Last week, I shared the top half of the league regarding how teams’ vibes are as training camp draws near. The much-anticipated bottom half of the league is below. Enjoy! Oh, and I’ll add that if you want more discussion and analysis on the NFL Off-season, check out my friend Simon’s podcast here, where we dive into every team’s off-season, from vibes to the draft.

Teams 17 & 18 – Pressure Cookers

17. Buffalo Bills

The Bills, by all accounts, will be contenders again. But they are not without drama. Sean McDermott enters his eighth season as head coach, and he and Josh Allen have yet to get to a Super Bowl. They cannot afford any more mistakes, especially self-inflicted ones, if they want to keep this partnership going. They have a number of new faces on the squad this year, so maybe a new look is all it will take?

18. New York Giants

Simon and I had them ranked higher due to their draft and free agency decisions, but make no mistake, things are awkward for the G-men. The general consensus around Daniel Jones is that he cannot take this team further, even with the addition of Malik Nabers, and there will be instant negativity if they struggle out of the gates. They already committed to Jones, however, so they should be desperate to get off to a good start.

Teams 19 – 22: Two Contenders, Two Pretenders

19. Seattle Seahawks

This is another team who has dropped significantly after a pretty solid draft and free agency. They have some really nice pieces, but there was some weirdness that they moved on from the successful Pete Carroll when he wasn’t ready to move on himself. They are also hoping for a lot of success under first-time head coach Mike Macdonald. The good news is he is coming off an impressive stint as the defensive coordinator of the vaunted Ravens’ defense, but the inexperience as a head coach could prove difficult with less talent around him. The Seahawks will be competitive, but they are definitely pretenders.

20. Kansas City Chiefs

Not only are the champs starting their three-peat campaign, but they’ve also partnered with Hallmark to make a movie that will feature some cameos from Chiefs personnel. All should be golden in Kansas City, but they are at 20 in these rankings due to a variety of off-field situations. There are few reasons to bet against the champs, and they are definitely contenders, but they have plenty to improve upon this off-season.

21. Washington Commanders

There is actually a substantial amount of positivity surrounding the Commanders this off-season: a new ownership group, a new head coach, and a new franchise quarterback. In fact, if they had drafted better (i.e. a tackle to protect Jayden Daniels) they would be further up this list. Nonetheless, fans should feel pretty good about where their squad is at even though they won’t be contending this season.

22. San Francisco 49ers

This is one of the best teams in the league, and they should be poised to make another Super Bowl run. That said, did they do enough in the off-season? Also, how do they handle the notion that they can’t win that final game? The good news is they have stability in all of the key areas, and this team should be legitimate contenders when the season commences.

Teams 23 & 24: Underachievers

23. Cincinnati Bengals

A couple of years ago we thought were going to see a team that could prevent the Chiefs’ dynasty, but unfortunately Joe Burrow has been constantly battling the injury bug instead. While he should be good to go for this season, his real, respectable take on football mortality definitely casts a pall over the future of the Bengals. Not to mention, they did not handle the Tee Higgins contract situation very well, and that absolutely knocks them down on their vibe points heading into this season.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars

Trevor Lawrence got paid this off-season after his second-consecutive 4000 yard passing performance. His numbers were actually worse in his third year, but I believe he’s still getting better. That said, he and the Jags have very little to show for themselves, in spite of being in a very winnable division. The teams around them have gotten better now, but I’m not sure they have. The vibes are “fine” in Jacksonville, but they are very much teetering between “alright, we’re ready to go for it” and “uh oh, what do we do now?”

Teams 25 – 29: Southern Scaries

25. Miami Dolphins

This team is fun to watch… in the regular season! They have discovered that a high-flying, lightning-fast offense is not a recipe for post-season success. Further, Tua Tagovailoa had his fifth-year option picked up and they will have to make extension decisions after this season. The vibes are honestly not terrible, as they are still a good team. But in the AFC, they are a dark horse at best.

26. New Orleans Saints

The Saints entered this off-season in one of the worst financial situations of any team, and the worst part is that they are really nowhere near legitimate as a contender. This is not a new problem for them, either, and this cycle of expensive mediocrity creates a vault of very negative vibes in The Big Easy.

27. Dallas Cowboys

Simon and I were down on the Cowboys after a mediocre draft and a shockingly silent free agency, but things got even worse when I found out Mike McCarthy is fed up with Jerry Jones. Factor in a number of their own looming contract decisions and you have a team who is scared of the playoffs, and they should be scared about their future as well.

28. Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons have had a really good off-season by a lot of standards. They have a new, proven head coach in Raheem Morris, and they already had a quality roster in many positions last season. In other words, you might say they were “a quarterback away.” Notice that I said “a quarterback,” and not “two quarterbacks.” Their decision to spend the 8th-overall pick on Michael Penix, Jr. after signing Kirk Cousins to a four year, 180 million dollar deal is asinine. Even if Penix is great and challenges Kirk, they have, at the very minimum, created a quarterback controversy. And regardless of who plays (I really could vent here for multiple pages, but I’ll spare y’all my rambling) they have a large portion of their salary cap tied up with Kirk, and they missed out on TONS of elite talent at other positions in the draft. Normally, I would try to temper my disliking of a singular move by a team, but this one is so mind-boggling that I can’t see any real avenue towards me thinking this was a good decision.

29. Carolina Panthers

I wasn’t going to include Carolina in this tier, but they are a southern team, and since we don’t know if Bryce Young can turn it around in year two, there is plenty to be scared about. Also, I understand they are still rebuilding, but did they really need to lose so many quality defenders? I’m sad for the departures of Yetur Gross-Matos, Brian Burns, Frankie, Luvu, and Vonn Bell to name just a handful of the players they lost.

Teams 30 – 32: These Are Dark Times, There Is No Denying It

30. New York Jets

Oh boy. Aaron Rodgers knowingly takes unexcused absences in an off-season where every opportunity to work with his teammates could be vital – remember, he missed all of last season. But we are not to worry, as he and Robert Saleh are on the same page! Honestly, though, the vibes here are at best bizarre, and at worst, real bad. This Jets team has the talent to compete in a tough AFC East, but I don’t think anyone feels good about where they’re going at the moment.

31. Cleveland Browns

The Browns will forever be the team that gave guaranteed money to Deshaun Watson. From a moral standpoint that’s already bad, but if he never returns even remotely to form? Doubly bad. Kevin Stefanski won COTY last season after some Joe Flacco magic to aid their other-worldly defense, but I don’t think they’ll be as lucky this year. They didn’t have many picks in the draft, and their trade for Jerry Jeudy doesn’t quite move the needle for me. Not to mention they are on the clock to extend Amari Cooper, and I’m just not seeing this offense making enough strides to help its defense make another playoff run.

32. Denver Broncos

Ah, the Broncos! The perfect marriage of Sean Payton, Bo Nix, and Troy Franklin quelled all off-season doubts, yes? NO. I’m fully accepting my ability to predict the opposite outcomes for teams, and this is the prime example. This franchise is still stewing over their financial obligations to Russell Wilson, and they missed a huge opportunity at 12th-overall in this year’s draft to add some big talent to their rebuild. Instead, Sean Payton thinks he can keep the Bo Nix/Troy Franklin connection going in the NFL, but I do not see it at all. The Broncos are my 32nd-ranked team in most categories for the time being. (Again, because I’m so “anti-Broncos,” you’re in luck Denver fans, because this means they will actually be great!)

There You Have It

The second half of Simon (from The Simon and Friends Podcast) and my off-season team vibe rankings. These are not our predictions for seasonal success, mind you, rather a look at how each franchise is “feeling” heading into training camp. Training camp, by the by, is almost here! Soon the speculation will be over!

Until then, come argue with me on X, and be sure to check out all of the great Bite Size Sports content on YouTube!

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