NFL power rankings: Ranking all 32 teams ahead of preseason Week 1
16. Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts won nine games in the 2023 NFL Season with Gardner Minshew taking most of the snaps. Indy can be a surprise breakout team once again in 2024 if second-year QB Anthony Ricardson can get close to his ceiling. But the way I see it is if Shane Steichen was able to field an efficient offense with Gardner Minshew, the sky is truly the limit with Richardson.
The Colts could be a sneaky team to watch in 2024.
15. New York Jets
The New York Jets might end up being one of the top teams in the NFL for the 2024 season, but the last time we saw Aaron Rodgers play a season, he was not that great. That came in 2022, his last season with the Green Bay Packers. He finished with a passer rating in the low-90s and was just not his normal self.
He tore his Achilles to begin the 2023 NFL Season, so the entire year ended up being a wash for the Jets. If Rodgers can return to his back-to-back MVP form in 2020 and 2021, the Jets are going to be a Super Bowl contender, but that might be a huge ask for Rodgers, who turns 41 years old at the end of the regular season.
14. Atlanta Falcons
Signing Kirk Cousins in free agency, the Atlanta Falcons feel like a lock to win the NFC South, as they have a good roster. They were truly missing the QB to be competitive once again, and while there is an obvious ceiling with Cousins as the starting QB, they are by far the best team in the NFC South.
Them winning double-digit games and hosting a playoff game is not at all out of the question. Cousins will have a reliable offensive line, very good weapons, and a sound defense to work with in 2024. How will he play coming off of a torn Achilles, though? That could impact him in a big way, as he is closer to 40 than 30.
13. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars just made Trevor Lawrence the highest-paid QB in NFL history. He's tied with Joe Burrow and Jordan Love at $55 million per year, and when you look at this roster, it's hard to not like it. This is easily the best roster of the Lawrence era, and after their brutal stretch to end 2023, the pressure is mounting for this team to breakout beyond what they did in 2022.
Can Lawrence be the one who leads this Jaguars team on a deep playoff run in 2024, at least? They have a Super Bowl-winning head coach in Doug Pederson, so that's a huge plus.