Team Preview: Denver Broncos

 

The surprise team from a year ago, the Denver Broncos come into the 2025 season looking to make a statement in the AFC. The Broncos look to improve after making their first postseason appearance since 2015 a season ago. 

Denver finished 3rd in the AFC West in 2024, good enough for the last wild card spot in the AFC Playoffs. However, it was a quick playoff stint for them as they got routed by the Buffalo Bills in the 1st round. 

Now entering his second NFL season, Bo Nix turned a lot of heads across the National Football League after capturing 10 wins in his rookie season. If it weren't for a masterclass of a season from Jayden Daniels, Nix would have easily been claimed the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. 

Nix will have a new running back corps to work with in JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey. Harvey, rookie out of UCF, and Dobbins, an experienced back, could prove to be a deadly duo up in the Mile High city. 

The Broncos also acquired another buddy for Bo Nix after signing tight end Evan Engram. In his recent years in Jacksonville, Engram proved to be one of the more consistent pass catching tight ends in the NFL. 

Engram, Harvey, and Dobbins will look to improve the Broncos' overall offensive rankings after Denver ranked towards the bottom of the NFL in this category a season ago. 

On the other hand, Denver thrived on the defensive side of the ball. The defense, lead by Pat Surtain II, ranked 7th in total defense in the entire league in 2024. Additionally, the Broncos added some highly talented players to headline the defensive corps. 

Denver signed two key veterans in Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw. The two former 49ers come over to an already stacked Denver defense looking to give opposing offenses nightmares. 

Will the Broncos regress or improve after a surprising season in 2024? Will the AFC West finally crown another champion not named the Kansas City Chiefs? Bo Nix and Sean Payton are all eyes ahead on the prosperous future for the Denver Broncos. 

Team Preview: Miami Dolphins

 

As the season approaches, the Miami Dolphins look to get back to the playoffs and win their first playoff game since 2000. For a team that thrives on speed, let's see who the Dolphins swim past this upcoming season. 

Miami had a relatively quiet offseason after failing to make the postseason a year ago. The speedy corps of Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and De'Von Achane will headline this Dolphins offseason once again despite finishing last season with a record of 8-9. 

There has always been critics of the quarterback situation down in Miami with Tua Tagovailoa leading the squad. Tua now enters his sixth season as the quarterback of the Dolphins and is in the second season of his $212 million contract.

Tagovailoa's career in Miami has been decimated by brutal injuries and horrible mistakes to count for. As he comes into his sixth season with the Dolphins, he has yet to bring the team past the 1st round of the playoffs. Many believe that this could finally be the make or break year for Tua in Miami. 

The biggest transaction the Dolphins made this offseason was a rare player for player swap with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Miami moved on from All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey, and brought back Minkah Fitzpatrick for a reunion with the team that originally drafted him.

With both players on the outskirts of their primes, this deal is not as significant as it would've been just a couple seasons ago. Fitzpatrick will join a totally revamped secondary after the departure of many key veterans. 

A couple of seasons ago, it looked like the AFC East was up for grabs for Miami, but their time has certainly ran out. I believe Miami could be a fringe playoff team, possibly grabbing a wild card spot, but that is only if Tua is able to lead them in the right direction. 

Team Preview: Chicago Bears

 

Year 2 of Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears is soon to be underway as the NFL season nears. After a 1st season that ended very underwhelming, the Bears are looking to bounce back and climb their way up the tough NFC North. 

One of the most hyped up quarterback prospects ever, Caleb Williams will look to turn the tides in 2025. There were a lot of big expectations for Williams that he did not meet in 2024, but there is still plenty of time for him to turn it around. 

Williams will be surrounded by an entirely different system this year after the Bears hired Ben Johnson to take over as head coach. Chicago saw Johnson's ultimate success in Detroit as the Lions' offensive coordinator and decided to steal him from their inner division rivals. 

The first thing Chicago did this offseason was revamp their offensive line. Their first three orders of business were trading for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, and signing Drew Dalman as well to take over center. Thuney, Dalman, and Jackson will fill the large gaps on this Bears new offensive line. 

Last year the Bears ranked 26th in rushing offense, one of their glaring struggles to complete their 5-12 season in 2024. D'Andre Swift will look for a bounce back year in Chicago behind his new body guards. 

Chicago used the draft to their advantage after drafting two key offensive weapons. With their first pick, the Bears selected Colston Loveland, a tight end out of Michigan. Loveland was highly regarded as one of the most talented tight ends in this year's class, so the Bears were not willing to pass up talent like that. 

In the 2nd round, Luther Burden was taken off the board, one of the fastest and shiftiest receivers in this past year's draft class. Burden will add to an already stacked receiving corps consisting of DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. 

Contributing to the woes of the Bears 5-12 season in 2024 was their defense as well. Luckily for Chicago, they improved a whole lot. Signing Grady Jarrett to man the defensive line alongside Montez Sweat was just the start. 

Chicago also signed Dayo Odeyingbo and extended Kyler Gordon to keep their secondary intact for years to come. On paper, the Bears are looking like a team that most will not have a fun time running into. At the same time, a lot of us were saying the same thing just a year ago. 

Nothing is going to come easy this season to Chicago, especially when 6 of their 17 games will come against NFC North foes. Will this be the year that the Bears break their playoff drought and make it back to the NFC Playoffs?

Team Preview: Arizona Cardinals

After an 8-9 campaign for the Cardinals in 2024, Arizona looks to climb up the NFC West in 2025. With a third place finish last season in the NFC West, the Cardinals forecasted some promising stars for the future. 

It's hard to believe but Kyler Murray is entering his seventh year in Arizona as the Cardinals starting quarterback. Murray has stuck with the Cardinals through the thick and thin as he enters his third season with Jonathan Gannon calling the plays for Arizona. 

The Cardinals have done a great job surrounding their franchise quarterback with talent all around him. It seems like year after year James Conner just continues to get better, despite entering his ninth NFL season.  During his 5 seasons as a Cardinal, Conner has provided consistent success on the ground game. 

Through the air, Kyler Murray will have Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. by his side. After an underwhelming first season for Harrison, many expect the young wide receiver to break out in 2025. 

This is especially due to the fact that this offense also contains Trey McBride as he constantly is known as a huge threat in the passing game. McBride is coming off his first 1000 yard season and got rewarded with a four-year contract extension this offseason. 

Arizona ranked 11th in the NFL in total offense in 2024. After retaining their top weapons, the Cardinals will look to put up similar numbers to a year ago. What unfortunately did not rank as high was the defensive corps for the Cardinals. 

Arizona addressed this problem and bulked up on defense this offseason. The first five draft picks the Cardinals had in the 2025 NFL Draft were made up of defensive players. Arizona took arguably one of the best cornerback prospects in this previous draft in Will Johnson.

Johnson will be inserted as a potential starting cornerback for the Cardinals in 2025. They also selected Walter Nolen, a defensive tackle out of Ole Miss. Along with Nolen, Arizona added Josh Sweat and Dalvin Tomlinson to bolster their front seven even further. 

Most of the glaring gaps on the defensive side of the football were filled with lots of talent and promise for 2025. On paper, Arizona looks much improved from a year ago, but will it be enough to get out of the tough NFC West and clinch a top 7 seed in the NFC?

Team Preview: Las Vegas Raiders

 

After a treacherous 4-13 season in 2024, Las Vegas is looking to make their way back up the AFC West this season. With a constantly changing quarterback room and no consistency throughout the team, the Raiders locked in this offseason. 

The new look Raiders will feature Geno Smith as the QB1 this upcoming season. Since Derek Carr departed for New Orleans, the Raiders starting quarterback position has been a revolving door. 

From Gardner Minshew to Aidan O'Connell to even Desmond Ridder, the Raiders are hoping Geno Smith will be able to efficiently play 17 games in 2025. Smith will join one of the league's premier tight ends in only his second year, Brock Bowers.

Bowers impressed everyone in 2024 after breaking the rookie receptions record, the Raiders' single-season reception record, and shattering the most receiving yards for a rookie tight end ever as well. For NFL fantasy owners, Bowers will certainly be a top pick and most likely the first tight end off all of the big boards. 

Arguably the biggest move the Raiders made this offseason was drafting running back Ashton Jeanty with the 6th overall pick. While in college at Boise State, Jeanty was making history left and right and was destined to be a hot commodity in the NFL. 

For the Raiders, getting a guy like Ashton Jeanty in this year's draft is an absolute dream for them. In 2024, Las Vegas ranked dead last in total rushing offense averaging under 80 yards per game. 

To put that into perspective, in 14 games played at Boise State for Jeanty in 2024, he averaged over 185 rushing yards per game. So, I would strongly say that drafting Jeanty was the right decision to make despite the criticism of drafting a running back within the top 10 of the NFL Draft. 

Looking back on 2024, one thing not to pout about for the Raiders was their defense. Sure it can get better, but the Raiders ranked towards the middle of the NFL in total defense. Lead by Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas could see another productive year on defense in 2025. 

One drastic change to the defense was cutting Christian Wilkins. A surprise to everyone, Wilkins was cut after signing a massive 4 year contract with Las Vegas just last offseason. Fans in Las Vegas envisioned Crosby and Wilkins to be the next big thing, but unfortunately they were wrong. 

Las Vegas will have a steep hill to climb this season after the other three teams in their division made the playoffs last season. While the Raiders have a slim shot at the postseason in 2025, mostly any other outcome is better than a 4-13 season. 

Team Preview: Los Angeles Chargers

 

Just last night, the Los Angeles Chargers kicked off the first preseason game of the calendar year with a commanding win over the Detroit Lions. As LA moves into their second year with Jim Harbaugh at the helm, how much will they improve from their disappointing first round exit a year ago?

In Jim Harbaugh's inaugural season with the Chargers, LA went 11-6 on the campaign and clinched the first wild card spot in the AFC. It is always a steep hill to climb for LA due to the constant competition and having to deal with the Kansas City Chiefs each and every year. 

Los Angeles started their offseason with a bold move after cutting their long time defensive end Joey Bosa. For a fringe top 10 defense, losing Bosa could be very impactful. Aside from Bosa, the Chargers main objective was keeping the rest of their defensive core intact in which they did.

The Chargers controlled one of the premier passing defenses in the NFL and to improve upon their already splendid defense, LA upgraded at cornerback after signing Donte Jackson. Los Angeles maintained a good majority of their core, and at the same time they got deeper as well. 

As Justin Herbert enters his 6th season under center for the Chargers, he will have a completely revamped running back room at his disposal. After a season with JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards as the two-headed monster in the backfield, the Chargers have taken a different route in 2025 with Najee Harris and rookie Omarion Hampton. 

Los Angeles ranked slightly below average in terms of their rushing offense and felt they could definitely improve this offseason. Many people around the league have high hopes for newly drafted rookie out of North Carolina, Omarion Hampton. It is expected that he will end the season as the unanimous RB1 in LA. 

Speaking of rookies, a season ago we saw rookie Ladd McConkey take the league by storm and assert himself as the WR1 for the blue and gold. After racking up the 10th most receiving yards as a rookie in 2024, McConkey will look to show fans that his brief time in the NFL has not been a fluke. 

LA's offensive line on paper looks like on of the better ones out there. After signing Mekhi Becton to a two-year deal and extending Rashawn Slater, if this offensive line stays healthy, this Chargers offense will be tough to stop. 

For the past couple of years, we have gotten used to seeing the Ravens, Chiefs, and Bills come out as the top three teams in the AFC. However, there is no clear cut 4th best team in the conference. Could this be the year where the Chargers assert themselves as that team?