One of my favorite parts about the NFL is the process of building a roster. It’s no doubt headlined by the draft—if you don’t draft well, you’re done—but strategic transactions are also critical to build a squad capable of winning a Super Bowl. Other factors like coaching and quarterback play are obviously also impactful for the fortunes of a team, but these are my top five strongest overall rosters in the NFL for 2025.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Of course, the Bills could be one of those teams (and perhaps having a team-carrier like Josh Allen at quarterback should give them the edge), and the Broncos are a roster to watch if young wide receivers step up. But the Buccaneers have a top roster at almost a sneaky level. They might have the best wide receiver group in the league with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin Jr., Jalen McMillan, and first-round pick Emeka Egbuka—who has been turning heads all summer—a deep stable of running backs in Bucky Irving, Rachaad White, and Sean Tucker; a top offensive line led by left tackle Tristan Wirfs and center Graham Barton; and a confident quarterback in Baker Mayfield, who might get better with plenty of experience to hopefully cut down on interceptions.
Defensively, star defensive tackle Vita Vea commands things up front to typically make the Bucs tough to run on under head coach Todd Bowles—and edge rusher Haason Reddick was added during free agency as someone looking to have a bounce-back campaign. Lavonte David has been a stalwart at linebacker for Tampa Bay, and the secondary includes stud safety Antoine Winfield Jr., the underrated and lengthy cornerback Jamel Dean, and second-round cornerback Benjamin Morrison—a potential rookie steal who dropped in the draft due to durability concerns. Morrison’s talent helps push the Bucs over the top and into the No. 5 spot.
4. Kansas City Chiefs
I’d argue the top four is pretty clear, with the order easily moved around. Basically, you can make a case for the Chiefs to be at the top given how well head coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach piece the roster together to construct a winning team with everything fitting together. Remember, Rashee Rice was injured last season but was looking like a legitimate WR1 weapon for Patrick Mahomes—and Kansas City also has speedster Xavier Worthy, veteran Hollywood Brown, and impressive fourth-round rookie Jalen Royals in a stacked receiving group where guys like Tyquan Thornton and JuJu Smith-Schuster are also battling for roster spots.
Tight end Travis Kelce is looking to return to form in what could be his final season, and All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones remains a headliner on the other side of the ball. Also, the offensive line—which has consistently been a strength with a powerful interior, despite occasional struggles at the tackle spots—might be the best in the league after somehow getting Ohio State left tackle Josh Simmons with the No. 32 pick in the draft. Trey Smith is the highest-paid guard in NFL history, and center Creed Humphrey was just an All-Pro in 2024.
Back to constructing a winning roster, the Chiefs bring in players who just do their jobs on both sides of the ball. Linebacker Drue Tranquill was a value signing from the Chargers last year, and they added another undervalued defender in 26-year-old cornerback Kristian Fulton this offseason to join a unit with cornerback Trent McDuffie, linebacker Nick Bolton, and edge defender George Karlaftis.
3. Baltimore Ravens
Let’s start with the duo of quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry—a super dangerous pick-your-poison with the way the two-time MVP Jackson has been distributing the ball to a group of productive weapons in tight ends Isaiah Likely—a rising star—and Mark Andrews; wide receivers Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and veteran addition DeAndre Hopkins; and the backfield of Henry, Justice Hill, and the speedster Keaton Mitchell. I’m watching how Hopkins plays at 33 years old.
The two biggest additions to the Ravens roster this year were probably first-round safety Malaki Starks and star cornerback Jaire Alexander. I love those two pickups, as Starks can be an elite ballhawk on the backend of the defense (potentially freeing up Kyle Hamilton), and Alexander is a top-notch all-around defender who will bring an additional edge to the secondary and just needs to stay healthy. Marlon Humphrey was just an All-Pro last year, and Nate Wiggins at the third cornerback spot gives the squad a secondary of all first-round picks.
Roquan Smith might be the best off-ball linebacker in football, and the interior defensive line includes Nnamdi Madubuike and Travis Jones. The offensive line and edge rush probably aren’t quite as strong as the other teams in the top four, but the offensive line is certainly well above average and Baltimore did finish second in the NFL in sacks last season.
2. Detroit Lions
Speaking of edge rush, the return and presence of defensive end Aidan Hutchinson—said to be looking unstoppable this summer in his return from a broken leg—is a big part of the Lions being slotted as a top-two roster in the NFL for 2025. And not only Hutchinson, but the entire defense—which was decimated by injuries at an unbelievable level last season—can be a force at full strength. Opposite Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport (also missed most of last season) is one of the key players around the league this year—but the defensive line includes under-the-radar star Alim McNeill, DJ Reader, and first-round pick Tyleik Williams—while the secondary is loaded with cornerbacks Terrion Arnold, Amik Robertson, and free-agent signing D.J. Reed; and safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch—with plenty of depth in the secondary.
The one question—and it’s a big one that could make this No. 2 ranking look ridiculous in hindsight given its importance—is the interior offensive line, as the franchise did not expect foundational center Frank Ragnow to retire late in the offseason. Detroit is moving Graham Glasgow from guard to center, with 2024 sixth-rounder Christian Mahagony at left guard and 2025 second-round pick Tate Ratledge at right guard. They’re bookended by All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell and the steady Taylor Decker at left tackle, but the interior is a bigger question than you’d like.
But as Ben Johnson said when he left for the Bears head coaching job, the Lions have basically built machine which should be fine without him. Jared Goff is a tough, experienced, and highly-accurate pocket passer who can work off play-action with the ultra-talented Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery in the backfield to feed those two backs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, potential breakout superstar Jameson Williams, and tight end Sam LaPorta in the passing game. General manager Brad Holmes is arguably the best drafter in the NFL, and his home run drafts are a big reason the Lions can win a Super Bowl.
1. Philadelphia Eagles
After years of getting ripped for subpar drafts where Eagles fans were shaking their heads almost every spring, general manager Howie Roseman survived long enough to eventually flip the switch and help the franchise go on an insane run. It’s difficult to have a better stretch from about 2021 on—not only with remarkable drafts which included adding DeVonta Smith, Landon Dickerson, Milton Williams, Jordan Davis, Cam Jurgens, Nakobe Dean, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper DeJean with their top picks—but totally stealing superstar wide receiver A.J. Brown, taking full advantage of the Giants foolishly letting Saquon Barkley walk in free agency, and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio identifying future All-Pro Zack Baun as an off-ball linebacker.
Plus, in 2020, you must give a ton of credit to former Super Bowl winning head coach Doug Pederson for pushing to draft future Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts at quarterback—with team owner Jeffrey Lurie reportedly pushing for it as much as anyone, too. Maybe Lurie’s input was a tiebreaker between Pederson and the front office, which loved Carson Wentz. Nevertheless, the decision to draft Hurts in the second round—and then stick with him when Nick Sirianni was hired (remember, many pushed for competition to be brought in and for Hurts to be phased out—which Lurie reportedly also shut down) was a franchise-alerting move.
Not only has Hurts played at an incredibly high level for Philadelphia, but he’s had a positive impact on the front office—which has wisely listened to him seemingly whenever he’s made a suggestion. Hurts was best friends with A.J. Brown, which helped make that trade happen, and he recently revealed that he’s had a lot of conversations with Roseman nudging him to go SEC in the draft—which Philly has certainly done with a bunch of Alabama and Georgia picks.
The development of players on the roster to help the team get to this level must be mentioned—most notably, with the job offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland (who should arguably get Hall of Fame consideration, even as an assistant coach) has done in ensuring the unit is elite—as the offensive line is an engine that drives the squad. Player development can go under the radar when it comes to successful team-building, but the Eagles, Lions, Ravens, and Chiefs are probably the best four at it—which is a big reason they lead the NFL’s best rosters in 2025.