The NFL's Most Improved Offensive Units Entering OTAs

The NFL regular season is getting closer. Free agency has fizzled and the draft was nearly a month ago.

Rookie minicamps have either concluded or are on the verge of wrapping up. Organized team activities (OTAs) are just around the corner. 

In less than three months, the preseason will begin.

So which teams have made the biggest strides to date on the offensive side of the ball? Upgrades to the roster, another year in a system and some improved health are but a few factors that are expected to do wonders for the following five clubs.

5. Dallas Cowboys

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

2015 NFL Offensive Rank: 22nd

2015 Points per Game (NFL Rank): 17.2 (31st)

Last season, the Dallas Cowboys started four different quarterbacks and won four games. It all added up to “earning” the fourth pick in the draft.

Not the kind of symmetry any team is looking for.

The defending NFC East champions were a disaster in 2015. But things are already looking up for a team that still owns one of the best offensive lines in the league. Having quarterback Tony Romo and wide receiver Dez Bryant healthy all season will be a big plus.

In 2014, the Cowboys ranked seventh in the league in total offense, including second in rushing. Romo threw for 34 scores compared to only nine interceptions, while Bryant led the NFL with 16 touchdown receptions. Don’t forget 10-time Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten and his 1,020 career receptions.

Besides the quarterback issues this past season, the drop-off from DeMarco Murray to Darren McFadden was dramatic. The latter ran for 1,089 yards in 2015, quite the decrease from a league-best 1,845 yards from Murray—the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year.

Now youth will be served. Jon Machota and Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News recently spoke about rookie and former Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott (as well as second-round pick Jaylon Smith) and both liked what they saw.

This year, it’s the one-time Buckeye who will frustrate teams and keep the Cowboys’ suspect defensive unit off the field. It was a formula that worked to near-perfection in a 12-4 campaign for the club in 2014.

4. Baltimore Ravens

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

2015 NFL Offensive Rank: 14th

2015 Points per Game (NFL Rank): 20.5 (25th)

There were a few firsts when it came to the Baltimore Ravens in 2015. And no doubt the team is hoping it’s the last time they occur.

The club comes off a 5-11 showing and quarterback Joe Flacco missed some games. Neither had happened during head coach John Harbaugh’s tenure with the franchise, which dates back to 2008.

Now thanks to a couple of veteran additions, an infusion of youth and the return of its strong-armed signal-caller, look for a bounce-back showing from a club that finished eighth in the league in 2014 in scoring.

General manager Ozzie Newsome went out and got 35-year-old tight end Ben Watson and 29-year-old wideout Mike Wallace to complement and help Maxx Williams and Breshad Perriman, respectively. Wallace, with his third team in as many years, will team with ageless wide receiver Steve Smith (who also missed time in 2015) to help stretch opposing defenses.

Flacco, who missed the final six games with a torn ACL, is on course to return this summer and is confident he and his new acquaintances will be ready.

“At the end of the day, training camp is going to be enough time," said the strong-armed pro to Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com in mid-April. “I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get a ton of time before that. So that’s going to be enough time. You’d like to get as much as you can, but that'll be plenty to get going.”

The ground attack will also get back one-time Pro Bowler Justin Forsett. He ran for just 641 yards and two scores in the first 10 games before going down with a broken arm.  Rookie Kenneth Dixon could play a factor here as well. And the offensive line has been bolstered by the addition of 2016 first-round tackle Ronnie Stanley.

Following a rough 2015, it’s been a solid offseason for a franchise not used to being down. And things are certainly looking up for these Ravens on offense.

3. Green Bay Packers

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

2015 NFL Offensive Rank: 23rd

2015 Points per Game (NFL Rank): 23.0 (15th)

“Offensively we took a huge step back. There’s no question about that.”

Those were the very accurate words of Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy following the season, per Jason Wilde of ESPN. The league’s highest-scoring team in 2014, which averaged 30.4 points per game, tumbled badly this past year.

Combine a less-than-effective Eddie Lacy out of the backfield and the season-long absence of wide receiver Jordy Nelson (who tore his ACL in a preseason game at Pittsburgh) and the Pack wasn’t back where it needed to be on offense in 2015.

Lacy has dropped some unnecessary pounds, according to Chris Wesseling of NFL.com, and is primed to regain his 1,100-plus yards rushing form of his first two seasons. The team added depth on the offensive line in the draft in tackles Jason Spriggs (second round) and Kyle Murphy (sixth round). And general manager Ted Thompson made a rare trip into free agency and signed downfield tight end Jared Cook, released by the Rams this offseason.

So Nelson was asked by Wilde about what could be expected from quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Co. in 2016:

"

I’m not going to sit here and try to predict the future. We’ve seen what we can do in the past. Hopefully, we can have a good offseason, a good camp. There are a lot of things that go into that, obviously. There are injuries that can happen from now until then and a lot of different things. We look forward to starting the process, starting the grind, and seeing what happens.

"

The fact is that Lacy, Nelson and Cook are joined by wideouts Randall Cobb, Ty Montgomery, Jeff Janis and Davante Adams (looking to bounce back from a disappointing season). Tight end Richard Rodgers and running back James Starks will play huge roles again as well.

It won’t be an upset when the Packers lead the league in scoring for the third time in six years dating back to 2011.

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

2015 NFL Offensive Rank: 5th

2015 Points per Game (NFL Rank): 21.4 (20th)

How can a unit that was outgained by only four teams in the league this past season in total yards be one of the most improved offenses in the NFL?

That’s because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t make the most of that production. The team, now under the guidance of Dirk Koetter, totaled only 34 offensive touchdowns in 16 games. The Bucs also stopped too often when they hit the red zone. Their 52.9 touchdown percentage inside the 20 ranked 22nd in the league this past season.

And the optimism here is based mainly on the fact that Koetter was Tampa’s offensive coordinator this past season. A number of young players, including rookie quarterback Jameis Winston, learned as the season unfolded. That on-the-job training is a big plus.

“It definitely helps that this is not my first year learning the offense,’’ said the 22-year-old signal-caller to Roy Cummings of Today’s Pigskin. “I don’t have to spend all my time trying to learn what my job is on the offensive side of the ball and that’s great.

“It’s allowed me to do a lot of things I never did before in the offseason, like work on my body, rest my body and work on my game. I mean, it’s been a great offseason.’’

That offseason included the re-signing of running back Doug Martin, who finished second in the NFL in rushing with 1,402 yards. Wide receivers Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson and promising tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins return. The trio combined for 10 touchdown receptions in 2015.

Finally, there’s the quarterback. In his final 12 games, Winston threw for twice as many scores (16) as interceptions (eight) and ran for five touchdowns. The comfort level with Koetter is apparent and will pay big dividends this year.

1. Houston Texans

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

2015 NFL Offensive Rank: 19th

2015 Points per Game (NFL Rank): 21.2 (T-21st)

Perhaps good things actually come in fours.

On the first day of free agency, the Houston Texans signed quarterback Brock Osweiler, running back Lamar Miller and offensive linemen Jeff Allen and Tony Bergstrom.

With their first four selections in April’s draft, the franchise selected wide receiver Will Fuller, center Nick Martin, wideout Braxton Miller and running back Tyler Ervin.

All told, Osweiler, Miller, Allen, Fuller and Martin are all expected to be starters, according to Ourlads, for the defending AFC South champions this season. It’s quite a makeover for a team that needed one on the offensive side of the ball.

Perhaps the most excited person is Houston is wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. He comes off a season in which he hauled in 111 passes for 1,521 yards and 11 scores. The second-leading receiver on the club was Nate Washington (now with the New England Patriots), who totaled only 47 grabs.

“I think they brought some guys in that are going to push me, myself and everybody in there,” said Hopkins recently to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “When you bring in two wide receivers, it makes everybody say, ‘OK, all right, there's a little more competition in this room,’ which is good. It's going to help out the team. I've heard good things about them so far."

There should also be some good things ahead for Osweiler, who will thrive under quarterback guru Bill O’Brien. The head coach now has a new workhorse in the fresh 25-year-old Miller, who averaged less than 200 carries per season in his four-year stay with the Miami Dolphins.

The AFC South as a division is looking up. Both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans are improved football teams, most notably on defense. But that side of the ball isn’t an issue for the Texans, who will feature the league’s most improved attack in 2016.

Unless otherwise noted, all player and team statistics come from Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.com. All 2016 free-agent and salary-cap information, contract terms and 2016 transactions are courtesy of Spotrac. Depth charts via Ourlads.