Illinois:
After 24 years, the Bill Belichick era is over in New England. For the first time this century, the Patriots will have a new coach in Jerod Mayo to oversee the team.
An abysmal 4-13 record was the final straw for Robert Kraft to send Bill Belichick out the door. There were mixed emotions up in Foxborough whether Belichick should stay put or if a new era of Patriots football was needed. Kraft chose the second option and here we are.
There were many rumors with who Kraft would choose to become the new head coach, but he decided to stay in house and promote linebackers coach Jerod Mayo to the spot. Mayo, a defensive minded head coach, will look to continue the Patriots defensive dominance that we have been so accustomed to witnessing year after year.
With the mediocre record the Pats had in 2023, they landed the third overall pick and took Drake Maye. They are hoping that the quarterback out of North Carolina is the long term answer in New England as they have struggled to find that guy since Tom Brady departed just a couple of years ago.
They most recently sent Mac Jones packing and replaced him with Drake Maye as their second quarterback to be taken in the first round in the past couple of seasons. Maye is still not confirmed to be the Pats starter come Week 1 as he is currently competing with veteran Jacoby Brissett for the job.
For the Patriots this offseason, their main goal was to retain their core pieces that they believe will play a big role for their success in the future. They extended not one, not two, but ten players to multiyear extensions this offseason.
The defensive players extended included: Davon Godchaux, Jabrill Peppers, Jahlani Tavai, Christian Barmore, Kyle Dugger, and Anfernee Jennings. The offensive players included: Rhamondre Stevenson, Mike Onwenu, Kendrick Bourne, and Hunter Henry. New England's front office did an excellent job in retaining in-house talent for the long term this offseason.
The one player that New England has yet to extend and is currently in a contract dispute with is Matthew Judon. Judon, getting up there in age now at 31, is still one of the most valuable players on New England's defense despite his age. It will be interesting to see if Judon is that eleventh player to become extended before September 8th rolls around.
Despite their 4-13 record, the Pats still ranked 7th in the NFL in total defense. The offense was the problem. They ranked 30th in this category after flip flopping back and forth between Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe at quarterback. Is Drake Maye the answer to all of New England's problems?
They still could use some help at the receiver position with Kendrick Bourne leading the receiving core. Lately there have been rumors surrounding Brandon Aiyuk being on the trade block and the Pats have been trying hard to get him up in New England. Aiyuk would be massive for their new young quarterback and the receiving room itself.
The new era of Patriots football in New England is almost underway as the season approaches. Could the Patriots make a huge jump after their underwhelming season just a year ago or will they stay on the consistent rebuild track in 2024?
After a 10-1 start followed by a 1-5 finish and a first round playoff loss last season, the Eagles will look for a more well-rounded and consistent season lead by Jalen Hurts in 2024.
Following one season of DeAndre Swift at running back, the Eagles moved on up and acquired Saquon Barkley after signing him to a three-year deal this offseason. Barkley signed a three-year deal worth $37 million amid the ongoing running back financial crisis in the NFL.
Pairing Barkley along with Jalen Hurts and the dynamic duo of Devonta Smith and AJ Brown is going to be scary for Eagles opponents this season. The 8th ranked Eagles offense from a season ago will look to improve once again this upcoming season.
The offense did take a blow this offseason after longtime center, Jason Kelce decided to hang his cleats up and retire after 13 years. Cam Jurgens will take over the center position this season with the rest of the offensive line looking pretty reminiscent to 2023.
Another longtime Eagle, Fletcher Cox, also decided to call it quits this offseason after 12 seasons in Philly. Cox's presence on the defensive line will certainly be missed by the Eagles. The defense did vastly improve this offseason after an atrocious 2023 season.
Philadelphia ranked 23rd in total defense last season, but came ready with lots of reinforcements. The Eagles had two big free agent signings in Bryce Huff and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. They were both signed to three-year deals and will make an immediate difference on this defense. Huff replaces Hassan Reddick who was traded to his former team, the Jets.
Philly also signed Devin White from Tampa Bay to take over as starting linebacker. They did not disappoint on draft day either. After drafting top cornerback prospect, Cooper DeJean, and another linebacker in Jeremiah Trotter, the Eagles are poised for a great defensive season.
If recent history pans out like usual, it seems as if the NFC East will once again come down to the Cowboys and the Eagles. The Eagles had a much better offseason than Dallas and to me look like the much stronger team as of now. After making it to the Super Bowl during the 2022 season, Philly will look to make it back with their brand new pieces in 2024.
It seems like year after year people in Dallas are repeatedly saying, "it's our year", yet for the past 28 years, it has not been their year. After an embarrassing first round loss and a disappointing offseason, the Cowboys will once again try to prove why this season is theirs for the taking.
The Cowboys were one of the best teams in the NFL last season, ranking top five in both total offense and defense, earning them the #2 seed in the NFC. That is until they met the Green Bay Packers in the first round and got absolutely demolished by Jordan Love and company. Dallas has consistently made their mark known during the regular season, but the playoffs is what they have failed to really grasp.
Fans across the league imagined that this loss would infuriate the Cowboys front office and they would be inclined to revamp and reload this offseason. However, that was not the case. Dallas has had one of the worst offseasons out of every team in the National Football League.
The big signing the boys made this offseason was getting back veteran running back, Ezekiel Elliott. They signed him while also losing their former starter in Tony Pollard. It's hard for a team that was so all-around talented a season ago to get that much better, so the Cowboys took a step back and got worse.
After 13 seasons with the team, the Cowboys lost Tyron Smith in free agency to the Jets. Smith, one of the best offensive tackles in the league, had always been a big factor on Dallas' offensive line. Along with Smith, Dallas also lost their center, Tyler Biadasz, in free agency as well. Their offensive line certainly took a hit.
They suffered on defense as well after losing Stephon Gilmore, Jonathan Hankins, Jayron Kearse, and more. Fans across the NFL thought that Jerry Jones would have some countermove to all of these losses, yet he had nothing. To make matters worse on defense, they also lost their defensive coordinator as Dan Quinn took over the Commanders head coaching job.
To make matters even worse, CeeDee Lamb is holding out. Lamb is awaiting a new contract from the Cowboys front office, yet Dallas seems to be taking their time with delivering his wishes. In a recent interview, Jerry Jones made it seem like they aren't too focused or concerned with getting the deal done any time soon.
The question is, why wouldn't you be inclined or motivated to extend one of the league's best receivers. Lamb had the most receptions and over 1,700 receiving yards last season, yet Jerry Jones doesn't view it a priority to get this done. This situation is not normal and there must be something more going on behind the scenes that we as fans don't see.
Disappointing season after another, the Cowboys took a step back this offseason and are also currently struggling with their own internal issues. Maybe this is why it has been so long, because this is definitely not the recipe to finally end a 28 year drought.
The Giants have been one of the most talked about teams across the NFL, but not for good reason. After lots of shakeup and their fair share of critics, New York is looking to put all of the negativity behind them in 2024.
Let's start with the elephant in the room to the Giants offseason, Saquon Barkley. Barkley departed this offseason for their division rival, Philadelphia Eagles, after expressing mixed feelings about wanting to stay with the G-Men for the foreseeable future.
Barkley going to the Eagles surprised many Giants fans and they feel like he stabbed their team in the back with his decision. I believe it is safe to say there will not be many cheers when Saquon comes back to MetLife Stadium in October.
Regardless of the love or hate for Saquon Barkley, the Giants have a major hole to fill at the running back position. Saquon was responsible for 40 percent of the touchdowns scored for New York last season.
During his tenure in New York, he missed 25 games and the Giants lost 16 of those 25 games he was absent from as well. Signing Devin Singletary to take over Barkley's position is not going to quite fill the gap. The Giants will have to look elsewhere for offense in 2024.
The other massive talking point about the Giants is the state of their quarterback position. There was lots of talk this offseason whether they would use the 6th pick to draft a QB and move on from Daniel Jones, but they stuck with their guy, at least for 2024. Although the quarterback class of 2025 is nowhere near as good as this year's, this will most certainly be Daniel Jones' make or break year in New York.
They instead used the sixth pick to draft stud wide receiver, Malik Nabers out of LSU. The duo of Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers at LSU was really hard to stop, so Daniel Jones will have some big shoes to fill in order to make Nabers a top player this season. Nabers will most likely come in as the WR1, proving the fact that the Giants desperately needed receiver help for some time.
The Giants did make some noise on the defensive side of the football this offseason after they traded for star defensive end Brian Burns. They gave up a second and fifth round pick for Burns to be able to come to New York and immediately signed the star to a five-year contract as well. Burns had his name in trade rumors for the past couple of seasons in Carolina and he finally was dealt this offseason.
New York's defense ranked towards the bottom of the NFL last season, so they are hoping Burns can have a positive say in boosting this number. Burns will now join a defense already featuring Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux. This trio will certainly cause opposing offenses some major havoc.
The Giants have some serious ground to make up this upcoming season. Daniel Jones will need to come out ready to play his best football or else there will be some major changes up and coming in the nearby future for the G-Men.
Coming off brutal 4-13 season in 2023, which landed them the second overall pick, the Commanders are looking to climb their way up in the NFC East this season. With both a new coaching staff and starting quarterback, Washington is poised for improvement in 2024.
After four years served as the Commanders head coach, Ron Rivera was fired. Washington didn't have to look too far to find their next head coach. They decided to hire a coach from within the NFC East. That coach ended up being former Cowboys defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn.
Quinn lead the Cowboys defense to the #5 ranking in total defense a season ago and will look to bring that to Washington during his tenure. For comparison, the Commanders ranked dead last in total defense. A change was needed in our nation's capital and it was made.
With Dan Quinn's arrival in Washington came a haul of new signings on defense. The linebacker room was fully revamped with the additions of Bobby Wagner, Frankie Luvu, and Dante Fowler. Along with the linebackers, the Commanders signed a new defensive end pair: Dorance Armstrong and Clelin Ferrell.
They added Jeremy Chinn to the secondary along with drafting Mike Sainirstil out of Michigan as well. That's already seven different positions that Washington was able to replace this offseason with much better talent that they had previously. Not to mention that their offense has been revamped as well.
As I mentioned before, the Commanders landed the second overall pick and wound up taking Jayden Daniels. Daniels, out of LSU, won the Heisman Trophy last season after completing his fifth season in college. My favorite quarterback from this year's draft class was Daniels, so I believe that Washington struck gold with this selection.
Along with selecting Daniels, the Commanders went and got a new workhorse to take over the backfield. That would be Austin Ekeler who signed a two-year deal after coming over from Los Angeles. Ekeler and Brian Robinson will be featured in the backfield in 2024.
Washington did a great job in surrounding Daniels with lots of weapons, including Terry McLaurin. McLaurin has stuck with the Commanders through the rough times these past couple of seasons and has really yet to have a consistent QB1 throwing him the football. In his last four seasons, he has surpassed the 1,000 receiving yards mark and will look to hit that goal once again with Jayden Daniels.
The Commanders are looking much improved from a team that was an embarrassment just a calendar year ago. I have high hopes for Jayden Daniels to lead this offense and with Dan Quinn coming in leading a revamped defense, Washington could turn a lot of heads this upcoming season.
The back to back defending champions come into the 2024 season looking to become the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in a row. Kansas City comes into the season with the best odds to take home the Lombardi Trophy once again.
It's hard to imagine that a team who has won back to back Super Bowls actually improved this offseason. But the Chiefs did that. They realize that the rest of the NFL is always getting better and just because they have won two years in a row, doesn't mean the third is any easier.
The big question that has surrounded the Chiefs since the departure of Tyreek Hill, a couple of years ago, has been the strength at the wide receiver position. When you have arguably the best tight end of all time on your side, it is not as much of a concern to address the struggles of your receiver room.
But the Chiefs did address these issues this offseason. After seeing their draft pick from 2023, Rashee Rice, blossom into a WR1, they decided to give Patrick Mahomes even more weapons. Kansas City signed Marquise Brown to a one-year deal and drafted speedstar Xavier Worthy out of Texas.
Worthy ran the fastest ever 40-yard dash at this year's NFL Combine adding to the list of deep threat targets that Mahomes has at his disposal. We all saw what Mahomes could do with Tyreek Hill's speed, and if he could do the same with Worthy, watch out.
Mahomes now has this trio of wide receivers and the best tight end in the NFL in Travis Kelce. Kelce just seems to improve each and every year. He always is able to make the big catch and bail out his team or make a play away from the ball such as laying down a big block.
And you can't forget about Isiah Pacheco in the backfield as well. On paper, this looks like the best Chiefs offense that Mahomes has had since he entered the league. With Mahomes already being a three-time Super Bowl champion, that is pretty insane that this could be his best offense yet.
With the offense improving, the defense did see its number of departures this offseason. The biggest one was losing cornerback L'Jarius Sneed. Sneed had become one of the NFL's top cornerbacks during his time in Kansas City and ended up leaving for Tennessee during the offseason.
Kansas City saw other guys such as Willie Gay and Mike Edwards leave as well. Despite these subtractions, the Chiefs still are favorited to win it all once again. Patrick Mahomes is quickly surmounting his name into the GOAT conversation and his coach Andy Reid is as well. Will the Chiefs make history again or finally be stopped in 2024?
Recently, the New York Yankees announced that Hall of Fame pitcher CC Sabathia will have his number retired by the organization. Along with ...
