Gil Brandt’s ten most talented teams in the NFL does not include the Seahawks

NFL Network analyst Gil Brandt recently released his top-10 most talented teams in the league, and the only mention the Seahawks get is “Also considered: Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks.” When Bucky Brooks did the exact same list last year, the Seahawks entered the 2016 season ranked #1.

Okay, fine. We don’t know Brandt’s reasoning for leaving the Seahawks out, but we know that his top ten teams are (in order): New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Carolina Panthers, and the Washington Redskins.

This paragraph on the Panthers is just patently absurd:

It can sometimes seem as if quarterback Cam Newton is perpetually at a career crossroads, but I think he'll have a big year in 2017. He's certainly not lacking for weapons, with rookie matchup nightmares Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel joining running back Jonathan Stewart and tight end Greg Olsen on offense. Signing Matt Kalil to protect Newton's blind side was a key improvement. This team looks capable of scoring 500 points. On defense, Carolina helped itself by bringing back defensive end Julius Peppers and defensive back Captain Munnerlyn and signing safety Mike Adams. If healthy, linebacker Luke Kuechly is one of the best at his position, while there's no reason defensive tackle Kawann Short shouldn't perform.

Matt Kalil is a key improvement? Are we talking about the same Matt Kalil here? And on this contract? Uh huh.

On the “not lacking for weapons” part, Carolina’s wide receiver depth is quite comfortably the worst in the NFC South. Look at this!

They have a ways to go to bring themselves up from last season’s 25th DVOA ranking on offense.

Defensively, Julius Peppers is on his way to the Hall of Fame, but he’s 37 years old. This is going to have roughly the same effect as when Carolina traded for Jared Allen in 2015. New strong safety Mike Adams did make the Pro Bowl twice from 2014-2015 in Indy, but he’s 36, so the Panthers’ defense just got a hell of a lot older and definitely not faster if these are two of the three meaningful acquisitions.

The Seahawks have one of the best quarterbacks in the league, one of the best tight ends, one of the best wide receivers, a two-time All-Pro special teams returner who may emerge as a legitimate #2 wide receiver, added a 2013 Second-Team All-Pro running back in Eddie Lacy, arguably the best cornerback in the game, THE best and most valuable free safety in the business, the second-best front seven according to NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal, and somehow in Mr. Brandt’s world they’re nearer to a middling team in terms of talent than they are towards the top.

I don’t get it. Oh well, it’s just one dude’s list, but it’s a very bad one. Tennessee Titans fans are also probably wondering why the Jaguars get an “also considered” mention but they’re not even in the picture.