| Rnk | LW* | Team | Record | Comments |
| 1. | 2. | New England Patriots | 14-2 | Winners of 3 of the last 4 Super Bowls have to be considered the favorites. |
| 2. | 3. | Philadelphia Eagles | 13-3 | Things have calmed down after a tumultous off season. Lack of competition in the NFC East should go a long way toward again getting them home field advantage. |
| 3. | 4. | Indianapolis Colts | 12-4 | Signing of Simon and trade for Calmus will help the defense. |
| 4. | 19. | Carolina Panthers | 7-9 | Have the talent on both sides of the ball to be a major factor if healthy. |
| 5. | 1. | Pittsburgh Steelers | 15-1 | Should still win their share of games by running the ball and stopping the run despite questions surrounding the offensive skill position talent. The issue since Cowher took over as coach has never been the ability to win in the regular season. Cowher coached teams have overacheived in the regular season more often than not. The playoffs of course are another story. |
| 6. | 6. | Atlanta Falcons | 11-5 | Need Vick to develop as a passer to take the next step. |
| 7. | 18. | Kansas City Chiefs | 7-9 | Addressed the need for playmakers on defense with Surtain, Bell and Johnson. |
| 8. | 5. | San Diego Chargers | 12-4 | Surprise team of 2004 needs a repeat from Brees. |
| 9. | 15. | Minnesota Vikings | 8-8 | Hoping that improved defense and more balance on offense will more than offset the loss of Moss. |
| 10. | 9. | New York Jets | 10-6 | Solid front 7 on defense will keep them in games. |
| 11. | 10. | Jacksonville Jaguars | 9-7 | Need the young receivers to step up and give Leftwich alternate targets to Smith. |
| 12. | 8. | Denver Broncos | 10-6 | Shanahan is still looking for his first playoff win in the post-Elway era. |
| 13. | 12. | Baltimore Ravens | 9-7 | Boller appears to still be a major problem despite the acquisition of Mason and Clayton. |
| 14. | 16. | St. Louis Rams | 8-8 | Offense gives them a punchers chance in a division that lacks a top team. |
| 15. | 11. | Seattle Seahawks | 9-7 | Continue to tread water under Holmgren. |
| 16. | 13. | Buffalo Bills | 9-7 | 8-2 record after 1-5 start in 2004 was a bit of a mirage because of the poor competition. Losman's subpar preseason is a concern. |
| 17. | 17. | Cincinnati Bengals | 8-8 | Young skill position talent makes them interesting. Lack of top defensive talent will likely keep them from really taking off. |
| 18. | 7. | Green Bay Packers | 10-6 | Hard to envision much improvement from the defense so the weight remains on the aging shoulders of Favre. |
| 19. | 28. | Oakland Raiders | 5-11 | A porous defense and Collins' penchant for turning the ball over will make life hard on the explosive offense. |
| 20. | 22. | Arizona Cardinals | 6-10 | Expecting a lot from Warner. Whether he is up to the task is a major question. |
| 21. | 25. | Dallas Cowboys | 6-10 | Ferguson, Henry, Spears and especially Ware will bolster the defense. The key on offense is keeping Bledsoe upright. |
| 22. | 26. | Detriot Lions | 6-10 | Decision to draft a 3rd straight first round receiver was questionable considering the need for playmakers on defense. |
| 23. | 14. | New Orleans Saints | 8-8 | Hard to even think about football when watching the devistation in New Orleans. The uncertainty off the field will not help on the field. |
| 24. | 20. | Houston Texans | 7-9 | Failure to address the offensive line in the off season was a major mistake. |
| 25. | 27. | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-11 | Williams and Clayton provide two solid pieces to the rebuilding process. |
| 26. | 24. | Tennessee Titans | 5-11 | Still trying to dig out from cap related hell. |
| 27. | 23. | New York Giants | 6-10 | Manning the younger will continue to learn on the job. |
| 28. | 21. | Washington Redskins | 6-10 | Loss of Pierce and Smoot is a blow to the defense. With Ramsay, Brunnell and Campbell at QB they need as much defense as they can get. |
| 29. | 29. | Chicago Bears | 5-11 | Grossman's inability to stay healthy is a major problem for a team that should have learned from last year's mistake and brought in a better backup QB. |
| 30. | 30. | Miami Dolphins | 4-12 | Might be best served by tanking the season in order to get into position to draft Leinart. |
| 31. | 31. | Cleveland Browns | 4-12 | Savage and Crennel have the abiliy to turn this around. They just need time. |
| 32. | 32. | San Fransisco 49ers | 2-14 | Starting Rattay should help a little in the short term. The problem is that a lack of top talent on both sides of the ball makes this a long term rebuilding project. |
*Final 2004 regular season ranking.