The 2019 NFL offseason saw many personnel changes for all 32 teams, and each roster looks a bit different than it did a year ago.
We dove into the Pro Football Focus database and ranked every roster as it stands right now, focusing on the expected starters. PFF grades every player on every play of every game of the NFL season, allowing us a comprehensive look at what each player has to offer for the upcoming season. Projected starting lineups on offense and defense are provided, including our player grades from the 2018 season.
Jump to a team:
AFC East: BUF | MIA | NE | NYJ
AFC North: BAL | CIN | CLE | PIT
AFC South: HOU | IND | JAX | TEN
AFC West: DEN | KC | LAC | OAK
NFC East: DAL | NYG | PHI | WSH
NFC North: CHI | DET | GB | MIN
NFC South: ATL | CAR | NO | TB
NFC West: ARI | LAR | SF | SEA
1. New England Patriots
Biggest strength: Perhaps the greatest quarterback to play the position continues to produce at an elite level, as Tom Brady led his team to another Super Bowl victory a season ago. The defending champs will lean on their quarterback who, even at 41 years old, showed off all the throws in 2018 and finished with an elite PFF grade (90.7) for the fourth straight season. His game might have changed over the years, but his ability remains high-end.
Biggest weakness: The Patriots have long lacked a true pass-rushing threat along the edge. Coupled with the loss of Trey Flowers and Adrian Clayborn this offseason, this unit once again sticks out. Outside of Flowers and Clayborn, no Patriots edge defender had more than 30 QB pressures a season ago, as the returning unit brings back only nine sacks, 12 QB hits and 42 QB hurries on a combined 697 pass rushes.
X factor for 2019: Deatrich Wise Jr. is set to lead the Patriots' edge group in Year 3 despite recording just 80 career pressures over two seasons, winning just 12.1% and 13.3% of his pass rushes, respectively. The tools are there, though, as he generated pressure on 16.7% of his pass-rush attempts while winning 18.0% of his pass rushes during his final season at Arkansas back in 2016.
2. Los Angeles Rams
Biggest strength: Aaron Donald finished each of the past four seasons as the league's highest-graded interior defender. And last year was Donald's best season yet, as he earned a monstrous overall grade of 95.0 and recorded a mind-boggling 113 total pressures to lead interior defensive linemen by a handsome margin in both categories. He is a one-man wrecking crew, which will continue in 2019.
Biggest weakness: It's tough to find a weakness on the Rams' loaded defense, but collective run defense is probably it. Sure, they have Donald, but it wouldn't hurt to get better against the run at other positions. Consider that the Patriots gained 154 rushing yards in the Super Bowl, and forced seven missed tackles. Aside from Donald, only one other Rams front-seven member earned a run-defense grade above 80.0 last season. That was Ndamukong Suh, who has left town.
X factor for 2019: Jared Goff is coming off a great season in which he earned an overall grade of 84.3, ranking eighth among quarterbacks, but struggled mightily in the Super Bowl loss to the Patriots. The Rams have an excellent coaching staff, a loaded roster and Super Bowl experience, but they will get only as far as Goff allows them to. The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, and if Goff can continue to improve, the Rams might get back to the big game. Goff's clean-pocket passing ability ranked third in overall grade in 2018 and is an extremely strong and stable metric for looking at year-to-year production.
3. New Orleans Saints
Biggest strength: Drew Brees continues to be one of the league's best quarterbacks. He led the league in adjusted completion percentage in 2018, setting the PFF record at 82.2% during the regular season. PFF's adjusted completion percentage removes outside factors that hurt general completion percentage that are not the quarterback's fault, such as drops, spiked balls, throwaways, etc. Brees threw a catchable pass on 82.2% of his dropbacks, by far the highest percentage in the league. Kirk Cousins was second at 79.5%.
Biggest weakness: Center is a glaring weak spot along the offensive line, as New Orleans will bank on Nick Easton transitioning from guard in his first season with the team after two injury-filled seasons with the Vikings. For his career, Easton has an overall grade of just 57.5, which ranks in the bottom sixth of guards since he joined the league. The Saints also drafted Erik McCoy out of Texas A&M, and he could see some snaps at center this season.
X factor for 2019: Michael Thomas was targeted the most on passes in the short area of the field (1-9 yards past the line of scrimmage) last season, seeing 97 such throws come his way. He led the league in receptions (88), yards (709), combined first-down and touchdown receptions (41) and contested catches (13) in the short area. He's the league's highest-graded short-area receiver by a considerable margin. As Brees' game evolves, Thomas becomes an increasingly important factor in the Saints' game plan.
4. Philadelphia Eagles
Biggest strength: Fletcher Cox would likely be considered the NFL's best defensive player if Aaron Donald weren't in the league. Still, Cox is the second-best interior defensive lineman in the league and arguably the second-best defensive player in the NFL. Last season saw him finish second in total pressures (101), pressure rate (16.0%) and pass-rush win percentage (20.1) behind Donald but leaps and bounds above the next-best defender.
Biggest weakness: The Eagles basically fielded a group of off-the-street defensive backs last season after injuries ravaged their secondary. Depth at the position is still lacking, which mirrors the shortage of quality defensive backs in the league as a whole. Their likely starters -- Ronald Darby, Jalen Mills and Sidney Jones -- finished last season by allowing 62.0, 65.3 and 67.4% of passes thrown in their direction to be caught, respectively. They'll have to stay healthy and improve for the Eagles to field a top-half coverage unit.
X factor for 2019: Avonte Maddox. The former fourth-rounder struggled from a grading perspective as a rookie last season but did show a penchant for limiting receivers in his coverage. In fact, he led all cornerbacks by allowing a reception just once every 21.7 snaps he spent in coverage and limited opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of just 59.9 when targeted.
5. Chicago Bears
Biggest strength: Eddie Jackson was named PFF's top coverage defender a season ago after he dismantled opposing game plans. He was by far the league's highest-graded safety in 2018, and of the 44 targets in which he was the primary coverage defender during the regular season, he allowed only 24 receptions while intercepting six passes and breaking up eight more.
Biggest weakness: The Bears will likely go only as far as their quarterback will allow them and hope for a much better performance from Mitchell Trubisky in 2019. He finished with just the 31st-highest quarterback grade last season and led the league with 11 interceptions from a clean pocket. Clean pocket performance, of course, is one of the more stable metrics from year to year in the NFL.
X factor for 2019: Tarik Cohen is a threat out of the backfield in the passing game. In order to improve his quarterback's efficiency, he should be looked at early and often this season. He finished fourth among running backs by combining for 30 first downs and touchdowns through the air. He averaged 7.6 yards after the catch and forced 16 missed tackles on 71 receptions. With rookie David Montgomery the likely team leader in carries, Cohen's best usage should come via the passing game, which should help Trubisky.
6. Los Angeles Chargers
Biggest strength: Casey Hayward and Desmond King form arguably the best cornerback duo in the league. King earned a coverage grade of 91.1 last season, leading all cornerbacks, while Hayward had a grade of 77.7, ranking 20th out of 131 qualifiers. And Hayward led the league with a 92.1 coverage grade in 2017. Expect him to bounce back, as he has consistently graded among the top cornerbacks since joining the league in 2012.
Biggest weakness: The Chargers' offensive line hasn't helped Philip Rivers much lately, as it ranked No. 29 in pass-blocking efficiency last season, allowing 185 total pressures (26 sacks, 34 hits and 125 hurries) on 552 pass-blocking snaps. Make no mistake, Rivers can play well when pressured, but providing a clean pocket for the veteran quarterback should be a priority heading into 2019.
X factor for 2019: Mike Williams made some serious noise in his sophomore season, as he earned a receiving grade of 81.3, ranking 17th out of 108 qualifying wide receivers. Williams was targeted 64 times last season and generated a passer rating of 134.4, the fifth-best mark among receivers in 2018. Playing alongside Keenan Allen, Melvin Gordon and a returning Hunter Henry, look for Williams to take advantage as opposing defenses focus on the Chargers' big three.
7. Kansas City Chiefs
Biggest strength: While Chris Jones anchors the defensive line, the Chiefs' clear strength will be quarterback Patrick Mahomes. No quarterback came close to the kind of success Mahomes had on the deep ball in 2018, racking up 1,514 deep passing yards, over 350 more than the next-closest QB. His 51.1% adjusted completion percentage also ranked as a top-five figure, but he was just as efficient across all levels of the field. He had the NFL's second-highest passing grade on throws to the short area (1-9 yards), fourth-highest on intermediate throws (10-19) and second-highest on deep throws (20-plus yards).
Biggest weakness: The Chiefs' pass rush took a hit when they lost Dee Ford and Justin Houston, who combined for 137 QB pressures and 28 sacks last season, but the addition of Frank Clark should help fix part of that. While Kansas City needs one of its other edge players to emerge, it is no surprise to anyone who watched the Chiefs last season that their coverage was their biggest weakness. While the addition of Tyrann Mathieu helps ease their losses at safety, cornerback Kendall Fuller gave up more yards in his coverage than all but two other corners in 2018.
X factor for 2019: Damien Williams. Cast in a likely feature role in 2019, Williams will look to bring more of what he flashed a season ago, as he averaged 4.9 yards per carry and 2.62 yards after contact per attempt. He made his presence felt in the receiving game as well, hauling in 86.8% of the passes thrown his way and averaging 1.49 yards per route run, the 14th-highest figure in the league. More touches will only mean good things for him and the Chiefs' offense.
8. Pittsburgh Steelers
Biggest strength: The 2018 season was far from Ben Roethlisberger's finest -- only Eli Manning threw more turnover-worthy passes in the regular season -- but the Steelers have a shot as long as Roethlisberger is under center. Yet despite his proclivity for putting the ball in harm's way, the Steelers quarterback logged 42 big-time throws, second to only Patrick Mahomes, and his big-time throw percentage of 6.49% was good for fourth among the 30 QBs who threw 300 or more passes.
Biggest weakness: Once a jewel in the defense-heavy AFC North, the Steelers' secondary failed to live up to expectations in 2018. Pittsburgh's cornerbacks and safeties combined to allow a passer rating of 99.5 on throws into their coverage. That rank wasn't just tied for 20th in the league, it was also the team's second-worst single-season mark of the PFF era (since 2006). Of the eight players who played at least 100 snaps last season, only Joe Haden (70.9) graded above 70.0, so the Steelers will be looking for improvement in 2019.
X factor for 2019: JuJu Smith-Schuster. Now that Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell have taken their talents elsewhere, this passing attack's hopes rest on the shoulders of the third-year receiver. The USC product had a breakout season last year, as his 384 receiving yards from deep passes (passes of 20 or more yards downfield) were ninth most in the league, while his 660 yards after the catch was the best single-season mark by a receiver since Julio Jones in 2015. It appears that the sky is the limit for Smith-Schuster, and he'll have to show he can do it as a true No. 1 in 2019.
9. Minnesota Vikings
Biggest strength: Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen form one of the league's best pass-catching tandems, and they've paved the way for three different quarterbacks to have career years since 2016. With another year of continuity with Kirk Cousins, their ascension should continue. They ranked in the top 25 in yards per route run last season, making the Vikes one of only three teams to see two receivers record at least 550 snaps in route and still rank in the top 25.
Biggest weakness: The Vikings' interior offensive line lacked positive play in 2018, as Mike Remmers and Tom Compton each registered below-average grades and Pat Elflein was the league's lowest-graded center. The trio combined to allow 109 QB pressures, which is only 17 fewer than the Bears' entire offensive line gave up last season.
X factor for 2019: Anthony Harris. Arguably Minnesota's best defensive player last season, Harris made his biggest impact in coverage, where he saw just 13 targeted passes. Still, he recorded three interceptions and two additional pass breakups with a long reception of just 18 yards. He's on the rise, and the Vikings saw enough out of him to let Andrew Sendejo walk to the Eagles this offseason.
10. Indianapolis Colts
Biggest strength: Now finally healthy, Andrew Luck led his team into the postseason last year with stellar performances down the stretch. He ended the season with an elite overall grade of 91.2 that ranked third among qualifying quarterbacks, and his clean-pocket, big-time throw percentage of 5.4% tied for eighth among those with at least 200 clean-pocket attempts. He's as good as they come, and the Colts' offense will continue to hum as long as he's at the helm.
Biggest weakness: Entering the 2019 season, the Colts' weakness is the same as it was a season ago. Cornerback has long been the Achilles' heel of this defense. In fact, the last time a Colts corner graded above 80.0 was 2014. And while Pierre Desir -- the Colts' highest-graded cornerback in 2018 -- played admirably at times, he still ended the year with a 73.9 coverage grade, 27th among cornerbacks.
X factor for 2019: The offensive line. From 2012 to 2016, Luck was hit as he threw a whopping 50 times, which is still a record high for a quarterback in his first five years in the league. Over that same span, he was either sacked or hit in the pocket a staggering 207 times, 34 more than the next-closest quarterback. Last season was a different story, however. He was kept clean from pressure on 70.5% of his dropbacks and was sacked just 18 times. The effects of an improved offensive line were obvious, and it's imperative that it continues this excellent work this season.
11. Atlanta Falcons
Biggest strength: Only two offensive players have received overall grades of 90.0 or higher in each of the past four seasons -- Tom Brady and Julio Jones. Jones ended the 2018 campaign with 113 catches for 1,677 receiving yards from 573 snaps in-route. His average of 2.93 yards per route run ranked first among receivers with at least 200 routes run, and it's also the fourth-highest such mark since 2015. In fact, the only marks ahead are Jones' performances each season from 2015-17. He is among the best to ever play the position, and there's nothing to suggest that he won't be at the top once again in 2019.
Biggest weakness: Atlanta has one of the NFL's best young interior pass-rushers in Grady Jarrett, as only Chris Jones, Fletcher Cox and Aaron Donald had a higher pass-rush win rate last year than Jarrett's 16.6%. But outside of him, this pass rush leaves a lot to be desired. Over the previous two seasons, neither Takkarist McKinley nor Vic Beasley Jr. have recorded a pass-rush grade above 70.0. The team's edge rushers combined to produce pressure on just 19.0% of their pass-rush snaps last season, which ranked 25th among edge groups.
X factor for 2019: Deion Jones. If the 2018 season showed us anything, it was just how important Jones is to the Falcons' defense. In 2017, Jones and the rest of the Falcons linebackers combined to allow a passer rating of just 92.4 on throws into their coverage, and 32.8% of those targets resulted in either a forced incompletion or a defensive stop. With Jones out in 2018, the Falcons' linebackers allowed a passer rating of 124.3, and only 25.0% of their targets resulted in a forced incompletion or a defensive stop. There is no question that Jones is one of the league's best coverage linebackers, and his ability to buoy this defense shouldn't be overlooked.
12. Dallas Cowboys
Biggest strength: The Cowboys' offensive line last season without center Travis Frederick wasn't as great as it usually is, but it was still pretty good. As a team, the Cowboys had the 13th-best run-blocking grade in the league, down from fourth-best in 2017 but still above average. Right guard Zack Martin earned the second-best overall grade (80.5) among guards and left tackle Tyron Smith earned the 10th-best overall grade (78.9) among offensive tackles. Things should only get better with Frederick's return.
Biggest weakness: At this time last season, the Cowboys' biggest weakness was their wide receiver corps, but the arrival of Amari Cooper was a huge help in the second half of 2018. However, Dallas could still use more weapons there. As a team, the Cowboys had the 16th-best receiving grade (75.4) in the NFL last year, something they can improve upon as they evaluate Dak Prescott's long-term future at quarterback.
X factor for 2019: Travis Frederick was arguably the best center in the NFL before missing all of last season. Concerns always surround guys who miss an entire season, and Frederick's performance in his return will play a big part in whether the Cowboys can seriously contend for a championship. With Frederick in the lineup in 2017, the Cowboys allowed just 72 total pressures from the interior, which was the seventh-best mark in the NFL. That number jumped all the way up to 108 last season, ranking 25th. Frederick's return should open up more running lanes and also prevent Prescott from getting too much pressure up the middle.
13. Seattle Seahawks
Biggest strength: Russell Wilson had one of his best seasons last year in Seattle's run-heavy offense, as evidenced by his second-best single-season overall grade (89.2). Wilson has a big-time throw percentage of 6.79% since joining the NFL in 2012, leading all qualifying quarterbacks. To make things even scarier for opposing defenses, Wilson has great weapons in Tyler Lockett and newly drafted DK Metcalf to help him reach an even higher level in 2019.
Biggest weakness: Despite a strong start, Seattle's offensive line ended up in the bottom half in pass-blocking efficiency for the sixth straight season. As a unit, it allowed 132 total pressures on 502 pass-blocking snaps. If the offensive line gives Wilson a clean pocket at a league-high rate, there's no telling what he can do, as he consistently ranks among the top of the NFL in passer rating from a clean pocket.
X factor for 2019: Shaquill Griffin is a supremely talented cornerback who will need to play up to his potential if the Seahawks ever want to create a new Legion of Boom. He earned a coverage grade of just 51.9 last season, ranking 116th out of 131 qualifying cornerbacks, so Griffin's progression will be something to watch going into his third season.
14. Green Bay Packers
Biggest strength: No matter the head coach or offense, this team's strength will always be a healthy Aaron Rodgers. One of the best in the NFL at providing the big play and avoiding the bad ones, Rodgers' big-time throw percentage of 5.9% ranked fifth among 30 quarterbacks who attempted 300 or more passes last year, while his turnover-worthy play percentage of 1.2% ranked first. Rodgers attempted 91 deep passes last year, and not a single one was deemed to be turnover-worthy. In the PFF era, only two other quarterbacks attempted 50 or more deep passes over the course of a season without a single one of them being turnover-worthy: Brett Favre in 2009, and Rodgers in 2015.
Biggest weakness: The Packers have one of the best wide receivers in the league in Davante Adams, but outside of him, this receiving corps is a shadow of its former self. Geronimo Allison, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown all showed flashes at times last season, but inconsistency was a huge problem. All of them graded below 65.0.
X factor for 2019: Jaire Alexander. The Packers haven't had a top-tier playmaker in the secondary since Casey Hayward left after the 2015 season, but that looks to be changing now that Alexander is in town. He contested a league-high 36% of his targeted throws as a rookie in 2018, and his incredible Week 8 performance against the Rams -- when he broke up five of the nine passes that were thrown into his coverage -- showed the impact he can have on the back end of the defense.
15. Houston Texans
Biggest strength: A year ago, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins treated us to one of the best seasons that we have ever seen from a wide receiver. His 91.8 overall grade ranked first among qualifying players at the position. He also set the PFF record for most catchable passes thrown his way without a drop, with his mark of 115 crushing the previous high of 60 (Randall Cobb, 2016). Hopkins was one of the most valuable non-quarterbacks in the league in 2018 and stands to pick up right where he left off.
Biggest weakness: The Texans might have addressed the offensive line early in the draft, but given how steep the learning curve is for rookies at the position, the O-line is still a huge question mark. The team has surrendered more than 200 quarterback pressures in each of the past three seasons. Since 2016, only the Cardinals have allowed more sacks and quarterback hits than the Texans (191).
X factor for 2019: Jadeveon Clowney. Now that he's essentially in a contract year, all eyes should be on the former first overall pick. He had somewhat a breakout season in 2018, with his 88.0 overall grade being a career-best mark, but that was largely propped up by strong showings in run defense (91.2) and coverage (87.2). Now five seasons deep into his NFL career, Clowney has yet to eclipse a pass-rush grade higher than 78.2, and he hasn't tallied more than 64 pressures in a season. The Texans are looking for him to break into that top tier of edge rushers in 2019.
16. Tennessee Titans
Biggest strength: Safety Kevin Byard once again proved to be an all-around threat on the back end for Tennessee. He finished the season allowing just a 55.8 passer rating on throws during which he was the primary coverage defender, racked up 17 defensive stops for an offensive failure and did it all while missing just six of his combined 87 tackle attempts on the year. He's quickly climbing up the list of the league's best safeties.
Biggest weakness: Marcus Mariota has had some good moments during his time in the league, but he has been far from the difference-maker that he was drafted to be. Since 2015, his 93.0 passer rating from a clean pocket ranks 30th among the 35 quarterbacks who have thrown at least 500 passes over that span. His clean-pocket, turnover-worthy play percentage of 3.2% is tied with Eli Manning, Ryan Tannehill and Jay Cutler for 27th, and that's simply not good enough for a starting quarterback.
X factor for 2019: Corey Davis. We saw Davis step up to the plate last season, and the team hopes that he can build on that momentum going into Year 3. The former first-round pick saw his yards-per-route-run figure jump from 1.10 in 2017 to 1.73 in 2018, and his contested-catch percentage jumped from 18.2% to 40.0%. This offense needs a dynamic playmaker and will have one if Davis can continue his upward trajectory.
17. Baltimore Ravens
Biggest strength: The right side of the Ravens' offensive line might possess the AFC North's best guard-tackle duo as second-year pro Orlando Brown Jr. paves the way next to future Hall of Famer Marshal Yanda. Brown was tremendous in pass protection last year, allowing just 18 pressures on 410 pass-blocking snaps, with only one of those pressures resulting in the quarterback being hit. And Yanda was the league's third-highest-graded guard despite finishing with a career-low grade.
Biggest weakness: The Ravens will be without longtime edge defender Terrell Suggs for the first time since he entered the league in 2003, and that's just the tip of the iceberg for their pass-rush woes. The team also lost Za'Darius Smith to Green Bay, which leaves Matthew Judon as the only player on the roster who recorded more than 23 pressures last season.
X factor for 2019: Lamar Jackson. No team ran more designed runs with its quarterback in 2018 than Baltimore, as it toted the rock with its signal-caller on 150 occasions, 70 more times than the second-place Panthers. Jackson had 135 of those carries and led the league among quarterbacks with 570 rushing yards on such attempts.
18. Cleveland Browns
Biggest strength: We have watched many memorable rookie seasons over the past 13 years, but few were good as Baker Mayfield's. He managed a big-time throw rate of 7.3% that ranked third and finished with an overall grade of 84.5, the second-best mark ever recorded by a rookie quarterback. The Browns finally have their franchise quarterback, and as long as he's at the helm, the future is bright for Cleveland.
Biggest weakness: The Browns' glaring weakness was their inability to tackle last season. The team ended the 2018 campaign ranked dead last with a team tackling grade at 34.7, and they collectively missed a whopping 194 tackles over the course of the regular season -- 23 more than the next-closest team. Now that they have all the pieces in place on defense, improving on this fundamental aspect is a must.
X factor for 2019: Odell Beckham Jr. There are no two ways about it, the X factor for this team is its newly acquired receiver. One of the best pass-catchers in the game, Beckham has averaged 2.4 yards per route run during his five seasons in the league, the fifth-best mark among receivers with at least 500 routes run. With OBJ coupled with Mayfield, the Browns might very well possess to the best QB-WR tandem in the league.
19. Jacksonville Jaguars
Biggest strength: They might have had a relatively down season in 2018, but the Jags' strength is undoubtedly their cornerback duo of Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye. Over the past three seasons, the pair has earned grades of 90.8 and 90.2, respectively, and they've allowed a passer rating of just 66.5 on throws into their primary coverage. They're arguably the best cornerback duo in the league right now and will be determined to show that 2018 was just a blip on the radar.
Biggest weakness: As things currently stand, the Jaguars' starting wide receivers are Chris Conley (54.5 overall grade in 2018), Dede Westbrook (71.3) and Marqise Lee, who is coming off a severe knee injury that cost him the entire 2018 season. Outside of those three, there's also Keelan Cole (59.4), DJ Chark (52.4) and Terrelle Pryor Sr. (56.6). This receiving corps is an obvious weakness for a team that needs to surround quarterback Nick Foles with more weapons.
X factor for 2019: Nick Foles is one of the greatest sporting stories of the past decade, but we still don't really know who he is as a starting quarterback. Is he the guy we saw in 2013, who earned a 78.2 overall grade and notched a league-best 134.6 passer rating from a clean pocket? Or is he the guy we saw in 2015, who stumbled to a 59.8 overall grade and a No. 34-ranked 81.1 passer rating from a clean pocket? With no top-tier playmaking ability around him, this offense will go as Foles goes in 2019.
20. Detroit Lions
Biggest strength: On paper, this young and talented defensive line is one of the best in the NFL. On one edge, you have Trey Flowers, fresh off a career-high 89.7 overall grade and a career-best 78 total pressures. In the middle, you have Damon Harrison, who has recorded 184 run stops over the past four years, 67 more than the next closest interior defender. And next to him is the promising duo of A'Shawn Robinson and Da'Shawn Hand, who both graded above 85.0 last season. With a defense-minded head coach in Matt Patricia, this D-line has the potential to skyrocket in 2019.
Biggest weakness: On defense, the Lions are promising up front and on the back end, but pretty iffy in the middle. Jarrad Davis has yet to record an overall grade above 52.8 and has missed 36 tackles over the past two years, the third-most among linebackers in that span. Meanwhile, Devon Kennard's career-best effort came in 2016, when he ranked 27th among linebackers with a 72.8 overall grade.
X factor for 2019: Kenny Golladay. The second-year wide receiver improved his overall grade (81.1) and receiving grade (81.4) in 2018, and his contested-catch rate of 56.7% tied with Michael Thomas for fifth among receivers with at least 20 such targets. Golladay is a budding star. If he can continue his upward trajectory, he has the potential to be the playmaker that this team so badly needs on the outside.
21. Carolina Panthers
Biggest strength: Luke Kuechly and Kawann Short once again proved to be a formidable threat to opposing offenses up the middle in 2018. Kuechly finished just behind Seattle's Bobby Wagner in overall grade for linebackers, as he was stingy against both the run and pass, and had only nine missed tackles on 140 attempts. Short racked up 34 total QB pressures and 29 defensive stops, and had a top-10 run-defense grade among interior defensive linemen last season.
Biggest weakness: The Panthers lack a true No. 1 receiving option after losing Devin Funchess. Outside of tight end Greg Olsen and second-year receiver DJ Moore, the Carolina passing attack goes through running back Christian McCaffrey. Moore proved to be tough to bring down after the catch, but with Funchess out of the picture, he'll have to prove he can match up against the opposition's top cornerback and help a quarterback who has struggled to hit downfield shots the past few years.
X factor for 2019: Christian McCaffrey's influence in the passing game should, at minimum, stay along last year's trajectory. He was the most targeted running back out of the backfield, seeing 122 passes come his way, which he turned into the league's most yards after the catch (861) and combined first down and touchdown receptions (41) among running backs.
22. Denver Broncos
Biggest strength: You could make a strong argument for Von Miller as the best edge defender in the business since being drafted in 2011. He earned an elite overall grade of 90.3 last season, giving him an overall grade of 90.0 or higher in all eight of his NFL seasons. It has been a few years since he led the Broncos to a Super Bowl victory, but he is still capable of doing so if the rest of Broncos' retooled defense can get back on track.
Biggest weakness: The Broncos haven't had good quarterback play since Peyton Manning's 2014 season. Joe Flacco will be Denver's third different starting QB in four years. He earned an overall grade of 72.0 last season, ranking 22nd out of 39 qualifying signal-callers. Time will tell if Flacco can finally solve the Broncos' quarterback problems or if it's on to rookie Drew Lock, who led the 2019 quarterback draft class in big-time throws in college last season.
X factor for 2019: Bradley Chubb had a solid rookie season in which he earned an overall grade of 68.1, ranking fifth out of 17 qualifying rookie edge defenders and 53rd out of 113 qualifiers at the position. His 57 total pressures (13 sacks, eight hits, 36 hurries) were the 19th-most among all edge defenders. If Chubb can take his game to the next level in his second year, the Broncos would once again have one of the most feared pass-rushing duos in the NFL.
23. Washington Redskins
Biggest strength: The Redskins lack depth and star power across the board, but their pass rush should be just as strong as ever. Ryan Kerrigan is perhaps the league's most underrated edge defender, as he recorded 61 total pressures a season ago, including 20 combined sacks and QB hits. Kerrigan missed just one tackle attempt all season long.
Biggest weakness: Projecting the Redskins' weaknesses starts on offense, where they were decimated by injuries in 2018. Depth was clearly an issue along the offensive line, and that unit will be without swing tackle Ty Nsekhe in 2019 -- and could also be without All-Pro Trent Williams. With so few quality offensive tackles in the league, Washington's issues at the position are far from being solved.
X factor for 2019: Derrius Guice. The former second-round pick was sidelined last season after being injured in the preseason but should return to full form in 2019 as a versatile, talented back. He forced at least 44 missed tackles and gained at least 750 yards after contact in his last two seasons at LSU. He is a load to bring down.
24. San Francisco 49ers
Biggest strength: The San Francisco defensive line is as stacked as any in the league. Dee Ford led the league with 84 QB pressures with Kansas City in 2018, and Nick Bosa's college pass-rush grade almost mirrors that of his brother, Joey. But their pass-rush will need to get home early and often with a suspect coverage unit behind them.
Biggest weakness: The league's lowest-graded coverage unit last year didn't improve much this offseason. Richard Sherman allowed a career-high 100.7 passer rating on throws into his coverage, and K'Waun Williams allowed a catch on 73.3% of his targets. Collectively, the 49ers' secondary forced an incompletion on just 9.7% of their targeted passes in 2018, the fifth-lowest rate among NFL secondaries.
X factor for 2019: George Kittle not only led the league in yards after the catch, his 873 such yards were also 213 more than the next closest pass-catcher (JuJu Smith-Schuster, 660). Kittle averaged a ridiculous 9.9 yards after the catch per reception, which also led the NFL.
25. Cincinnati Bengals
Biggest strength: A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd formed one of the league's top receiving duos last year, as the latter had a breakout season. In the nine games they played together, Boyd and Green each finished with a top-10 receiving grade and top-20 marks in yards per route run. They had 36 combined first-down and touchdown receptions to tie for eighth among receivers in those nine games, and Boyd led receivers who saw at least 45 targets in that span with a 134.1 passer rating when targeted.
Biggest weakness: Adding linebacker help in the offseason made a lot of sense, as the Bengals didn't have one with a PFF season grade of 60.0 or higher in 2018. Nick Vigil led the group with a 59.5 overall grade, a figure that ranked him 65th out of 96 qualified linebackers. Combined, the Bengals linebackers missed 40 tackles and allowed 1,779 receiving yards on only 1,299 combined coverage snaps.
X factor for 2019: Jessie Bates. The second-year pro erased all doubt about the Bengals' release of George Iloka right before the start of the 2018 season with his play last season. Bates was dominant in coverage, allowing just 0.34 yards per coverage snap and a paltry 59.9 passer rating when targeted.
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Biggest strength: The Bucs return most of perhaps the division's best, if not one of the conference's best, receiving corps in 2019. The emergence of Chris Godwin -- who had the league's seventh-lowest drop rate last year -- the capable hands of Mike Evans, O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate and the team's offseason acquisitions have set up Jameis Winston for a strong Year 5. In an injury-shortened campaign, Howard finished third among tight ends by averaging 2.26 yards per route run and was well on his way to stardom before being shut down.
Biggest weakness: Tampa Bay struggled in coverage last season, as it has seemingly for the past decade, giving up the league's highest completion percentage at 76.5%. As a unit, the Bucs allowed a passer rating of 117.0 -- the highest allowed rating in the league -- and no secondary defender finished with a grade above 63.8, which would have ranked 141st in the league.
X factor for 2019: Vernon Hargreaves has had a rough go since being drafted in the first round in 2016. Taking out his injury-shortened Year 3, Hargreaves has allowed the fourth-most yards in outside coverage (1,287). He also allowed the highest completion percentage on throws into his primary coverage over that span (66.9%) among cornerbacks with at least 550 snaps in coverage. His play will go a long way in determining the fate of the Bucs' defense.
27. New York Giants
Biggest strength: Saquon Barkley returns as the league's fourth-highest-graded running back after an incredible rookie season. He was responsible himself for a hefty portion of his rushing totals, as he ripped off 872 of his 1,307 rushing yards after contact and forced 40 missed tackles. The most efficient part of his game, however, was his receiving prowess, as he led all running backs by forcing an additional 31 missed tackles after the catch.
Biggest weakness: New York clearly knows that Eli Manning is on his last leg, and the plan to replace the former Super Bowl MVP should have been in place a few years ago. He logged 1,000-plus snaps for the fifth season in a row and put forth the second-lowest grade of his career. And Manning failed to hit the deep pass with any regularity and completed just 39.2% of his passes targeted 20 or more yards downfield, ranking 22nd.
X factor for 2019: Sterling Shepard will demand more attention in the Giants' offense in 2019 after the loss of Odell Beckham Jr. Shepard dominated the intermediate range of the field a season ago, hauling in 19 receptions on throws targeted 10-19 yards past the line of scrimmage. All 19 of those receptions achieved a first down, and 14 of them went for well more than 15 yards. On those receptions, his 19.5 yards per catch ranked fifth among all NFL receivers.
28. Oakland Raiders
Biggest strength: Since 2010, no wideout has recorded more receptions (837), yards (11,207), yards after catch (4,076), touchdowns (74) or first-down receptions (471) than Antonio Brown -- and his 2.45 yards per route run over that span is second only to Julio Jones. He immediately improves the receiving group in a significant way.
Biggest weakness: The Raiders' roster still has many question marks, but no position group needs more work than the linebackers. Vontaze Burfict (47.9 overall grade in 2018), Brandon Marshall (64.2) and Tahir Whitehead (56.3) are slated to see the bulk of the snaps. That doesn't bode well for the team in terms of pass coverage, as all three allowed a passer rating of at least 95.0 into their coverage last season, and their combined performance yielded a passer rating of 130.2.
X factor for 2019: The Raiders once seemed set at quarterback with Derek Carr, but it's becoming apparent that his time as Oakland's signal-caller is running out. Among the 32 quarterbacks with at least 250 attempts under pressure over the past three seasons, Carr's 56.1 passer rating in those spots ranks 28th. But after three years of charting the ball placement of every throw, the top-three single-season deep-passing accuracy rates belong to Russell Wilson in 2016 (55.6%), Carr in 2018 (52.3) and Carr in 2016 (51.1). Now that he's armed with Brown and deep threat Tyrell Williams, Carr might have the tools he needs to put forth an impressive season.
29. Buffalo Bills
Biggest strength: Buffalo has a great set of edge defenders and linebackers that helped it earn the 13th-best team defense grade (83.0) last season. Led by Jerry Hughes and Lorenzo Alexander, who are both coming off career-high overall grades, the Bills should have an above-average defense again in 2019. In addition to Hughes and Alexander, the Bills also have Matt Milano, who earned the 12th-best overall grade (76.3) among linebackers last season.
Biggest weakness: The Bills' receiving corps left much to be desired last season, as it ranked last in the NFL with a receiving grade of 57.5. Zay Jones and Robert Foster are both young and have potential, but they'll need to fulfill it sooner rather than later if the Bills want to avoid ranking dead last once again. On the bright side, Foster's receiving grade of 73.3 did rank 38th out of 108 qualifying wide receivers, but the rest of the team's pass-catchers will also have to step up their game.
X factor for 2019: Josh Allen had some good outings in his first year as a pro, but he also had some pretty bad ones. One thing Allen did do consistently well was run the ball, as his running grade of 81.4 ranked third among qualifying quarterbacks. His 47 scrambles were the second most among quarterbacks, and his 4.17 yards after contact per attempt also ranked second. However, Allen will need to have consistency as a passer if he wants to take the Bills anywhere, and his passing grade of 58.0 last season ranked 33rd out of 39 qualifiers.
30. Miami Dolphins
Biggest strength: Miami has some promising young talent in the secondary in Xavien Howard and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Howard allowed a passer rating of just 62.6 last season, ranking fifth out of 131 qualifying cornerbacks, and Fitzpatrick allowed one of 69.0, ranking 10th. Fitzpatrick is a versatile weapon for the Dolphins, as he logged 379 snaps at slot corner, 281 snaps at outside corner and 166 snaps at free safety as a rookie.
Biggest weakness: The Dolphins are surrounded by uncertainty at quarterback. Ryan Fitzpatrick is fully capable of earning an elite grade one week and an awful one the next. After earning grades higher than 96.0 in the first two weeks last season, Fitzpatrick went on to post sub-65.0 numbers in five of his next six games before ultimately losing his job. Then there's Jake Rudock, who was drafted out of Michigan in 2016 and earned an overall grade of 59.6 in last year's preseason, and Josh Rosen, who was tossed aside by the Cardinals after just one year.
X factor for 2019: Josh Rosen. Although Rosen played behind an awful offensive line in his rookie year in Arizona, he still has to make up for his 49.1 overall grade, which ranked 38th out of 39 qualifying quarterbacks last season. On the positive side, Rosen is only 22 years old, and there's nowhere to go but up. His positive growth in Year 2 could provide a solid foundation for the team's rebuild.
31. New York Jets
Biggest strength: Led by Jamal Adams, the Jets have a young and talented safety group. The former No. 6 overall pick lived up to his potential in his second season last year, earning an overall grade of 89.7 and ranking third among safeties who had at least 250 total snaps. Marcus Maye, who also was drafted in 2017, earned an overall grade of 81.7 in an injury-shortened year, ranking 11th among qualifying safeties. In addition to being good in coverage, both are also great against the run, with Maye ranking 10th in run-defense grade (80.0) at the position and Adams ranking 17th at 77.1.
Biggest weakness: The Jets struggled mightily in run-blocking last season, finishing with the 30th-ranked grade (49.8) in the NFL. Among qualifying offensive linemen, the Jets didn't have a single one rank in the top 100 in run-blocking grade. Right guard Brian Winters was the best run-blocking lineman on the team, and his 59.0 grade ranked 102nd. Luckily for the Jets, Le'Veon Bell is pretty good at turning nothing into something.
X factor for 2019: Sam Darnold showed his sky-high potential late in his rookie season, as his overall grade of 87.7 over the last four weeks ranked first among all qualifying quarterbacks. In those final four games, Darnold was unstoppable when given a clean pocket, completing 65 of 88 such attempts for 758 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 118.5. And he did that against some pretty good defenses, including the Bills and Texans. If Darnold can bring that momentum into the start of 2019, the Jets can contend sooner rather than later.
32. Arizona Cardinals
Biggest strength: The Cardinals didn't have many strengths last season, but they did tackle well. As a team, Arizona earned a tackling grade of 82.5, ranking 10th in the NFL. Led by edge defender Chandler Jones -- who missed only three tackles last year -- the Cardinals' defense can at least take pride in excelling at one of the most fundamental aspects of the game. Arizona's defense missed 113 tackles in 2018. For perspective, a great Texans defense missed 119 tackles, and the Eagles missed 124.
Biggest weakness: The Cardinals ranked 32nd in pass blocking (55.8) last season and allowed a whopping 218 total pressures (34 sacks, 42 hits and 142 hurries) on 563 pass-blocking snaps. In the past eight seasons, only two teams have had a worse single-season pass-blocking grade than the Cardinals did in 2018: Arizona (55.4) and Houston (54.8) in 2017.
X factor for 2019: Kyler Murray enters a difficult situation in Arizona, but he has the talent to help remedy the situation. His quickness should help him overcome a bad offensive line, and he can make all the throws. Murray earned an overall grade of 94.6 at Oklahoma last season, leading all quarterbacks and also tying fellow Sooner Baker Mayfield (2017) for the best single-season overall grade for a quarterback in the PFF college era (since 2014). If Murray can make a similar impact as a rookie as Mayfield did last season, the Cardinals could be an interesting team to watch.