1. Seattle Seahawks: Schedule front-loaded with winnable games gives Hawks chance for fast start they didn’t make last season.

2. Arizona Cardinals: Pay no attention to Cards’ sloppy play in contests that don’t count. They’re primed to excel in those that do.

3. New England Patriots: Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who’ll start first four games as replacement for suspended Tom Brady, has not made anybody forget Tom Brady.

4. Green Bay Packers: Jordy Nelson’s return from knee injury that sidelined the Pro Bowl receiver in 2015 will jump start dead-battery offense.

5. Carolina Panthers: Emotional hangover always is a concern for Super Bowl losers, but Panthers have too much talent to significantly regress from 15-1 record.

6. Cincinnati Bengals: Time for Bengals to break through after five consecutive first-round playoff defeats.

7. Pittsburgh Steelers: Offseason drama is growing wearisome.

8. Denver Broncos: Trevor Siemian will be first Northwestern University quarterback to start NFL season opener since Otto Graham, in 1955.

9. Kansas City Chiefs: Their regular season winning streak — 10 games — is league’s longest, by a margin of seven.

10. Minnesota Vikings: It’s all about the acoustics, boss. New $1.1 billion stadium should provide Vikes with same home-field advantage Seahawks enjoy at The Clink.

11. Oakland Raiders: Outscored in fourth quarter by 60 points last season, Raiders will be trouble once they figure out how how to finish.

12. Dallas Cowboys: Poise and smarts of rookie quarterback Dak Prescott can be traced to five-year college career at Mississippi State.

13. Baltimore Ravens: Ravens looking to rebound from 5-11 mark, their first losing season since John Harbaugh took over as head coach in 2008.

14. Indianapolis Colts: Quarterback Andrew Luck remains under siege, even though Colts spent half of their eight 2016 draft picks on offensive linemen.

15. New York Jets: Ryan Fitzpatrick set franchise record with 31 passing touchdowns in 2015, but, man, those three picks in the fourth quarter of the season finale, with a playoff berth at stake...

16. New York Giants: First-year NFL coach Ben McAdoo, who was born in 1977, succeeds Tom Coughlin, who was born in 1946.

17. Houston Texans: Quarterback Brock Osweiler converted seven career starts with Broncos into $72 million contract, with $21 million coming this season.

18. Washington Redskins: Kirk Cousins will be challenged to prove his crazy numbers from a year ago — 4,166 yards passing, a 69.8 percent completion rate, a franchise-record 29 touchdowns — weren’t a fluke.

19. Atlanta Falcons: After a 6-1 start under first-year head coach Dan Quinn, sluggish slog to 8-8 finish was a downer.

20. Jacksonville Jaguars: Former UCLA linebacker Myles Jack will be in conversation for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

21. Chicago Bears: John Fox needed only two years to turn losers into playoff teams at Carolina and Denver, but it’ll take a miracle for Fox to do the same with lackluster Bears.

22. New Orleans Saints: Saints’ fall from grace related to shoddy scouting between 2010 and 2014: Five draft classes produced four players still under contract.

23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Slim and trim quarterback Jameis Winston determined to join ranks of elite.

24. Buffalo Bills: Head coach Rex Ryan will be reunited with twin brother Rob — assistant head coach/defense — for first time since they served on 1995 staff their father Buddy put together in Arizona.

25. Miami Dolphins: With “quarterback whisperer” Adam Gase whispering in his ear, Ryan Tannehill could have breakthrough season.

26. Philadelphia Eagles: Rookie head coach Doug Pederson, a Ferndale High grad, is latest seedling from Mike Holmgren’s coaching tree.

27. Detroit Lions: Megatron has retired, but quarterback Matt Stafford still has plenty of weapons — and an offensive coordinator (Jim Bob Cooter) who knows how to use them.

28. San Diego Chargers: It took a mere 123 days for Chargers to agree on contract terms with defensive end Joey Bosa, their first-round draft choice.

29. Los Angeles Rams: Relocation of franchise from St. Louis relieves USC of the burden as only professional football team in Los Angeles.

30. Tennessee Titans: Since leading 2004 Bills to 9-7 record in his first season as head coach, Mike Mularkey is 9-32.

31. Cleveland Browns: Youth movement — 14 picks in last draft — might bode well for the future, but the present... not so much.

32. San Francisco 49ers: Positioned to select Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett as the No. 1 overall draft choice.

This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 7:00 PM with the headline "NFL rankings: Seahawks look to be class of the league."