NFL Power Rankings: Biggest risers and fallers after Preseason Week 1

28. New England Patriots

The excitement over the New England Patriots’ preseason was rather quickly squashed when third overall pick Drake Maye came out there and only threw three passes. It was a light day at the office for Maye, and the Patriots paved the way for Joe Milton and Bailey Zappe to get the majority of the reps at quarterback.

Specifically, Bailey Zappe got a lot of time out there as the Patriots are likely auditioning him for a trade. If Jacoby Brissett is going to be starting this year, then having a lot of preseason reps for Drake Maye will be essential. It doesn’t make sense to limit his reps out there in the preseason if he’s not going to be starting this year. 

And Brissett probably should have gotten at least another series after going 0-for-3 passing. The guy needs a completion. There’s no reason to make a mountain out of a molehill here but the Patriots need to see more out of the QBs that will actually be playing this year.

27. Seattle Seahawks

After some rumors that there might be a quarterback controversy in Seattle this offseason, I think we can safely put those rumors to rest if we’re basing it off of the first week of the preseason. To be fair to Sam Howell, it was his first game action as a member of the Seattle Seahawks following the offseason trade between Seattle and Washington, but there was a lot left to be desired as Howell got a good amount of work against the Los Angeles Chargers.

He’s still a young quarterback, but as far as potentially starting for the Seahawks this season, it’s probably not going to be happening unless it’s some type of emergency situation. This is Geno Smith’s team.

How do the Seahawks respond to the departure of Pete Carroll this offseason? Does this team have enough defensively to compete in the relatively loaded NFC West?