With three games in the books for each team, there is enough of a sample size to see which teams are ready to be categorized as haves or as have nots. There is no question that the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills are the “haves” of the AFC, while the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys are the “haves” of the NFC this season. Those teams are all set to contend for a Super Bowl this season, while the “have nots” are still in search of the right mix of talent on their rosters to become contenders in the not too distant future.
Watch the NFL on Fubo: Start your free trial now!
In the NFL, tanking is not as easy as it is in other sports. In the NBA you can pull your top player and adjust the rotation. That is not so easy in football where there are 40+ players that take the field every game with too many variables to just sit the starting quarterback and lose 10 straight games. There is too much parity and too much pride to tank in the NFL.
Having said that, these teams do not need to try and tank to put themselves in a position for the top pick in what is starting to shape up as one of the most talented drafts in recent memory.
The Carolina Panthers (0-3) might be the most talent deficient team in the NFL, but already drafted their quarterback of the future in Bryce Young. The Chicago Bears (0-3) are at a crossroads this season. The team is clearly lacking in talent across the board, while potential quarterback of the future Justin Fields is not playing up to his potential. However, the team does not seem to be putting him in the best position to succeed. That could lead to Chicago finishing at the bottom of the standings, drafting a new face of the franchise at quarterback and using its pick from Carolina to give that new face more talent around him.
The other two teams without a win through three games are the Denver Broncos (0-3) and Minnesota Vikings (0-3). There is a path for both teams to stay at the bottom of the standings and rebuild through the draft, but also a very realistic path for them to both get back on track this season. Denver and Minnesota both have quarterbacks that have either seen better days or are not enamoring to the fanbase, setting the stage for a fresh face to step in.
Of the teams with at least one win, the Arizona Cardinals (1-2), New York Jets (1-2), Houston Texans (1-2) and Las Vegas Raiders (1-2) are the next in line to finish with a Top 5 or Top 10 pick in the draft. Houston will be able to pick twice in the Top 10 in a deeply talented draft.
Watch the NFL on Fubo: Start your free trial now!
