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Each season, we see at least a couple of teams show significant improvement on offense from the year prior. Whether it's due to major offseason signings, young players poised for breakout seasons, coaching changes, or teams recovering from significant injuries the previous year, there are many reasons why these teams could see offensive improvement.
Based on this, here are the three teams I believe will make the biggest improvement on offense this season, along with three biggest reasons why.
Atlanta Falcons
1. Kirk Cousins: The Falcons made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason by signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract. While Cousins has never been considered an elite QB, he is now entering his ninth consecutive season as a starter on an NFL team. The only active players that have a longer streak are Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford. Since becoming a starter in 2015, Cousins has gone over 4,000 passing yards in seven different seasons, and he was on pace to do it again last year before his season got cut short due to a torn Achilles injury in week 8, where at the time he was leading the league in touchdown passes and was second in passing yards. There are certainly question marks on how the 36-year-old Cousins will bounce back from a torn Achilles, but if he returns to his 2023 form, this offense is going to put up a ton of points.
2. Player Development: Now with Kirk under center, there are three young players who all have the potential to break out this season. Second-year running back Bijan Robinson, third-year receiver Drake London, and fourth-year tight end Kyle Pitts. Robinson was the eighth overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft and, as a rookie, accounted for 964 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 214 carries, showing signs of what could be. Atlanta drafted London with the eighth overall pick of the 2022 draft. In his two seasons, he has amassed 141 receptions for 1,771 yards. That is not bad considering he had Desmond Ridder and Marcus Mariota as his two starting quarterbacks in his career. Those same sentiments can be given to Pitts, who was drafted fourth overall in the 2021. Pitts did get to play his rookie season with a legitimate quarterback in Matt Ryan. In that one season, Pitts had 68 receptions for 1,026 receiving yards, by far his most productive season to date. Imagine what he can do with a healthy Kirk Cousins throwing him the ball.
New Offensive Coordinator: On January 29th, 2024, the Falcons signed Zac Robinson to be their offensive coordinator for the 2024 season. Robinson began his coaching career in 2019 with the Los Angeles Rams as an assistant quarterbacks coach and was part of the 2022 Super Bowl team. Impressed by Robinson, head coach Sean McVay continued to promote Robinson during his time in LA. For the past two seasons, Robinson’s title was: pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Robinson has been one of the staff members most credited for the development of multiple-time Pro Bowl receiver Cooper Kupp and also played a major role in helping quarterback Matthew Stafford acclimate to the Rams offense in 2021 after playing the previous 11 years with the Detroit Lions. Robinson definitely deserves this opportunity and could potentially thrive in this role.
New York Jets
Player Development: There are two young players on the Jets offense that I think will launch into superstardom this season. This first player is Breece Hall. Hall, the 36th overall pick in the 2022 draft, was the best player on the Jets offense last season. Hall finished his 2023 season with 964 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns, which is awesome considering he was coming off a torn Achilles injury he suffered in his rookie season. Hall showed flashes of dominance last season, and I expect that to continue this year. The second player is Garrett Wilson. Last year, Wilson hauled in 95 receptions for 1,042 yards and three touchdowns. Those are great numbers if you consider the fact that Zach Wilson was his quarterback last season. Wilson finished 2023 with a QBR of 30.6, while the average QBR among quarterbacks in 2023 was 50.1. With Rodgers (average QBR throughout career is 103.6) throwing to Wilson, the sky is the limit.
Signing Tyrod Taylor as the backup: Listen, if Rodgers goes down again for the Jets, it will be another significant blow to the season, and they can kiss their Super Bowl chances goodbye. However, they could still be a competitive team if Rodgers gets hurt. This past offseason, the Jets signed seasoned veteran Tyrod Taylor to their roster. Taylor is the perfect backup QB. Taylor is entering his 13th season in the NFL, where he has made 58 starts and has thrown for 65 touchdowns and 29 interceptions in his career. Tyrod is not going to come off the bench and help your team score 40 points, but he is very capable of executing a competitive offense as he has proven on multiple occasions throughout the years. The Jets realized last season that a need for depth at the QB position is necessary, and they got a reliable player at a cost-effective price.
Houston Texans
Based on this, here are the three teams I believe will make the biggest improvement on offense this season, along with three biggest reasons why.
Atlanta Falcons
1. Kirk Cousins: The Falcons made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason by signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract. While Cousins has never been considered an elite QB, he is now entering his ninth consecutive season as a starter on an NFL team. The only active players that have a longer streak are Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford. Since becoming a starter in 2015, Cousins has gone over 4,000 passing yards in seven different seasons, and he was on pace to do it again last year before his season got cut short due to a torn Achilles injury in week 8, where at the time he was leading the league in touchdown passes and was second in passing yards. There are certainly question marks on how the 36-year-old Cousins will bounce back from a torn Achilles, but if he returns to his 2023 form, this offense is going to put up a ton of points.
2. Player Development: Now with Kirk under center, there are three young players who all have the potential to break out this season. Second-year running back Bijan Robinson, third-year receiver Drake London, and fourth-year tight end Kyle Pitts. Robinson was the eighth overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft and, as a rookie, accounted for 964 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 214 carries, showing signs of what could be. Atlanta drafted London with the eighth overall pick of the 2022 draft. In his two seasons, he has amassed 141 receptions for 1,771 yards. That is not bad considering he had Desmond Ridder and Marcus Mariota as his two starting quarterbacks in his career. Those same sentiments can be given to Pitts, who was drafted fourth overall in the 2021. Pitts did get to play his rookie season with a legitimate quarterback in Matt Ryan. In that one season, Pitts had 68 receptions for 1,026 receiving yards, by far his most productive season to date. Imagine what he can do with a healthy Kirk Cousins throwing him the ball.
New Offensive Coordinator: On January 29th, 2024, the Falcons signed Zac Robinson to be their offensive coordinator for the 2024 season. Robinson began his coaching career in 2019 with the Los Angeles Rams as an assistant quarterbacks coach and was part of the 2022 Super Bowl team. Impressed by Robinson, head coach Sean McVay continued to promote Robinson during his time in LA. For the past two seasons, Robinson’s title was: pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Robinson has been one of the staff members most credited for the development of multiple-time Pro Bowl receiver Cooper Kupp and also played a major role in helping quarterback Matthew Stafford acclimate to the Rams offense in 2021 after playing the previous 11 years with the Detroit Lions. Robinson definitely deserves this opportunity and could potentially thrive in this role.
New York Jets
The return of Aaron Rodgers: When all is said and done, the 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers (who turns 41 in December) will be an undisputed Hall of Famer and regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Does Rodgers still have enough in the tank to lead a high-powered offense, especially considering he is coming off of a torn Achilles? Only time will tell, but Rodgers is a special player, so I am hoping that answer is yes. I also think Rodgers will be highly motivated going into this season. First, he only played four offensive snaps last season after his much-anticipated debut with a new team, which is frustrating from a competitive standpoint. Second, he knows his time is running out, and his chance to win a second Super Bowl is limited; this season might be his last shot If Rodgers is able to play at a high level, this will be the best offense he has had surrounding him in quite some time.
Player Development: There are two young players on the Jets offense that I think will launch into superstardom this season. This first player is Breece Hall. Hall, the 36th overall pick in the 2022 draft, was the best player on the Jets offense last season. Hall finished his 2023 season with 964 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns, which is awesome considering he was coming off a torn Achilles injury he suffered in his rookie season. Hall showed flashes of dominance last season, and I expect that to continue this year. The second player is Garrett Wilson. Last year, Wilson hauled in 95 receptions for 1,042 yards and three touchdowns. Those are great numbers if you consider the fact that Zach Wilson was his quarterback last season. Wilson finished 2023 with a QBR of 30.6, while the average QBR among quarterbacks in 2023 was 50.1. With Rodgers (average QBR throughout career is 103.6) throwing to Wilson, the sky is the limit.
Signing Tyrod Taylor as the backup: Listen, if Rodgers goes down again for the Jets, it will be another significant blow to the season, and they can kiss their Super Bowl chances goodbye. However, they could still be a competitive team if Rodgers gets hurt. This past offseason, the Jets signed seasoned veteran Tyrod Taylor to their roster. Taylor is the perfect backup QB. Taylor is entering his 13th season in the NFL, where he has made 58 starts and has thrown for 65 touchdowns and 29 interceptions in his career. Tyrod is not going to come off the bench and help your team score 40 points, but he is very capable of executing a competitive offense as he has proven on multiple occasions throughout the years. The Jets realized last season that a need for depth at the QB position is necessary, and they got a reliable player at a cost-effective price.
Houston Texans
Player Development: No team in the NFL has more young talent on the offensive side of the ball than the Houston Texans. Let’s start with the obvious, C.J. Stroud. The second overall pick of the 2023 draft played his rookie season like a Pro Bowl veteran, finishing with 4,108 passing yards and 23 touchdowns. Stroud has demonstrated the qualities needed to be an elite quarterback in this league, but he still has several areas in his game that he can improve upon for the upcoming season. Speaking of rookie seasons, Tank Dell, Houston's third-round draft pick in 2023, looked like a first-round draft pick last season, finishing with 709 receiving yards and seven touchdowns through 10 games. Dell was on pace for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns before an injury in Week 10 sidelined him for the rest of the year. It will be exciting to see how Dell builds off his rookie campaign. Lastly, there is Nico Collins. The wide receiver is entering his fourth season as a member of the Houston Texans, who drafted him in the third round back in 2021. Collins was Stroud's favorite target last year, tallying 80 receptions for 1,297 yards and eight touchdowns this past season. Expect that chemistry to grow as we enter year two for this duo.
Stefon Diggs Signing: One of the biggest splashes of the offseason was Stefon Diggs signing a one-year, $22,520,000 contract with the Houston Texans. If the receiving core was not already stacked enough with Dell and Collins, Houston welcomes Diggs, who has been one of the most consistent high-caliber receivers in the league since he was drafted back in 2015. Diggs has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in six straight seasons. Diggs has proven he can adapt to different systems, as he was the best wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings during his time there and then was the best receiver on the Buffalo Bills for the past four seasons. I do not know if Diggs remains the number one option in this stacked lineup, but his addition is certainly a massive bump in talent.
Joe Mixon Signing: The most under-the-radar signing of this past offseason might turn out to be Joe Mixon joining the Houston Texans after inking a 3-year, $25,500,000 contract with the organization. Mixon has never been considered an elite running back, but do not get it mistaken, Mixon ain’t no slouch. In his seven seasons as a Cincinnati Bengal, Mixon totaled 6,412 rushing yards on 1,572 carries and reached the end zone on 49 different occasions. Mixon surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in four of the seven seasons he has played in the NFL. Bottom line: Mixon is an experienced back who can contribute productively in this high-powered offense.
Stefon Diggs Signing: One of the biggest splashes of the offseason was Stefon Diggs signing a one-year, $22,520,000 contract with the Houston Texans. If the receiving core was not already stacked enough with Dell and Collins, Houston welcomes Diggs, who has been one of the most consistent high-caliber receivers in the league since he was drafted back in 2015. Diggs has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in six straight seasons. Diggs has proven he can adapt to different systems, as he was the best wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings during his time there and then was the best receiver on the Buffalo Bills for the past four seasons. I do not know if Diggs remains the number one option in this stacked lineup, but his addition is certainly a massive bump in talent.
Joe Mixon Signing: The most under-the-radar signing of this past offseason might turn out to be Joe Mixon joining the Houston Texans after inking a 3-year, $25,500,000 contract with the organization. Mixon has never been considered an elite running back, but do not get it mistaken, Mixon ain’t no slouch. In his seven seasons as a Cincinnati Bengal, Mixon totaled 6,412 rushing yards on 1,572 carries and reached the end zone on 49 different occasions. Mixon surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in four of the seven seasons he has played in the NFL. Bottom line: Mixon is an experienced back who can contribute productively in this high-powered offense.
What team do you think makes the biggest leap on offense this season? Comment below.
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