‘Tis the season for preseason power rankings and predictions for the 2017 NFL season, and the latest from USA TODAY’s Nate Davis is sure to ruffle some feathers across the league.
At the bottom of the pro football ladder, Davis has the New York Jets finishing with an awful 1-15 mark, earning them the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft:
Some Jets fans would tell you this is a glass half-full assessment. The first two games are on the road and so are three of the last four.
Davis gives his second-worst projection to the San Francisco 49ers at 2-14, which would give them the No. 2 pick in the draft for the second year in a row:
Even if the records match, they should be a better team than Chip Kelly’s 2-14 club from 2016. But the talent base is largely deficient and so is the players’ familiarity with what new coaches want them to do on either side of the ball.
I can definitely see the Jets tumbling their way to the NFL cellar this year, but I’d be surprised to see the 49ers stay in such a bad state, even with the rookie head coach/general manager combo of Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch starting their tenure without a true franchise quarterback in place.
The boldest of Davis’ prognostications is the New England Patriots running the table from start to finish, going 19-0 and defeating the Green Bay Packers for yet another Lombardi Trophy.
To check out the full predictions at USA TODAY, click here.
