4 NFL Teams Reaching Super Bowl-Contender Status After Offseason Moves

The NFL operates under a simple premise: A team either gets better or worse; it never stays the same.

The Seattle Seahawks are the reigning Super Bowl champions, but their roster isn't a better squad today after achieving the ultimate goal, not with multiple key losses in free agency.

A year ago, the New England Patriots were coming off a 4-13 record. The organization fired its head coach after only one season, but it had the most money to spend in free agency, a talented young quarterback and an incoming draft class of 11 prospects to supplement the roster. The hire of Mike Vrabel, along with all of the talent New England added, led to a Super Bowl appearance.

Others are striving to dethrone last season's NFC and AFC representatives, while making the type of moves to do so.

What's accomplished between February and August often changes the direction of a franchise. This offseason, multiple organizations added specific talent to be considered serious championship contenders.

Los Angeles Rams

AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea

Cornerback Trent McDuffie

The Los Angeles Rams are an obvious choice but not because they lost in last season's NFC Championship Game. The difference today stems from the fact that they're now considered the betting favorite to win Super Bowl LXI by a significant margin.

Matthew Stafford is back for another year as the reigning NFL MVP. Furthermore, the Rams made two (possibly three) massive additions this offseason to convert them into the league's frontrunner entering the 2026 campaign.

General manager Les Snead orchestrated deals to acquire cornerback Trent McDuffie and the league's reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett. Between the two, they've been named to nine different All-Pro squads.

Garrett is at the height of his powers as the NFL's most feared and talented defender. Despite shipping off Jared Verse, who is an extremely talented player in his own right, the Rams' defensive front should be frightening with Garrett working alongside Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner and Byron Young.

That group can morph into undistilled nightmare fuel if Aaron Donald decides to unretire and rejoins the squad, as he's currently contemplating.

Once McDuffie is factored into the equation, along with bookend Jaylen Watson, who signed as a free agent, last year's defense—which finished in the middle of the pack—is infinitely stronger along its back line. Both are significant upgrades at cornerback.

"The (Garrett) trade isn't as big as the McDuffie trade and the signing of Watson," an anonymous coach told The Athletic's Jeff Howe. "Those additions will impact their defensive unit more than Myles."

Sean McVay's offense is going to move the ball and score points. However, the window to capitalize on Stafford's play is rapidly closing. The Rams understood where they stood and made the corresponding moves to ensure they're in the mix this fall.

Outside of lingering concerns at offensive tackle, Los Angeles will field the caliber of roster capable of destroying competition and claiming a second championship during the Snead-McVay-Stafford era.

Los Angeles Chargers

AP Photo/William Liang

Mike McDaniel

The Rams aren't the only team in Los Angeles capable of competing for a Super Bowl and playing next year's biggest game in their home stadium.

The Los Angeles Chargers are better off today than they were last season, when quarterback Justin Herbert was asked to do far too much.

Furthermore, the Chargers should benefit greatly from Mike McDaniel's hire as offensive coordinator.

Obviously, injuries are part of the league, and the season becomes a war of attrition. However, no one could or should expect to endure a wrecked offensive line.

Offensive tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt missed a significant portion, if not all, of the 2025 campaign. Mekhi Becton, who signed as a free agent during the previous offseason, was in and out of the lineup and nowhere near the caliber of performer seen during the previous year. Center Bradley Bozeman and left guard Zion Johnson were highly inconsistent as well.

To understand how frustrating the situation was, head coach Jim Harbaugh summed it up nicely in late December.

"[Herbert has] got to be able to finish a throwing motion," coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters. "Quarterback's got to be able to do that, and we didn't put him in the position to do that enough."

Somehow, the Chargers still managed to win 11 games and made the postseason. However, the front office wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

Slater's and Alt's return from season-ending injuries will help significantly, of course. Tyler Biadasz signed in free agency to provide a more consistent presence in the middle. The Chargers also drafted four offensive linemen, including second-round interior blocker Jake Slaughter.

Otherwise, the Chargers feature significant skill-position talent. Herbert is one of the game's best quarterbacks. Now, he enters a situation working with an experienced and proven play-caller, who happens to employ one of the game's most quarterback-friendly systems. McDaniel is also a whiz at devising a strong run game.

With a healthy/improved offensive line and top-notch play-caller, the Chargers could easily be a top-five offense during the upcoming season.

Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter did leave to become the Baltimore Ravens head coach, which could counteract the aforementioned improvements. Though the majority of the Chargers' defensive talent remains, with first-round draftee Akheem Mesidor being added to offset the free-agent loss of Odafe Oweh.

Cincinnati Bengals

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Dexter Lawrence

The Cincinnati Bengals understood the assignment this offseason and passed with flying colors. They couldn't go into another season fielding a defensive unit that's not good enough to finish better than the league's bottom 10.

So, the front office went to work.

In one of the league's biggest offseason moves, the Bengals traded this year's 10th overall draft pick to the New York Giants for Dexter Lawrence. At full tilt, the 28-year-old veteran is the game's best nose tackle. He's a difference-maker capable of blowing up opposing offenses.

Lawrence's addition by itself is a gigantic step in the right direction, but the Bengals did not stop there. Fellow interior defender Jonathan Allen, edge-rusher Boye Mafe and second-round rookie Cashius Howell, who is the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year, also joined the defensive front. Bryan Cook signed in free agency to give Cincinnati a tone-setting safety. The team drafted cornerback Tacario Davis in the third round as well.

"The front office has taken a lot of heat from the fans, the public, the media," quarterback Joe Burrow told reporters. "We can put all of that behind us. They went and made it happen with free agency. I thought the draft, obviously, we'll find out. We don't know a ton about these rookies yet, but it seems like they brought the right kind of guys in. And then obviously with Dexter (Lawrence), making a trade like that, that doesn't happen a ton in the NFL. So it's exciting to see."

The quarterback's positive mental attitude is a refreshing departure from last year's despondent tone. A fully committed and healthy Burrow, with all of the talent found around him on offense, already showed he can lead his team to a Super Bowl. But the Bengals failed to make the postseason in each of the last three season primarily because the team couldn't play complementary football.

With the defensive pieces Cincinnati now features, the Bengals can compete for an AFC North title and a possible championship run.

Dallas Cowboys

AP Photo/Gareth Patterson

Caleb Downs

The Dallas Cowboys suffered from the same problem as the Bengals: They failed to field a competent defense in 2025.

In the Cowboys' case, owner Jerry Jones and head coach Brian Schottenheimer decided changes were needed among the coaching staff and roster.

As a result, Dallas brought in Christian Parker as its new play-caller, with an entirely new approach. Then, the front office added significant pieces to complement Dak Prescott and the team's second-ranked offense.

The Cowboys will make the switch to a 3-4 base defense, with ties to Vic Fangio's scheme. Parker may be a first-time coordinator, but he appears to be handling the transition well.

"What helps him is his conviction," Schottenheimer said, per ESPN's Todd Archer. "He knows what he wants. He does a great job getting his staff together and painting that picture. But I will say he's very, very comfortable walking around and observing his staff. I know when I became a coordinator at 32, I was probably a little bit more of a micromanager, and it was not a good thing. ... I think it shows some of his maturity."

To fit Parker's defense and improve the unit's overall talent floor, the Cowboys added nose tackle Otito Ogbonnia, edge-rushers Rashan Gary and Malachi Lawrence, linebacker Dee Winters, cornerback Cobie Durant and this year's 11th overall draft pick Caleb Downs.

Downs is the potential difference-maker among these additions. The Bleacher Report Scouting Department graded the safety as the class' No. 1 overall talent regardless of position. He's a field general capable of excelling in multiple roles.

"Obviously, we needed help," Prescott told reporters last month. "We went into that side, everybody knowing that's what we were going to do starting with the staff and did that, to then just adding as many players as we can whether it be veterans in free agent signings or in the draft. I think we did a hell of a job. Just being around these guys for two weeks, looks like they're a lot of high character guys."

Dallas' standout offense remained intact with the re-signing of running back Javonte Williams and placing the franchise tag on wide receiver George Pickens. The squad's offensive firepower isn't in question. The defense should show its capabilities soon enough.