4. Las Vegas Raiders (Geno Smith)
The Las Vegas Raiders have a hollow roster and an average QB at best in Geno Smith. The veteran QB came over in a trade from the Seattle Seahawks early in the 2025 NFL Offseason, but this is only a temporary setup with Pete Carroll. Smith and Carroll are a nice floor-raising duo, but that's about it. They can max-out at about seven or eight wins in the 2025 NFL Season.
3. Seattle Seahawks (Sam Darnold)
Sam Darnold is going to regress in the 2025 NFL Season. He had a near-perfect setup in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings, and that type of supporting cast just is not there with the Seattle Seahawks in 2025. Darnold did have a sensational season, but it took him a large chunk of his career to figure it out.
And there is way more 'bad' football for Darnold in his NFL career than there is good football. Despite the regression likely coming from Darnold, the defense appears to be one of the better units in the NFL, so a modest nine-win season could be on the horizon for Seattle.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (Aaron Rodgers)
The Pittsburgh Steelers are the epitome of consistent in the NFL, but it's the bad kind. This team has been consistently good for years, but that's it. They don't win playoff games anymore and don't have a long-term QB in place. In 2024, with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, the Steelers went 10-7, made the playoffs, and lost in the first round.
It's going to happen again in the 2025 NFL Season if they're even able to get into the postseason now. Aaron Rodgers did throw for 28 touchdown passes in 2024, so he wasn't an unplayable. All in all, there are a lot teams in worse shape than Pittsburgh, but there really isn't a lot special with them, either.
1. Minnesota Vikings (JJ McCarthy)
The Minnesota Vikings have one of the better rosters in the NFL, and JJ McCarthy honestly has no excuses heading into his de-facto rookie season. The Vikings invested in their offensive line this offseason and have a future Hall of Famer in Justin Jefferson for McCarthy to throw the ball to. No matter how good the young QB will be five years from now, he'll reach his ceiling with this current setup. The Vikings are first in over power rankings.