24. New York Giants
Last week's ranking: 26
There were a few really impotant observations from the New York Giants' preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings. The first one is that the running back who allowed Jaxson Dart to get absolutely blasted after missing an assignment in pass protection is going to have to run laps after practice all week.
Dart cannot be getting hit like that. He went into the blue tent for evaluations, came back to throw an absolutely ridiculous touchdown, and the hype train kept chugging right along.
Also, Odell Beckham Jr. being back on this team is fantastic. I'm not overly confident in the Giants just yet, but I'm extremely intrigued.
23. Minnesota Vikings
Last week's ranking: 17
Here's a great example of two very different perspectives overall. The Vikings ranked 17th in Lou Scataglia's power rankings last week, and he mentioned how optimistic he is about Kyler Murray for this upcoming season.
I'm taking a little bit more of a cautious approach here, but we know the Vikings have been competitive even with quarterback issues. With Murray now in the QB1 chair, this team can officially build around him and move forward.
Speaking of moving forward, it's only going to be a matter of time before the Vikings move on from JJ McCarthy, who not only lost the starting job, but there is some speculation that he won't even be able to hold off Carson Wentz for the QB2 job...
22. New Orleans Saints
Last week's ranking: 24
I'm once again going to reiterate my confidence in this New Orleans Saints team. The injury bug already getting to rookie wide receiver Jordyn Tyson is extremely off-putting and unfortunate, but the optimism is still high with this squad.
The Saints had one of the most underrated defenses in the entire NFL last season. They made some key veteran additions to the roster on both sides of the ball, and I'm a huge believer in what we saw down the stretch last season from quarterback Tyler Shough.
This Saints team is going to sneak up on some folks this season.
21. Carolina Panthers
Last week's ranking: 23
The Carolina Panthers are the most disrespected reigning division champion across the entire NFL right now, but they were also the only division champion last year with a losing record.
There's still a lot of respect to be earned for this Panthers team, especially after what we saw from their top offense against the Buffalo Bills. We don't need to qualify this with every single statement we make, but once again -- it's only the preseason...
However, the fact that the Panthers' top offense went three-and-out three straight times in this game is a bit of a red flag.
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