NFL power rankings: Chiefs, Saints lead way into 2020
. . . Denver Broncos. 18. team. 45
2020 Key Additions: Vic Fangio’s club was having a fascinating offseason even before it made Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy their 1st round pick last week. The club obtained two-time Pro Bowl running back Melvin Gordon (Chargers) and highly-coveted interior offensive linemen Graham Glasgow (Lions) via free agency. And courtesy of a pair of trades, the Broncos also obtained cornerback A.J. Bouye from the the Jaguars and perennial Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jurrell Casey from the Titans. Along with Jeudy, Denver also selected two more wideouts in K.J. Hamler (2-Penn State) and Tyrie Cleveland (7-Florida).
Offseason Review: This was a team that lost its first four games a year ago and went through three different starting quarterbacks. But by year’s end, rookie Drew Lock was behind center for the final five contests and the Broncos won four of those contests. And you could make a case given their acquisitions, general manager John Elway and this club has enjoyed the best offseason in the league. Denver will miss veterans such as cornerback Chris Harris and Derek Wolfe. But this is a club with a lot of promise with a great blend of experience and youth. Now all this franchise has to do is find way to defeat the Chiefs.
. . Chicago Bears. 17. team. 57.
2020 Key Additions: The big news here was that Matt Nagy’s team gave a fourth-round draft choice to the Jacksonville Jaguars for Super Bowl LII hero Nick Foles. Chicago also bolstered its pass rush via Robert Quinn, a former first-round draft choice of the Rams who has played for the Dolphins and Cowboys in recent years and led Dallas with 11.5 sacks in 2019. And Nagy was certainly looking to add some bodies at tight end, a position the Bears now have 10 players at on their current roster as of this writing. The Bears signed Jimmy Graham and Demetrius Harris and used a second-round pick on Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet.
Offseason Review: At this time a year ago, the Bears were the defending NFC North champions and were looking to build on a 12-4 record. This is a roster that has undergone a lot of changes in a very brief time and one year after winning a division title, slipped behind the playoff-bound Packers and Vikings. The entire team fell off in 2019 and the defense just didn’t have the same bite with Chuck Pagano replacing Vic Fangio as coordinator. It’s a critical year for three-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky but he should benefit from the arrival of Foles, who is comfortable as a starter and a backup and knows Nagy’s system.