49ers, Giants, Ravens move up in Cowherd's adjusted projections

We may just be a couple of weeks into the NFL preseason, but the storylines are streaming forth like tidal waves.

Stars are emerging, veterans are regressing, and shake-ups are surfacing as Week 1 of the regular season beckons. And the action has Colin Cowherd second-guessing some of his early predictions for the league's end-of-season standings. 

The host of "The Herd" is granting himself two opportunities to alter his projections before play ultimately gets underway. One will be the day of the first regular-season game, prior to Bills-Rams on Thursday, Sept. 8. The other came Tuesday. 

Here are Cowherd's new predictions, along with his reasoning behind the picks and alterations.

AFC

East: 1. Buffalo Bills, 2. Miami Dolphins, 3. New England Patriots, 4. New York Jets.

Cowherd's thoughts: "Bills are the best team, Jets are the worst, I'll take Dolphins over the Patriots based on their offensive weapons."

West: 1. Denver Broncos, 2. Kansas City Chiefs, 3. Los Angeles Chargers, 4. Las Vegas Raiders.

Cowherd's thoughts: "I still think Kansas City losing lightning-strike TD-maker Tyreek Hill hurts, and I think Russ [Wilson] in Denver is going to pop."

South: 1. Indianapolis Colts, 2. Tennessee Titans, 3. Jacksonville Jaguars, 4. Houston Texans.

Cowherd's thoughts: "I don't love the South, and I don't love the Colts. I think they need two receivers and another corner, but they’re the best of a wonky division."

North: 1. Cincinnati Bengals, 2. Baltimore Ravens (previously third), 3. Pittsburgh Steelers (previously second), 4. Cleveland Browns.

Cowherd's thoughts: "Why [am I making this change]? I've watched the Steelers' offensive line, and they still can't figure it out. This is their third year, they're making changes, can't get it right, and they don't know who their quarterback is. Baltimore meanwhile, lost a lot of really high-end players last year — Ronnie Stanley, Jimmy Smith, Marcus Peters. They're healthier, have got better offensive line play to protect an MVP-level quarterback."

NFC

East: 1. Philadelphia Eagles, 2. Dallas Cowboys, 3. New York Giants (previously fourth), 4. Washington Commanders (previously third).

Cowherd's thoughts: "First off, Carson Wentz has not had a great camp, all we've heard is negativity. Chase Young won't play for a month, he's on the PUP list. That's not great. … Daniel Jones is having a very good preseason. He's completing 77% of his passes. It's never been a size or athletic thing, he's just not been a good thrower of the football. … They have nice weapons offensively. … Brian Daboll fixed Josh Allen, can he fix Daniel Jones?"

North: 1. Minnesota Vikings, 2. Green Bay Packers, 3. Detroit Lions, 4. Chicago Bears.

Cowherd's thoughts: "Yes, the Vikings."

South: 1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2. New Orleans Saints, 3. Carolina Panthers, 4. Atlanta Falcons. Cowherd's thoughts: "Everybody else [besides] Tampa is rebuilding. The Saints don't think they are, but with Jameis Winston at quarterback, you're kind of rebuilding."

West: 1. Los Angeles Rams, 2. San Francisco 49ers (previously third), 3. Arizona Cardinals (previously second), 4. Seattle Seahawks.

Cowherd's thoughts: "Very noisy camp for Arizona, don't love that. But I think it's more with the Niners. I think their rookie class looks really good … and it looks like once again, they've hit on a couple of big-time picks. Deebo Samuel is happy with the long-term contract. It's a Super Bowl roster. I said this yesterday: Of every team I've watched in the preseason, the best roster looks like San Francisco."