Defense / Special Teams
Preseason
| rank | name | bye | skinny |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia Eagles | 8 | Last years # 1 |
| 2 | Green Bay Packers | 10 | Looks strong |
| 3 | Baltimore Ravens | 8 | Still top tier |
| 4 | Minnesota Vikings | 4 | |
| 5 | New York Jets | 7 | The popular # 1 pick |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | Will try to win games early |
| 7 | Dallas Cowboys | 4 | |
| 8 | New Orleans Saints | 10 | Faded down stretch last year |
| 9 | New England Patriots | 5 | Just so so |
| 10 | San Francisco 49'ers | 9 | |
| 11 | San Diego Chargers | 10 | Could surprise |
| 12 | Denver Broncos | 9 | |
| 13 | New York Giants | 8 | |
| 14 | Houston Texans | 7 | |
| 15 | Chicago Bears | 8 | |
| 16 | Cincinnati Bengals | 6 | Sleeper? |
| 17 | Cleveland Browns | 8 | |
| 18 | Atlanta Falcons | 8 | |
| 19 | Indianapolis Colts | 7 | Good in spots |
| 20 | Tennessee Titans | 9 | |
| 21 | Miami Dolphins | 5 | |
| 22 | Buffalo Bills | 6 | |
| 23 | Arizona Cardinals | 6 | |
| 24 | Tampa Bay Bucaneers | 4 | |
| 25 | Kansas City Chiefs | 4 | |
| 26 | Seattle Seahawks | 5 | |
| 27 | Carolina Panthers | 6 | |
| 28 | Washington Redskins | 9 | Not good |
| 29 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 9 | |
| 30 | Oakland Raiders | 10 | Has potential to do better than this |
| 31 | Detroit Lions | 7 | |
| 32 | St. Louis Rams | 9 |