You know how this goes.
The green confetti on the field at the Caesars Superdome hasn’t been swept up yet, and the party in Philadelphia won’t be over for quite some time. But the league must roll on. We’ve got to set the scene for 2025.
Of course, as usual, it’s far too early to know what to expect to a certainty. The new league year is a month away, and the twists and turns of free agency and the draft are still to come.
But that won’t stop us from taking an educated guess in the immediate aftermath of Super Bowl LIX. Here’s your way-too-early look at the 2025 NFL power rankings.
32. New York Giants
It’s not just that the Giants need to massively upgrade their roster, and it’s not just that they played their way out of position for a top quarterback in the draft. I’m also curious about the vibes in that building, as Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll narrowly avoided getting fired in January. Coaches and executives with no job security often do dumb, desperate things to keep their jobs. The Giants can’t afford a major setback because their brain trust is worried about the wrong things.
Love the Pete Carroll hire. Bare minimum, I think Carroll can get the Raiders to a respectable baseline of competent football. I still don’t feel great about the immediate future. The Raiders have key free agents all over on defense, and no clear path to a quarterback. Carroll’s first year could be bumpy.
30. New York Jets
Big fan of Aaron Glenn, big fan of the defensive talent he’ll get to work with in New York. Still doesn’t feel like this will be an easy fix. Word came down on Super Bowl Sunday that Aaron Rodgers is out, which presumably means Davante Adams is, too. It’s a bad year to need a quarterback, and it feels like Glenn is going to have to wait to get his answer at the most important position in the game.
29. Tennessee Titans
Stepping out on a limb and assuming I’ll feel better about the Titans in May than I do in February. They have the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and they have a ton of cap space. One way or another, they’ll find a new quarterback and put some new pieces around him. Not saying I feel good about any of this, but it will look better than it did at the end of the season.
Your opinion of the Colts probably hinges on how much you trust them. I personally don’t trust Anthony Richardson to make the necessary leap. Perhaps more important than that, I don’t really trust the organization to put him in a position to succeed.
My hot take is that the Saints are a solid team when everyone is healthy and available. The problem is that Demario Davis is 36, Cam Jordan is 35, Derek Carr is 33, Tyrann Mathieu is 32 and Alvin Kamara is 29. How realistic is it to expect everyone to be healthy and available?
26. Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott will be back in the huddle in 2025, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that Dallas was a bad team before he got hurt last fall. The Cowboys have half a dozen different needs, and their front office is famous for being unwilling to spend money to fix them. They’ll be competitive, because they always are. Hard to see the vision beyond that.
25. Cleveland Browns
The embarrassments are piling up in Cleveland. First, the Deshaun Watson fiasco; now, an all-time great like Myles Garrett is demanding a trade. The dirty little secret is that — despite all of that — the Browns don’t have a bad roster. If they could somehow find a good quarterback, perhaps with the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, they’d at least have a shot.
The good news is that the Panthers saw enough from Bryce Young in the second half of the season that they should feel comfortable building the team around him this spring. The bad news is that they have a ton of free agents, needs all over the roster and not much cap space to work with right now. There’s reason for hope, but this might not be an overnight fix.
Lord help me, but I think I’m back on the Jags’ bandwagon. It’s not just that I think Trevor Lawrence is a good quarterback, or that Liam Coen is a good coach. But the decision to (finally) fire Trent Baalke should (hopefully) give Jacksonville some clarity and unity in the front office. There are some strong pieces on this roster. This could be a quick turnaround if the Jaguars can get out of their own way for a change.
22. Miami Dolphins
Like the Steelers, the Dolphins are a better team than this ranking suggests. It’s just hard to get excited about them. They have 30 free agents this year and are almost $12 million over the salary cap. Tyreek Hill ruffled feathers at the end of the regular season when he said he might want out. Tua Tagovailoa’s health is a question that will continue to linger. This is a solid enough team, but it’s hard to imagine them being anything more than that as currently constructed.
This is probably a little low for a team that hasn’t had a losing season since 2003. It’s just hard to buy into Steelers optimism right now. The late-season collapse left a bad taste in my mouth, and right now we don’t even know who will play quarterback. Does Mike Tomlin admire Aaron Rodgers enough to give him a shot in the Steel City?
20. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons’ finances aren’t as exciting as you’d expect from a team starting a rookie quarterback — which is obviously a byproduct of signing Kirk Cousins to an ill-advised contract. Still, Michael Penix showed enough flashes to make me intrigued about what the future holds.
Get ready for the Pats to make a jump in this ranking when the offseason really gets underway. They’ve got an NFL-best $120 million in cap space and the No. 4 overall pick in the draft. Here’s guessing they’re going to do a lot of work to improve the talent level around Drake Maye.
18. Chicago Bears
I’m not willing to blindly trust the Bears on potential alone, because that got a lot of us into trouble last year. But I do believe in Ben Johnson, and he’ll have the resources to improve the roster immediately. Let’s see where that gets us.
Much like the Rams, I’ll be happy to push the Bengals up my rankings if they handle their offseason properly. Three of their four biggest stars currently need a new contract, and their franchise quarterback is clearly aggravated that he has to campaign to keep the team together. The Bengals could be a contender in 2025 if they handle these next few months correctly. Whether they will is anyone’s guess.
16. Seattle Seahawks
My biggest concern for the Seahawks is that they need to find some spending money. They’re currently $13 million over the 2025 salary cap, which would make it tough to improve the roster. Personally, I think they should address that issue by extending Geno Smith. He’s plenty good enough to win with — especially if the Hawks can improve their offensive line this offseason.
15. Los Angeles Rams
I’d have the Rams ranked higher if I had more clarity about their future. We know they’re moving on from Cooper Kupp, but we don’t know what they might do to replace him. For that matter, we don’t even know for sure whether Matthew Stafford will be their quarterback this fall. I’m happy to re-visit this when we know more, but right now I’m just not sure.
The Cardinals doubled their win total from 2023 to 2024. That won’t happen again in 2025, but there is some serious room for growth here if they play their cards right — pardon the pun. They’ve done a phenomenal job revamping their offense in two years; now, they need to do the same for their defense. They’ve got the cap space necessary to make it happen.
13. Denver Broncos
Bo Nix’s arrow is firmly pointed up, and the Broncos have plenty of salary cap space. There’s reason for optimism — I’d just like to see some consistency before I blindly believe in it.
Doing my best to learn my lesson from this past year, which is that quarterback uncertainty might not matter as much if Kevin O’Connell is your head coach. The Vikings’ roster is fantastic, and KOC can get good results no matter if the quarterback is Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy or someone else — Daniel Jones, anyone?
11. Houston Texans
The struggles this offense faced all year were disconcerting, but the Texans addressed that issue by swapping out their offensive coordinator. Hopefully that decision pans out, because they’ve got the quarterback and the defense to go far. Some help at receiver wouldn’t hurt, though.
After three straight division titles, the least we can do is believe in the Buccaneers for a change. It does concern me that Todd Bowles had to replace another successful offensive coordinator. For that matter, it concerns me that Bowles doesn’t seem to have the job security you’d expect for a guy who’s made three-straight playoff trips. But the Bucs still look like the class of the NFC South in 2025.
Clown on the Chargers for their playoff collapse if you want to, but I see a team that’s ahead of schedule. It’s honestly incredible that this team won 11 games with the talent they had at the offensive skill positions, and now they have a ton of resources with which to fix that. That, plus the Jim Harbaugh effect, goes a long way.
Cautious optimism feels like the right attitude for the Commanders. Jayden Daniels looks like a certified Dude, and the front office has a ton of cap space with which to improve the surrounding roster. Still, we know that it can often be hard to sustain a breakout season like the one we just watched. Nobody’s hating on the Commanders; I just want to see a little bit more.
A perfect storm of tragedy hit the 49ers in 2024, and they were still mathematically in the hunt until Christmas. I’m comfortable betting that they’ll have better luck in 2025. There’s work to do here, don’t get me wrong. Deebo Samuel might get traded, there’s a slew of important free agents on defense and Brock Purdy needs a new contract. But this is still an upper-echelon roster with a quality coaching staff. I’m not ready to give up on them yet.
I’m going to get yelled at for believing so strongly in a Packers team that didn’t truly take a step forward in 2024, but that’s OK. I’m a firm believer in Jordan Love — especially if he’s healthier next year. I also think the Packers have a lot of cap space and not much in the way of vital free agents. There’s a lot of potential for them to improve a team that just won 11 games, and then they can take the step that eluded them this year.
Interesting to see what the Ravens prioritize this spring. It looks like their offensive line is going to get shuffled (again), and it feels like they could use another receiver (again). But the combination of Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and a solid defense should put them on the shortlist of contenders, no matter what.
The heartbreak of the AFC Championship Game shouldn’t distract from the fact that the Bills were still technically ahead of schedule. Not many expected them to get so close in 2024, and most of their starters should be back. Their biggest challenge will probably be navigating their salary cap situation well enough to improve the team, but having an NFL MVP at quarterback gives them a huge leg up in that department.
Super Bowl LIX showed us the Chiefs have some work to do if they’re going to sustain their dominance moving forward. Their offensive line was an issue for most of the season, and it got exposed against elite competition. They don’t have enough juice at the skill positions. Key pieces like Trey Smith, Nick Bolton and Justin Reid might be walking out the door. The foundation for a Super Bowl championship is still in place, but there needs to be some aggressive tinkering in 2025.
It’s a Big Deal, with capital letters, that Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn departed Detroit at the same time. But don’t let the coaching turnover distract you from the fact that this is still one of the best rosters in football. The Lions return all their firepower on offense, and the defense will get Aidan Hutchinson back on the field in 2025. The window is still open.
The only thing more exciting than a Super Bowl championship is that the Birds look poised to continue this run. There are some big free agents like Zack Baun, Josh Sweat and Milton Williams. They’ll likely need to find a new offensive coordinator again. But the vast majority of this roster is young and locked in for years to come. The Eagles should have every expectation of contending to keep their crown.
David Helman covers the NFL for FOX Sports and hosts the NFL on FOX podcast. He previously spent nine seasons covering the Cowboys for the team’s official website. In 2018, he won a regional Emmy for his role in producing “Dak Prescott: A Family Reunion” about the quarterback’s time at Mississippi State. Follow him on Twitter at @davidhelman_.
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