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David J. Phillip/Associated Press

In the NFL, the difference between being an 11-5 team and a 5-11 team can be just a handful of plays. As a player—and this was especially true for me as a quarterback—you realize just how close your team is to a championship opportunity when you go back and watch film after the season.

That's the great thing about the NFL for both players and coaches. You always genuinely believe you're just a couple of pieces away. Thanks to free agency and the draft, those pieces can be had.

I remember feeling this way with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2004 season. We ended up taking Cadillac Williams with the fifth pick in the 2005 draft, and we knew we were getting one of the best playmakers in the entire draft. That gave us a newfound energy, and we went on to go 11-5 and win the NFC South.

With the draft and the bulk of free agency in the books, now is a good time to re-evaluate where teams stand. While the moves teams have made are only showing up on paper right now, these are different teams than we saw at the end of last season. My rankings are going to be different than last season's, and while they're going to change again before 2018 gets underway, here's how I currently see things.