Way Too Early 2024 NFL Power Rankings Top Ten: Who can beat the Chiefs?

I know it’s too early to power-rank teams for next season! But I am going to do it anyway. We still have free agency and the draft to get through, but as it sits today here are the Top Ten teams headed into the 2024 NFL Season!

10) Cleveland Browns

No matter their plans, the Browns are locked into Watson for another three years. His fully guaranteed $230 million contract makes their salary-cap situation untenable again and makes signing free agents or adding talent challenging; furthermore, Cleveland still does not own a first-round pick.

The Browns are an impressive team–but one with limited room for error.

9) Los Angeles Rams

There’s much work to be done this offseason for the Los Angeles Rams as they face San Francisco 49ers in their own division. But the salary cap situation in Los Angeles improved greatly from a year ago, Stafford has proven his high-level play remains relevant, and Nacua was undoubtedly one of the steals from the 2023 Draft, so Los Angeles may finally have something they have been craving since some time in 2024, and that’s a first-round draft pick something they haven’t had since 2016.

8) Houston Texans

No NFL team surpassed expectations more in 2023 than the Houston Texans. No one predicted they’d win the AFC South or go through the Browns so easily in the wildcard round.

Of course, having both the Offensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Rookie of the Year on their roster certainly helps, which is exactly what the Texans have accomplished with quarterback C.J. Stroud and edge-rusher Will Anderson Jr.

The Texans need to upgrade the offensive line and the defense, they should win the AFC South again, the question is can they upgrade the roster to make a serious Super Bowl run?

7) Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys will have to replace Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn, which, after the Cowboy’s performance in the playoffs, should not be a big issue. Quinn will be replaced by Mike Zimmer, who has been one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL for years.

Dak Prescott had a great season but came up short when it mattered most. With Mike McCarthy as the head coach, I do not put a lot of faith in these Cowboys.

6) Buffalo Bills

Over the past three seasons, Buffalo has faced intense AFC playoff competition and fallen to elite AFC opponents in each instance; twice to the Kansas City Chiefs and once against the Cincinnati Bengals with Joe Burrow healthy. This offseason, they must find ways to overcome this hiccup – perhaps starting with adding depth on defense as they have allowed an average of 35.7 points each game in their last three playoff defeats.

With Josh Allen at the helm the Bills are a significant threat to win the AFC, but he is not on the same level as Mahomes or Burrow, to beat those two the team around Allen will have t be better than the Chiefs and bengals.

5) Green Bay Packers

Green Bay’s team can take comfort in not having any star players set to hit free agency, while they also possess limited cap space – though improvements might come via draft.

Jordan Love looked like a franchise quarterback at the end of the season, and the Packers came up just short of playing in the NFC Championship game. The Packers have a lot of young weapons that should only get better.

4) San Fransico 49ers

The 49ers have blown two ten-point leads in the last few years against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. What can they improve? The offensive line needs to be addressed if they want to win a Super Bowl.

San Francisco’s cap situation is precarious. They must decide whether or not to bring back edge-rusher Chase Young after trading for him during the season; wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is entering his final year under a rookie contract; Brock Purdy may want a slight raise on his $985,000 base salary after 2024 season; linebacker Dre Greenlaw tore his Achilles during Super Bowl 50, leaving his availability for the start of 2024 campaign uncertain.

3) Detroit Lions

Detroit’s 27th-ranked pass defense needs improvement. Free agents such as safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson should be prioritized.

But with more than $46 million in cap space, the Lions have the means to add veteran pieces. Thanks to some excellent draft picks and Jared Goff proving himself to be a viable franchise quarterback, If their draft this year is anything like last years the Lions will be hard to stop.

The Lions are more than merely contenders to reach the Super Bowl; many consider them favorites in the NFC.

2) Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals are the biggest contenders to the Chiefs, and the reason why is very simple: they have the only quarterback in the league as good as Mahomes. Also, the Bengals have won three out of four games against the Chiefs, with Burrow playing. The Bengals have defensive issues they need to address and an offensive line that still needs to be upgraded. I am looking for Tee Higgins to be franchise-tagged this offseason.

1) Kansas City Chiefs

Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed and defensive tackle Chris Jones are currently the team’s two priority free agents, and it would not be surprising if both decided to return. Travis Kelce likely will play another year, giving the offense another boost, while Patrick Mahomes remains one of the greatest quarterbacks ever seen in the NFL. Now, the Chiefs did struggle at times this season, and they are trying to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. They do need to upgrade the offensive tackle position and upgrade at Wide Reciever.