With the kickoff to the 2018 season just a couple of months away, it's time to dive into the Pro Football Focus database and rank every roster as it stands now, at the end of June, focusing on the expected starters and how they look in our metrics. PFF grades every player on every play of every game of the NFL season, allowing us a comprehensive look at what each player has to offer.
Below, we rank the overall roster talent of every NFL team from 1-32 and offer up projected starting lineups on offense and defense. We're also including our grades for each player from the 2017 season, as well as analysis on which players might improve or decline this season.
Jump to a team:
1. Philadelphia Eagles
Biggest strength: As a part of the most dominant defensive front in football, Brandon Graham had the best year of his career in terms of sack total while continuing to cement his place as one of the most consistent edge defenders at producing pressure. For the second straight year, Graham registered an elite grade, and since 2012, he has averaged just 5.8 pass rushes per pressure generated, which is second to only Von Miller in that span.
Biggest weakness: The departure of Mychal Kendricks, who was the team's highest-graded linebacker, leaves a question mark over the Eagles' linebacking corps, with fifth-year player Corey Nelson set to fill the void. Nelson played only 43 snaps last season, and he ended the year with a grade of 64.4, his lowest since 2015.
By the numbers: A season-ending knee injury robbed us of the conclusion of a spectacular breakout sophomore campaign from quarterback Carson Wentz, but fans will nevertheless be excited by what they saw. Wentz showed dramatic improvement under pressure last season and finished with the league's fourth-best passer rating on pressured throws (81.7), an incredible 48.9 points above his 2016 mark.
2. Atlanta Falcons
Biggest strength: While his overall play did take a slight step back from his 2016 MVP campaign, quarterback Matt Ryan still played at a high level. The box score may not show that, but Ryan suffered some awfully bad luck in 2017 and threw a league-leading eight "unlucky" interceptions (tipped passes, receiver errors, etc.). Ryan ended the year tied for second in overall PFF grade while ranking third in adjusted completion percentage and throwing only five turnover-worthy passes all year.
Biggest weakness: Interior defensive lineman Terrell McClain struggled for the second consecutive year and earned a grade of just 41.8 in 2017, his lowest since his rookie season. McClain finished the campaign as the only 3-4 defensive end in the bottom three in both run-stop percentage and pass-rush productivity.
By the numbers: Once again, Julio Jones was the most productive pass-catcher in football last year, averaging 3.08 yards per route run, the highest mark in the league. In 12 years of grading, just eight players have managed to end a season with an average of 3.00 yards per route run or higher -- Jones has now done it for three straight seasons.