NFL Power Rankings 2016: How League Stacks Up Heading into Week 3 of Preseason

The preseason is an interesting time for NFL fans. People finally get to watch their their favorite teams for the first time in several months, but it’s sometimes hard to tell what they can actually take away. It’s not right to make sweeping conclusions, but it’s also not good to ignore everything that happens.

With Week 3 of the preseason mostly ahead of us, let’s take a stab at ranking all 32 teams in the league. We’ll focus specifically on three teams that seem most poised to take big leaps from the 2015 season.

Notable Team Rankings

Oakland Raiders (No. 10)

Since losing Super Bowl XXXVII to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13 seasons ago, the Raiders have gone 63-145, never once achieving a winning record. That should change this season.

Derek Carr is the best quarterback the team has had since Rich Gannon in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and he’s got the weapons around him to flourish. Running back Latavius Murray and wide receiver Amari Cooper are a budding young skill-position combination, and the offensive line is stacked with quality talent.

On defense, the squad is good and balanced. It’s hard not to mention Khalil Mack and “one-man wrecking crew” in the same sentence (see, I couldn’t do it), as the 25-year-old defensive end emerged as one of the league’s game-changing defensive players last season. The team’s climb up the league is becoming more apparent by its ability to sign key defensive free agents, as they did with cornerback Sean Smith and …

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