Some draftniks have instantly begun their 2023 mock draft, but most NFL fans are setting their sights on the upcoming season.
With the 2022 NFL Draft complete, Pete Prisco of CBS Sports was one of many pundits to update his offseason power rankings. While there’s some turnover, the top doesn’t see much drastic movement.
Prisco is abiding by Ric Flair rules and saying the defending champion Los Angeles Rams remain the team to beat.
“The champs will be poised to make another Super Bowl run,” Prisco wrote. “They are basically the same team. The question is can they handle being the hunted.”
Despite early-offseason rumblings, Sean McVay will stick around as head coach while Aaron Donald isn’t retiring just yet. They also extended quarterback Matthew Stafford and have discussed rewarding star receiver Cooper Kupp with a bigger payday.
Although they lost mid-season acquisition Von Miller to the Buffalo Bills, the Rams replaced him with former Seattle Seahawks rival Bobby Wagner. They also signed Allen Robinson to fill in for unsigned free-agent Odell Beckham Jr.
The Rams are well-positioned to make another run, but have some steep competition for the top spot.
If Prisco’s rankings prove prescient, the Rams could encounter Miller on their path to repeating, as the Bills place second on his board. Many pundits see Josh Allen and Co. as a preseason AFC favorite despite falling short to the Kansas City Chiefs — right behind Buffalo at No. 3 — in a classic postseason shootout.
The Rams’ biggest NFC competitors are no surprise. A returning Aaron Rodgers puts the Green Bay Packers at No. 4 despite trading Davante Adams, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are right behind them following Tom Brady’s decision to stick around another year.
Big offseasons lift the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos to No. 7 and 8, respectively, behind the AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals. The Baltimore Ravens represent the sixth AFC squad in the top 10.
Meanwhile, Prisco projects a highly competitive NFC East. He has the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Commanders paired up at No. 11, 12, and 13. Nobody rose further up his rankings than Washington, which jumped 12 spots after acquiring Carson Wentz.
On the flip side, the Tennessee Titans dropped to No. 16 sans A.J. Brown, and the Arizona Cardinals dipped to No. 19 amid DeAndre Hopkins’ six-game suspension and ongoing Kyler Murray drama.
Last place belongs to the Atlanta Falcons, who Prisco said “are basically tanking this year” without Matt Ryan and Calvin Ridley.
We’ll see if anything changes by September, but there appears to be a clear top tier entering the 2022 season.
The post CBS Names The NFL’s Best Team Following The Draft appeared first on The Spun.
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