Top 10 NFL Teams for 2023 (Hour 3)

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$10 minimum per order. Additional terms apply. Sports Radio. The Sixers after one quarter in a series that's tied up at two games apiece. They are in Boston for game five as the second quarter is about to start.

The Sixers have a 33 to 26 lead. Jason Tatum. Paging Jason Tatum.

You're going to show up. He was 0 for 5 in the first 12 minutes with only two points. Got to the charity stripe and hit two free throws. Al Horford's done nothing with the big fat zero. And Jalen Brown leads the Celtics right now with nine points. For the Sixers, Embita Maxi lead the way with 11. Harden has five. Two and two from the field. And Tobias Harris has six.

P.J. Tucker who Hickey's very high on and he believes he could potentially be a dangerous underrated third weapon threat for the Sixers. Played 10 minutes, no points and had a rebound in the first 10 minutes that he's played in this contest.

So we'll keep you up to date on that one. Sixers 33, Celtics 26. You do have the Suns and Nuggets coming your way in two hours from now at 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Pacific. And in the world of pucks, big night for the Devils. They scored first, I think it was Timo Meyer or maybe it was Jack Hughes who scored very early right when the game started and then the Hurricanes did answer back. So that's 1-1 heading into the second period. The Hurricanes who won their first two at home then dropped game three in New Jersey as the Devils basically put up a baseball score. I think it was like 8-4 or something like that. And now we'll see if the Devils can even up this series at two apiece. And the Stars and Kraken in Seattle. Seattle up 2-1 in this series. That comes your way at 930 p.m. Eastern.

We'll see if the Stars can bounce back after that game three performance. So we'll keep you up to date on all that as it does happen. Zach Gelb shows CBS Sports Radio. Two weeks ago, entering the draft, they gave you my top ten power rankings for the NFL. In at tenth was the Ravens, ninth the Cowboys, eight the Chargers, seven the Jaguars, six the Jets, five the 49ers, four the Bills, three the Eagles, two the Bengals, and one the Kansas City Chiefs. I'm going to make one change to that after the draft.

And I'm going to put the Eagles in second and the Bengals in third. I just absolutely loved what the Eagles did in this draft, taking all those Georgia players. Started off with Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith. The defense, they lost some pieces this offseason to kind of restock that defense in the first round and get those two players. And I think Nolan Smith can be an absolute stud. I was shocked that he fell to I believe it was the 30th pick in the draft because he only had 31 picks this year, not 32 because the Dolphins did lose their first round draft pick with the tampering going back to the Brady stuff. And you also get Jalen Carter, who was a top five talent, maybe even a top three talent in this draft, but because of the off the field problems, he did fall all the way to number nine.

That's the one change that I did make there. Now, Pro Football Focus, they put out their own post draft power rankings. And here's how they did go. Hickey, do you want me to give you these rankings? I'm only going to give you the top ten. Do you want me to go one to ten or ten to one with what PFF did? Because I only think there's one thing on this list, or actually two things on this list, that are absolutely egregious. Let's go one to ten then.

Okay. Number one, the Kansas City Chiefs, two of the Eagles, and they did move them up from three to two just like me after the draft. They had the Niners at three. I think that's just a drop too high because of the Niners from a roster standpoint.

I know it's right, all analytics with PFF. So we all know that the Niners are going to grayed out. The Niners, to me, have a great roster. My biggest concern is their quarterback. Right now, we don't know if Brock Purdy is going to be ready for week one.

I think it would be a surprise at this point if he is. There's been nothing positive being said about Trey Lance. John Lynch, practically before the draft, was begging for teams to maybe go trade for him. In a bizarre way, there keeps on being momentum building for Sam Darnold to actually be starting week one. So the Niners are a top five team. Personally, I'm not going to crush them because I had them as my fifth team, but I can't put them at three just because of the uncertainty at the quarterback position. Like, hey, they've been a top four team the last two years where they've been in the final four in back to back years with uncertainty at the quarterback position. But three, in front of Cincinnati, that was a little egregious to me just because the Bengals have been to a Super Bowl and a championship game the last two years.

But nothing like to freak out about. We'll keep the list moving. Bengals four, Bills five, the Jets at six, they put the Cowboys at seven, the Chargers at eight.

Here's the one that's a shocker to me. The Browns at nine. Now, I don't know when they last released their rankings, but all it says was their pre-draft rankings.

And you try to explain this to me. It said the pre-draft rankings on the Browns. What do you think the number was? Out of 32 teams, you would think that it would be right in the top 15 if now you have them at nine, correct?

Yeah, I would guess 14 before you said that. They had 21! How do you move the Browns from 21 to nine and Cleveland, they didn't have a pick to what, the third round because of the Watson deal?

It's like, that doesn't make sense to me. Yeah, the Browns' first pick was Cedric Tillman, the wide receiver out of Tennessee. 73rd overall. They did not have a pick. They did not make a selection until the 73rd pick in the draft. How is that enough to move up from PFF in their pre-draft ranking from 21 to nine? And all it says in the description, the Browns shored up their defense this offseason by adding safety one, Thornhill and defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson and they talked about one of their draft picks who posted a 76.4 pro football focus pass rushing grade and 11.6 pass rush win rate in 2022. And they also said Cleveland added to its receiving corps by drafting Tennessee wide receiver Cedric Tillman.

Remember also the Browns this offseason, they traded for Elijah Moore as well and last year they made a very good move in bringing in Amari Cooper for basically nothing. But like Hickey, that's inconceivable to me how they, before the draft they were 21. Like if they had an eagle-like draft, all right, you see the rise and it's understandable. But to go from 21 to nine when you didn't pick until the third round, that makes no sense to me. Well, I mean, even if you had an Eagles-like draft where everyone loves it, it's a crazy jump. It's also, the draft's a projection. So it does not mean that they're going to be starting day number one and be pro bowl level players from year number one.

So even if they had a great draft, there's still nothing that justifies going from 21 to nine when not much has really changed. And then in a 10, the Baltimore Ravens, there's a team missing. How are the Jaguars not in the top 10? The Jaguars have an easy peasy division. The Jaguars have a Super Bowl winning head coach. They have a quarterback that finally showed with good coaching that he's back to being that quarterback that everyone thought could be this great player and showing why he's deserving of the number one overall pick.

How do you enter this year? With the Jaguars who, as long as Trevor Lawrence stays healthy, they're going to easily win 10 games, easily. With that division, with the Texans, you got the Colts.

I don't think anyone really believes in Tennessee. How do you put the Browns in front of the Jaguars? I don't know.

I wish I had an answer for you. I mean, you know what? Just tell me. Tells me that PFF thinks the rust is really going to be knocked off of Deshaun Watson. But even then, you're in a brutal division. You may be in the best division in football. When you look at the Bengals, you got the Ravens. And I'm not telling you Cleveland's going to be awful. And you got Pittsburgh, who's got a good defense.

And, you know, I kind of like the players that they brought in on the offensive side of the ball. That's a, from top to bottom, one through four in that division, that's a tough division. Like the AFC East is tough. The AFC West, I don't really believe in Denver or the Raiders. Like, just look at the AFC.

The South is by far and away the easiest division. And you're going to tell me that not only are the Jaguars not top ten, but you're going to put the Browns and the Ravens in front of them? Like, if you were to tell me one of those teams, okay. You know, you could be a little bit different.

You could make an argument. Like, I had the Ravens in at number ten on my list. I had Jacksonville at seven. But to tell me that they're not in the top ten and you put the Browns in front of them?

That's one that just does not make sense to me. Where do you think the Jaguars ended up on this list? I will say 12.

You're spot on. They were 12. Now the Dolphins were 11. Giants 13. Minnesota 14. The Lions 15. The Seahawks at 16. Which, by the way, not that I'm going to put them in my top ten, but I feel like the Seahawks should move up a few spots.

I like what Seattle's doing. I know it's still tough to believe fully in Geno Smith, but Geno Smith played good football last year. Their running back room is awesome and physical with Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Receiving wise, you go get who I thought was the best wide receiver in the draft in Jackson Smith and Jigba to already Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf.

You also, fifth overall, got Devin Witherspoon in a quarterback room that's already good with Woullen. It's like, I look at Seattle, Seattle could be the third best team in the NFC. I only think two teams, well, three teams probably belong in the top ten because the Cowboys have these great regular seasons.

I just don't believe in them in the postseason. But you could make a case that the Seahawks are the third best team in the NFC. Now I put the Cowboys in at nine. But you look at the NFC teams you could consider to be the third best team in the NFC. Cowboys definitely.

It's without a doubt the Eagles are one of the Niners of two. But for the third best team in the NFC, you got a case for the Cowboys. Minnesota will be good in the regular season, but they won't even be the best team in their division. It could be the Lions, even though I didn't love the Lions' draft. And outside of that, Seattle could be just as good as Dallas.

Seattle could be just as good as Minnesota. It could be just as good as the Lions. But it's probably right to give the Cowboys the edge just because of that defense with Micah Parsons and Diggs. I got questions about Dak Prescott putting it together. That's my biggest concern about the Cowboys. I would, to be fair, give the edge to Dak over Geno Smith.

Well that's the thing. You got questions about Dak, rightfully so. I also have questions about Geno Smith and his ability to replicate the really solid 2022 season that he had. I would say right now it's definitely fair to doubt that aspect in putting the Seahawks lower than maybe you would think or maybe that ends up being this year. 17 the Steelers, 18 the Packers, 19 the Bears. How about the Bears being at 19?

Before the draft, they were 26. This is from PFF, Patriots 20, Tampa Bay 21. I think Tampa Bay is going to be brutal this year.

Commanders 22, I think that's low for the Commanders. Broncos 23, Tennessee 24, the Raiders 25, Saints 26. That's surprising the Saints at 26. I think a lot of people believe the Saints are going to go win the NFC South this year. And I don't think that's a lock like everyone else, but if you made me pick today, I would pick the Saints to win the NFC South because I'm not really in love with any of the other teams.

I don't know what to expect. You're one at a shroud and young. Excuse me, I'm confusing them with the AFC South, but you look at the NFC South. Yeah, with Bryce Young in there with the Panthers, Tampa. I don't think Tampa is going to be all that good. Baker, you're not believing in Baker?

No. Why would I believe in Baker Mayfield? You're the only soul on the planet that still believes in Baker Mayfield. Atlanta, they got talented players.

I can't trust Desmond Ritter. So I got to give the benefit of the doubt right now to the Saints, even though you kind of hold your nose on that division, just because of Derek Carr being their quarterback, who's a fine quarterback who isn't great. But it's like you look at the Saints, they're at 26.

That doesn't make sense to me. Falcons at 27, Panthers at 28, Colts 29, Rams 30, Texans 31, and the Cardinals in at 32. This is a very funky list. Like in the top 10, the only thing I crush them for is putting the Browns at 9 and having the Jaguars out of the top 10. But like once you kind of get past, really like once you get to 18 or 19, that's where it starts to erase some eyebrows, especially when you have the Bears as 19. I mean, it is PFF.

They don't really go, don't use a lot of logic. Well, PFF I think is good, but then I always say you got to take it with a grain of salt because there's sometimes I'll look at their list, I'll be like, oh, that's a really good list. And there'll be other times where it's like, I just saw that player play.

He was great. And they're trying to tell me that he was not as good as what they made it out to be. But really, the one that I still can't believe is how before the draft started, you didn't even have the Cleveland Browns in what, the top 20?

And I'm at 21. And now they're the 9th best team in football and they didn't have a draft pick until the third round? So once again, here's my top 10. Chiefs, Eagles, Bengals, Bills, Niners, Jets, Jaguars, Chargers, Cowboys and Ravens. And I remember when we did this last time, you said you thought the Dolphins should be in the top 10, right? Was there anyone else that you thought you'd be in the top 10 to?

Outside of this 10 that I just gave you? There was another team I'm blanking at. Was it the Lions? The Lions. Yes, thank you. The Lions.

Okay. We'll see about the Lions. You know what? The Lions, I'm wondering what you're going to get out of golf this year. Like, golf had a really good year last year.

I just wonder if you're going to be able to see that again from golf. And Jameer Gibbs, he could be, like I think Gibbs will be a good running back in this league, but I didn't like that draft pick. I think Andre Switz is out of there. You know, Amman Ross St. Brown is very talented.

Jameson Williams is going to be out for the first six games of the season with the suspension. I just look at that team, I think they're good. I think they're solid. But I would not be making the case for them right now to be a top 10 team in the NFL. Like, I do like the Seahawks roster better than the Lions, just for starters, in the NFC. It is Zach Gelb's show on CBS Sports Radio.

Come on back with the News Brief. Lonnie Walker. Yeah, that's right. He was your hero last night in Game 4, as you do see the Lakers take a 3-1 series lead. Lonnie Walker is very happy that all of his hard work paid off when he had 15 points in the fourth quarter to get the Lakers that 3-1 lead. Honestly, you know, I've been shooting a lot of shots my entire life. So, you know, I got a lot of confidence in myself. I know my value. You know, I know what I'm capable of doing. And, you know, by the grace of God and a lot of hard work and sacrifices and time, you know, in the gym. Lonnie Walker says it was a dream come true to have a performance like this in the playoffs. The greatest feeling you can ever, ever imagine.

You know, as a kid, this is something I've been dreaming of doing. Not just being a part of the playoffs, but impacting it, yet alone and winning the playoffs. And, you know, I'm just, I'm truly proud of myself.

You know, it really shows my capabilities and just my mental fortitude. It was kind of crazy last night, Hickey, where just the night prior you saw Landry Shammet go off in the fourth. And then basically Lonnie Walker was just playing the role of Landry Shammet for the Los Angeles Lakers. You see that on back-to-back nights when you have all these stars, right, with the Suns, when you have Kevin Durant and you also have Devin Booker. For the Lakers, you have LeBron James and Anthony Davis. For the two biggest talking points in the last two games, you know, when you look at the Suns up against the Nuggets in Game 4 and the Lakers up against the Warriors in Game 4. And then you also see the stars on Denver and you also see the stars on the Warriors.

That's Landry Shammet. And Lonnie Walker dominate the headlines and make the big shots late and make the big plays in the final 12 minutes, that's really something. And not to be all cliche here, but that's truly why, especially in the plus, it's a team sport. The Lakers do not win Game 4 if it's not for Lonnie Walker.

I don't think I'd ever dream of saying that phrase on the radio, but that's the truth. With a team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they do not win Game 4 and probably end the Warriors dynasty without Lonnie Walker the fourth. Well, I don't know if their dynasty is now over. I think that's a little bit too in the moment, because last year it's not like the Warriors really, when you watched them, they were so great. Their good brand of basketball was still good enough to go win a championship. You gotta figure out what the heck's going on with Jordan Poole moving forward and there's some questions still to be answered. But it's not like right now there's a team in the East or the West where I'm saying it's then inconceivable for the Warriors next year to get hot, make their shots, and then go on a run back to the finals next year. I'm not saying this dynasty is over yet.

I think that's a little premature. I think we're gonna see a lot of offseason moves. A lot.

Okay, like who? Well, they're $120 million over the cab next year. Who's staying?

How did they bring them back to the team? Draymond Green has a player option. You agree Steph is still gonna be there and you agree that Klay is still gonna be there, right? I don't know about Klay. I think everyone but Steph is up on the table at this point. Okay, so as long as you have Steph and if you make the right moves as well.