The Associated Press began the AP Pro32 on July 31. A national panel of 12 voters was created from the 50 sports writers and broadcasters who choose the NFL's individual awards at the end of the season. All of the voters have an extensive background in covering the NFL, and some of them— John Lynch, Rich Gannon, Cris Collinsworth – played in the league.

   Each week beginning on Sept. 4, the AP Pro32 will be updated and will include comments on every team from each of the voters. In addition, each team's ranking will be mentioned in AP stories throughout the preseason and the regular season, along with a link to pro32.ap.org/poll

   The Green Bay Packers were selected as the NFL's top team by the panel for the July 31 preseason power rankings, followed by the New England Patriots and Super Bowl champion New York Giants. Green Bay and New York each received five first-place votes, and New England received two.