Which NFL team will go from worst to first in 2017?

With the exception of the Patriots, parity rules the NFL. Many franchises duck in and out of the postseason with little consistency as players shift teams and a restrictive salary cap prevents the formation of the big-market superteams that rule the NBA and MLB.

As a result, amazing turnarounds have become the rule rather than the exception in the league. In 13 of the past 14 years, at least one team has gone from last place in its division to first.

Last year, we pegged the Cowboys as the most likely candidate to make the jump. Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott came through with monster rookie campaigns to fulfill that prediction. Picking 2017’s turnaround team wasn’t as easy. Here are the eight teams who finished last in their respective divisions in 2016:

The majority of those teams are stuck in quarterback hell, bottoming out toward a rebuild, or a combination of the two. That leaves three likely candidates to carry on the league’s rich worst-to-first tradition. Here’s who we think could make the leap from the division basement into the postseason.

At 7-9, the Eagles had the best record of any of last year’s bottom dwellers, and a busy offseason has them looking ascendant as the regular season approaches. Philadelphia started 2016 on a high note with a three-game winning streak that included a 34-3 blowout over AFC Championship Game participant Pittsburgh, but its offense sputtered as opponents figured out rookie quarterback Carson Wentz and his limited array of receiving options.

General manager Howie Roseman upgraded Wentz’s targets by adding veterans Torrey Smith and Alshon Jeffery this offseason. That combination, aided by a potential resurgence from 2015 first-round pick Nelson Agholor, will serve as a significant upgrade over last year’s unit. We just saw Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston find a way to avoid sophomore slumps, and the Eagles worked hard to ensure Wentz can be similarly successful.

Another issue that sapped Wentz’s effectiveness was the loss of starting right tackle Lane Johnson, who missed 10 games due to league suspension last fall. With Johnson sitting out due to a second violation of the league’s PED policy, the Eagles went 2-8. The team’s scoring dropped from 27.7 points in games he played to 20.1 points without him.

Johnson will be back in 2017, ready to keep his budding QB upright.

The Eagles also made moves on the defensive side of the ball, and the results should be frightening for players like Kirk Cousins, Eli Manning, and Dak Prescott. As The Ringer’s Robert Mays points out, the Eagles had the league’s third-best pressure rate when it came to attacking quarterbacks in 2016 — 31.6 percent of opponent dropbacks ended in panic.

This offseason, Philadelphia bolstered a line led by Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham by adding Chris Long, Timmy Jernigan, and Derek Barnett, a first-round pick who recorded 32 sacks and 52 tackles for loss in three seasons at Tennessee. That’s a deep and explosive platoon who will terrorize offensive linemen.

If that group isn’t enough to force bad throws, the team also addressed its secondary by picking up cornerback Ronald Darby from the Bills (in exchange for receiver Jordan Matthews) and drafting West Virginia ballhawk Rasul Douglas (eight interceptions last fall) in the third round. Second-round pick Sidney Jones could also make an impact at corner once he recovers from the torn Achilles tendon that kept him from being a Day 1 pick.

A strong defense got stronger, and a weak offense addressed its biggest problems. The Eagles have a tough schedule — 10 of their games come against teams with winning records in 2016, and two are against our other two rebound candidates — but Philadelphia has the chops to be a playoff team this season.

The Panthers are just one season removed from a 15-1 finish and a Super Bowl bid. And sure, they’ll have to go through last year’s NFC champions to do it, but the Panthers are poised to make it happen.

Carolina finished 6-10 last year, which was a pretty severe drop in wins from the previous season, even for a team with an obvious Super Bowl hangover. Cam Newton’s MVP stats of 2015 were just a memory as he had what was his worst season as a pro statistically. He completed just 52.9 percent of his passes and threw for 16 fewer touchdowns last year compared to 2015.

But the drop off was so dramatic that it almost has to be an anomaly. Newton was playing through a shoulder injury which required offseason surgery. Luke Kuechly — the heart of the Panthers defense — missed the final six games of the season with a concussion.

The addition of Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel, two versatile offensive weapons, should help Newton tremendously. On defense, Carolina added some veteran help to a secondary that ranked 29th in the league against the pass last season by signing Captain Munnerlyn and Mike Adams. And don’t underestimate the impact of Kuechly’s return.

It won’t be an easy road to the top of the NFC South, but the Panthers also have an easier schedule than the Falcons. This team has a real chance to go from worst to first.

The biggest obstacle for the Chargers is the quality of the AFC West. The other three teams in the division — the Raiders, Broncos and Chiefs — all finished with winning records in 2016.

After back-to-back fourth-place finishes in the division, the Chargers’ chances at surging to the top depend on:

A) Whether the Chargers are significantly better now.

and

B) If the rest of the AFC West has taken a step backward.

Both look like they could be true.

“Philip Rivers is a Hall of Fame quarterback,” Broncos pass rusher Von Miller said Thursday. “I feel like he’s done an incredible job with the type of players that he’s had over the years. He has a very talented team this year. I feel like this Chargers team is probably the most talented Chargers team that I’ve played against in my time in the league.”

The Chargers prioritized the offensive line in the offseason and grabbed wide receiver Mike Williams in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. If they finally gets some good injury luck and a strong sophomore season from Joey Bosa, they could be a much better team.

But the Chargers’ chances at an AFC West title likely rely on the Broncos, Chiefs and Raiders taking a step back. That’s not inconceivable after rough offseasons for Denver and Kansas City.

The Raiders are a Super Bowl favorite, but they won a ton of close games in 2016. Despite a 12-4 record, Oakland outscored opponents by 31 points — a number that suggests a decline could be on the way.

The Chargers play the Bills, Jaguars, Browns and Jets in the latter half of the 2017 season. If they can stay afloat until November, this could be a team with an easy path to a strong record and possibly even a division crown for the first time in eight years.