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32. Jets: McCown, Powell, Anderson
The Jets were the CBSSports.com crew's unanimous selection at No. 32, and for good reason. Even though Bilal Powell is an interesting talent at running back, Josh McCown is one of the handful of worst starting quarterbacks in the league, and the Jets have by far the NFL's weakest pass-catching corps.
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31. Rams: Goff, Gurley, Watkins
The Rams landing near the bottom of this list is no surprise. Jared Goff was dreadful as a rookie, completing only 56 percent of his passes and posting a negative touchdown-to-interception ratio while going 0-7 in seven starts. Todd Gurley averaged just 3.2 yards per carry last season and has just a 3.4 per-carry average since his three-game breakout in 2015. Sammy Watkins, meanwhile, just isn't healthy often enough to showcase his prodigious talent.
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30. Jaguars: Bortles, Fournette, Robinson
This is a ranking that seems like it's almost entirely about one player: Blake Bortles, who torpedoes the Jaguars here. Leonard Fournette was good enough at LSU to go No. 4 overall in this year's draft, and figures to be the foundation of Jacksonville's offense in 2017. Allen Robinson has been excellent over the last two years despite sub-par play from the man throwing him passes.
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29. Broncos: Siemian, Anderson, Thomas
Demaryius Thomas produces no matter who his quarterback is, but he posted his lowest catch, yardage, touchdown, and yards per catch totals since 2011 last year when Trevor Siemian was under center. Maybe Siemian shows some slight improvement this year, but it seems unlikely the Broncos get above-average play at the quarterback position. C.J. Anderson, meanwhile, saw his yards per carry average drop to a career-low last year and also missed nine games due to injury.
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28. 49ers: Hoyer, Hyde, Garcon
Brian Hoyer's a placeholder QB for the 49ers, obviously, but he's been fairly competent in his 27 starts over the last three years. Carlos Hyde recorded career highs in carries and yards per carry last season, and should benefit greatly from playing in Kyle Shanahan's offensive system. Pierre Garcon gives the team a reliable pass-catcher on the outside, but this group still has a pretty low upside, which is why it ranks in the bottom five.
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27. Bears: Glennon, Howard, White
Thanks to a suspiciously high ranking from the Bears fan on staff, Chicago snuck out of the bottom five in these rankings. Sure, Jordan Howard looks like a star at running back, but Mike Glennon is a huge question mark at quarterback and Kevin White has yet to even prove that he can stay on the field.
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26. Ravens: Flacco, West, Maclin
Joe Flacco still hasn't returned to Ravens practice yet (though he's getting close), but even if he had, I'm not sure the Ravens' ranking would be bumped up too much further than this. Their Terrance West-led backfield doesn't inspire much confidence, and Jeremy Maclin has to prove that he's still a No. 1 wideout, at 29 years old and coming off a season during which he was alternately injured and ineffective.
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25. Browns: Kizer, Crowell, Britt
If we knew more about rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer, this ranking might be even higher. Isaiah Crowell is a pretty good back running behind what should be a very good offensive line, and Kenny Britt has solidified himself as a solid receiver. Kizer has a lot of upside, to be sure, but most rookies are ineffective. It's possible Kizer turns out to be great immediately like Dak Prescott, but more likely he struggles in Year 1 like Jared Goff.
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24. Bills: Taylor, McCoy, Jones
Tyrod Taylor's concussion issues presumably affected this ranking a bit. LeSean McCoy is one of the NFL's best running backs and Taylor's actually been quite good since landing in Buffalo, even if the Bills for some reason seem determined to stick him on the bench. Zay Jones could be the team's top pass catcher even as a rookie after trading Sammy Watkins.
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23. Chiefs: Smith, Hunt, Hill
Alex Smith is maybe the NFL's most non-descript quarterback. He's average or slightly below in every conceivable way. People have high hopes for rookie Kareem Hunt, but we haven't seen him do anything just yet at the NFL level. Tyreek Hill looked like a playmaker of the highest order last season, but he only gets credit for his offensive exploits here, not his prodigious special teams contributions.
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22. Texans: Savage, Miller, Hopkins
I've got to admit a bit of surprise at seeing the Texans land so high up in our rankings. Lamar Miller did not have the breakout season many expected last year, and I can't imagine the group has much confidence in Tom Savage, who's expected to give way to Deshaun Watson at some point. DeAndre Hopkins is one heck of a receiver, but him dragging the Texans outside the bottom 10 is giving him a whole lot of credit.
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21. Vikings: Bradford, Cook, Diggs
This is like Chiefs redux, with a little bit more upside. Sam Bradford is average at almost everything. There are high hopes for Dalvin Cook, but we haven't seen him do it at the NFL level just yet. Stefon Diggs is not quite as explosive but has more experience and consistency to his record than Tyreek Hill.
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20. Eagles: Wentz, Blount, Jeffery
This seems likely to be a bit of a divisive ranking for Eagles fans, who are fully confident that Carson Wentz is a franchise guy. He didn't show that level of talent for most of last season, though, and the low ceiling of LeGarrette Blount at running back combined with Alshon Jeffery's tendency to get injured or suspended leads to the Eagles dropping down toward the back half of the league here.
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19. Colts: Luck, Gore, Hilton
At his best, Andrew Luck is one of the NFL's premier signal-callers. Nobody knows when Luck will be fully healthy, though, and we can't in good conscience rank the Colts much higher than this if we don't know Luck's situation. Frank Gore is getting up there in age, and there has to eventually be a year where the bottom falls out for him. T.Y. Hilton led the NFL in receiving yards last season, but if Scott Tolzien is in the game instead of Luck, his ceiling gets considerably lower.
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18. Redskins: Cousins, Kelley, Pryor
Samaje Perine may overtake him at some point as the lead ball-carrier, but Robert Kelley's going to have the top spot during the early part of the year, and he's likely holding Washington back in these rankings. Kirk Cousins has been solid, if not necessarily spectacular over the last couple years, but his contract situation could hang over the team's head this season. Terrelle Pryor broke out in Cleveland last year, but we still don't yet know if he's a true No. 1 wideout. We considered putting Jordan Reed in his place, but figured the team might do better with a player that doesn't have quite as many injury concerns.
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17. Dolphins: Cutler, Ajayi, Landry
We hadn't done these rankings yet before Ryan Tannehill suffered his season-ending injury, so unfortunately there's no way to make a comparison there. Considering the strength of Jay Ajayi and Jarvis Landry, though, it sure seems like Cutler probably dragged the Dolphins' ranking down at least a handful of spots.
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16. Bengals: Dalton, Hill, Green
It seems fitting that the Bengals end up smack-dab in the middle of the league, given their status as an essentially average football team. A.J. Green is obviously one of the best receivers in the NFL but Andy Dalton goes about as far as his weapons can take him and Jeremy Hill has yet to prove himself an above-average contributor. You could make an argument that Giovani Bernard or Joe Mixon should be in that running back spot, but I'm not sure how much that'd help here.
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15. Lions: Stafford, Abdullah, Tate
Matthew Stafford might be the highest-paid player in the NFL, but he's still somewhat short of being a top-tier quarterback. He's a good one, though, and he and Golden Tate form a strong combination -- last season's dry spell for Tate excepted. Ameer Abdullah needs to prove that he can stay healthy so he can show off all that talent he has.
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14. Buccaneers: Winston, Martin, Evans
Doug Martin is suspended for the first three games of the season, but he'll be the No. 1 back when he returns to the field. He's too inconsistent to matter much here, though, and that's likely why the Bucs couldn't break into the top 10. There are high hopes all around for Year 3 of the Jameis Winston Experience now that he's got DeSean Jackson to complement Mike Evans, who remains one of the best (and most underrated) wideouts in the league.
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13. Giants: Manning, Perkins, Beckham
The Giants seem like a team coasting a bit on Eli Manning's reputation here. Paul Perkins has zero experience as the No. 1 back and Manning hasn't been himself in a couple years. Odell Beckham is obviously one of the handful of best receivers in the NFL, but even he couldn't drag the Giants offense out of the basement last season. A lot of their struggles were due to the offensive line, but Manning wasn't so hot himself. He needs a bounce-back season.
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12. Chargers: Rivers, Gordon, Allen
I'm a bit surprised the Chargers aren't ranked a few spots higher. Philip Rivers is perpetually underrated, Melvin Gordon is coming off an improved second season, and Keenan Allen is one of the league's best when he's healthy. Of course, Gordon and Allen have both struggled with injuries and Rivers has been somewhat weighed down by the fact that nobody on his team can seem to stay healthy, so maybe No. 12 makes sense for this group.
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11. Panthers: Newton, McCaffrey, Olsen
Greg Olsen is the first tight end to make an appearance on this list, but he's not the last. (Just keep reading.) Jonathan Stewart might make for a better pick at running back than Christian McCaffrey, but the Panthers seem to have big plans for the rookie both on the ground and through the air. That should help Cam Newton get closer to his level of play from 2015, even if he doesn't quite reach that plateau again.
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10. Titans: Mariota, Murray, Walker
Exotic smashmouth football is apparently very popular with the CBSSports.com crew. DeMarco Murray bounced back from a disappointing 2015 season to again look like one of the best running backs in the NFL last season, and our group expects more of the same in 2017. With the running game still strong, Marcus Mariota should have ample opportunity to fire passes to Delanie Walker in the flat and up the seam. The Titans have set Mariota up to have a big season.
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9. Raiders: Carr, Lynch, Cooper
If this were the Marshawn Lynch of 2011-14, I wouldn't be surprised if the Raiders were in the top five. Alas, this version of Lynch is coming off a year away from the game -- a year that followed a season during which he was injured and ineffective. That's why, despite the presence of a rising star at both quarterback and wide receiver, the Raiders fall in the back half of the top 10 on this list.
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8. Seahawks: Wilson, Rawls, Baldwin
Russell Wilson is coming off a down year caused by a horrible offensive line and a Week 1 ankle injury, but we saw the full breadth of his skill the year before. Even average line play should allow him to get back to that level. Doug Baldwin is his No. 1 target, and he's incredibly underrated in his explosiveness and consistency. The Seahawks have a three-headed rushing attack, but Rawls should take a lead role on early downs, at least during the early portion of the season.
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7. Saints: Brees, Ingram, Thomas
No, the Saints are not a great football team. But that's got nothing to do with the offense, which continues to produce as an elite unit. Drew Brees just keeps humming along as one of the best to ever do it in the NFL. Michael Thomas had a sparkling debut season that might have won him Rookie of the Year in a universe where Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott didn't exist. He's a stud. Mark Ingram will have to fight for touches with Adrian Peterson and rookie Alvin Kamara, but he's turned into a really well-rounded player over the last couple seasons.
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6. Cardinals: Palmer, Johnson, Fitzgerald
This feels a bit like the Cardinals getting credit for 2015 and our crew ignoring Carson Palmer's plummet back to reality last season. David Johnson is one of the most unique weapons anybody has ever seen and Larry Fitzgerald could go into Canton tomorrow, but No. 6 feels a little high for these guys.
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5. Packers: Rodgers, Montgomery, Nelson
Aaron Rodgers is the NFL's best quarterback and a passing-game weapon nearly unlike anyone we've ever seen. He makes throws nobody else could ever dream of. Jordy Nelson has been his top target for so long it almost seems like they're attached at the hip -- or maybe the right shoulder and the hands. If Ty Montgomery had a bit more experience at running back, the Packers might have made a run at one of the top couple spots.
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4. Cowboys: Dak, Zeke, Dez
The Cowboys sure had a good 2016 draft, didn't they? They found a quarterback-running back tandem for the next decade in Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, who will continue to make life easier for each other so long as they're on the same team. The two have skill sets that mesh together wonderfully, as we saw throughout their NFL debuts. Dez Bryant has struggled with injuries over the last two years, but he went for 34-514-6 during the stretch that he was fully healthy last season and isn't that far removed from a three-year stretch where he led the NFL in touchdowns.
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3. Falcons: Ryan, Freeman, Jones
The reigning MVP-powered No. 7 scoring offense of all time unsurprisingly ranks highly on our list. Matt Ryan might never reach the heights he hit in 2016 again, but his floor is incredibly high when he's throwing to Julio Jones and company and playing behind a strong offensive line. It's hard to believe Devonta Freeman was once thought of as the Falcons' No. 2 running back given his production over the last couple years, but that's more a testament to Tevin Coleman's talent than it is a stain on Freeman's.
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2. Patriots: Brady, Gillislee, Gronk
This trio might have the GOAT at two positions, but still couldn't manage to grab the top spot. If the Patriots had a clearer running back situation they might have checked in at No. 1. Instead, they slot in just behind a team with elite talents at all three spots
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1. Steelers: Big Ben, Bell, Brown
The Steelers have the NFL's best running back and best wide receiver, and their quarterback ain't too shabby, either. Le'Veon Bell is a weapon unlike any in NFL history -- he became the first player ever to average at least 100 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards per game last season. Antonio Brown is an absolute technician of the highest order, and the best bet to lead the league in receptions, yards, and touchdowns every year until further notice. And well, Big Ben just gets to live the life with all his unbelievable weapons around him.
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