NFL Power Rankings 2017: Where Each Team Stands as Season Approaches

Football is finally back, even if it's only the preseason. 

But in just a few weeks, NFL games will really start to matter as Week 1 of the 2017 season is fast approaching. As of Thursday night, only two teams, the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals, have played in the preseason, so it's still way too early to get a good look at each team and how they're doing. Thankfully, that's what spending countless hours online reading training camp reports are for.

Some teams—I'm looking at you, New England Patriots—aren't surprising anyone with how good they look at such an early stage of the season. On the other hand, there are other franchises who are already crumbling, mostly due to injuries.

But before we take a look into how several teams are shaping up with the regular season looming, here's an early look at an early set of power rankings for all 32 teams:

NFL Power Rankings 2017: Preseason

1. New England Patriots

2. Atlanta Falcons

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

4. Dallas Cowboys

5. Green Bay Packers

6. Seattle Seahawks

7. Oakland Raiders

8. New York Giants

9. Kansas City Chiefs

10. Tennessee Titans

11. Arizona Cardinals

12. Carolina Panthers

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

14. Denver Broncos

15. Washington Redskins

16. Philadelphia Eagles

17. Cincinnati Bengals

18. New Orleans Saints

19. Minnesota Vikings

20. Los Angeles Chargers

21. Baltimore Ravens

22. Houston Texans

23. Detroit Lions

24. Los Angeles Rams

25. Jacksonville Jaguars

26. Miami Dolphins

27. Indianapolis Colts

28. Buffalo Bills

29. Chicago Bears

30. San Francisco 49ers 

31. Cleveland Browns 

32. New York Jets

Teams to keep an eye on

1. New England Patriots

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

What a surprise, the defending Super Bowl Champion Patriots are the No. 1 ranked team heading as preseason kicks off. But in all seriousness, who else would it be?

The Patriots are a well-oiled machine who, somehow, got even better this past offseason. The acquisition of tight end Dwayne Allen from the Indianapolis Colts made up for the loss of Michael Bennett, and even though Allen had some dropped passes during OTAs, he is beginning to find a place in New England's offense.

During practice earlier this week, Allen was able to show why he was one of the more highly touted blocking tight ends coming out of Clemson.

Per Adam Kurkjian of the Boston Herald:

"In individual blocking drills yesterday, which were part fundamental teaching and part competition, Allen excelled at both. He got his hands inside the pads of opponents and used his 6'3", 265-pound frame to move them aside with relative ease. One of his top reps came when he sent defensive end Trey Flowers reeling backwards, not an easy task against one of the Pats' top linemen."

More so than Allen, the Patriots still have Tom Brady at quarterback. And even if he did show some signs of regression (he won't) the Patriots still have Jimmy Garoppolo, who will inevitably bounce back from some early training camp struggles. 

Until something catastrophic happens, the Patriots are the best team in the league.

2. Atlanta Falcons

John Bazemore/Associated Press

If the Patriots are No. 1, it makes sense that the Falcons should be right behind them in the power rankings. After all, they did hold a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl earlier this year.

But the Falcons are coming back this year with a chip on their shoulder, and for good reason. The Lombardi Trophy was within their grasp, but they let it slip away in the second half. Those types of moments can either make or break a team, and quarterback Matt Ryan has already come out and said that he and his teammates won't let their Super Bowl collapse define them. 

In an interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Ryan said he and his teammates have moved on from the loss:

“We're already back at it. When we started as a team in April, we got together before that as players down in Miami, it was time to move on. It was time to look forward. ... Anytime that we kind of dwell on that, is wasted time. We have to focus trying to become the best football team that this group can be. ... But this year's group is different and this team is different. We have to find a way to become the best football team that we can. Find ways to get better and improve. That's what we are trying to do."

It's hard to figure out ways for the Falcons to improve from last year, besides questionable play-calling from their former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. The future is bright for the Falcons, but they still have to overcome their own demons. 

26. Miami Dolphins

Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

Yes, the Miami Dolphins are a team to keep an eye on over the next few weeks, but for all the wrong reasons.

Let's just pretend that running back Jay Ajayi's concussion isn't that big a deal (it 100 percent is), and let's try to move on from Ted Larsen, projected starting left guard, and his torn biceps. Let's focus on the biggest problem the Dolphins face: the potential loss of quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

Tannehill is by no means one of the best signal-callers in the NFL, but he's better than average. He is the franchise quarterback for the Dolphins and is without a doubt their best option at the position. But during Thursday's practice, things took a turn for the worse for both Tannehill and the franchise. 

An awkward placement of his left leg immediately made Tannehill fall to the ground and clutch his left knee, the same knee that cut his season short at the tail end of last season. While there was no structural damage from the first MRI after the incident occurred, ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington are reporting that Tannehill could still be out for the entire upcoming season.

If true, the loss of Tannehill would be catastrophic. It won't matter who the Dolphins try to replace him with, even if it is Jay Cutler or Colin Kaepernick. 

Without their starting quarterback, the Dolphins fall in the power rankings. Only time will tell how much further they'll plunge.