28. Carolina Panthers
We’ll see this season if the fences between Bryce Young and Dave Canales are truly mended. The Panthers had virtually no choice but to bench Young last year, and it seemingly did wonders for his overall projection and competitive edge. They were able to build around him this offseason as opposed to the alternative. The issue facing this Panthers team is almost exclusively on defense. They missed out on Milton Williams in free agency and have the look of a bottom-five unit there again. Can Ejiro Evero get his group to overachieve in 2025?
27. Jacksonville Jaguars
What are we supposed to put our faith in right now for the Jacksonville Jaguars? I wouldn’t be shocked to see this team be relevant in the AFC South, but are we supposed to think it’s because of Liam Coen? Trevor Lawrence? Travis Hunter and Brian Thomas Jr.?
There are pieces in Jacksonville, but it’s going to be a season-long question of whether those are all pieces of the same puzzle. The jury is out on this team, which has some nice foundational pieces right now. The big question mark is probably Lawrence, and if he can return to the form we saw at the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023, this team could have something brewing rather quickly.
26. Las Vegas Raiders
For the short term, I actually don’t hate the additions we’ve seen from the Raiders this offseason. John Spytek is extremely sharp and will be a good GM for them. Pete Carroll is a culture changer and should help this team win more games immediately. Geno Smith is a huge upgrade. Ashton Jeanty is a huge upgrade. Yet the Raiders, defensively, are a train wreck. This team should be improved offensively but they might have the worst defense in the NFL on paper, and that’s being generous.
25. New York Giants
As good as the Giants should be on the defensive line, it’s hard to see them being anywhere near as bad this year as they were last year. And the Giants were really rough last year thanks to all of the quarterback shuffling they had to do. GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll are on the hottest of hot seats this year, as far as I’m concerned. They need to find a way to win at least 8 or 9 games this year, or we could see the Giants start completely from scratch in 2026.