NFL Power Rankings: Predicting every team's record after minicamp in 2024

14. Cleveland Browns: 10-7

The primary reason I don’t think you can leave the Cleveland Browns out of the top 14 slots on a list like this is their defense. One of the best defenses in the NFL last year didn’t get any worse this offseason. In fact, with the addition of second-round defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr., they might have gotten even better.

The major question mark for the Browns is quarterback Deshaun Watson, who hasn’t elevated his team since 2019 when he was a Houston Texan. Watson put up numbers in 2020, but wasn’t nearly as good as he had been, and that was the last time he played a full season. He sat out the 2021 season, he was suspended for all but six games of the 2022 season, and he missed all but five games and change in 2023.

Why do so many pundits put such faith in Watson at this point? I’m one of his biggest skeptics going into the 2024 campaign.

13. New York Jets: 10-7

All throughout the 2024 offseason, I’ve been pretty consistently seeing the New York Jets near the top of roster ranking lists, power ranking lists, etc. I can’t say I disagree that this is one of the better rosters in the league right now, but so much of the projection with this team depends on Aaron Rodgers.

And normally, you would think that makes the projection a pretty sure thing. But let’s be real (harsh) for a moment here. When was the last time Aaron Rodgers played really well over the course of a regular season? You have to go back to 2021. Of course, in 2021, Rodgers won the NFL MVP award and was playing at an extremely high level.

The New York Jets have to figure that if they get even a fraction of that guy, the rest of this team is built in such a way to win the Super Bowl. But Rodgers’ last season in Green Bay was a major disappointment. He is 40-plus years of age and coming off of a major injury. It wouldn’t be shocking if the Jets struggled more than people expect them to in 2024.