16. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals are like the AFC’s version of the Dallas Cowboys. You have to feel great about that offense producing at a high level when everyone’s healthy, but the defense is disgusting. It was, anyway. The Bengals have made some upgrades on paper already this offseason, bringing in Boye Mafe to replace Trey Hendrickson. The also made a couple of really underrated signings, adding defensive lineman Jonathan Allen and safety Bryan Cook. On paper, the defense they’ve assembled should give them a shot to get back to the postseason.
15. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions narrowly missed out on the playoffs last year, and the losses of Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn proved to be much more detrimental than perhaps even Dan Campbell expected. The Lions are clearly relying mostly on internal development and the draft, but have made a couple of underrated pickups this offseason. Maybe the most notable is at the center position with Cade Mays coming in. Mays is an underrated player who upgrades a major weak spot on the Detroit offensive line. So what about replacing Taylor Decker at left tackle now?
14. Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers were the 7th seed in the AFC playoffs last season, and they just have that look once again. While a lot of folks were expecting the Chargers to be major players in free agency, they’ve had a pretty modest offseason overall, and lost a key member of their staff with Jesse Minter getting the head coaching gig in Baltimore. They need those tackles to come back healthy, because Justin Herbert staying upright is the only way this team is going to have sustained success.
13. Baltimore Ravens
It’s going to be difficult for anyone in the NFL world to focus on anything with the Baltimore Ravens other than the fact that they backed out of the Maxx Crosby trade after getting cold feet at the altar. Didn’t want to give up those first-round picks, did you Eric? The Ravens made a deal with Trey Hendrickson suspiciously immediately after Crosby’s failed physical. It’s just not as much of a needle-mover, no matter how bad the Ravens want it to be. We’ll see how it works out for them, but I’m expecting a bounce-back year for this team.