Kansas City Chiefs
Most fanbases would be pretty happy after a 15-2 season and a trip to the Super Bowl but the Chiefs have set the bar higher, they expect to win the Lombardi Trophy. Andy Reid’s coaching staff returns intact and this team will continue to be the standard in the league. As long as Reid and Patrick Mahomes are together in Kansas City, the Chiefs are contenders.
Mahomes is still one of the best QBs in the league and while a few guys may have caught up to him, none have really surpassed him. He raises the game of the guys around him and if the offensive line had been better, he may have beaten the Eagles in the Super Bowl. They had to make some choices on the line this year, RG Trey Smith was a free agent and they needed to upgrade at LT. They traded Joe Thuney so they need a new LG. The originally signed Jaylon Moore to be their LT but then Josh Simmons fell to them in the draft. Simmons has recovered from his knee injury and already took the LT spot from Moore. They need either Kingsley Suamataia or Mike Caliendo to step up at LG, it’s not apparent either one is going to be that good. Moore could also potentially replace Jawaan Taylor at RT, for now, he’s the swing tackle. They did eventually re-sign Trey Smith to a massive extension so C Creed Humphrey, Smith, and Taylor should give them stability on the right side unless Taylor struggles. These changes were necessary after last year’s Super Bowl debacle where the Eagles defensive line destroyed the Chiefs offense before it could even start. Moore is an expensive third OT but after last season, I don’t think the team minds paying a premium, I’m sure Mahomes appreciates.
Mahomes is the guy who makes the skill position guys better than they really are. At WR, they are looking to get Rashee Rice back after his injury but he’s also looking at a six-game suspension for a hit-and-run. He’s their top WR once he’s back. They did find ways to use Xavier Worthy last year as more than just a fast guy running decoy routes. He’s still undersized and you can’t count on him being a big volume guy. Hollywood Brown returns after a lost season due to injury, that’s a familiar story for him, but wait, hold up, he already has a foot/ankle issue. JuJu Smith-Schuster is the only veteran to count on. The one guy I want to see is rookie fourth-round WR Jalen Royals, he’s a good player. RB Isaiah Pacheco hopes the offensive line gets him and the running game back on track. They brought back Kareem Hunt but rookie seventh-rounder Brashard Smith is an intriguing back to me. He could give them a little Jerrick McKinnon type of player.
Steve Spagnuolo is one of the best defensive play callers in football and he has had this unit humming the last few years. The front four is still dominated by DT Chris Jones but he’s starting to get some help. DE George Karlaftis is an excellent end and Mike Danna has proven to be a steady player on the other side. It would have helped if former first-rounder Felix Anudike-Uzomah could have contributed as a designated pass rusher but he’s already been placed on IR. DT Mike Pennel is a decent rotation guy but rookie Omar Norman-Lott is going to be needed to add something inside. The team wasn’t satisfied with the DL rotation coming out of camp so they traded for Derrick Nnadi who was a free agent they let leave in the spring for the Jets but decided to reacquire just before cutdown day. He’s a familiar face they are glad to have back. He’s already listed as the starter next to Chris Jones.
Nick Bolton was re-signed at MLB; he’s the brains of the operation. Drue Tranquill and Leo Chenal fill their roles flanking Bolton at LB. The secondary has Trent McDuffie; he’s an elite player who is best in the nickel role but can play outside too. CB Jaylen Watson returns and they added Kristian Fulton hoping these two could play outside so McDuffie can stay at nickel. S Jaden Hicks steps in for Justin Reid and pairs with Bryan Cook. These are smart players who fit Spagnuolo’s style which is why they work.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Jim Harbaugh era got off to a good start with an 11-win season and a playoff berth. The team tried to commit to the run but the offensive line had some issues and they didn’t have the best luck with their running backs. The offense has one of the better QBs in the league with Justin Herbert but they have lacked the overall talent at WR to take advantage of Herbert’s gifts.
Herbert is considered one of the top QBs in the league but there is a question if he is held back by offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Roman is a solid but unspectacular play caller. Herbert is also hindered by the lack of a game breaker at WR. Last season Ladd McConkey was excellent as a rookie but he’s more of a move-the-chains, keep the drive going WR and not a downfield threat. The team tried bringing back Mike Williams but he announced his retirement before training camp. The guy they need to step up is rookie Tre Harris. Harris has the skill set to be the big, downfield guy to open up the offense, but again, he’s a rookie. Quentin Johnston played better last season but he’s still not a great player. Late in training camp the team decided to reach into their recent past to try to help the WR group and they re-signed Keenan Allen. Allen is a solid pro who is definitely careening towards the end of is career but he’s a guy Herbert will trust in key situations. The TE position doesn’t have any dynamic weapons unless rookie Oronde Gadsden breaks out. Will Dissly and Tyler Conklin are solid vets but that’s it.
The running game was set back last season because JK Dobbins couldn’t stay healthy and neither could Gus Edwards. The team decided it needed new blood so they signed Najee Harris and drafted Omarion Hampton. Harris wasn’t a factor in training camp due to an eye injury he sustained on July 4th due to a fireworks accident. Hampton can be the dynamic piece they have been missing and it’s his job now. He can be difference maker for this offense.
The offensive line got an emergency shuffle during training camp as LT Rashawn Slater suffered a season-ending knee injury. Joe Alt will move from RT to LT while Trey Pipkins gets the RT job unless they find an alternative before the season starts. Mekhi Becton was brought in to be the new RG, he should help if he’s healthy. Zion Johnson was the LG last year and Bradley Bozeman was the center. They tried to switch those two this preseason and the experiment apparently didn’t work because Johnson and Bozeman are back to their original positions. They were hoping the offensive line would be a strength but without Slater that’s a tough ask. They have to just hope for competent play now. Alt will be fine at LT, the other four spots have questions.
Jesse Minter is a very good defensive coordinator but they are going to test him from a personnel standpoint this season. They lost NT Poona Ford and Ford was the best player they had up front. The defensive line looks like Da’Shawn Hand, Teair Tart, and Otito Ogbonnia which doesn’t instill confidence. This defense wasn’t great at stopping the run last year and they lost Ford who was the best run stuffer they had. Joey Bosa is finally gone after a few years of looking like they might cut him. He’s not a huge loss because he’s injured more than he’s healthy. Khalil Mack is aging but still quite good at OLB while Tuli Tuipulotu should step in for Bosa as the full-time starter. They need Tuipulotu to be a real player now, it’s his time. At ILB, Daiyan Henley is a potential breakout star but there was a last minute change at the other spot. Junior Colson, who was a third-round pick last year and a guy they were hoping would have a breakout season, ends up with a undisclosed injury and has been placed on season-ending IR. That’s a blow and now it’s veteran Denzel Perryman trying to fight off father time for another year. They need the ILBs to be good because the guys in front of them are average at best.
The secondary was better last season than it had any right to be given the personnel. SS Derwin James is a good player and his partner Alohi Gilman is solid but unspectacular. At CB, they found some late round gems in the draft with Cam Hart playing well when he was healthy and Tarheeb Still being a solid player too. Veteran Donte Jackson is penciled in at the other CB spot on the outside. It’s not a dynamic group but Jesse Minter gets the best out of these guys. For some reason, Minter also likes free agent signing Benjamin St.-Juste who came over from Washington. For the life of me I’m not sure why, he was never good in Washington but Minter sees something.
Denver Broncos
Sean Payton took his shot on his QB last year with Bo Nix and it worked out quite well for the Broncos. Between a good rookie year out of Nix, a solid offensive line, and a great defense, the Broncos won 10 games and made the playoffs. That was better than most probably thought the Broncos would do last year, now they need to build on that success. Payton has the offense working for Nix and Vance Joseph is running an incredible defense.
Nix isn’t the most physically gifted QB but he does all the things Payton likes in his offense. He has athletic ability to keep a play alive, he’s excellent in the short to intermediate passing area, and he efficiently moves the offense down the field. The passing game is a lot of short stuff but he does have one big play WR in Courtland Sutton even if they don’t use his downfield ability as much as they could. Payton found a way to turn Marvin Mims into a run after the catch weapon in the offense. Payton got some good play out of DeVaughn Vele too but between Troy Franklin stepping up and rookie Pat Bryant looking good, the Broncos felt safe trading Vele to the Saints. That bodes well for Franklin and Bryant. Payton also went out this off season and got Evan Engram who is a playmaker at TE they just didn’t have. He should be a favorite of Nix’s pretty quickly.
The running game wasn’t good last year despite a very good and very healthy offensive line. They let RB Javonte Williams leave in free agency and drafted RJ Harvey. Harvey should be the starter but they did also sign JK Dobbins hoping he’ll be healthy enough to give them a veteran presence. Dobbins is listed as the starter but that doesn’t feel like it will last and is probably not a great bet by Payton, Harvey is a more dynamic back. Their offensive line of LT Garrett Bolles, LG Ben Powers, C Luke Wattenberg, RG Quinn Meinerz, and RT Mike McGlinchey started most of the games as a unit and they were quite good. Wattenberg and McGlinchey missed some games but if they get the same health out of this group, they will again be very good. Adding a more talented RB will enhance the running game.
Vance Joseph’s defense was extremely tough to move the ball against. They don’t have superstars on the front line but DE Zach Allen, DE John Franklin-Myers, and NT DJ Jones are as tough as they come. Allen is one of the best pass rushing 3-4 DEs in the league, it’s not something you normally expect at that position. These guys also push the pocket to help OLBs Nic Bonitto and Jonathan Cooper excel off the edge, and they did with both getting double digit sacks. It makes the pass rush really good and that makes the pass defense overall, very tough. One thing they need to do better is be strong up the middle. ILB Alex Singleton is fine but they wanted an upgrade next to him so they signed Dre Greenlaw. When he’s healthy, Greenlaw is a star but he’s coming off an injury and it’s a risk.
They took another risk trying to improve the middle of the secondary with another former 49er, SS Talanoa Hufanga. Hufanga is the type of enforcer this team needs up the middle of the defense but like Greenlaw, he’s coming off injury and has an extensive injury history. Brandon Jones is a solid FS to play with Hufanga. At CB, the Broncos have the best in the game, Patrick Surtain II. He was the Defensive Player of the Year so he gets the #1 spot even if he has some competition (Derek Stingley mainly). Riley Moss stepped up to be the other outside CB last season and he was solid. When you’re the guy opposite Surtain, teams look your way a lot. The team did draft Jahdae Barron in the first round and he’s going to be a great addition. He will be the nickel corner, he can also play some outside CB, or he could be another safety. Barron is a real talent and Vance Joseph will find a way to use him.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders were bad last year and with a coach like Antonio Pierce, a starting QB like Aidan O’Connell or Gardner Minshew, and a running game led by Zamir White it’s not hard to figure out why. Tom Brady has become a minority owner, they hired John Spytek from Tampa Bay to be the GM, and installed Pete Carroll as head coach. That’s what it looks like to add competence all around, Carroll also hired Chip Kelly to be the OC after he won a National Championship as Ohio St’s OC last year. Retaining Patrick Graham as DC was also a good move.
The first moves this team made personnel wise were trading for Geno Smith to fix the QB problem. Smith isn’t a long-term solution but Pete Carroll is 73, he’s not working on a five-year window. It’s going to be an interesting mix in the passing game with what Chip Kelly will want to do, what Geno Smith is best at, and what the pass catchers can do. Smith is a downfield thrower but the receiving talent isn’t necessarily built for that at first glance. The best pass catcher is TE Brock Bowers who was elite as a rookie. He can get down the field but he’s better getting the ball and making things happen. Jakobi Meyers is probably the best WR they have and he’s more of a slot guy, over the middle type. They drafted Jack Bech who’s an outside receiver but not a true down the field threat. The best down the field guy is their fourth-round pick Dont’e Thornton Jr. He’s big, he’s fast, a he’s raw but he has really performed in camp and he’s listed as a starter. They really think they found something in Thornton. Tre Tucker is a nice speed receiver too and he should benefit from having Geno Smith around. Smith is a huge upgrade talent wise; it’s going to depend on if they can put the offense together for him.
The running game was awful last season with an offensive line that was finding it’s footing and almost no talent at RB. They fixed the running back talent issue by taking Ashton Jeanty in the first round, he’s an elite talent. He alone will make this running game better but he won’t have to do it alone. They moved Jackson Powers-Johnson to center towards the middle of last season and thought he would stick there but in camp they moved Jordan Meredith to the pivot and JPJ is playing RG now. LT Kolton Miller is a very solid guy while they liked what they saw from rookie DJ Glaze at RT. Glaze is a work in progress but should get better with more reps. With Meredith moving to the middle, Dylan Parham should be the LG with Alex Cappa as a depth piece. The other big upgrade is Chip Kelly calling the offense, especially the running game. He’s light years ahead of where they were last year with Luke Getsy calling the offense.
Pete Carroll made a great call by keeping Patrick Graham as his defensive coordinator. The Raiders defense wasn’t good last year but Graham got the best out of what he had. They didn’t exactly stack the defense this off season as they seemed more focused on offense, but they did get some veteran help. DE Maxx Crosby is one of the best in the NFL and now he’s paid like it. He needed some help after team cut DT Christian Wilkins in one of the more stunning moves before fall camp even started. Wilkins had some issues with the organization and let’s just say it ended ugly. They traded former starting CB Jakorian Bennett to Philadelphia for DT Thomas Booker IV and he looks like a great addition as he’s already a starter. DT Adam Butler is a solid player and if Malcolm Koonce comes back healthy at DE, that would really help. Perhaps Pete Carroll can find a way to motivate Tyree Wilson and turn his career around so he’s not a bust at DE.
At LB, they made a late off season addition of Germaine Pratt who had been released by Cincinnati. Pratt isn’t an elite LB but he’s a big upgrade for this team. Elandon Roberts was signed too but he’s a downgrade from Robert Spillane. The secondary is where they need to really up their game. They signed SS Jeremy Chinn and he’s solid, even if he’s not better than Tre’von Moehrig. The other safety spot isn’t good at this point. Rookie Darien Porter had a shot to start at one CB spot but looks like he’s been pushed aside by Kyu Blu Kelly, a guy I really liked in the 2024 draft. Porter will still get a chance but Eric Stokes is the other starting outside CB. Those could be upgrades at outside CB but Darnay Holmes is almost assuredly a downgrade from Nate Hobbs in the slot. It’s a mixed bag but overall, there is more talent for Graham to work with on defense.
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