14. Las Vegas Raiders
The future isn't "now" with the Las Vegas Raiders, because Fernando Mendoza is expected to sit on the bench to start his NFL career. With that in mind, the Raiders clearly have a plan in place, and the pieces are exciting on paper.
Mendoza, Ashton Jeanty, and Brock Bowers are a fun core of young offensive players to build around, and the fact that the Raiders reeled in Klint Kubiak as their head coach gives them arguably the perfect coach to help the #1 overall pick along in his development.
But this roster is still very much a work in progress. The defensive line is one of the worst in the league (on paper), and the receiver position is full of unproven players. The youth is exciting, but also serves as a reminder that this team is still on the outside looking in of the rest of the AFC.
13. New York Jets
The New York Jets have not only assembled an impressive roster full of young, talented prospects, but the NFL Draft war chest for GM Darren Mougey remains the best in the league heading into the 2027 NFL Draft, what could be the best crop of prospects to come along in some time.
The biggest thing holding the Jets back from being a possible playoff team right now is the quarterback position. How far can Geno Smith realistically take them?
Smith has been a turnover machine the past couple of seasons, and he's going to have to make consistently better decisions to help this team get a clear evaluation on playmakers like AD Mitchell, Mason Taylor, Kenyon Sadiq, and Omar Cooper Jr.
The cupboard definitely isn't bare, but that quarterback question obviously looms large.
Add us as a preferred source on Google