28. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars finished last year as one of the five worst teams in the NFL, so we can’t really give them the benefit of the doubt just yet. This is a team that is going to have to earn its rise up our NFL Power Rankings week after week, because we constantly had them higher on the list in recent years than they deserved.
This team suffers from “potential syndrome” which is a serious condition for NFL teams. NFL teams with potential syndrome suffer from people saying good things about them, players being paid highly, and guys simply not getting the job done on the field. Trevor Lawrence is really the key for this Jaguars team being something going into the 2025 season.
If he plays well, this team could make noise in the AFC South. But we’re not counting any chickens before they hatch.
27. Carolina Panthers
We’re all excited to see the Carolina Panthers’ offense here in the 2025 season. We might be seeing this team a lot on the NFL Red Zone channel, but for both good and bad reasons.
The Panthers have a chance to score a lot of points this year if Bryce Young can continue the progress he showed after coming back from being benched last season, but the defense in Carolina is bad enough that they might give up more points than any other team in the league.
The addition of Tetairoa McMillan looms large for Carolina, as does the development of 2024 1st-rounder Xavier Legette. If the Panthers can get anyone on that defense to step up and become a core player, they might actually be one of the most fun teams to watch in 2025.