There’s a lot we learned in the NFL during the 2023 season. One of the key takeaways? Roughly one-third of the league is stuck in long-term mediocrity or awfulness UNLESS they commit to a blow-it-up-style rebuild.
These 10 teams have enough talent to be competitive, but not enough actual game-changers to contend for a Super Bowl. This offseason, these clubs simply have to begin a scorched earth rebuild if they want to eventually achieve football’s ultimate goal.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have two playoff appearances and one postseason victory in the Kirk Cousins era, which began in 2018. For some reason, ownership remains content with mediocrity.
Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and TJ Hockenson are a nice set of weapons to build around on offense. But it’s time to move on from Cousins and actually find a young QB to work with — one who can actually perform in big games, by the way!
The running back room of Alexander Mattison, Cam Akers and Ty Chandler needs to be cleared out and rebooted entirely. Time to rebuild that ageing defense, too, because Harrison Smith, Danielle Hunter and Jordan Hicks aren’t getting any younger.
Minny’s three untouchables should merely be their three-headed receiving monster. But otherwise, everyone else should be on the trade block. This team is nowhere close to competing with the big boys in the NFC, and only a patient blow-it-up rebuild will get them there.
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Denver Broncos
If the Broncos were committed to Russell Wilson, then we would have endorsed the idea of going all-in and trying to compete in 2024. But alas, the Broncos have made it clear that they’re not committed to Wilson.
Denver benched Wilson in favor of Jarrett Stidham for the final two games. The reason? Wilson has $37 million in injury guarantees for the 2025 season — so the Broncos didn’t want to take any chances.
So anyway, that’s the end of the Wilson era in Denver. And he certainly can’t be the only guy to walk out the door. How about Courtland Sutton and the consistently-underperforming Jerry Jeudy while we’re at it?
Star offensive tackle Garett Boles can fetch something of value on the market as well. How about All-Pro safety Justin Simmons, who could be a nice pickup for any Super Bowl contender?
So anyway, Wilson’s a goner – and he shouldn’t be the only star shipped out of Mile High City. The entire offensive operation needs an overhaul, as evidenced by the fact that Denver hasn’t had a 1,000-yard receiver or rusher since 2019.
Sean Payton is a Hall of Fame coach. Let him rebuild the roster entirely how he wants to see it, rather than cling to an overpaid core that has underachieved time and time again.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders are pretty much in the same position as the Broncos: They’re in that seven-to-nine-win range and would make the playoffs if EVERYTHING WENT RIGHT.
But that’s it! That’s their ceiling! The Raiders have a little too much talent in place to bottom out, but also not enough five-star franchise pillars to compete with AFC heavyweights like Kansas City, Baltimore, Cincinnati and Buffalo.
We loved the decision to retain Antonio Pierce as head coach. And as evidenced by his tenure in La La Land, new Raiders GM Tom Telesco is one of the game’s best at the draft table. You think Telesco would have reached for Clelin Ferrell in 2019 or Alex Leatherwood in 2021? We don’t either.
So anywho, here’s the Raiders’ perfect opportunity to blow it all up and rebuild from scratch under Pierce and Telesco. Josh Jacobs can walk to free agency. Davante Adams can fetch an early-round pick or two. Jakobi Meyers as well!
The Raiders just keep striking out at QB and need to stop going with middle-tier veterans like Derek Carr or Jimmy Garoppolo. They can either take a chance on someone like Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix or JJ McCarthy or essentially plan the tank job for the 2025 QB class.
Owner Mark Davis has been too content with seven-win seasons, and that’s gotten the Raiders nowhere. They wanna win like the other AFC powerhouses? Time to commit to a full-scale rebuild with this new regime.
Otherwise, the Raiders may as well rename themselves to the “Jeff Fishers” if you catch our drift…
Washington Commanders
Firing Ron Rivera was predictable and the right move. Now the Commanders need to actually set a long-term vision with toxic former owner and control freak Dan Snyder well out of the picture.
New owner Josh Harris hit the home run by hiring Adam Peters — a three-time Super Bowl-winning executive — as his new GM. Harris appears to be a hands-off owner, so that should allow Peters to rebuild the team his way.
Peters has an easy decision to take Caleb Williams or Drake Maye — whichever one remains — with the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft. A nice start, yet, but the full-out rebuild can’t just start at QB.
The entire offensive line and defense must be rebuilt, too. And it’d be nice if they could find another quality pass-catcher to complement Mr. Reliable, AKA Terry McLaurin — because 2022 first-rounder Jahan Dotson hasn’t cut it as the No. 2 guy up to this point.
Daron Payne, Jonathan Allen and Jamin Davis could have value on the market. On the offensive side of the ball, Logan Thomas, Charles Leno and Nick Gates should be shopped as well.
Washington needs to continue stockpiling draft picks, and they got off to a good start by unloading Chase Young and Montez Sweat for day two selections. But why stop there? Peters simply has too many holes to fill across the board.
McLaurin can be untouchable and paired with Washington’s new QB. Everyone else should be an offseason cut or trade candidate, because the bulk of this core has had enough time to prove themselves — and it clearly isn’t gonna work.
New England Patriots
Well, the Patriots kinda started the “blow it all up” thing by parting ways with Bill Belichick and promoting Jerod Mayo to the head coaching position. But trust us, there’s a LONG way to go in rebuilding this team into a playoff-caliber club in a daunting AFC.
The Patriots need to get rid of Mac Jones and/or Bailey Zappe. Among their skill position guys, Demario Douglas is literally the only guy that should be brought back next year. Heck, the entire offensive line can be rebuilt, too.
On defense? The Pats may as well explore the market for star pass-rushers Christian Barmore and Matt Judon — who are both entering their contract years. With Judon entering his age-32 season, he doesn’t fit the Patriots’ long-term plans anyway.
With the No. 3 pick, the Patriots should either take can’t-miss Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. or a dynamic QB prospect like LSU’s Jayden Daniels. Either way, they’re about to get one franchise-changing piece on the offensive side of the ball.
The new-look Patriots just need to trade just about everyone of value and start over everywhere on the roster — offense especially. Moving on from Belichick may have hurt sentimentally, but it was undoubtedly the right move.
Good start and all. Now it’s time to load up on draft picks, clear out high-salaried veterans and prepare for a massive youth injection into 2024.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals seem keen on keeping Kyler Murray around for at least another year. We aren’t fully against that idea, but they can still go through a drastic rebuild with No. 1 in the fold.
The Cardinals’ problem is that they just have too many roster flaws across the board. Wide receiver, offensive line, defensive line, linebacker, secondary, you name it. The only untouchable should be Trey McBride…and maybe Mr. Murray himself depending on how confident you are in him as a franchise QB.
But at this rate, the Cardinals should prepare to trade any player of value and get much-needed additional draft capital to fill up their many flaws. It’s long overdue for Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker — by far Arizona’s most valuable trade chip — to get shipped out this offseason.
As productive as he is in the backfield, it also makes sense to deal James Conner and find a cheaper replacement there. DJ Humphries, Will Hernandez, Jalen Thompson, Kyzir White and Rondale Moore could also fetch some value on the trade market.
Arizona can blow it up now and stockpile on draft picks to build around Murray and McBride long-term.
But if they decide after 2024 that they’re not sold on Murray anymore? Hey, then the Cardinals will have tanked again and put themselves in an ideal position to draft a top QB prospect in 2025…like Quinn Ewers, Shedeur Sanders or Carson Beck.
Bottom line: Arizona is too many pieces away from being competitive in 2024. But why build a team with a ceiling of 5-7 wins max? May as well bottom out now a la 2021 Detroit Lions and start the rebuild from scratch…
Tennessee Titans
The Titans appear ready for a retool at the very least. They hired former Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan to replace Mike Vrabel as head coach, but there’s plenty of work to be done.
As much as they’d love to keep Derrick Henry, it’s time to let the 30-year-old running back pursue a ring at this point of his career. They’d be wise to trade Pro Bowl wideout DeAndre Hopkins, who has just one year remaining on his contract.
There are several quality veteran players that could fetch decent returns in the trade market, too. This includes pass-rushing standouts Harold Landry, and Arden Key as well as vastly underrated safety Amani Hooker.
Will Levis is a fascinating young QB to try and build around, but the Titans just have too many flaws to compete right now. All three of their AFC South division rivals have plenty of young cornerstone pieces and new franchise QBs in place, after all…
Second-year GM Ran Carthon can rebuild the team his way with Vrabel no longer in the picture. This whole relying-on-Henry-and-the-front-seven to win doesn’t work in an AFC loaded with elite young quarterbacks and prolific passing games.
It’s time to go from “retool” to blow-it-up rebuild in Music City, pure and simple.
New York Giants
The Giants should have traded Saquon Barkley when they had the chance, but it’s in the past now. What they can do is the smart decision to NOT overpay an injury-prone star at a devaluing position.
Save the precious dollars and find a cheaper running back option. Simple.
Next, the Giants shouldn’t be afraid to draft a new QB with the No. 6 pick. Daniel Jones has had one good season in five years, and the structure of his deal allows Big Blue to get out of it after the 2024 season.
Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, JJ McCarthy, and Michael Penix Jr. are among the options that could be there for Brian Daboll and company.
And for the love of humanity, can the Giants please get some freaking pass-catchers? Odell Beckham Jr. was the last Giants player to have 1,000 yards receiving back in 2018. How about not asking Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard to be your top receivers anymore?
We still think Brian Daboll can be a great head coach in this league, but the Giants need to stop relying on a core of Jones, Barkley, Shepard and Slayton on offense. It’s time to rebuild from the bottom up here.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints have tried to remain competitive in the post-Drew Brees and Sean Payton era. That has bought them zero postseason appearances since Brees’ retirement in 2021, which leads to this question: What is the end goal for New Orleans?
If there’s a time to blow it up and start over, it’s now. Derek Carr isn’t a QB who gets you to a Super Bowl, as evidenced by his zero career playoff wins. Michael Thomas has nine lives in NOLA even though he hasn’t been elite in four years. Stalwart offensive tackle Ryan Ramcyzk may have to retire because of a knee injury.
Even workhorse running back Alvin Kamara will slow down at any point with all that mileage on his body. On defense, Cameron Jordan, Tyrann Mathieu, Demario Davis, Marcus Maye are all in their 30s.
This year’s draft allows GM Mickey Loomis to draft a second-tier QB prospect and have him learn behind Carr for a year or two. He can land additional draft capital by trading away the likes of Jordan, Mathieu, Davis and Kamara, too.
It’s either rebuild patiently to construct a long-term winner OR stay the course and be okay with single-digit-winning seasons. What’s it gonna be, NOLA?
Los Angeles Chargers
Justin Herbert should be the only untradeable guy. Everyone else has to be on the table.
The Chargers have had enough chances to win with the likes of Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Austin Ekeler, Joey Bosa and Derwin James. The later arrivals of Rashawn Slater, Khalil Mack and Asante Samuel Jr. have done nothing to help the Chargers get out of NFL purgatory.
The Bolts just have too many holes across the board to realistically compete any time soon. Letting Ekeler walk to free agency is a no-brainer, so how about trading the likes of Allen, Williams, James and Mack — heck, even consider trading Bosa! — for extra draft picks to fill those roster holes?
LA just isn’t close to dethroning Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the AFC. They’re miles behind the other conference heavyweights. They have a five-star QB and building block in Herbert, but they need to rebuild for at least three years here to develop a sustainable long-term winner.
In short, it’s time to build up an ultra-talented-but-consistently-underachieving core.
Which other NFL teams need to blow it all up right now?
