18. Minnesota Vikings
We're now hitting the tier of teams on the bubble of potentially being in the playoffs. The Minnesota Vikings come in at No. 18 in our rankings. The Vikings notably signed Kyler Murray this offseason in what I believe to be them signing their starting quarterback.
While Murray and JJ McCarthy could be in a 'quarterback competition' based on what we hear from the national media figures, I personally do not believe that is the case. I'd find it hard to believe that Murray would have signed with the Vikings without a back-door guarantee that he'd start for them.
He's plenty good enough to start for the Vikings and has produced at a high level at times during his career. With Murray in the picture, the offense could be more stable, and if Brian Flores still has a good grasp on his defense (why wouldn't he?), this team could win a few more games than they did last year.
But with how loaded the NFC appears to be, and the quarterback position still being an unknown, we'll pump the brakes just a bit on the Vikings.
17. Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys come in right about the Vikings. Dallas finished with the 7th-ranked scoring offense last year in a prolific year on that side of the ball, but the defense was among the worst in the NFL, so it's not a shock that the team went all-out to get better on that side of the ball.
They brought in a new defensive coordinator in Christian Parker and also inserted new faces into the mix including Rashan Gary, Caleb Downs, and Jalen Thompson. Dallas' defense is a lot more stout on paper, which is ideal, and all you'd ask from this unit is an average level of play given how good the defense is.
But you are also asking a lot from the defense given how bad it was last year...
16. Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs have notable roster flaws, and I am not sure this team is particularly close to ascending back to the top of the AFC. The secondary got picked apart this offseason, and there really isn't a consistent pass-rush threat outside of Chris Jones.
The linebacker room got worse this offseason with the departure of Leo Chenal, and there really isn't much to be threatened by on offense outside of Kenneth Walker III, but even he isn't a bell-cow, game-changing player at the position.
The Chiefs should be able to finish with a winning record, but I'm not sure they're a playoff team in their current state.
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