Projecting the six best offenses in the NFL in 2015
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1. Green Bay Packers
There is little doubt that Green Bay boasts the most dynamic set of skill-position players in the NFL. Coming off a season that saw the team score an average of 30 points per game,
Aaron Rodgers and company are primed for a historical 2015 campaign.
After re-signing
Randall Cobb to a team-friendly
four-year, $40 million contract back in March, all the key components are back.
Eddie Lacy returns after putting up over 1,500 total yards and 13 touchdowns a season ago. Meanwhile, Cobb will continue to form a ridiculous one-two punch with
Jordy Nelson at wide receiver. The two combined for over 2,800 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns last year. To put that into perspective, only 12 quarterbacks threw more than 25 touchdowns a season ago. One of the biggest factors for sustained success in Green Bay has to be second-year receiver
Davante Adams, who impressed a great deal as a rookie. If he continues to progress, Green Bay’s passing offense could be historically good.
Let’s not finish this blurb without mentioning the best quarterback in the NFL today, Aaron Rodgers. The Super Bowl-winning signal caller is coming off yet another ridiculous season that saw him throw 38 touchdowns compared to five interceptions for a 112.2 rating. There’s no question that he’s going to perform up to his status as one of the best signal callers of his generation.
2. Indianapolis Colts
The additions of
Frank Gore and
Andre Johnson are going to be huge here. If both prove they still have something left in the tank, this offense could be historically good in 2015.
Consider this: Luck accounted for 80 percent of the Colts offensive yards and 88 percent of their total touchdowns last season. If Gore can put up even an average (by his standards) season, those numbers are going to decrease dramatically. Now take into account the future Hall of Fame running back playing against defenses that won’t be stacking the box, and it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see Gore put up some huge numbers.
Insight here: Defenses loaded boxes more for Frank Gore than any other RB last season (30%), his final with
#49ershttps://t.co/kgLmal4La9
As it relates to Johnson, everything is there for him to put up 100-plus receptions and double-digit scores. This is a receiver that tallied 85 receptions with the likes of
Ryan Fitzpatrick and
Ryan Mallett tossing him the rock last season. Imagine what he can do with Luck under center.
These two veterans join an offense that already includes a breakout performer at nearly every position. Outside of Luck’s ridiculous 40 touchdown 2014 campaign, there are others who took that next step. Fourth-year wide receiver
T.Y. Hilton put up over 1,300 yards and seven scores. Meanwhile, tight end
Coby Fleener tallied 774 yards and eight scores. Heck,
Donte Moncrief put up 32 receptions in limited action as a rookie. If
Dwayne Allen can ever up his game, the possibilities are endless here.
With an improved offensive line and major talent at every skill position, the Colts offense is primed to be even better than a near record-breaking 2014 season.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh’s offense finished the 2014 campaign seventh in the NFL in scoring, second in total offense and second in passing yards. It had a 4,900-yard passer, 1,300-yard rusher and 1,600-yard receiver. For all intents and purposes, this offense was playing on
Madden rookie mode last season.
While there hasn’t been many additions to this unit, there’s no reason to believe
Ben Roethlisberger and company won’t be among the best offenses again in 2015.
Le’Veon Bell is suspended for the first three games, but Pittsburgh signed veteran
DeAngelo Williams to fill in for him early in the season.
The one thing to look at here is the progression of young receivers behind
Antonio Brown, who led the league in both receptions (129) and receiving yards (1,698) last season.
Markus Wheaton and
Martavis Bryant combined for 79 receptions, 1,200-plus yards and 10 scores last season. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh added former Auburn standout
Sammie Coates in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft. This gives the Steelers one of the most-talented receiver groups in the entire NFL.
4. New York Giants
Don’t look now, but the Giants have an opportunity to have one of the most-dynamic offenses in the NFL this year. Coming off a career season that saw him throw for 4,410 yards and 30 touchdowns,
Eli Manning has the best supporing cast of his career.
Shane Vereen joins a loaded backfield that already includes
Rashad Jennings and
Andre Williams, who combined for over 1,700 yards and 12 scores last season. He does so as one of the elite receiving running backs in the NFL—an area of the game that has been missing in New York since
Ahmad Bradshaw’s departure.
In terms of the passing game, this unit promises to be special.
Odell Beckham Jr. is coming off one of the best rookie seasons for a receiver in the history of the league—a rookie season that saw him put up 91 receptions for 1,305 yards in just 12 games. He will be joined by a former breakout star in
Victor Cruz, who missed the final 10 games of the 2014 campaign with a serious knee injury. If Cruz returns to full health, it’s going to make the Giants’ passing game nearly unstoppable. His presence will also push
Rueben Randle down on a notch on the depth chart, which has to be seen as a good thing for the Giants.
Overall, there is no real reason to believe the Giants’ offense won’t be among the best in the business in 2015. It’s all about utilizing the vast amount of talent to the best of its ability. If that happens in the second year of offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s system, watch out.
5. Denver Broncos
Should we expect the Broncos’ offense to take a step back in 2015? There is a real possibility that this happens. Denver is missing its two best offensive linemen from a year ago.
Orlando Franklin signed with the
San Diego Chargers in free agency, and starting left tackle
Ryan Clady tore his ACL in practice last month. If it were anyone other than Manning under center in Denver, I would be worried. However, this future Hall of Fame quarterback is the best in the game at getting rid of the ball and finding receivers on timing routes. He’s best equipped to handle more pressure.
Denver also lost tight end
Julius Thomas in free agency. More a product of Manning and the team’s offensive scheme, that’s unlikely going to be a major loss.
With new head coach Gary Kubiak prepared to implement more of a run-based attack, Manning will have the most balance on offense he’s seen in his career. C.J. Anderson is coming off a breakout 2014 campaign that saw him put up 1,173 total yards and 10 scores. He will be joined in the backfield by former second-round pick
Montee Ball, who is coming off an injury-plagued sophomore campaign. If Ball is able to revert back to form, the Broncos’ running game might be one of the biggest surprises in the NFL.
As is always the case with Manning, he has the necessary talent at wide receiver to succeed.
Demaryius Thomas and
Emmanuel Sanders combined for 212 receptions over 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns last season. We also have to expect that 2014 second-round pick
Cody Latimer will find himself playing a larger role in his second year.
Some may think Manning is regressing at this late stage of his career. And while that may very well be the case, the watered-down version of Manning we saw in the second half of last year is still a top-10 quarterback in the NFL.
6. Dallas Cowboys
DeMarco Murray’s absence from this offense won’t have anywhere near the impact that most people anticipate. One of the primary reasons for his success was the Cowboys offensive line, which was one of the most dominating in the recent history of the NFL last season. Now factor into the equation rookie La’el Collins, and this unit could, if at all possible, be even more dominating in 2015.
In terms of the Cowboys running game, the likes of
Joseph Randle,
Ryan Williams and
Darren McFadden should be able to hold down the fort. The expectation here has to be that one will pick his game up and stand above the rest. In this, watch out for Williams, who has been mighty impressive behind-the-scenes in Dallas.
With
Tony Romo,
Jason Witten and
Dez Bryant entrenched in as the face of this offense, there really is no reason to expect any sort of regression. If the likes of
Terrance Williams,
Devin Street and
Gavin Escobar pick their games up, there is even a chance the Cowboys offense could be more dynamic than its No. 7 overall ranking last year.
