Every year in the NFL, there are teams who get slept on in the offseason. Last year, remember how everyone thought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were going to be the worst team in the league with Baker Mayfield at the helm? The Houston Texans were routinely projected to be one of the worst teams in the league before they surprised everyone and won the AFC South.
The moral of the story is -- not every team that's expected to be bad is going to be bad. There are a lot of teams getting slept on by the masses ahead of the 2024 NFL season for whatever reason, and it's time to put them on the radar.
NFL Power Rankings: 5 teams the masses are sleeping on in 2024
Denver Broncos
After going 8-9 last year, the Denver Broncos took on another offseason of massive change. The team changed its uniforms, so the Broncos are literally going to look a lot different this season, but they also made another major change at QB, releasing veteran Russell Wilson. The release of Wilson was necessary even though the Broncos are on the hook for $85 million in dead cap over the next two years.
It's now going to likely be 1st-round pick Bo Nix at the helm for Sean Payton, the first time Payton has ever used a 1st-round pick on the QB position. The Broncos got better almost everywhere else on this roster with the exception of the safety position where All-Pro Justin Simmons is being replaced by committee. But for a team that won eight games last year, it's somewhat shocking to see such drastic projections of the Broncos' demise. There are some people who think five wins for this team is a generous projection.
The Broncos beat teams like the Chiefs, Packers, Bills, and Browns last year. They were tough for a good chunk of the season and one game out of 1st place in the AFC West into December. There's no way they're going to be as bad as people are thinking.
Green Bay Packers
The problem with the perception on the Green Bay Packers right now is not that people think they're going to be bad. It's simply that they're being overlooked by comparison to their peers in the NFC. We've seen teams like the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons generate a lot of hype this offseason. Everyone is talking about the Detroit Lions again. The Eagles are expected to bounce back.
But why is no one really talking about the Packers? This team had the San Francisco 49ers within an inch of their lives in the playoffs and would have pulled off an upset on the road in the Divisional Round if it weren't for their kicking woes. The Packers have one of the best young rosters in the game and Jordan Love had a big-time breakout year in 2023, finishing 2nd in the league in touchdown passes.
This Packers team should be getting talked about more among the NFC's elite.
Arizona Cardinals
The over/under on wins for the Arizona Cardinals right now for the 2024 season is set at 6.5. That seems pretty fair based on the fact that they won just four games last season, but the Cardinals have a chance to potentially make the playoffs in the NFC this coming season.
Kyler Murray is going to hopefully be fully healthy and two seasons removed from his major knee injury. The Cardinals added arguably the best player in the 2024 NFL Draft in Marvin Harrison Jr., giving Murray a legit stud to feature in the passing game.
Jonathan Gannon had his guys playing well all year last year, and this Cardinals team was competitive early in the season with Josh Dobbs at the quarterback position. They even pulled off an upset over the Dallas Cowboys. I can see things really clicking in year two for Gannon, Murray, and this new core of players in Arizona.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Sports books have the Steelers at an over/under of 8.5 wins this season and right now, the odds are favoring the under. If the Steelers win just eight games (or fewer) in 2024, it would be the first losing season in Mike Tomlin's tenure as head coach of this team.
I'm so torn on Pittsburgh because, on the one hand, why would you be so foolish to bet against Mike Tomlin and his unprecedented record of non-losing seasons? On the other hand, Father Time spares no one, including Russell Wilson. The Steelers likely view Wilson as a gift from the football gods, especially at the veteran minimum salary. After the quarterback play we've seen the last two years in Pittsburgh from Kenny Pickett, Wilson is going to look like an upgrade no matter what.
But that defense is still going to be the identity of the Steelers. They are going to have to carry this team and make sure Wilson has all the opportunities he can get as he takes a lot of sacks and has been a bit more prone to turnovers the last two seasons in Denver. My money is on the Steelers being better with Wilson at the helm, and this team was able to win 10 games last year. Even if they win only nine, I still think they are being slept on as a problem in the playoffs.
Indianapolis Colts
Maybe the Colts aren't being unanimously slept on, but I wonder if everyone is aware of how awesome this team is going to be if Anthony Richardson is able to play the entire season and plays as well as we saw early last year.
There are a lot of hypotheticals involved here, but the Colts won nine games with Gardner Minshew at the helm for most of the year. This team is athletic, they are talented, and Shane Steichen knows how to call a game offensively. They're fun to watch.
Everyone's talking about the Houston Texans in the AFC South right now, but I wonder if the conversation should shift a bit to the Indianapolis Colts. This Colts team is loaded on both sides of the ball and while they're imperfect (there's no such thing as a perfect roster) they have all the tools to be dangerous in that division and make a run in the AFC if they get hot late. They're going to be able to run the ball all day long.