Throughout the past few weeks, Caleb Yaccarino and I have compiled a group of articles dedicated to listing the NFL’s divisions by how strong they appear at each position on the gridiron heading into the 2025 regular season. If you’ve been following along, you’d know that we have reached the end of our series. However, we are now going to finalize our rankings of who we believe to be the strongest and weakest in the league while summarizing areas where teams excel or where they fall short.
Teams were ranked 1-8 at 11 different positions by the strength of that particular unit, with 1 being strongest and 8 being weakest.
1. NFC North
Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings
[QB- 6, RB- 1, TE- 2, WR- 3, OL- 1, LB- 1, DL- 5, CB- 5, S- 1, K- 8, P- 5]
The NFC North is undeniably the strongest division in professional football right now. They secured the top ranking in four of 11 categories. The major weak spot for this division is the kicking situation. The only kicker in the division to convert more than 90% of his field goal attempts in 2024 was Brandon McManus of Green Bay. However, he also did so on the fourth fewest made FGs with 20.
2. NFC East
Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders
[QB- 2, RB- 5, TE- 6, WR- 1, OL- 5, LB- 2, DL- 2, CB- 7, S- 6, K- 3, P- 4]
High marks at the quarterback and wide receiver spots offensively, along with the front seven defensively, were enough to give the NFC East our second-place ranking. The division’s worst rating was seventh at the cornerback position. Two of the four teams made the NFC Championship a season ago so more success will be on the way in 2025.
3. AFC West
Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers
[QB-1, RB- 8, TE- 3, WR- 8, OL- 3, LB- 5, DL- 6, CB- 2, S- 7, K- 1, P-3]
QB and K are the two bright spots for the AFC West ahead of 2025, while skill positions at wide receiver and running back leaves a lot to be desired. Your gunslinger is a vital part of the offense, but they can’t catch and run on every play too. Still, the talent is enough to be a top three division.
4. AFC North
Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers
[QB- 3, RB- 7, TE- 4, WR- 2, OL- 8, LB- 4, DL- 1, CB- 1, S-5, K-7, P-6]
Rounding out the top half of the NFL’s divisions is the AFC North. Stout defensive play makes up for below average run games as well as struggles with special teams. Offensive line being ranked last in the league does not help their case, but the division is still pegged middle of the pack.
5. NFC West
Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks
[QB- 4, RB- 3, TE- 1, WR- 4, OL- 4, LB- 7, DL- 7, CB- 6, S-2, K-4, P-7]
On offense, the NFC West is ranked in the top half of the league divisions in every category, with TE being at the top, but defense is another story. Even when each team has talent, most of the defensive line groups in the division are lacking what is needed to be consistently successful in the NFL. This also rings true with the linebacker and the cornerback.
6. AFC South
Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans
[QB- 8, RB- 4, TE- 7, WR- 5, OL- 6, LB- 8, DL- 4, CB- 4, S-4, K-2, P-1]
The AFC West is the top division in the rankings, with two teams at the bottom of the NFL. With the importance of QBs in the league, ranking last is always a bad thing, but with CJ Stroud in the division, it says something about the other teams. When examining the position rankings, this division generally ranks middle of the pack, and when it doesn’t, it ranks in the bottom half of the league (except for special teams).
7. AFC East
Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets
[QB- 5, RB- 6, TE- 5, WR- 7, OL- 7, LB- 3, DL- 3, CB- 3, S-8, K-6, P-2]
Besides the LB, DL, CB, and P, the AFC East is lacking in all other areas. Even when one of the teams may have a star in their respective position, the other teams in the division are just nowhere near as good in that same position. This was the main reason why many of these numbers are so low. For example, the Bills have Josh Allen, one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but that only put the AFC East at 5th in the rankings.
8. NFC South
Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
[QB- 7, RB- 2, TE- 8, WR- 6, OL- 2, LB- 6, DL- 8, CB- 8, S-3, K-5, P-8]
Last, and least, is the NFC South. This division is the only one in our rankings with more than two position groups ranked last, and most of their other ranked positions were in the bottom half of the league. Even being ranked second in RB and OL could not keep these teams from avoiding last place.
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