Between The Hashmarks

Between The Hashmarks

NFL Sources Sound Off on Offseason's Most Improved Teams

You can't win a Super Bowl in March and April, but you sure can take steps towards one ...

Matt Lombardo's avatar
Matt Lombardo
May 10, 2024
∙ Paid

The NFL Draft is in the rearview mirror, rookies are taking the field for the first time across the league as rookie minicamps get underway around the country, and after free agency’s first two waves, the remaining players reside in the “everything must go” bargain bins.

Several teams across the league have improved significantly, some with sights on making the worst-to-first leap and others potentially adding the free agents who can put them over the hump as legitimate Super Bowl contenders in 2024 while also adding rookies who hopefully play starring roles in a bright future.

“The Minnesota Vikings and Houston Texans have gotten better, in my opinion,” former NFL Executive of The Year Randy Mueller tells me. “I love the conviction they have shown to ‘having a plan,’ and then going out and executing it.”

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In conversations with league sources, no team was mentioned more often than the Chicago Bears, and for good reason.

Not only did general manager Ryan Poles draft generational quarterback prospect Caleb Williams, but dropped him into the softest landing imaginable after trading for Keenan Allen and then selecting field-stretching receiver Rome Odunze at No. 9 overall on the heels of inking running back D’Andre Swift in the opening moments of free agency.

Through marquee signings, finding insane value during the NFL Draft, or both, here’s a look at the teams that have improved the most this offseason, with insight from NFL executives, coaches, and scouts.

New York Jets

Image via USA TODAY Sports

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