Tyrod Taylor

NFL Power Rankings: Which teams improved the most this off-season?

Published Oct. 4, 2017 1:52 p.m. ET

Sports Illustrated, Eric Single/Sports Illustrated

All 32 NFL teams will say they got better this off-season, and as much as we poke fun at that cliché this time of year, all 32 NFL teams are probably right.

Most contracts are engineered to allow teams to cut bait just as players stop adding value, as evidenced by the roster attrition that takes place just before the new league year opens. Add in the fascination with tinkering shared by fans and front offices alike, and you have talent churn en masse, usually for the better. The teams looking to climb the standings (or maintain their place at the top) know the success of their transactions only matters relative to the success of their opponents’ moves—they need to beat the curve, or else they’ll end up treading water at best.

So with free agency and the draft settled, who beat the curve this year? This off-season edition of Power Rankings sets the pecking order heading into the summer and recognizes the teams that made the most significant upgrades since the lights went down on Super Bowl LI.