The 2025 NFL season is nearly upon us, and the NFC is as crowded as we can remember. We've already taken an in-depth look at the AFC as the preseason continues to roll along here, but what about the conference that includes the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles?
It feels like the NFC very clearly lacks the same level of top-end teams that you'll find in the AFC. The Eagles are up there, but who in the NFC is on par with the Ravens and Bills right now?
This is going to be a fun year of discovery for teams in this conference. Teams expected to be at or near the bottom could shock folks, while teams expected to be at the top could end up being some of the most disappointing. Here's how we'd stack up each NFC team in our NFL Power Rankings as the preseason rolls along.
NFL Power Rankings: Ranking underrated NFC as preseason rolls along
16. New Orleans Saints
I’ve been back and forth on the Saints this offseason a bit. If you look at their roster on paper, you don’t really see the worst team in the NFL. But the quarterback situation is obviously a major determining factor for them, and the duel between Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler isn’t overly inspiring. Kellen Moore is in his first year as an NFL head coach, and this is going to be a discovery year for the Saints. They’re more likely to be selling at the trade deadline than competing in their division, even the weak NFC South. It’s too bad they can’t get Kirk Cousins away from the Falcons.
15. Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a team that could really jump up this list quickly if their defense can show serious improvement. The Panthers had the worst scoring defense in the entire NFL last season, and after missing out on Milton Williams in free agency, they went with more a of a “bulk buying” approach to addressing that side of the ball. They need a number of unexpected hits on that side of the ball to avoid another bottom-10 finish this coming season, which isn’t impossible.
14. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons are breaking in a young franchise quarterback as well as a number of key pieces on the defensive side of the ball. This team has a number of skill players who can take over games, but is Michael Penix Jr. going to be able to run the operation at the level necessary to compete for a division title. The Falcons are also another NFC South squad with question marks defensively, though they appear to have more options and upside than the Panthers right now. We’ll see how quickly their pair of first-rounders – Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. – can step up and become foundational pieces.
13. Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks were a decent team last year in the first year of the Mike Macdonald era, but they blew up some key components of their offense this offseason and it’s going to take more than a month into the season to figure out whether or not this team is a viable NFC contender. Klint Kubiak’s offense in New Orleans started off as one of the hottest in the NFL last year before completely fizzling due to injuries. Can he find sustained success with Sam Darnold and no more DK Metcalf in Seattle?
12. New York Giants
The New York Giants don’t have the most inspiring quarterback situation in the league, but Russell Wilson should be able to keep the floor relatively high for this team…right? The addition of Wilson, plus Jameis Winston, plus Jaxson Dart should have the Giants in a much better spot than the likes of Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, and Tommy DeVito. The real reason I’m higher on the Giants than most is their defensive front, which could be one of the best in football this season. They’ve got so much talent there and teams might struggle to score on this Giants defense, especially if everyone’s healthy.
11. Arizona Cardinals
Even if the Cardinals haven’t been relevant in the playoff picture the last two seasons, Jonathan Gannon has had this team making marked improvements. They played hard with a horrendous roster in 2023, and as the player personnel improved, so did the team’s ability to finish games last season. Even though it wasn’t good enough to get to the postseason, you can see the signs that this Arizona team is ready to push for a playoff spot again. They are going to be a fun team to watch and potentially a fast riser up these kinds of lists in 2025.
10. Chicago Bears
I’m starting to buy a little bit of the Chicago Bears hype. After what we saw in Week 2 of the preseason from Caleb Williams, I’m getting suckered in a little bit more. I have always felt like the Bears may have made the most significant head coach hire of the 2025 offseason by bringing in Ben Johnson, but whether or not Williams takes that next step as a player isn’t all on Johnson’s shoulders. If Williams is making quick decisions with the ball and on time with the bread and butter of the offense, his big-play ability will push the Bears into the NFC North division title discussion.
9. Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys won 12 games for three years in a row with a healthy Dak Prescott. I’m sure the possibility of Micah Parsons not playing some games this year, or sitting out entirely is a dark cloud over the entire organization, but if this team is fully healthy, they’re going to be a lot better than what we saw last year. Prescott is pretty underrated as a quarterback, and the idea of this Dallas offense getting a legit WR2 in George Pickens is scary considering the damage CeeDee Lamb has done while drawing all the attention.
8. Los Angeles Rams
I’m pushing the Los Angeles Rams way down the list for the time being. The uncertainty facing quarterback Matthew Stafford changes the entire projection of this team. Could they still be good with Jimmy Garoppolo running the show? Sure, they could. The Rams have a lot going for them besides just Stafford. But he’s the most important piece of this roster nad until we know what is for sure going on with him, the Rams have to be expected to be a “mixed bag” type of team on a weekly basis.
7. Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are another team I’ve been rather hard on this offseason, but their cornerback group is not good (on paper) and they’re breaking in a redshirt rookie at the quarterback position. I’ve said it time and time again that Kevin O’Connell deserves the benefit of the doubt, and so does this roster. But the Vikings are down Jordan Addison at the start of the year, and any struggles from McCarthy will potentially be amplified by this team’s inability to defend the pass. The Vikings need a lot to go right this season but they could still win 10 games and get into the playoffs.
6. San Francisco 49ers
The more the offseason has gone along, the more I’m talking myself into the 49ers being good again. Of course, as with just about any team, the projection here is dependent on health, and the 49ers have had bad luck in that department. They’ve gotten a much-needed breakthrough offseason from Ricky Pearsall, Christian McCaffrey is healthy, and having Robert Saleh calling the shots defensively is enough to give me confidence that 11 wins might be the floor for this team again. We’ll see what ends up happening, but the Niners have a shot to be a big-time sleeper in the NFC.
5. Washington Commanders
Everyone is jumping all over the Washington Commanders this offseason similar to the way they did last year with the Houston Texans. I’m not going to say there’s a year two slump incoming for the Commanders, but they have a few roster deficiencies that could end up slowing them down compared to the fire they caught last season. Having one of the oldest rosters in the NFL (the oldest, actually) is not necessarily the worst thing, but it could bite them. The Commanders also do not have any real consistent presence on the defensive front in the pass rush department. We’ll see who emerges.
4. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions have dropped from everyone’s 1st or 2nd team in the NFC down to the fourth. There are some valid reasons for that, and not everyone is talking about them. The loss of both coordinators this offseason was obviously detrimental. The Lions also made major changes to their interior offensive line. They didn’t do enough to upgrade the defensive front after all that transpired last year. Injuries are already piling up. There’s a level of talent on this roster that is undeniable but the effect of all that change could be felt early this season.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I think the Buccaneers are one of the most complete and well-rounded teams in the NFL. If they can get a good year out of Haason Reddick off the edge, their defense could vault up near the top of the league. The Bucs are already a machine offensively with so many great weapons and a gunslinger in Baker Mayfield who might put the ball in harm’s way at times, but he will fill up a stat sheet in the right ways. The addition of a player like Emeka Egbuka is going to amplify what was already a tough offense to stop.
2. Green Bay Packers
The Packers don’t have a perfect roster, by any means, but they have one of the best in the NFC. And they have a quarterback in Jordan Love who could be ready to take another giant step forward in 2025. The Packers obviously need young guys in the secondary (at cornerback, specifically) to step up after the team moved on from Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes this year, but that’s the only major question mark right now. It’s going to be a fun year for Packers fans, and this team might be ready to take that proverbial next step to the top of the NFC overall.
1. Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles are still the undisputed top team in the NFC after the offseason, even with some significant losses on the defensive front. Philadelphia has reloaded a bit on both sides of the ball, but the core pieces from their Super Bowl run last year remain intact. There’s not much to really say about this team, given their overall continuity and the fact that they already had young guys in place, ready to step up whenever those inevitable departures did take place. The offense is a well-oiled machine, and Vic Fangio is going to have that defense playing at a high level once again.