24. Las Vegas Raiders
Someone would have to tell me why I need to be high on the Las Vegas Raiders? Why should I expect this team to be good in the 2025 NFL Season? Sure, Geno Smith and Pete Carroll were upgrades, but this team is absolutely the worst in the AFC West and have a pretty hollow roster outside of a few key players. It’s not going to be a great season for this franchise, but oddly enough, the duo of Carroll and Smith would be one of the more secure duos they have had in quite some time.
However, I don’t see a path to more than five or six wins for this franchise in the 2025 NFL Season.
23. Seattle Seahawks
The team that traded Geno Smith this offseason, the Seattle Seahawks managed to be the only double-digit win team in the 2024 NFL Season that didn’t make the playoffs, which is quite the interesting statistic. The Seahawks went to the younger Sam Darnold this offseason and also drafted Jalen Milroe in the 2025 NFL Draft.
On paper, I am not sure Darnold has nearly the supporting cast that he had in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings, so a regression could be on the horizon, but I guess if you’re high enough on this defense, Seattle could be ranked a lot higher than 23rd. However, I just don’t see it with this team in 2025. They are low in our power rankings.
22. Atlanta Falcons
I do like the Atlanta Falcons as a team that could hit breakout status in the 2025 NFL Season. With a strong supporting cast on offense, Michael Penix Jr could be in store for a sizeable leap in his second year. The other thing to note here is that the NFC South could be wide open. With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers losing Liam Coen to a head coaching job, that offense might be due to regress, and Baker Mayfield is not necessarily a great QB, either.
While I have flip-flopped on this team for a while now on if they can win the division, the Falcons could finish with a winning record and build a ton of confidence for the 2026 NFL Season. Atlanta is 22nd in our power rankings.
21. Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears’ fanbase has been dying for a good football team and a competent offense for years now. Could we see a competent offense in the 2025 NFL Season? Caleb Williams now has a solid offensive line and a ton of weapons at his disposal, and it’s Ben Johnson running the show, which is great. Sure, the NFC South is a crazy tough division, but the Bears do have the talent to be able to go toe-to-toe with all three of their divisional foes.
It’s going to be an interesting year, as Chicago could be the most ‘boom or bust’ team for the 2025 NFL Season. They are just outside the top-20 in our final power rankings before the regular season.