An honest pre-camp full 2022 NFL Power Ranking: Where does Miami land?

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals probably could be ranked higher but I can’t believe it just yet. An improbable run in 2021 was impressive but can it be sustained? The tools are there and they could climb quickly. Burrow needs to continue to move forward but this year’s Bengals will need the defense to continue to dominate. It should be a decent run to the top of the division but not without competition.

Justin Herbert has the Chargers trending for all the right reasons but a record-setting first two seasons has netted the Chargers no playoff births. That is something that will eventually fall on the shoulder and arm of Herbert. The Chargers made solid moves this off-season and improved on defense considerably but now they have to put it all together.

The L.A. Raiders could go up or drop down quickly. They have a talented roster and went out and got weapons for Derek Carr. The defense is good enough to compete in the West but they are not going to be as consistent as they should be. The AFC West could be the best division in all of the NFL this year and this would put the Raiders at the bottom of that division but it is a small gap to overcome.

The Broncos have shot up the power ranking charts after their big trade with the Seahawks for Russell Wilson. I’m not sure I buy into Wilson making the Broncos so much better that they jump higher as some ranking has put them. For now, until we see what they are on the field on both sides of the ball, top 10 is pushing it for me but they have the talent on paper for the most part but also a tough division, something Wilson is accustomed to.

Rounding out our top 10 is the Cardinals and honestly, I think this is going to prove to be wrong and they will fall out of the top 15 by the end of the first month. The Cardinals are a ride-and-die team with Kyler Murray and I’m not a big fan of Murray. Can the defense improve enough to keep them in contention? Maybe but I’m not sure.