The Baltimore Ravens have proven over the course of the last couple of offseasons that they are not playing around and they're not going to sit on their hands and hope things will just work out for them come January. The Ravens have been aggressive in upgrading their roster on both sides of the ball, but they have made some bold moves to go after help for a secondary that became the team's biggest weakness in 2024.
The seven AFC playoff teams from last season have all done their part to try and keep up with the Kansas City Chiefs, the reigning AFC Champs, but have they done enough? As much as you hate to drive the hot take train in the offseason, it's looking like multiple teams might be poised to jump Kansas City in the AFC this coming year.
Our latest NFL Power Rankings are going to take a look at the top seven teams in the AFC from a season ago and how those teams stack up after the Ravens' latest move to upgrade their already-loaded roster.
NFL Power Rankings: Ravens rising in AFC, Chiefs falling
7. Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers went out last offseason and hired Jim Harbaugh, made a ton of changes organizationally, and when push came to shove, they couldn't stop themselves from "Chargering". The Chargers absolutely wet the bed in the playoff against the Houston Texans, a matchup that pretty much everyone looked at and felt like it was the Chargers' clearest path to the Divisional Round possible.
Even after winning 11 games last season, you can't help but wonder if the Chargers have truly taken a step forward this offseason. They've upgraded on offense with the addition of players like Mekhi Becton at right guard and the duo of Najee Harris and Omarion Hampton at running back. They've upgraded at receiver.
But defensively? There are some questions. The Chargers are going to be relying on Jesse Minter's scheme and a lot of young players to really grow quickly in order to get back to that 11-win mark and possibly compete with the Chiefs in the AFC West.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers got better in the 2025 offseason, there's no question about it. The addition of Aaron Rodgers at the quarterback position is a huge upgrade over both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, regardless of your opinions of Rodgers.
Rodgers actually played pretty good down the stretch last season and while he's not the same guy that we saw once upon a time in Green Bay, he's the best quarterback the Steelers have had since Ben Roethlisberger.
The other massive upgrade the Steelers made was adding DK Metcalf at the wide receiver position. We don't know if the duo of Rodgers and Metcalf is going to be able to work, but this team is inevitably going to find a way to win 9 or 10 games this season and put pressure on all the rest of the teams in the AFC.
5. Denver Broncos
It's possible that the Denver Broncos have had the best offseason out of any team in the NFL. They added Evan Engram to an offense that had 188 yards from it's previous leader in receiving at tight end (Adam Trautman). They added Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga to the defense. They landed arguably the best cornerback in the draft in Jahdae Barron.
The Broncos also brought in JK Dobbins to fortify their backfield. With Bo Nix playing as well as he did last year, this team looks poised to take a huge jump in 2025. Sean Payton had his guys playing well above expectations last year, so maybe the biggest question for the Broncos is whether or not they can meet higher expectations in 2025.
4. Houston Texans
For whatever it's worth, I'm still extremely high on the Texans even after a pretty disappointing year in 2024. I have a feeling that what we all thought about the Texans in 2024, we're probably going to see in 2025. This is one of the most complete rosters in the NFL and while development isn't linear, I think we're going to see a huge jump from CJ Stroud.
The skepticism regarding the Texans is very fairly rooted in concern over their offensive line. Other than that, it feels like they have upgraded significantly. The addition of Jayden Higgins to the receiver position along with Nico Collins is going to be a lot of fun to watch and Houston's defense has added so much depth and an impact starter in the secondary in CJ Gardner-Johnson.
3. Kansas City Chiefs
I can't sit here and say that the Kansas City Chiefs have had a "bad" offseason, but it's leaning toward the bad category more than it is the good category.
But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, isn't it?
The losses of guys like Joe Thuney and Justin Reid loom large for this Chiefs team, although they just feel inevitable as mainstays in the AFC Championship Game at this point, right? There is always seemingly something to dislike about the way the Chiefs are constructing their roster, and it never seens to matter. This team is going to be a major factor in the playoffs until proven otherwise.
2. Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills have taken on a similar team-building philosophy to that of the Baltimore Ravens, and they are proving themselves right in being patient with the guys they are drafting and developing more often than not.
I like what the Bills did this offseason, but I don't love it. They clearly overlooked off-field stuff to sign both Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi to the defensive line, both getting popped with six-game suspensions for violating the NFL's PED policy after they had already signed. The addition of Joey Bosa is a unique wild card and the drafting of Maxwell Hairston, TJ Sanders, and Landon Jackson should add a fun wrinkle into this team's overall story.
1. Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens always do a couple of things in the offseason without fail. First, they always have a draft class that everyone loves. Second, they seem to always have a "rich getting richer" type of NFL Free Agency, even if it's a slower burn.
The Ravens got Derrick Henry last year in one of the most impactful moves made by any team in the league. This year, they've renovated a secondary that struggled last season by adding safety Malaki Starks as well as cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Chidobe Awuzie. The Ravens have gotten much better this offseason and that's scary for the rest of the NFL.
This is a team that should absolutely win the Super Bowl this coming season and if they don't, something went drastically wrong.