“That play just confirmed everything we were thinking and already know. Just confirmed the level of football IQ he has that’s on par with Peyton (Manning), (Matt) Ryan, (Philip) Rivers, (Andrew) Luck.” – Panthers head coach Frank Reich on the college play that solidified Bryce Young as their draft choice
“Jordan Love sat and Aaron (Rodgers) did a great job mentoring him. But now Jordan’s ready to play. He needs to play.” – Packers GM Brian Gutekunst
“It’s logical to think Aaron Rodgers will lift all Jets, and I believe he will. Rodgers is the kind of person who can set his mind to something and go out and do it.” – Peter King on Jets QB Aaron Rodgers
STAMFORD, Conn. – May 8, 2023 – Peter King lists his 2023 NFL offseason power rankings and speaks with Panthers head coach Frank Reich and Packers GM Brian Gutekunst about their teams’ respective offseasons in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com.
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Peter King’s Football Morning in America returns Monday, July 31 –
Peter King: “This is my last column for 12 weeks. I will resume with a column from the training camp trail on July 31. Nothing really complex about this — I just wanted to take some time off and do some family things (and a bunch of nothing too) before the start of my 40th season covering the NFL this summer.”
The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:
PETER KING’S 2023 NFL OFFSEASON POWER RANKINGS
“Can’t find a weakness” | 17) Cleveland Browns |
1) Philadelphia Eagles | 18) Tennessee Titans |
“They’ve got Super Bowl vibes” | “They’ve got holes” |
2) Kansas City Chiefs | 19) Las Vegas Raiders |
3) Cincinnati Bengals | 20) New England Patriots |
4) San Francisco 49ers | 21) Green Bay Packers |
5) Buffalo Bills | 22) Atlanta Falcons |
“They’re on the border” | 23) Denver Broncos |
6) Detroit Lions | 24) New Orleans Saints |
7) Baltimore Ravens | “Under construction” |
8) Miami Dolphins | 25) Carolina Panthers |
9) New York Jets | 26) Indianapolis Colts |
10) Dallas Cowboys | 27) Washington Commanders |
“If all goes right…” | 28) Los Angeles Rams |
11) New York Giants | 29) Chicago Bears |
12) Seattle Seahawks | 30) Houston Texans |
13) Jacksonville Jaguars | 31) Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
14) Minnesota Vikings | “Wait till 2025” |
15) Los Angeles Chargers | 32) Arizona Cardinals |
16) Pittsburgh Steelers |
Peter King on the Eagles at No. 1: “The Eagles averaged 34.7 points per game in the playoffs, have adequately compensated for losses of both coordinators, are not worse at any position, have an offensive line that should keep upright a rising superstar QB-of-the-future at the top of his game, and will field two top-15 NFL wideouts entering their age-25 and age-26 seasons.”
King on the Bengals at No. 3: “Lucky for the Bengals, defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo didn’t get the Arizona job — he’s been as good as a schemer can be against (Patrick) Mahomes.”
King on the Bills at No. 5: “Bills at the crossroads after the toughest playoff loss any team suffered last season. Josh Allen needs Gabe Davis to return to late-2021 form, and for two additions — first-round TE Dalton Kincaid and under-appreciated free agent WR Trent Sherfield — to contribute immediately. Very important year, chasing the ever-elusive Lombardi.”
King on the Lions at No. 6: “Curious move this offseason. The Lions took what wasn’t broken and tried to fix it… That’s pressure on Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, particularly when the head coach is a big-time running guy.”
King on the Jets at No. 9: “It’s logical to think Aaron Rodgers will lift all Jets, and I believe he will. Rodgers is the kind of person who can set his mind to something — such as showing the Packers and the world he’s not kaput entering his age-40 season — and go out and do it.”
King on the Cowboys at No. 10: “They’ve won 24 regular-season games in the last two years, then scored 36 points in eight quarters in two playoff losses to the Niners. Dak Prescott’s got to do something about that, now.”
King on the Seahawks at No. 12: “There aren’t many teams with a better three-man receiver corps than DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.”
King on the Browns at No. 17: “I think Deshaun Watson is still good, but how can you tell after seeing him play six (highly) mediocre games in the last 28 months?”
King on the Titans at No. 18: “Feels like the Titans are a slow start from Will Levis playing by Nov. 1, selling Derrick Henry by the trade deadline, and building for 2024.”
King on the Broncos at No. 23: “Broncos will be a playoff contender if Sean Payton unlocks Russell Wilson. It is entirely possible Payton will.”
King on the Rams at No. 28: “Not saying Sean McVay reads Football Morning in America, but I do believe that retching sound you’ll hear around 7 a.m. PT today is the sound of McVay vomiting when he sees his team ranked 28th in the NFL offseason power rankings.”
King on the Texans at No. 30: “I don’t think a team with the presence and ethos-changing ability of DeMeco Ryans and the playmaking ability of C.J. Stroud can be the worst team in the league.”
King on the Cardinals at No. 32: “The best thing about being awful this year is GM Monti Ossenfort could have the next 11 months to figure out whether his quarterback of the future is Kyler Murray or if it it’s one of the mega-prospects due out in the 2024 draft — Caleb Williams or Drake Maye.”
BRYCE YOUNG & THE PANTHERS
Panthers head coach Frank Reich on the play from Bryce Young’s 2020 freshman year at Alabama that solidified Carolina’s choice to draft him: “Bryce right there called a five-man slide, which is an incredibly smart and incredibly risky call…He saw overload pressure to his left, he figured he wasn’t getting pressure to his right, he had the line all move left to compensate — and he even got the back to cover a blitzer. Just look how easy he made it look.”
Reich on that play: “That play just confirmed everything we were thinking and already know. Just confirmed the level of football IQ he has that’s on par with Peyton (Manning), (Matt) Ryan, (Philip) Rivers, (Andrew) Luck. I’m telling you: There are quarterbacks in the NFL who haven’t done what he did right there—and he did it easily in his true freshman year in college.”
King on the Panthers’ starting quarterback job this season: “This play, showing this knowledge of the game, is one reason there is no doubt in my mind that Young will begin the season as Carolina’s starting quarterback. The Panthers might have Andy Dalton number one on the depth chart today, but Dalton’s the definition of placeholder.”
PACKERS
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst on their strategy in trading QB Aaron Rodgers: “We like to develop quarterbacks. Part of developing quarterbacks is they gotta sit for a while, I think, and then they gotta play. Obviously, Jordan Love sat and Aaron (Rodgers) did a great job just kinda mentoring him. But now Jordan’s ready to play. He needs to play.”
Gutekunst on the future of the Packers: “There’s a lot of unknowns. We’re a very young team. But I think the players, Jordan and the young guys, realize there’s gonna be more and different opportunities than they had in the past.”
King on the Aaron Rodgers trade: “All in all, trading Rodgers prior to his age-40 season could backfire on Green Bay. He could be (Tom) Brady, playing great for four or five more years. That’s the chance they’re taking.”
Read the full FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.
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A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 2019 that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.
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