar linebacker Von Miller happy with a new long-term deal.

Ultimately, there may be some hiccups along the way as the Broncos figure out how to attack on offense without Manning's long track record of success looming over the decision-making process. But once Denver finds a comfort zone, the team as a whole should be just as dangerous as it was last season.

2. Carolina Panthers

The Broncos' star-studded defense overwhelmed the Panthers in the Super Bowl. Aside from that, though, Carolina was downright dominant for most of the campaign, as it went 15-1 during the regular season before beating the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals in the playoffs.

Like Denver, a high-profile departure created the biggest question mark. Carolina took the franchise tag off corner Josh Norman and let him walk in free agency. It's going to put a lot of pressure on Bene Benwikere and Robert McClain to fill the void.

That said, the Panthers still have their two stalwarts at the linebacker level in Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis. They also have a couple of players on that side of the ball who are ready for major breakthroughs this season in Kony Ealy and Shaq Thompson, so the defense is still full of potential.

Meanwhile, the offense is in the dynamic playmaking hands of Cam Newton, and he's set to get his top target back, as Kelvin Benjamin returns from injury. So unless you believe Norman was the linchpin for everything the Panthers did on defense, there's no reason to expect a serious drop-off.

Fullback Mike Tolbert doesn't foresee any major issues. Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer noted the veteran replied in the affirmative when asked whether his team is still the class of the NFC.

"I don't see why we wouldn't be," he said. "We're returning a lot of starters. We've got a lot of great players. Obviously, we're missing one. But we've got some young guys that are going to come in and make up for it. And we'll be good."

Although it's not likely based on the level of parity throughout the league, we can't rule out a Super Bowl rematch heading into the new season.

3. New England Patriots

The Patriots will be just fine without Tom Brady when he serves a four-game suspension. After opening with a tough road game against the Cardinals, they have three straight winnable home clashes with the Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills.

They shouldn't come out of that stretch any worse than 2-2 unless backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is a total disaster. And it's unlikely head coach Bill Belichick will even put him in position to make many game-changing mistakes. It will be a simple offense based on quick, easy reads.

The idea of Garoppolo overtaking Brady as the starter during the monthlong absence did provide one of the most humorous moments of camp so far, as shared by Albert Breer of The MMQB:

Adding Martellus Bennett, one of the most underrated moves of the offseason, will be a boon for the offense. Having a second athletic pass-catching threat at the tight end position is going to create a lot of easy looks on third down and in the red zone for Garoppolo and Brady.

The defense should push for a top-10 ranking for a second straight season, too. While the Broncos defense might be the best unit in the AFC, the Patriots should have the most well-rounded team, especially once Brady returns and shakes off the rust.