The way to sustain success in the NFL is not a secret, and these 10 teams are clearly the most well-positioned for the future. The first thing a team has to do is find a franchise QB in the NFL Draft. That is a non-negotiable. The other two major things a team needs to do is to protect the QB and be able to get to the QB.
When these three things are solid, any given NFL team will be able to sustain success, and success in the NFL still looks a bit different from team to team. No club is perfect, and that much is true. A competent coaching staff is needed, and other positions have to also be solid to a degree.
There is a lot of pressure on a front office to come through in the NFL Draft. All in all, it's a huge, collaborative process, and even just making the playoffs in the NFL is extremely difficult. We power-ranked the 10 teams in the NFL that are the most well-positioned for the future.
NFL Power Rankings: Ranking the teams best positioned for the future
10. Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings won 14 games in 2024 with Sam Darnold at QB. It was an insane year to say the least. The team turned to Darnold as the starter when JJ McCarthy went down with a season-ending knee injury, and given the likelihood that they let Darnold explore free agency, they are essentially going to be starting a rookie QB in 2025.
I would be shocked if Minnesota again won 14 games, as McCarthy is going to have to take his rookie lumps. What is clear is that the team is on the right track with Kevin O'Connell and his staff, so they come in at no. 10 in our power rankinsgs.
9. Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers have the most 'good' roster in the NFL, if that makes sense. They have about 40 good players on the roster but are lacking that high-end, elite talent that could take them into the next level. This is what they are missing - and the QB fits into this as well.
Them playing in the NFC North does complicate things a bit, but they have won 20 regular season games over the last two seasons and are a mainstay in the postseason. The Packers are among the most well-run teams in the NFL just about every year, so they land at a modest no. 9 in our power rankings.
8. Denver Broncos
How about the Denver Broncos? When many people thought this team would win just a handful of games in 2024, they instead ripped-off 10 wins and made the playoffs. Denver is built the right way; they are strong in the trenches, have an elite head coach, and have a franchise QB, so it's no surprise that they had success in 2024 when you think about it.
Some of the Broncos' recent draft picks are also beginning to hit their strides, so it's clear that GM George Paton knows what he's doing when the NFL Draft rolls around. Their best players this year were guys like Bo Nix, Patrick Surtain II, Quinn Meinerz, Marvin Mims Jr, and Nik Bonitto.
All of those guys were draft picks from the 2021-2024 seasons. This franchise is in great shape for the future.
7. Los Angeles Chargers
In the first year of the Jim Harbaugh era, the Los Angeles Chargers won 11 games but got blown out in the Wild Card Round. Where Harbaugh goes to coach, he finds immediate success. The same was true in 2024. LA does still have limited talent on offense and will probably need a grand slam of an offseason to rise into contender status.
However, they've got the best tackle duo in the NFL, a franchise QB, a very good head coach, and what appears to be a competent front office. They are in great shape for the future.
6. Detroit Lions
Over the last four seasons of the Dan Campbell era, the Detroit Lions have won three, nine, 12, and 15 games. They are 27-7 over the last two seasons, and if it was not for some brutally awful defensive injuries this year, the Lions are probably in the Super Bowl.
The team is going to have to figure out how to do better at managing and preventing injuries, but in my opinion, this roster is the best in the NFL when healthy, and I do believe that the injury thing will not be nearly as bad in 2025. Brad Holmes is an excellent general manager and will make the proper moves in the offseason to get the Lions back atop the NFL.
5. Baltimore Ravens
Another AFC team that just cannot get over the hump, the Baltimore Ravens are still one of the more well-positioned teams for the future and come in at no. 5 on these power rankings. Quietly, the Ravens have not won multiple games in the postseason since 2012.
To me, that is a coaching issue. However, they likely have a three-time MVP in Lamar Jackson at QB and are always a solid team at the least. Baltimore will stil have to figure out which players they need to get over the hump and make the Super Bowl.
4. Philadelphia Eagles
In the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons, the one thing that will ultimately hold the Philadelphia Eagles back is Jalen Hurts and their coordinators getting poached for head coaching jobs. We saw, just two years ago, both Jonathan Gannon and Shane Steichen get poached for HC jobs, and it seems like current offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is on his way to being the next head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
Howie Roseman is the best GM in the NFL at the moment and is someone who is hitting home runs in the NFL Draft and has never been afraid to build through free agency as well. There isn't much to like about the Eagles. Can they win their second Super Bowl title since 2017?
3. Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills again lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason. The Bills have fallen to the Chiefs in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. It's been three years in a row that Buffalo has failed to get the job done, but this team is routinely in the Divisional Round nearly every single season.
At some point, they have to make run to the Super Bowl, right? Even if Bills fans are 'downbad' at the moment, about 27 other teams would currently trade their situation for Buffalo's.
They are well-built and typically do well in the NFL Draft. Brandon Beane is their general manager and is again going to field a top-notch team in 2025.
2. Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders' franchise did a total 180 in 2024. Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels have helped lead the team out of the abyss and into contention. They made the NFC Championship Game with house money this year. With a ton of cap space opening up and a likely strong desire by other free agents to want to come aboard, the Commanders are in great shape.
They'll be able to do very aggressive in free agency, and the first rookie class by GM Adam Peters seems to be solid as well outside of Daniels, so this team is going to have no problem sustaining success for years to come. I struggle to find another NFC team in better shape for the future than the Commanders.
1. Kansas City Chiefs
Until further notice, the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are in a tier of their own and are the most well-positioned for the future unless something major happened, and it would probably have to be Patrick Mahomes all of a sudden declining.
The Chiefs are so well coached and Mahomes is so flat-out good that they are able to field weaker units. There is actually less pressure on GM Brett Veach. For example, the Chiefs have had some poor offensive tackle play for multiple years now.
This team also traded away a future Hall of Fame wide receiver and have since won two Super Bowls in a row. There is just so much to like and very little to dislike, so it is no surprise that they are no. 1 in these power rankings.