FOX Sports Digital
A flurry of deals happened Monday, though they didn’t really do much to shake up the NFL landscape. The Rams were on a Super Bowl track long before they got Myles Garrett. The Browns were plummeting with or without him. The A.J. Brown trade had been baked in for some time. And Odell Beckham’s return to New York didn’t move the needle at all. By now it’s clear who the real contenders are, which teams are on the cusp, and which ones are just fooling themselves and their fans. But in case it’s not, here’s a look at the real and fake contenders, broken down by tiers. *Super Bowl odds according to DraftKings (listed in parentheses) Tier 8: The race to the top of the 2027 Draft Las Vegas Raiders (+15000)New York Jets (+15000)Miami Dolphins (+30000)Cleveland Browns (+15000)Arizona Cardinals (+40000) It is a good bet that these five teams will own the first five picks in the 2027 NFL Draft. That’s great news for them because four of them desperately need a franchise quarterback, and next year’s draft should be full of them. The Raiders are the ones that don’t need a franchise QB anymore after drafting Fernando Mendoza No. 1 in April. They even improved their team around him — at least a little. In fact, if they weren’t in the AFC, and in particular the AFC West, they might have a shot at being in the playoff race most of the season. But the road is too tough. And at some point they’ll hand Mendoza the keys, which almost always means an initial step backward. But the other four teams really do need a franchise quarterback and the race for the No. 1 pick — maybe Texas QB Arch Manning — could be fascinating (or disgraceful, depending on how obvious the tanking becomes). None of these teams have a realistic shot at the playoffs, and that should be obvious to even the most optimistic of them by no later than Halloween. The Jets might actually be the best team in this sad bunch. They have a good offensive line, a couple of good skill players and an adequately rebuilt defense. And Geno Smith might actually improve their QB play, too. But given his penchant for throwing interceptions the past two years, that might not be saying much. The Dolphins don’t seem to think they’re in the tank yet. Why else would they sign the top free agent QB (Malik Willis) and keep RB De’Von Achane? But look at the rest of their team. They’ll see it eventually, too. It stinks. And yet they still might be better than both the Browns and the Cardinals, who are both redefining Quarterback Hell. The Cards have some impressive skill players (WR Marvin Harrison Jr., TE Trey McBride, RB Jeremiyah Love), but their quarterback will either be an unhappy Jacoby Brissett or Gardner Minshew, or maybe third-round rookie Carson Beck. With a still-terrible defense, that won’t lead to a lot of wins,...
