Caleb Williams-led Bears headline NFL’s most-improved offenses in 2024

National Football League

Published Jul. 23, 2024 12:37 p.m. ET

The NFL offseason presents an annual opportunity to put your team ahead if you’re an NFL general manager. How that pans out varies from year to year, but there are some teams that look like they have it all together before the pads really come on.

There’s an arms race within the NFL given how much emphasis is placed on scoring. Teams are able to put up points at will thanks to the rise of prolific passing attacks. The offseason is where those arsenals are built, and there are a few teams this year that have risen above the rest when it comes to equipping themselves for improvement and success.

Why don’t we then take a look at some of the most-improved offenses for 2024?

5. Cincinnati Bengals/New York Jets

Now, these teams don’t share a ton in common but I have them in the number five spot because they have made the list for the same reason: they’re getting their star quarterback back.

The Bengals are in one of the league’s toughest divisions and have very little shot of contending if Joe Burrow isn’t under center. Despite the fact that Jake Browning was 10th in success rate among quarterbacks with a minimum of 250 passing attempts in Burrow’s absence, Cincinnati still missed the playoffs and finished in the basement of the AFC North.

The fact that they still had a winning record and finished as such is a testament to how tough the division is, to be sure. But that’s why you need one of the league’s best quarterbacks under center to compete.

The Bengals will get that chance this year. Tee Higgins is still on the roster playing on the franchise tag. We know the connection Burrow has with his college teammate Ja’Marr Chase. The Bengals are hopeful they have fixed their offensive line woes by getting Trent Brown to man the right tackle spot opposite Orlando Brown. There’s reason to think that with Burrow back, the Bengals return to Super Bowl contention — especially if Zack Moss and rookie Chase Brown can be a productive tandem in the backfield.

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That brings me to the Jets, who had a great-looking roster last year only to lose their future Hall of Fame quarterback addition, Aaron Rodgers, to an Achilles tear just four snaps into his Jets tenure. What’s more, neither the front office nor the coaching staff seemed to have a good plan in place to replace Rodgers. They let Joe Flacco get scooped up by the Browns midseason while New York still tried to make Zach Wilson work. And Trevor Siemian. And Tim Boyle. Spoiler alert: it didn’t. The Jets went 6-10.

But now that Rodgers is coming back, it has the feeling of the last puzzle piece clicking into place. New York also added wide receiver Mike Williams, who you hope can stay healthy, and acquired left tackle Tyron Smith in free agency. Now, Smith has had injury issues and in fact, hasn’t played a full season since 2015. But that’s OK, given that the Jets also now have one of the best tackles available in this year’s draft in Olu Fashanu, whom they drafted in the first round. This is all to ensure their 40-year-old quarterback stays upright as he tries to make his way back from injury.

Given the salary they are paying said quarterback, the capital they gave up to get him and all the resources they’ve poured into the current roster, if the Jets don’t make a significant run at the Super Bowl, there will be a lot of empty offices at 1 Jets Drive come January. New York improved this offseason almost out of necessity, and general manager Joe Douglas trying to salvage his job.

How long will Aaron Rodgers play for the Jets?

4. Atlanta Falcons

If anyone could possibly overcorrect when it comes to filling out their roster holes, it might have been the Falcons, but I guess you have to give them credit for trying. Weeks after signing Kirk Cousins to a deal in which $100 million is guaranteed fresh off an Achilles tear, the team drafted Michael Penix Jr. out of Washington with the eighth overall pick.

It was a move that shocked even fellow general managers, with multiple teams’ draft videos showcasing the shock on their executives’ faces at the news Atlanta was taking a quarterback with their first pick. All their eggs went into the quarterback basket and to their credit, it’s the most important one.

But an addition going under the radar is that of head coach Raheem Morris, and therefore, a new offensive coordinator. Zac Robinson will become another of Cousins’ coaches who comes from that ever-coveted Shanahan/McVay coaching tree. Robinson was in Los Angeles under McVay until Morris plucked him from the Rams and gave him full control of the Falcons’ offense. It will be Robinson’s first opportunity to call plays, as he was the passing game coordinator last season in LA, but it will still be a familiar system for both Robinson and Cousins, as a result. Provided Cousins is healthy, the transition should be seamless and dare I say, fun. Maybe Robinson is finally the one to unlock tight end Kyle Pitts full potential and get creative with running back Bijan Robinson. Atlanta also has what could be a good receiver corps in Drake London, Darnell Mooney and Rondale Moore to round out its offensive arsenal.

3. Baltimore Ravens

Let me start by saying I still am concerned with all the Ravens’ losses along the offensive line. They’ll be starting a second-round rookie at right tackle. Their left guard was drafted in the seventh round. There isn’t a lot of depth there.

But if anyone can overcome that, it’s the Ravens’ new cargo plane of a running back in Derrick Henry. There were some subpar lines he ran behind in Tennessee, but it didn’t seem to matter. More than Henry’s bulldozing skills alone, the fact that he is now paired with the best dual-threat quarterback (and league MVP) could make this offense absolutely lethal.

Everything else about the Ravens’ offense should go well, as expected. The return of Mark Andrews from a late-season injury really multiplies the offense, overall. Zay Flowers has been everything you wanted him to be in his rookie season and should eclipse the 1,000-yard mark this year if everything goes according to plan. But the main reason Baltimore makes it this high is the tandem of Henry and Lamar Jackson. Defenses just aren’t built to defend players like them, especially together.

Are the Ravens over or under rated?

2. Arizona Cardinals

Hear me out. We are finally going to get to see a full season of Kyler Murray (probably) and in anticipation of that, the Cardinals have loaded up. They drafted the best wide receiver available in Marvin Harrison Jr. out of Ohio State, making Zay Jones the WR2. The Cardinals also drafted a running back with tremendous upside in Trey Benson in the third round, which should make for a nice backfield tandem with James Conner. To help aid that cause, Arizona went out and got Jonah Williams in free agency to help beef up the offensive line.

The Cardinals made solid additions all along the offense, and coupled with the fact they should get Murray’s services back for a full year, they could be pesky come the NFC playoffs.

1. Chicago Bears

Obviously.

Has any team in recent memory undergone a more drastic transformation in their offensive corps than the Bears? They not only traded for veteran receiver Keenan Allen, who has been a top-10 wideout so far in his career, in March. They brought in Coleman Shelton and Ryan Bates to vie for the center position along the offensive line. The Bears added tight end Gerald Everett to provide some continuity for new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron (who also counts if we’re talking offensive improvement). Oh, and did I mention Chicago also made the first splash in free agency by signing running back D’Andre Swift to head up their offensive backfield? This was all before selecting their quarterback of the future first overall in USC’s Caleb Williams.

And yet, still not done, they drafted Washington wideout Rome Odunze eight picks later at No. 9.

So let’s recap. Allen, with all his body of work, is WR2 behind D.J. Moore. A top-10 pick is WR3 for the Bears. They have a versatile running back to lead their ground rotation. They have multiple versatile tight ends, an experienced center and one of the best quarterback prospects to come out of the draft in years. Plus, they hired a coordinator with playcalling experience and a track record working with quarterbacks, to make it all go.

This was an offense that had the fifth-fewest passing yards in the NFL last year. The Bears had the ninth-worst completion rate. They were bottom 10 in even more major passing metrics. It wasn’t much better from a run standpoint, either. Quarterback Justin Fields was the team’s leading rusher, mostly on scrambles and out of necessity. The league’s 24th-ranked offense in 2023 has a chance to make a huge leap in 2024 because of those aforementioned additions.

Yeah, if Chicago can finally put this all together, they are going to be a force in the coming seasons. Offense? In Chicago? Who knew?

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Carmen Vitali covers the NFC North for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.