AFC power rankings, pre-training camp edition: Chiefs, Bengals and then who else?
The start of training camp is fast approaching, not just for the Browns but for the entire NFL.
Many of those teams will open camp with expectations of playing football well past Week 18. One of those teams is the Browns.
There are, however, various levels for the teams around the league. Some, like the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, are in the category of unquestioned elites.
Others, like the Browns, fall into a more complicated category. They're in that group of teams who could find themselves playing deep into January, or they could once again be done when the regular season concludes.
For the Browns, the main challenge is themselves and answering the many questions that remain, most notably about quarterback Deshaun Watson. However, their other challenge is the AFC, which is as deep as ever in terms of teams capable of contending for playoff berths.
With that in mind, it's time to introduce our own version of the power rankings. Specifically, these power rankings only take the AFC into account, since it's the AFC where the Browns reside and it's in the race for the AFC playoffs they're participating.
It's not Green Bay, Tampa Bay or Seattle the Browns need to climb over in the standings to get into the playoffs, although they would be helped by a late-October win in Seattle. So the NFC is left off this list.
These rankings will be updated at the conclusion of the preseason, and then weekly once the regular season gets started. They're not a projection as much as a snapshot of the moment, meaning fluctuation should be expected.
On to the rankings, starting with the obvious choice for No. 1.
1. Kansas City Chiefs
2022 season: 14-3, AFC West champions, Super Bowl champions
Training camp report dates/location: July 18 rookies/July 22 veterans at Missouri Western State University, St, Joseph, Mo.
Why this spot: If you have to ask, have you even been watching the NFL the last five years? Two Super Bowl championships, three AFC championships and five AFC Championship Game appearances in the last five years. A generational quarterback (Patrick Mahomes), a future Hall of Fame tight end (Travis Kelce), arguably the greatest offensive head coach in the history of the game (Andy Reid) and a defense that has gotten significantly better over that span. The Chiefs are the standard in the sport until someone can consistently dethrone them in the playoffs.
2. Cincinnati Bengals
2022 season: 12-4, AFC North champions, lost to Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game
Training camp report dates/location: July 22 rookies/July 25 veterans at Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati
Why this spot: The only team in the AFC to have consistently stood toe-to-toe with the Chiefs the last two seasons, either in the regular season or playoffs. The only team in the AFC to have beaten Kansas City in the playoffs in the last four years, in Kansas City no less. A highlight-reel offense led by Joe Burrow, JaMarr Chase, Tee Higgins and an line that now includes Orlando Brown Jr. The Bengals aren't without questions or challengers, especially in the AFC North, but it's not foolish to start training camp with them right behind the team that prevented them from making back-to-back Super Bowl appearances.
3. Buffalo Bills
2022 season: 13-3, AFC East champions, lost to Bengals in AFC divisional round
Training camp report dates/location: July 18 rookies/July 25 veterans at St. John Fisher University, Rochester, N.Y.
Why this spot: If you ask about the point in these power rankings where things can start to really be debated, this may be the spot. No question that the Bills should be one of the AFC's elite teams. They have the requisite quarterback in Josh Allen to be in that tier. They have a dynamic playmaker in Stefon Diggs, assuming the Bills have smoothed over the offseason issues that existed with the receiver. They have a defense that has the potential to be devastating, especially if pass rusher Von Miller can make a successful return from the knee injury he sustained last November. Still, the Bills feel as if they're in a tenuous place where they're not quite at the level of the two teams above them, and potentially a target to be jumped by a team or two beneath them as well.
4. Baltimore Ravens
2022 season: 10-7, AFC wild card, lost to Bengals in AFC wild card round
Training camp report dates/location: July 18 rookies/July 22 veterans at team facility in Owings Mills, Md.
Why this spot: Training camp hasn't started yet, which means the Ravens are healthy. That's the critical piece of information behind this ranking. A healthy Baltimore team is a dangerous Baltimore team. It obviously starts with Lamar Jackson at quarterback. When Jackson is in the lineup, the Ravens are a legit Super Bowl contender. When he's not, they're barely a playoff team. Jackson is healthy and happy now that he's received the contract he's desired from the franchise. If he can stay that way, along with several of his top offensive weapons, the Ravens can challenge the AFC's best. You can add in a defense that found a new level with the addition of Roquan Smith last year. It all makes for a team that should be a contender in the AFC North and, thus, the AFC writ large. If, as has been the case the last couple of years that an key injury or two crop up, then all bets are off.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars
2022 season: 9-8, AFC South champions, lost to Chiefs in AFC divisional round
Training camp report dates/location: July 21 rookies/July 25 veterans at Miller Electric Field, Jacksonville
Why this spot: The Jaguars are another year older, specifically their quarterback, Trevor Lawrence. A receiving corps that was solid last year adds a potential game-changer as Calvin Ridley — whom they acquired in a trade from the Atlanta Falcons — has been reinstated from the suspension list after missing all of last year due to gambling. They do lose left tackle Cam Robinson for the first four games of the season for a PED suspension. Still, the bet is on Jacksonville to remain a viable AFC contender, especially as the rest of the AFC South seems to be in various stages of rebuilding.
6. Los Angeles Chargers
2022 season: 9-8, AFC wild card, lost to Jaguars in AFC wild card round
Training camp report dates/location: July 18 rookies/July 25 veterans at Jack Hammett Sports Complex, Costa Mesa, Calif.
Why this spot: It's because they have Justin Herbert at quarterback, kept Austin Ekeler despite the talented multi-purpose back wanting to be moved and should have a healthy Joey Bosa to anchor the defense. There were at least three other teams who were contemplated for this spot. There are probably three other teams who belong in this spot if this ranking was written two days earlier or two days later. It was written when it was written and the feeling at the time was to give a benefit of the doubt to a team that has the talent to win playoff games if their coach could just stay out of the way.
7. Miami Dolphins
2022 season: 9-8
Training camp report dates/location: July 18 rookies/July 25 veterans at team facility in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Why this spot: This is one of the teams who could very well end up much higher on this list, even as early as the next edition of the rankings before the season. The question will constantly hinge on the quarterback position. Can Tua Tagovailoa stay healthy? Can Tagovailoa play the way he was playing for the first half or so of last season, when there were some whispers for him in the MVP conversation? The Dolphins have acted like a team that knows they have a chance to do something special if they put it all together. Well, they certainly will have a chance to prove it.
8. New York Jets
2022 season: 7-10
Training camp report dates/location: July 19 rookies/July 19 veterans at team facility in Florham Park, N.J.
Why this spot: Not sure if you heard — and if you haven't, oh, what a glorious world you must live in — but the Jets went out this offseason and acquired themselves a quarterback of some repute. Nope, that wasn't some hallucinogenic trip you were on. Aaron Rodgers is now with the Jets after being traded there by the Packers. Much like an Adam Sandler movie must always include a collection of the same actors, Rodgers has brought along the likes of Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard to the Jets. Why this could actually turn out to be too low for New York/New Jersey's AFC team is because of a number of really good young players who were either already here — Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson and Defensive Rookie of the Year Sauce Gardner at the top of the list — or who, like ex-Chief Mecole Hardman, were added. If it all comes together, the Jets legitimately could take off toward the top of these rankings. However, there's also a level of bust that could exist with this as well.
9. Cleveland Browns
2022 season: 7-10
Training camp report dates/location: July 19 rookies/July 21 veterans at team facility in Berea
Why this spot: Much like the teams directly in front of them, the Browns are a volatile team to pick at this moment. That's because there's a world in which they can actually win the AFC North and potentially cross paths with Kansas City in the AFC title game. There's also a world in which they do what they've done more often than not over the last 24 years, which is disappoint their fans and open the door for yet more changes among the coaching staff and front office. The Browns legitimately rise up into the tier of AFC contenders if Deshaun Watson takes a big step back toward being the quarterback he was in 2019 and 2020 with the Houston Texans, and the defense takes a big step forward under new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. The Browns remain in the mix of mediocrity or worse if Watson looks a lot like he did during his six-game stretch last year and the defense duplicates its performance from last season.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers
2022 season: 9-8
Training camp report dates/location: July 26 rookies/July 26 veterans at St. Vincent College, Latrobe, Pa.
Why this spot: It's been 20 years since the Pittsburgh Steelers have had a losing record. Sure, most of that stretch they also boasted a roster that included multiple future Hall of Famers. However, that wasn't necessarily the case last year when they rebounded from a 2-6 start to be within a whisker of going to the playoffs. The Steelers still boast a defense with two of the NFL's best at their positions in T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Stop if you've heard this before, but it's going to be about the quarterback as to where Pittsburgh ultimately goes this season. There are some who believe second-year pro Kenny Pickett is Ben Roethlisberger's heir apparent. If they're right, woo boy, what a four-way fight the AFC North is going to be. If they're wrong, well, someone has to finish fourth in the division.
11. New England Patriots
2022 season: 8-9
Training camp report dates/location: July 21 rookies/July 25 veterans at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
Why this spot: It feels weird to have the Patriots of Bill Belichick this far down an AFC-only rankings. Yet, is it necessarily wrong? That's hard to answer because it's hard to say exactly what New England is right now. There is a world in which Mac Jones looks like an above-average NFL quarterback, Rhamondre Stevenson is one of the most-efficient backs in the NFL and the defense gets back to playing the Patriots' way. There's also a world in which, as with Pittsburgh, the long-time divisional standard-bearer has to deal with the haunting realities that it has been passed by the others.
12. Tennessee Titans
2022 season: 7-10
Training camp report dates/location: July 22 rookies/July 25 veterans at team facility in Nashville
Why this spot: This team was a win away from the AFC South championship and a playoff appearance last year. Now, at least in these rankings, they're seven spots lower than the Jacksonville team that beat them in the season finale to steal that division crown. One doesn't feel quite right betting against former Walsh Jesuit and Ohio State standout Mike Vrabel figuring things out, because that's what the Titans coach just does. Outside of Derrick Henry continuing to defy logic with the kind of seasons he's put up rushing the ball and a defense getting back to its nasty roots, that just doesn't seem plausible this time around. Then again, that's exactly when the Titans seem to be their most dangerous.
13. Denver Broncos
2022 season: 5-12
Training camp report dates/location: July 19 rookies/July 25 veterans at team facility in Englewood, Colo.
Why this spot: The Broncos landed one of the biggest offseason acquisitions when they traded for the rights to coach Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints. That's the point where the optimism begins. Now can he turn around quarterback Russell Wilson, maybe by taking a little (or a lot) off his plate in the offense?
14. Indianapolis Colts
2022 season: 4-12-1
Training camp report dates/location: July 25 rookies/July 25 veterans at Grand Park, Westfield, Ind.
Why this spot: There are the bones of a playoff contender on the Colts roster. There's also the potential to be right back where they were a year ago, which is as one of the five worst teams in the NFL. First-year head coach Shane Steichen is tasked with retrofitting the former in order to avoid the latter. If first-round quarterback Anthony Richardson plays and is somewhat close to the messianic hype around him, then watch out for the Colts. If Richardson plays and is somewhat close to what he was through an inconsistent college career, then the Colts are going to be a tough watch.
15. Las Vegas Raiders
2022 season: 6-11
Training camp report dates/location: July 20 rookies/July 25 veterans at team facility in Henderson, Nev.
Why this spot: Former Canton McKinley standout Josh McDaniels starts his second year in his second head-coaching stint with questions abounding, starting with the quarterback. The Raiders signed Jimmy Garoppolo as a free agent and, of course, there's immediately questions about an injury that may cost him playing time. Brian Hoyer, another McDaniels favorite from his Patriots days, is the listed backup ahead of rookie Aidan O'Connell. Josh Jacobs has been frustrated despite coming off an NFL rushing title. Maxx Crosby is still a high-quality player to anchor a defense.
16. Houston Texans
2022 season: 3-13-1
Training camp report dates/location: July 25 rookies/July 25 veterans at team facility in Houston
Why this spot: The pathway forward and back toward respectability doesn't feel far-fetched with the Texans. They crushed the first round of the draft by taking quarterback C.J. Stroud and edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. Second-year back Dameon Pierce is a great piece to anchor a running game around, while receiver John Metchie III is hopeful to finally make his NFL debut after missing his rookie season after a diagnosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia. First-year coach DeMeco Ryans won the press conference with his hire and his personality. The bet is he'll also win a few games this year.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Chiefs, Bengals lead pre-training camp version of AFC power rankings
