Chargers rookies report to training camp later this week. Now is good time to dive into training camp storylines for every NFL team, starting with the AFC today. Tomorrow, we’ll hit the NFC.
Baltimore Ravens: Year 2 under Zach Orr
The Ravens offense is amazing. Lamar Jackson played insanely well last season, and offensive coordinator Todd Monken said the two-time MVP can take another step in 2025—which is a scary thought. But the focus for me is on the defense. Last season, the Ravens got more comfortable under first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr as the year progressed. Adding Dean Pees as a senior advisor in October certainly helped, the secondary got way better after moving Kyle Hamilton back—and now Baltimore added a tremendous deep safety in rookie Malaki Starks out of Georgia in the first round. If this is an elite defense—paired with the electric offense—the Ravens might be the team to beat.
Buffalo Bills: Progression from the receiving group
Another squad hoping to be the team to beat is the Bills, who defeated the Ravens last postseason but again couldn’t find a way to get past the Chiefs—despite the usual postseason heroics of Josh Allen, who is one of the top playoff performers in NFL history despite the team not coming through. For Buffalo to advance through the AFC and play for a Super Bowl, they’ll need guys to step up around Allen. Most notably, those guys are talented second-year wide receiver Keon Coleman and third-year tight end Dalton Kincaid. Coleman is a young player with superstar potential, and Kincaid—with impact-player potential—was dealing with a knee issue that certainly hampered him last year. Also, free agent signing Joshua Palmer at receiver is someone to watch in key situations.
Cincinnati Bengals: Can the defense hold up?
This one is obvious. The Cincy offense is led by quarterback Joe Burrow, who has plenty of firepower including Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to light up the scoreboard. A ton rides on the defense. The decision to move on from defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo (now with the Colts) was a shocker, but Al Golden takes over and is one of the most important coaches in the NFL for 2025. Golden just helped Notre Dame get to the College Football Playoff, and he’ll look for a quick buy-in from a group with a mix of experience and youth. Oh, and the contract and potential holdout status of reigning sack leader Trey Hendrickson is one of the biggest storylines to watch across the league.
Cleveland Browns: The quarterback competition
Another easy one, the Browns have a rare four-way quarterback competition where any of Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and high-profile fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders can win the job and start in Week 1. Flacco was the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year a couple of seasons ago with Cleveland. The Browns clearly think highly enough of the former first-rounder Pickett to deal a draft pick to the Eagles to get him. Gabriel was their quarterback target on Day 2 of the draft. And Sanders was arguably a top 10 overall prospect that dropped for reasons that seemingly didn’t have to do with his play on the field. It’ll be interesting to see how Kevin Stefanski splits the reps, and the Browns’ preseason games should be among the most entertaining this summer.
Denver Broncos: Did the Broncos put enough around Bo Nix?
Defensively, I think the answer to this is undoubtedly yes. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga both come over from the 49ers and bring an edge—and then Denver was able to get Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron with their first-round pick after not expecting he’d be available. The Broncos led the NFL in sacks and could be even better as a unit this year. But my question is if the Broncos put enough around quarterback Bo Nix as he enters Year 2. Nix elevated the offense and had the third-most touchdowns for a rookie in NFL history last season. While the Broncos didn’t add a clear superstar weapon like we’ve seen happen for other young quarterbacks in recent years, Sean Payton brought in tight end Evan Engram as a potential “joker,” veteran running back J.K. Dobbins, rookie running back RJ Harvey, and rookie receiver Pat Bryant to join a deep group.
Houston Texans: C.J. Stroud and the new offense
The Texans fired offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik in somewhat of a surprise after the season, but head coach DeMeco Ryans seems to have a great pulse of his team—and Stroud took a step back from his Offensive Rookie of the Year season in 2023. New offensive coordinator Nick Caley spent the past two seasons with the Rams after he was on Bill Belichick’s staff for several years in New England—but he’s a first-time play-caller. The good news is Stroud is a confident player, and the receiving group paired with a fantastic running back duo in Joe Mixon and Nick Chubb is exciting.
Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Richardson’s health and performance
There’s no doubting the skillset of Anthony Richardson—and it’s not just that he has a rocket arm with size and speed. He has a quick and ideal release, shows flashes of requisite accuracy, and overall appears to have a natural feel for the position. But the downsides have led to a slow start to his career. It’s surprising considering his personal character is high, but there appears to be merit to the talk about a lack of commitment to putting in the time it takes to be a great NFL quarterback. Also, Richardson simply hasn’t played the position much dating back to his time at Florida—and it’s hard to get better without game reps. So, we’ll see if he’s healthy for training camp after his shoulder issue popped back up in the spring. Daniel Jones might have the inside track for the job, though, and I think he can do a nice job with Shane Steichen.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Who steps up under a new regime?
Jacksonville cleaned house this offseason, and there’s a lot of work to be done after what former general manager Trent Baalke did. Hopefully first-year head coach Liam Coen is able to establish a positive foundation for a team that’s itching for guys to step up—whether that’s former No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker continuing his ascension, fellow former first-rounder Devin Lloyd emerging, or stars that have been counted out—like running back Travis Etienne Jr. and even quarterback Trevor Lawrence to some extent—being major difference-makers.
Kansas City Chiefs: Bombs away?
This was a storyline last year, but injuries struck starting with Hollywood Brown before the season: Will the Chiefs get back to their old ways and start bombing the ball with Patrick Mahomes? Despite Kansas City getting to two Super Bowls and winning one over the past two seasons, Mahomes hasn’t been quite himself in that stretch during the regular season. Now, Rashee Rice is healthy at receiver to start camp, and first-round pick Josh Simmons can be an immediate force at left tackle. Ultimately, Mahomes again says he wants to get back to throwing the ball around and launching it more—while perhaps putting a little less pressure on himself to do so. If the Chiefs can have more fun after their three-peat quest was dashed in the Big Game, they can be as dangerous as ever if the offense is lighting it up and the defense remains top-notch.
Las Vegas Raiders: Competition
Hiring Pete Carroll was a good idea for the Raiders, as he’s a guy that is going to preach competition above all else to set the tone for a franchise looking to get back on track and stay there. In Seattle, Carroll always got the most out of young players, and there’s no reason to think he won’t do the same in Vegas. It helps having a stud like first-round running back Ashton Jeanty in the mix as an offensive centerpiece—and the mix of Geno Smith’s accuracy and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly scheming things up is intriguing.
Los Angeles Chargers: Bouncing back and taking the next step
Justin Herbert no doubt has a very bad taste in his mouth after throwing more interceptions in the playoff loss to Houston (four) than he did during his first regular season under Jim Harbaugh (three). Not only is Herbert looking to bounce back personally, but he’s looking to take the next step by being unlocked in the passing game. We saw the Chargers open things up more down the stretch in 2024, and look for that to continue after bringing veteran receiver Mike Williams back and adding Ole Miss receiver Tre Harris in Round 2 of the draft. Plus, they signed Najee Harris and took Omarion Hampton in Round 1 at running back, which should help LA remain balanced, flexible, and dangerous week to week.
Miami Dolphins: Cornerback group
It kind of felt like the Dolphins pieced together their roster this offseason without a clear plan, but it’s very difficult to win in today’s NFL if your cornerbacks can’t hold up. Miami brought back All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in a blockbuster deal with the Steelers, but the cornerback group is now weakened without Jalen Ramsey. Keep an eye on former second-round pick Cam Smith—a confident player looking to take advantage of this opportunity—as a highly important piece for the Dolphins. Miami did add to the offensive line as was a goal, signing veteran James Daniels and taking Jonah Savaiinaea in Round 2, hopefully opening lanes for De’Von Achane and giving Tua Tagovailoa more time to hit a speedy group of weapons that just added tight end Darren Waller.
New England Patriots: Drake Maye’s progression
New England spent big on both sides of the ball this offseason, and I expect the defense—which added defensive lineman Milton Williams, cornerback Carlton Davis III, edge defender Harold Landry III, and linebacker Robert Spillane—to be strong under Mike Vrabel. But a ton is going to be on the right arm of second-year quarterback Drake Maye and the revamped offensive line in front of him with No. 4 overall pick Will Campbell and free-agent additions Garrett Bradbury and Morgan Moses. Overall, the dual-threat Maye is in a much better spot than he was as a rookie.
New York Jets: Justin Fields looking to take advantage of opportunity
The Jets are all-in on Justin Fields as their quarterback, basically handing him the keys to the offense on a team that’s flying under the radar after they were anything but the past couple of years. Having an organization believe in you like the Jets have for Fields can be a huge confidence booster, so this would be the spot for the former first-rounder to build on his physical gifts (which includes both rushing ability and accuracy) by developing into someone who can read the field and play the position at a higher level.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Aaron Rodgers
The T.J. Watt contract situation is obviously big, but let’s assume that gets solved—as it should, given how valuable he’s been to the Steelers. We’re all going to be watching how Aaron Rodgers adjusts to playing on his third NFL team. Rodgers understandable feels there’s a way of doing things that works, and he probably feels he’s earned a lot of control over the approach on offense. If that’s a match with what head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith are comfortable with, there’s legitimate upside in Pittsburgh with a roster that made aggressive upgrades including wide receiver DK Metcalf and cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
Tennessee Titans: Can Cam Ward immediately lift the Titans?
It’s happened for a few reasons including Shedeur’s slide taking over draft weekend, but I can’t remember a No. 1 overall pick at quarterback getting less attention than Cam Ward has gotten with the Titans. Ward and the team might prefer things that way. With the way Brian Callahan wants to run the ball with Tony Pollard—and now with veteran additions on the offensive line in left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and right guard Kevin Zeitler—Ward won’t be under a ton of pressure to carry the team. But if he can take care of the ball and come through in key spots with his playmaking ability, the Titans might be able to surprise in the AFC South.