4. Cincinnati Bengals
No team had as quick of a rise as the Cincinnati Bengals did in 2021. One year after Joe Burrow’s rookie season ended in a torn ACL, the Bengals turned into the hottest offense in the NFL. Burrow and his former collegiate teammate Ja’Marr Chase were on the same page from Week 1.
Chase ended up winning the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award and the Bengals found themselves in the Super Bowl. They nearly pulled off the upset over L.A. as well, but their offensive line woes held them back.
The front office addressed this in the offseason by bringing in La’el Collins, Alex Cappa, and Ted Karras. Those moves could be enough to push them over the top as they aim to repeat as AFC champions.
3. Tampa Bay Bucs
For part of the offseason, it appeared the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be trending in the wrong direction. Tom Brady had announced his retirement and there was no clear successor behind him. Then, the seven-time Super Bowl winner decided he wasn’t done and came back.
As long as Brady’s there, Tampa Bay will be a contender. He might not have his good friend Rob Gronkowski any longer but with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Russell Gage at receiver, he will have more than enough players to distribute the ball to.
Defensively, they lost a couple of big names such as Ndamukong Suh and Jason Pierre-Paul but got younger with Logan Hall and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. They’ll once again be a great team and it helps that their division isn’t that competitive.