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Just like we did last yearAnd the year before, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that, the crew here at CBSSports.com recently tried to rank every NFL team’s “triplets.” Why not, right? It’s the middle of the low season and it’s an off-season tradition in these parts.
So in the space below, we’re counting down the NFL’s top QB-RB-WR/TE trios again, rating the expected starters at quarterback and running back and their presumed top pass catcher for the 2023 NFL season. teams it was clear who would play which role. Less for others. Where we had to judge which player would start as quarterback or who would be the main target, we did.
In the space below you can see our ranking of these triplets. The first number in parentheses is the team’s average ranking based on the votes of several of our staff writers and editors at CBSSports.com, while the second number represents the high and low end of where our staffers ranked that individual team.
For example, our No. 13 team — the Seattle Seahawks — had an average ranking of 14.3, with a high ranking of 10 and a low of 23. We marked tierbreaks in every place where the difference between the average ranking of one team and the other exceeded 2.0. For example, the aforementioned Seahawks had an average ranking of 14.3 and the Vikings had an average of 11.9, so the Vikings are entering a new level.
The panel consisted of myself, John Breech, Jeff Kerr, Tyler Sullivan, Jordan Dajani, Cody Benjamin, Shanna McCarriston, Chris Trapasso, Kevin Steimle, Brett Anderson, Garrett Podell, Joel Magaraci, Kyle Stackpole, RJ White, Eric Kernish, and Eric Kay . The rankings reflect the collective wisdom of this mob, while the accompanying analysis is mine.
We began this exercise on Tuesday with the bottom third of the competition. We will continue with the middle of the peloton on Wednesday and we will finish with the top classes on Thursday. Without further ado…
Level 5: Pretty good! With some questions
20. Chicago Bears (Avg: 19.7, High: 15, Low: 26)
Last year: 30th
QB: Justin Fields RB: Khalil Herbert WR: DJ Moore
This is a big step forward for the Chicago trio. Fields’ performance as a runner last season was unparalleled, and the Bears did what several teams with young, up-and-coming quarterbacks have done before them to get him a No. 1 receiver. Herbert looks likely to share backfield duties with D’Onta Foreman and/or Roschon Johnson, but should be the leader of that group. If Fields can make a jump as a passer this season, Chicago could soar significantly higher next year.
19. New Orleans Saints (avg: 19.3, high: 12, low: 23)
Last year: 17th
QB: Derek Carr RB: Alvin Kamara (or Jamaal Williams) WR: Chris Olave
Well, this seems about right for the Saints. Olave was fantastic as a rookie and looks like a future star in every way. But Carr has sat somewhere between slightly above average and slightly below average for most of his career, and Kamara took a step back last year and may or may not face a significant suspension. (And Williams’s effectiveness is probably exaggerated at this point because of his absurd touchdown percentage last season.)
18. New York Giants (Avg: 18.6, High: 11, Low: 23)
Last year: 28th
QB: Daniel Jones RB: Saquon Barkley TE: Darren Waller
Jones may have been the most improved player in the NFL last season, but most of that improvement was about limiting the downside of his game, not discovering the upside. New York took more of its plate and basically asked him to be a runner and short passer and that was about it. What will things look like if and when the Giants ask him to do more? We’ll find out in the next few years, and the team at least went out and got a higher quality pass catcher in Waller to support that development.
17. Los Angeles Rams (avg: 16.8, high: 13, low: 21)
Last year: 6th
QB: Matthew Stafford RB: Cam Akers WR: Cooper Kupp
This is a steep drop for the Rams and appears to be mostly based on health. What is the status of Stafford elbow? Who the hell knows. Has Kupp fully recovered from his ankle surgery? We won’t really find out until training camp. Can Akers rediscover some of what made him an exciting prospect before his Achilles heel? We’ll see that later.
16. Las Vegas Raiders (Avg: 15.5, High: 11, Low: 19)
Last year: 9th
QB: Jimmy Garoppolo RB: Josh Jacobs WR: Davante Adams
So, um, is Jimmy G going to fit in with the Raiders? Or will that clause in his contract that he will be released without penalty for this season become very important? That is a situation that seems to hang wildly in the air. Jacobs is coming off a First Team All-Pro season, but his play last year was wildly out of step with his performance over the first three years of his career. What can we expect in the future? Adams is one of the few top receivers in the NFL, but we don’t know who will throw him the ball, or what Garoppolo will look like outside of the Kyle Shanahan cocoon if it is indeed him.
15. Detroit Lions (Avg: 15.4, High: 14, Low: 17)
Last year: 24th
QB: Jared Goff RB: David Montgomery WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown
Goff has shown at this point that if well protected he can deliver the ball in time and on target with enough regularity to lead a damn good attack. He doesn’t have much more than what’s conceived for him within the confines of the offense, but if the plan and line are as good as Detroit’s, it’s not too much of a problem. Perhaps Jahmyr Gibbs should be the back here, but Montgomery seems far more likely to be the team’s leading rusher, with Gibbs a secondary threat in both the run and pass play.
14. Cleveland Browns (Avg: 14.6, High: 9, Low: 19)
Last year: 11th
QB: Deshaun Watson RB: Nick Chubb WR: Amari Cooper
I’m honestly not sure how anyone chose their rankings for the Browns because I have no idea what anyone should expect from Watson. He essentially hasn’t played football for about a year and a half, and while it was due to a suspension and not an injury, that’s a long time to be gone and it’s not like you come back and just automatically resume your previous level. of playing. Can he rediscover that form at all? There seems to be at least a mild degree of confidence here that he can.
13. Seattle Seahawks (avg: 14.3, high: 10, low: 23)
Last year: 31st
QB: Geno Smith RB: Kenneth Walker WR: DK Metcalf
The Seahawks were probably the biggest (pleasant) surprise of last season, with Geno Smith experiencing a delayed breakout season the likes of which we’ve rarely seen in the NFL. His combination of accuracy and playmaking was among the best in the league for most of the season, although he slowed down towards the end of the year. Still, it looks like he has the confidence of our panel, which expects Seattle to once again be pretty solid in the top half of the league.
Level 4: very good, maybe not (yet) great
12. Minnesota Vikings (avg: 11.9, high: 9, low: 15)
Last year: 15th
QB: Kirk Cousins RB: Alexander Mattison WR: Justin Jefferson
Jefferson currently holds the crown as the best receiver in the league but Cousins is essentially the epitome of a league average quarterback and we’ve only seen Mattison act as the leading back a few times in his career so it’s reasonable to have some questions about how he’ll fare full-time in that role. A ranking just outside the top 10 seems about right.
11. San Francisco 49ers (Avg: 10.0, High: 5, Low: 18)
Last year: 13th
QB: ??? RB: Christian McCaffrey WR: Deebo Samuel
Do you have any idea who will play quarterback for the 49ers in Week 1? We do not. And here it didn’t matter much. Brock Purdy is still recovering from his elbow surgery. Trey Lance works his way back from a broken ankle. Sam Darnold might need to take some snaps! But CMC and Deebo are so good (and Kyle Shanahan is so good at establishing a high floor for quarterback play) that the Niners entered just outside the top 10 anyway.
10. Miami Dolphins (avg: 9.9, high: 3, low: 13)
Last year: 18th
QB: Tua Tagovailoa RB: Raheem Mostert WR: Tyreek Hill
With the exception of a stray vote at No. 3, every other panelist placed the dolphins between No. 8 and 13. That seems like the right range for this group, given the heights Tagovailoa reached as a passerby last year and the inherent risks associated with it are. him as a player right now. Hill showing what he did outside of Kansas City last season was pretty outrageous and at least somewhat unexpected. Mostert will likely share work with Jeff Wilson Jr. and Devon Achane, and we didn’t really know which direction to lean with the choice to run back here.
9. New York Jets (Avg: 9.1, High: 7, Low: 13)
Last year: 27th
QB: Aaron Rodgers RB: Breece Hall WR: Garrett Wilson
In any case, I’m a little surprised that there weren’t more different opinions about the Jets. Rodgers took a pretty big step back last season and Hall is coming off a torn cruciate ligament. I thought there would be less agreement on whether Rodgers would be able to bounce back and whether Hall would be healthy enough to lead the backfield, but there was a pretty narrow ranking here. However, Wilson is a future (if not already present) superstar and could essentially show that when anyone other than Zach Wilson was on the field last season.
8. Baltimore Ravens (Avg: 8.8, High: 6, Low: 11)
Last year: 8th
QB: Lamar Jackson RB: JK Dobbins TE: Mark Andrews
Baltimore is the only team that entered with exactly the same ranking as last year. It helps that we’re using the exact same three players, even if the Ravens have replaced many of the pieces around them, including the offensive coordinator. Jackson was on his way to rediscovering his peak form last season before injuries hit him and the receiving corps, but the Ravens are clearly hoping that Todd Monken can open things up for him and help find ways to more explosive plays through the air.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars (avg: 8.4, high: 5, low: 13)
Last year: 23rd
QB: Trevor Lawrence RB: Travis Etienne WR: Calvin Ridley
I think it will be quite some time before we ever find another Lawrence-led group outside the top 10. His emergence last season was a bit overshadowed, but he is an elite player at avoiding negative plays and in the second half of the season he started to use his play outside the structure and at a high level to attack every layer of the defense to read. With a true No. 1 wideout now on board at Ridley, he should be able to move up another level this season.
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