NFL Week 3 Power Rankings
by Alex "Moose" Strizak
Before we get into the Power Rankings and where your team ranks, a fun little exercise to test how important team building is...
I had some fun (I know I have proven my sports nerdiness through this) and created what I found to be the best combination of 1st round NFL draft picks for each position and then compare it to the best combination of undrafted NFL...well... not draft picks...
The NFL used to have 30+ round drafts so we'll say for the Undrafted team that it has to be 8th round or later to be considered an undrafted since we have 7 round drafts in the current system.
1st Rounders Offense
QB- Peyton Manning
RB- OJ Simpson
RB- Earl Campbell
FB- Jim Brown
WR- Jerry Rice
WR- Randy Moss
WR- Larry Fitzgerald
TE- Tony Gonzalez
OT- Anthony Munoz
OG- John Hannah
C- Alex Mack
OG- Randall McDaniel
OT- Jonathan Ogden
Honorable Mentions- John Elway (QB), LaDainian Tomlinson (RB), Marshall Faulk (RB), Adrian Peterson (RB), Jerome Bettis (RB), Steven Jackson (RB), Calvin Johnson (WR), Michael Irvin (WR), Marvin Harrison (WR), Kellen Winslow, Sr. (TE), Greg Olsen (TE), Gene Upshaw (OG), Orlando Pace (OT), Ron Yary (OT).
1st Rounders Defense
EDGE- Bruce Smith
DT- "Mean" Joe Greene
DT- Ed "Too Tall" Jones
EDGE- Reggie White
LB- Lawrence Taylor
LB- Derrick Thomas
LB- Dick Butkus
LB- Ray Lewis
CB- Deion Sanders
FS- Ronnie Lott
SS- Ed Reed
CB- Mike Haynes
Honorable Mentions- Lee Roy Selmon (DT), Cortez Kennedy (DT), Warren Sapp (DT), Brian Urlacher (LB), Chuck Howley (LB), Derrick Brooks (LB), Junior Seau (LB), Ty Law (CB), Darrell Green (CB), Champ Bailey (CB).
K- Sebastian Janikowski
P- Ray Guy
QB- Warren Moon
RB- Priest Holmes
RB- Joe Perry
FB- Vonta Leach
WR- Drew Pearson
WR- Rod Smith
WR- Wes Welker
TE- Antonio Gates
OT- Jason Peters
OG- Brian Waters
C- Jeff Saturday
OG- Nate Newton
OT- Roosevelt Brown
Honorable Mentions- Kurt Warner (QB), Tony Romo (QB), Joe "The Jet" Perry (RB), Arian Foster (RB), Wayne Chrebet (WR), Miles Austin (WR), Lou Groza (OT), Joe Jacoby (OT), Larry Little (OG), Jim Langer (C), Jay Hilgenberg (C)
Undrafted Defense
EDGE- Bill Willis
DT- John Randle
DT- Pat Williams
EDGE- Cameron Wake
LB- James Harrison
LB- London Fletcher
LB- Sam Mills
LB- Jessie Tuggle
CB- Willie Wood
FS- Donnie Shell
SS- Cliff Harris
CB- Dick "Night Train" Lane
Honorable Mentions- Coy Bacon (DT), Manny Fernandez (DT), Shelton Quarles (LB), Ken Houston (SS), Mike Adams (SS), Emlen Tunnell (CB), Willie Brown (CB), Emmitt Thomas (CB), Chris Harris (CB).
K- Adam Vinatieri
P- Jeff Feagles
It's just fun to show that sometimes you win the Super Bowl at the end of the draft or after the draft and not when you take Vince Young, JaMarcus Russell, or Ryan Leaf in the first round.
Because I really do like the undrafted team, especially that Offensive Line! It's difficult to bet against a team that has Jim Brown and Jerry Rice with an O-Line of 50+ Pro Bowl seasons, but I think the undrafted team could give the 1st rounders a run for their money... for the second time in their career...
Alright, let's recap my Week 2 picks before we hit the Power Rankings:
New England wasn't much of a reach for the Survivor Pick of the Week, but I'll take the dub happily into Week 3...
So, for those keeping track, I cannot use Dallas or New England as a Survivor anymore.
My Week 3 Survivor Pick of the Week is the Minnesota Vikings at home over the Oakland Raiders! This is my first little reach for the season. People are still for some reason thinking the Raiders have talent, but the Vikings defense and run game looked very stout against Green Bay and what are the odds that Cousins stinks up the joint back to back weeks?
The option I passed on was the Bears at Washington on Monday night because the Bears offense on the road has me nervous.
Power Rankings
1. New England Patriots
43-0 is an understatement as the Patriots looked like a kid playing with their food. They got their new wide receiver crew a wide variety of looks which almost felt like they were just practicing for later.
2. Los Angeles Rams +2
They had the luck of the injury bug as the Saints were dropping like flies. But their offense finally clicked and it was good to see their offense possess the ball with such a good defense in there to lock it down.
3. Kansas City Chiefs +2
They had a slow start, but the Raiders are all hype and Kansas City had no problem burying them. It was nice to see the Chiefs defense settle in second half and limit Jacobs on the ground.
4. Minnesota Vikings -1
The only reason I'm not dropping them down more is that Kirk Cousins had to play completely terrible and horrendous for Minnesota to not win the game with how well they ran the ball and adjusted on defense. Well, he succeeded in playing horribly and I don't see how he can physically do that bad ever again even if he tried. They're a dangerous team but that was a road division game that would have been so sweet to sneak out with.
5. New Orleans Saints -3
All I know is Bridgewater is definitely not the answer. I'd rather see Taysom Hill running weird "trickoration" plays all game than what I saw this Sunday... That being said, it's become apparent that no Brees means no Super Bowl for the Saints... But the team has enough talent to keep them in the playoff race for a hopeful Drew Brees return.
6. Houston Texans
What a grind of a win. But I am a Gardner Minshew II fan and that Jacksonville defense is no joke. But they got the win which was the important part as they look to get a lead on this division after the Colts and Titans have now made this anyone's division to take.
7. Baltimore Ravens
Kyler Murray gave them a bit of a scare but they prevailed. This team has been in the Top 10 on this Power Ranking list all season for a reason. They mean business and the AFC North is theirs if they want it.
8. Dallas Cowboys +1
Great game after another slow start. Zeke looks great with a paycheck and Prescott looks even better playing for one. Their defense continues to show up and they have me thinking more and more about a playoff run... I know, I can barely even believe I'm saying it!
9. San Francisco 49ers +1
I warned you last week that they clicked and are here to stay. They took care of business on the road in a game where little people gave the Niners the respect they deserved. A blowout win definitely does the trick, and luckily for them they'll be welcoming in a totally lost Steelers team next week which looked a lot different on the schedule heading into the season.
10. Indianapolis Colts +4
They are a good team. But I'm not sure if they're great. I had them beating the Titans on the road and they came through in a grind of a game. Their division is not easy, so they have a lot of tough games ahead of them that may slide them down this list... Or up it...
11. Seattle Seahawks +4
Russell Wilson does it again and I give up. I drafted him in my fantasy league and am moving the Seahawks up my list and just not asking questions anymore.
12. Green Bay Packers +4
They got lucky. The question is how lucky are they feeling, punk. They did everything they could to lose and Cousins threw them the game repeatedly and literally. It's a long season and that was their home game against Minnesota, let's see how they do after this cookie of a game they have against Denver.
13. Philadelphia Eagles -5
So many injuries and Philly finally hit a speed bump when trying to come from behind. They looked like they had way too many holes in their game on offense and defense for my liking, which makes Dallas my new favorite to win the division. If Wentz doesn't play like an MVP, this team isn't going to the playoffs.
14. Buffalo Bills +3
Good for them being 2-0. What I still can't believe is that 3 out of 4 analysts for NFL Network picked the Giants to beat the Bills... No respect. But the Bills have some serious talent and a gutter of a division where they could sneak 4 wins out and put them in Wild Card contention.
15. Jacksonville Jaguars -4
Minshew turned it on late but the 2 point conversion didn't go. I liked the called to go for the dub but that's the risk you take. They're a good team, just a tough schedule to start so they may see an upswing the analysts won't be expecting.
16. Atlanta Falcons +5
An ugly win is still a win. I like what I saw in how they adjusted to take down Philly. They are a serious Wild Card threat if they can stay healthy.
Another ugly offensive performance, but they got a win out of it. Everyone in Chicago can exhale for this week as their kicker crushed one through the uprights, but it's on to a big Week 3 matchup on Monday night against Washington that almost feels like a must-win with the way Minnesota and Green Bay look.
18. Tennessee Titans
They took a tough loss against a tough Colts team that continues to win me over. Their division is weaker than it should have been, but it's still a tough road ahead for all involved in the AFC South.
19. Los Angeles Chargers -7
They're back! Just in case you were wondering if this was finally a Charger team that could survive injuries and heartbreak, they go out and throw an absolute dud against Detroit. Inexcusable and it will hurt them down the line when competing for a Wild Card playoff spot with the AFC South, Cleveland, and Buffalo.
20. Cleveland Browns -1
They got to take advantage of a depleted Jets team that now doesn't even have their backup QB... The Browns schedule is absolutely BRUTAL until their bye (LAR, @BAL, @SF, SEA). If they can find a way to go 2-2 these next 4 weeks, then I'll put them in the Wild Card contention... but it doesn't look very promising...
21. Pittsburgh Steelers +1
Oy vey. Big Ben goes down and the offense wakes up a bit. It just doesn't look like they are a serious contender and then they go out and trade AWAY a draft pick? The trade moves them up one spot on this week's list but regresses their future value... Good for them thinking they still have a shot to win this year, but it looks a bit arrogant and may sting later on.
22. Detroit Lions +6
They took advantage of a poor performance by the Chargers and now have perfectly set themselves up to miss the playoffs by a half-game because they blew it and tied Arizona in Week 1... It's so "Lions" of them!
23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers +8
OK Tampa, I see you workin'... Jameis Winston still has his woes, but that defense is legit and the running game FINALLY did something. Control the ball and this team could be your sneaky Wild Card team due to a declining Panthers team and a banged-up Saints team. Who knows what could happen if they sneak out another road division game...
24. Oakland Raiders -1
I mentioned last week that this was going to happen... They beat a bad Denver team and most Power Rankings shot them up to a Top-15 team which is a joke. Kansas City made it look easy, and the Raiders aren't even close to being a playoff threat. Hot take (which it shouldn't really be).
25. Arizona Cardinals +1
Kyler Murray is definitely the best QB in the 2019 draft so far, but his O-line sure isn't helping. If he can stay upright, the Cardinals may sneak out a few victories.
26. Washington Redskins -2
Tough Cowboys team to play against and they just got outmatched. The good news is that they may be able to draft to some good players in next year's draft.
27. Denver Broncos
They got screwed by the refs, but that doesn't explain why their offense is still abysmal. If it weren't for Phillip Lindsay, this team would have negative yardage (Don't get too dramatic, Alex)... But they are one step closer to drafting Herbert or Tagovailo with Herbert being my favorite... That is, unless Cincinnati and Miami beat them to it...
28. Carolina Panthers -8
They took the Steelers "Oy vey" to a new level. They have a lot of talent and it looks like the coaching staff has no idea how to use it. That'll cost ya and you'll start 0-2 because of it.
29. Cincinnati Bengals
They have a long way to go and they just ran right into a team that has been rebuilding correctly. Progress is beginning to show for some, while other teams continue to be haunted by past mistakes.
30. New York Jets -5
They're banged up and weren't that good in the first place. It's a long road ahead for Lev Bell and the Jets. The only positive is that I have them higher than the Giants on this list (yay!).
31. New York Giants -1
Daniel Jones is getting his first career start at Tampa Bay. That defense is no joke and I'll be reaaaaaal interested to see how he handles their schemes and rushes... And if he can't handle it, I'll be reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal interested to see how Giants fans handle that.
32. Miami Dolphins
Every loss is one step closer to Herbert as the 2020-21 starting QB of the Miami Dolphins unless they blow that decision, too and trade the draft pick away to "bet on Josh Rosen." Oh, and they got a free first-round pick from the Steelers which is progress!
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