We’re on the final stretch of the offseason. On Tuesday, July 21, NFL rookies will start reporting to training camp, and then everyone else will join them within a week. Football is coming in hot. So let’s look at the four teams that have improved the most over the offseason and what that improvement will do for them. It’s not just about teams that are going from terrible to good, but also about a very specific team that went from awesome to super sick.
So let’s look at the four teams that have improved the most over the offseason and what that improvement will do for them. It’s not just about teams that are going from terrible to good, but also about a very specific team that went from awesome to super sick.
Also, I didn't include the Raiders. They were the worst team in football last year, and any imporvement is massive for them. That's boring.
Los Angeles Rams
What they did:
The Rams were already a good team. For the past two seasons, they gave each of the eventual Super Bowl champions their only real scare in the playoffs. In the end, that doesn’t actually mean anything, but it’s not like they were some bottom-of-the-barrel team that spent resources on some mega-weak spots on the roster.
Last season, their cornerbacks were a 170-ish-pound Emmanuel Forbes, Cobie Durant and Darious Williams. One of the first things they did this offseason was trade a few picks to the Chiefs for Trent McDuffie, which is a big upgrade.
Then, free agency came along, and they signed Jaylen Watson … also from the Chiefs, which was another big upgrade.
All of a sudden, that defense was really real … and then they traded Jared Verse, a first, second, and third-round pick to the Browns for Myles Garrett. If you add him to your defensive line, you’re immediately a whoooole lot better. For the Rams, it was a ‘the rich get richer’ type of thing.
What it means:
Jared Verse is a really good and really young player. Just two years ago, he was the Defensive Player of the Year. That’s to say, it does stink for the team that he had to be part of the trade. But if that means you get Myles Garrett? Buddy, that means you’re going to be a whole lot better right now, and that’s what the Rams care about.
He’s a seven-time All-Pro, two-time defensive player of the year, and he just set the NFL single-season record for sacks (23). He’s violent, huge, and he wins faster than anyone in the league.
When the Rams got him, they went from being the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl to being the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl … but even more. It’s crazy what they’re doing over there.
Los Angeles Chargers
What they did:
Last year started really badly for the Chargers. They signed Rashawn Slater, their stud left tackle that they drafted 13th overall in 2021, to a four-year deal for $114 million on July 27. 11 days later, he tore his patellar tendon and was out for the entire season.
That meant that Joe Alt (fifth overall in 2024) had to move from right to left tackle, and Trey Pipkins took over at right tackle. That alone is not good.
And then Joe Alt messed up his ankle, had to have surgery, and only played six games all season. That meant that Jamaree Sayler and Austin Deculus took over at left tackle. Meanwhile, Mekhi Becton, who they signed in free agency, was stinking up the joint at right guard.
The bottom line is that they ended up having the worst offensive line in the NFL.
So this offseason, they made some moves to reinforce it. They signed Tyler Biadasz and Cole Strange in free agency. The former is going to be their new center, and the latter is going to be one of their guards. Then, in the second round of the draft, they picked Jake Slaughter to be their other guard.
So they rebuilt, and their stud tackles are going to be coming back from their injuries. That’s all good stuff.
The problem is that the bar for improvement is insanely low. Strange is a below-average NFL guard, and Slaughter didn’t play a single snap at guard in his college career. Sure, this is all an improvement, but there’s a very real chance that this goes really, really wrong.
What it means:
Being tough is a good thing, but you don’t ever want to be called tough. People are called tough because they keep getting beaten to hell, and then they get back up. The first word that comes to mind when you think of Justin Herbert is “TOUGH.” That’s because over the past two seasons, he’s been sacked 96 times and hit 136 times.
Maybe his new interior offensive line will play lights out and give him a year where he doesn’t get called tough. That’s probably the best-case scenario for Chargers fans.
New England Patriots
What they did:
Drake Maye’s best wide receiver last year was a 32-year-old Stefon Diggs. Diggs is good and all, but he ain’t the cat that we saw in Minnesota and Buffalo from 2015 to 2023. So the Patriots went out and signed Romeo Doubs … and traded for A.J. Brown.
Doubs? Sure. He’s a good ball player; he’s got solid hands and can be a decent tool in a passing game. However, when you see him catch the ball, you’re more wowed by the size of his guardian cap than you are by his actual skills.
Brown though? He’s the most talented wide receiver that the Patriots have had since Randy Moss from 2007 to 2010. You can say that Brown’s not in his prime anymore, and that might be right … But he’s closer to being 95% of that prime than he is 75% of it.
What it means:
Drake Maye is still going to be sick. Everyone knows that he had a cakewalk of a schedule last season, and I've got news for you: He’s got a pretty easy schedule again this year.
Now he’s going to be throwing to the most dominant X-Receiver in the NFL, and that guy is going to be running routes through the defensive backfields of the Dolphins (twice), Jets (twice), Bears, Steelers, Lions, Raiders, and Chiefs.
When Maye gets sacked on first downs, you better believe that he’s going to chunk a ball 15 yards downfield to Brown, and you better believe that he’ll break a tackle and go for 10 more. It’s going to be gross , and that offense is still going to rip.
Dallas Cowboys
What they did:
The Cowboys' defense was historically bad last season. Not only did they trade away Micah Parsons before the season started, but they also hired Matt Eberflus to be their defensive coordinator.
Everything predictably went just about as bad as possible. Their pass rush was non-existent, and their defense looked, frankly, uncoordinated. It turns out having an elite player who directly affects the quarterback and offenses have to game-plan around is pretty important.
This offseason, the Cowboys didn’t get a Maxx Crosby, a Trey Hendrickson, or a Jaelan Phillips. Instead, they got pass rushers Rashan Gary and the rookie Malachi Lawrence, and they bolstered their defensive backfield with cornerback Cobie Durant and the rookie Caleb Downs.
But maybe the best thing that they did for their defense was to hire Christian Parker to be their defensive coordinator.
What it means:
The Cowboys are on the path to being competent, which is huge because they’re one of those ‘if the defense can just be mediocre, this team will be a contender’ types of teams. Parker really seems like the kind of guy who's going to be able to get them there.
If Vic Fangio trusts you to coach the most important position group in his scheme, it means you’re doing something right … and Parker has been his defensive backs coach twice. The first time was when they were together with the Broncos in 2021, and again when they both went to Philadelphia in 2024.
In those seasons, he has turned three highly-drafted rookie defensive backs into All-Pro players in their second season: Pat Surtain II, Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper DeJean. The guy absolutely knows what he’s doing with these young dudes, and he knows how to get the best out of them.
He’s also going to be running that Fangio system … and while CP was with the Eagles, that system was built with blanketing coverage to help the pass rush. A whole bunch of teams do the normal thing where they get a good pass rush to help the guys in coverage.
Dallas made better additions at corners and safety than they did on the line. I imagine they’re going to try to win with that suffocating coverage rather than a gutting pass rush. If that works, even semi-consistently, that defense should be competent.
More NFL news and analysis
Add us as a preferred source on Google