5 NFL Teams Capable of Claiming Division Title After Strong Offseason Signings

The 2024 NFL season still won't start for another five months. But we can already confidently declare that all eight division winners from last season won't repeat this year.

Four different division crowns changed hands between the 2022 and 2023 seasons, including a worst-to-first situation in the AFC South with Houston Texans. Four occurred the year before that and the year before that, so on and so forth.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills have won eight and four straight division titles, respectively. Every other division has had at least two different champions over the last four seasons, and all but one (NFC South) had at least three.

Turnover occurs. It's a fact of professional football life. The moves leading up to the regular season dictate changes internally and externally. What happens in January through April propels some squads to a guaranteed playoff berth.

B/R identified five squads with the potential to win their respective divisions this season after falling short last year thanks to what they've done this offseason.

Atlanta Falcons

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Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (left) and running back Bijan Robinson (right)

The NFC South has been the dominion of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ever since Tom Brady signed with them in 2020. While they didn't win a division title in Brady's first year, they did go on to win the Super Bowl. The Bucs won three straight division titles since, including with Baker Mayfield leading the way last season.

However, Tampa Bay's overall record is 17-17 over the last two seasons. As a whole, the NFC South as been down. The Atlanta Falcons exemplified the mediocrity in the division by positing three straight 7-10 campaigns under previous head coach Arthur Smith.

The Falcons now have a new head coach in Raheem Morris, who immediately identified the team's primary issue.

"If we had better quarterback play last year in Atlanta, I might not be standing here," Morris told reporters at his introductory press conference.

Smith's tenure began at the tail end of Matt Ryan's career. The Falcons' all-time leading passer quietly asked to be traded after the team attempted to trade for Deshaun Watson, and Atlanta sent him to the Indianapolis Colts. The Falcons turned to 2022 third-round pick Desmond Ridder as their primary starting quarterback from there, but he never developed into a starting-caliber option.

The Falcons grew determined to rectify the situation this offseason by signing the best quarterback on the free-agent market. They wound up signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract.

Although Cousins is coming off a torn Achilles tendon, the addition of him alone should be enough to push the Falcons into serious contention for an NFC South title. The roster is otherwise already loaded with talent, including three recent top-10 draft picks in tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver Drake London and running back Bijan Robinson. This offseason, general manager Terry Fontenot added wide receivers Darnell Mooney and Rondale Moore to the mix, making the Falcons offense rather impressive on paper.

If Atlanta adds another defensive piece or two through the draft, it will have done more to improve this offseason than any other squad. The NFC South is ripe for the picking, even with Mayfield and Mike Evans returning to Tampa Bay.

Indianapolis Colts

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Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.

The Indianapolis Colts didn't bring in much new talent in an attempt to improve upon last season's 9-8 squad. Instead, they retained a significant portion of their own players to continue the building process around second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson.

Fans love to see big splashes in free agency, but some of the best organizations operate under a draft, develop and re-sign standard. Homegrown talent should be rewarded, and the Colts were in perfect position to do so this offseason with a rookie quarterback contract on the books and significant salary-cap space.

Ten of the Colts' 12 signings were returning players, including wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. They also re-signed a top nickel corner in Kenny Moore II, an elite run defender in Grover Stewart and even signed one of the league's top tacklers, linebacker Zaire Franklin, to a contract extension.

Meanwhile, the organization improved its depth at two key positions by signing veteran Joe Flacco as a backup quarterback to replace Gardner Minshew II and nose tackle Raekwon Davis so the defense won't fall completely apart against the run if Stewart misses any time.

Last season, the Colts entered Week 18 with an opportunity to win the AFC South and clinch a playoff berth despite myriad issues. That includes Jonathan Taylor's ankle injury, Richardson missing all but four games, a secondary that was forced to start two rookies on the outside, projected starting tight end Jelani Woods not playing a single game due to hamstring issues, former All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard being released midseason, Stewart being suspended six games for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs, center Ryan Kelly and right tackle Braden Smith missing 10 combined games due to injuries and Minshew holding the offense back as much as he helped it.

The Colts were a hard out under the direction of head coach Shane Steichen. They're now ready to run it back with all of the returning pieces in place to capture the organization's first division title since 2014.

New York Jets

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New York Jets left tackle Tyron Smith

The New York Jets are all-in for 2024. If everything breaks in their favor, they're easily talented enough to capture an AFC East crown.

How Aaron Rodgers returns from an Achilles injury at 40 years old remains the biggest question mark. Even so, the Jets have done an excellent job this offseason building around the future Hall of Famer in hopes of squeezing what it can out of him before he retires.

Last season's primary issues stemmed from a porous and injury-laden offensive line that finished as Pro Football Focus' 31st-ranked unit.

General manager Joe Douglas went to work on the trenches this offseason by signing guard John Simpson and left tackle Tyron Smith, as well as trading for right tackle Morgan Moses. With a Alijah Vera-Tucker back after last season's Achilles injury and Joe Tippmann now settled at center, the Jets' reworked front five could be a strength.

"I just feel like [the Jets] have all the pieces together right now, and they're getting the final pieces this offseason to produce a team that can go all the way," Smith told reporters after signing with the team.

Smith and Vera-Tucker must stay healthy, which is far from a given. But the pieces are in place, specifically with some of the other players whom the Jets added.

Former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams is joining Garrett Wilson in the wideout room after signing a one-year deal with the Jets worth up to $15 million. Williams will provide size on the outside and a deep threat to vary up the passing game and give Rogers with another weapon.

The Jets already fielded a top-three defense last season. With the offense possibly on track after being derailed four snaps into last season, New York can take advantage of the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins having lost multiple veteran contributors this offseason.

Pittsburgh Steelers

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New Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson

Death, taxes and another winning season under Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin are the only constants in life.

Some might take umbrage with the final part of that statement since Pittsburgh has barely squeaked into the playoffs three of the last four seasons. It lost all three postseason games and hasn't come anywhere close in recent years to maintaining the Super Bowl standard that became synonymous with Steelers football.

Still, Pittsburgh hasn't experienced a losing season in any of Tomlin's 17 seasons head coach. He and his staff always find ways to keep the team competitive, even when the squad doesn't get what it expected from a first-round quarterback, T.J. Watt suffers a season-ending knee injury, young wide receivers are questioned about their effort and the defense doesn't play to its typical level.

To the Steelers' credit, they didn't allow themselves to fall victim to the sunk-cost fallacy. The franchise that's famous for its loyalty to players gave up on Kenny Pickett much sooner than anyone expected. Pittsburgh saw a low-risk, high-reward opportunity become available with an established veteran quarterback in Russell Wilson and took it.

Wilson may not be the caliber of player he once was with the Seattle Seahawks, but he's still a superior option compared to anything Pittsburgh had at quarterback over the last two seasons. The addition of Justin Fields for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick is merely icing on the cake.

While the Steelers' quarterback room looks drastically different now, the organization didn't stop there this offseason.

Pittsburgh's inside linebackers haven't been particularly good for some time. Elandon Roberts improved the situation last season, but the three-year, $41 million free-agent signing of Patrick Queen will provide the Steelers with a true every-down, off-ball linebacker. His skill set perfectly complements Roberts, who is far better playing downhill.

At safety, Deshon Elliott joins the Steelers secondary to provide a better option alongside Minkah Fitzpatrick.

The AFC North is a beast, with the current league MVP playing for Baltimore Ravens, Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase leading the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns featuring the league's top-ranked defense. But Pittsburgh finished 5-1 in the division last year despite all the deficiencies found throughout its roster, particularly at the game's most important position.

The Steelers are going to be better this fall, and they'll challenge for the AFC North like they haven't since the first half of the 2020 season.

Washington Commanders

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New Washington Commanders running back Austin Ekeler

The Washington Commanders are this year's candidate to go from worst-to-first and pull a similar version of what the Houston Texans did last season.

Much like the Texans, the Commanders are pulling themselves out of a toxic situation that ruined their ability to compete at high level for years. With a new ownership group, general manager and coaching staff, Washington basically entered this offseason with a clean slate.

Their offseason looks solid so far, with one major caveat attached.

The Commanders immediately set out to replace the production its defense lost when they traded edge-rushers Montez Sweat and Chase Young to the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers, respectively. Washington brought in Dorance Armstrong Jr., who previously played for new head coach Dan Quinn with the Dallas Cowboys, and Frankie Luvu.

Quinn added another familiar face in Bobby Wagner, who basically began his career with the coach serving as his defensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks.

With the front seven partially rebuilt, Washington also concentrated on improving its offensive line play. Center Tyler Biadasz, another former Cowboy, and guard Nick Allegretti signed with the Commanders in free agency to shore up the offensive interior. Left tackle can still be upgraded, though Cornelius Lucas re-signed with plenty of experience playing on the blind side.

As for the skill positions, running back Austin Ekeler and tight end Zach Ertz join the squad to provide a strong veteran presence and leadership.

Ekeler doesn't have as much juice as he once did, but he can still be a vital contributor, particularly in the red zone and a pass-catching threat. His experience previously working with run-game coordinator Anthony Lynn will help.

Ertz is coming off a career low in receiving yardage, though he suffered a quad injury last year. The tight end does have previous experience playing for new Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

All of this sets up for one thing: Washington selecting a quarterback with this year's second overall draft pick, whether it be LSU's Jayden Daniels or North Carolina's Drake Maye.

Players who understand the systems and their roles will only help set up the rookie for success. If that happens, much like it did in Houston last season, Washington could be difficult to handle in a division where the Dallas Cowboys have done next to nothing this offseason, the New York Giants seem to be facing some kind of identity crisis and the Philadelphia Eagles must rediscover who they are.