As NFL teams begin reporting to training camps across the country, football fever is quickly returning. College football conferences are hosting their media days and media members are flooding social media with pictures of players and coaches in front of podiums at the pro and college levels.
In the NFL, every offseason is a time for internal assessment and financial consideration. How can teams get better, addressing their most glaring needs with the assets they have available? Whether it’s through free agency or the draft, every franchise is hoping to fix their problems, add depth, and strengthen their rosters to a postseason berth can be a reality once the regular season comes to an end.
Chicago Bears
Obviously, the Bears made the biggest change at quarterback. Chicago moved on from Justin Fields and selected USC’s Caleb Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner, with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. There will be a lot of pressure on Williams coming into the NFL as a top pick, but he’s coming into a significantly better situation than Fields really ever had in Chicago.The Bears not only added a new starting quarterback, but they worked hard to surround him with one of the better collections of skill position players in the entire NFL. DJ Moore was the best receiver in Chicago last year. He’ll be joined by Pro Bowler Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, who was also a top-ten pick in this year’s draft. The Bears also added a 1,000-yard rusher in D’Andre Swift and veteran tight end Gerald Everett to complement Cole Kmet. That’s a stacked offense.
Chicago also bolstered their offensive line with the additions of veterans Coleman Shelton and Ryan Bates and drafted tackle Kiran Amegadjie to add depth.
Houston Texans
CJ Stroud took the NFL by storm last year, putting up numbers that didn’t look very rookie-like with limited options on the offense in Houston. So the Texans added veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs and running back Joe Mixon, both of whom bring postseason experience and versatility to the Texans’s attack.
Defensively, the Texans needed to get better so there isn’t as much pressure on Mr. Stroud to put points on the board. They did that successfully, adding edge rusher Danielle Hunter and depth in defensive linemen Foley Fatukasi and Denico Autry and cornerback Jeff Okudah.
Philadelphia Eagles
They didn’t need to do much in Philly; they were a very good team last year that just fell apart down the stretch. They had some specific areas of need to address in the offseason, and they did that incredibly well.The biggest headline addition was replacing D’Andre Swift by taking a heart-and-soul guy away from a division rival. Saquon Barkley left the Giants for the Eagles this offseason and should give the Eagles an all-around boost to their backfield.
Pittsburgh Steelers
We’ll stay in Pennsylvania and head over to Pittsburgh, where the Steelers also didn’t need to do a lot. But the Steelers’ biggest need was at the most important position on the field: quarterback.After he was bought out of his contract by the Denver Broncos, veteran Russell Wilson signed a team-friendly deal with Pittsburgh to give them a proven starter. But then, when the Chicago Bears made the decision to draft Williams, the Steelers pounced at the opportunity to acquire Justin Fields for a modest cost. That competition for the starting job could last the entire regular season and be a major storyline in the NFL this year.
The other area that needed to be addressed in Pittsburgh was protecting whomever is under center. The Steelers’ offensive line had issues last year. So they used their first two picks of the draft on offensive tackle Troy Fautanu and center Zach Frazier to help those issues. If those two can step in and help immediately, Wilson and Fields will have a much easier time making plays.
