Not sure if your link moved Rat but the linked article is about something entirely different; grading FA acquisitions in a vacuum and explicitly not grading team strength.
As far as team strength goes my tiers pre-draft would be:
1. 49ers, Eagles
2. Vikings, Cowboys
3. Seahawks, Lions
4. Giants
everybody else much lower
49ers and Eagles should be the clear favorites. They are both in Super Bowl windows and are prioritizing the present over the future. 49ers would be my pick for #1 with Aiyuk and Bosa on final rookie contract years, QB rookie contracts and the heavily backloaded contract for Hargrave. They are getting a lot of out of the compensatory system but the lack of draft capital may still eventually catch up to them soon, so they are going for it this season.
The Eagles did lose some key defensive pieces, but they got a couple of team friendly deals too with vets hoping for a runback at another Super Bowl try. That offense should be very good again and they are also getting great leverage out of a rookie QB contract.
Vikings and Cowboys belong in the next tier. Vikings are the team that is simultaneously a great pick for racking up wins in unimportant games, and a very poor pick at winning important games in primetime. Most Vikings fans I talk to are the first ones to make that argument and it's a fanbase that is not happy despite the recent winning.
I really don't like the Cowboys being ranked above the 49ers. The Cowboys' best move has been able to get out from under the Zeke contract but they had to spend the tag on Pollard which erases the surplus they got from him last year. IMO they've also taken a step back offensively prioritizing Mike McCarthy over Kellen Moore and unless you think Dak really is a top QB then I see regression instead of improvement this year.
The Seahawks should be 5th or 6th alongside the Lions, both clearly ahead of the Giants at #7 who just significantly overpaid Daniel Jones and franchised Barkley.
The Saints are getting way too much respect right now simply because some people think Derek Carr can help them dominate the NFC South which looks like a disaster right now. However, they've been kicking the cap can along for so long now that their overall roster isn't that great despite being in a window. Once the other NFC South teams add their draft picks the hype will die down a lot, as people realize that Carr is not the type of QB to excel without a good team around him.
www.cbssports.com
