The NFL's most important newcomers for all 32 teams in 2025

USA Today

5 hours ago

The NFL's most important newcomers for all 32 teams in 2025
Since the confetti dropped on the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl 59 win, every franchise in the NFL has adjusted their sights toward Super Bowl 60. That means months and months of acquiring and lining up new pieces across a 32-team chess board.
The dual cannons of free agency and the NFL Draft have helped squads restock talent and either defend their positions atop the league's pecking order or create the power needed to rise up to contention. Fresh faces will bring optimism to franchises across the country, cementing a world where, like always, everyone is undefeated in the offseason.
1 GLARING WEAKNESS FOR EVERY NFL TEAM: Let's break down all 32 of them
Some star players will live up to the hype. Others will fall short, usurped by players with more modest paychecks or draft position. Let's take a look at all 32 teams and see who the most important newcomer could be in 2025.
Arizona Cardinals: EDGE Josh Sweat
The Cardinals' pass rush ranked 23rd in pressure rate last season. Only two players had more than 3.5 sacks and no one had more than five. Enter Sweat, who'll pair with Baron Browning and Zaven Collins at the edge in hopes of relieving the pressure on a secondary whose 0.101 expected points added (EPA) per dropback ranked 24th in the league. That'll also put some pressure on second round rookie Will Johnson, who has the chops to be 2025's biggest draft steal.
Atlanta Falcons: LB Jalon Walker
The versatility and pass rushing capability in Walker's game gives him a little Micah Parsons to his NFL projection. That would be a godsend for the Falcons, who have ranked 31st, 21st, 31st, and 32nd in team sacks the last four seasons. But even if Walker fills an off-ball role in stretches he'd be a boon -- per Pro Football Reference, 12 different defenders had a missed tackle rate of 10 percent or higher. Walker had 11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks his final season at Georgia.
Baltimore Ravens: S/CB Malaki Starks
Starks and Kyle Hamilton could be a truly devastating safety combination. With Hamilton as the launch pad, Starks' boom-or-bust tendencies will be given the chance to blast off knowing he's got a steady, Pro Bowl presence capable of erasing messes behind him. That doesn't only apply to the safety spot, however. Head coach John Harbaugh could deploy him akin to how the Detroit Lions use Brian Branch, sliding him close to the line of scrimmage in the slot or effectively serving as a Swiss Army Knife for a defense that's perpetually terrifying.
Buffalo Bills: CB Maxwell Hairston
OK, phew. This could be Joey Bosa, but Bosa has played only 28 games the last three seasons and his 11.3 percent pressure rate in 2024 was the lowest of his career (that's still a top 35 mark among qualified defensive linemen, but it's also not a number that's likely to get significantly better at age 30). As much as I'd like to believe Joshua Palmer will finally have his breakthrough season after pairing with Josh Allen, it's tough to see him as anything more than a useful WR3 behind Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman.
Thus, we turn to the first round rookie. Hariston has to beat out Dane Jackson and an aged Tre'Davious White for the second boundary cornerback role across from Christian Benford. If he can live up to his potential, he'd boost a secondary that allowed Patrick Mahomes to average 9.4 yards per pass in last year's AFC title game. While he lacks desired bulk at the position, his combination of speed and length should make him a valuable deterrent against the AFC's most explosive offenses.
Carolina Panthers: WR Tetairoa McMillan
Carolina made several upgrades to the league's worst defense and could have six new starters this fall. No one may be more important to the team's future, however, than their first round wideout. McMillan is a boon for any quarterback, but especially for a rising Bryce Young. Young not only reclaimed his hold on the team's starting position after a brutal start to his career, but emerged as a top 15 QB (in terms of EPA per dropback) over the last half of the season while throwing to Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, David Moore and an aging Adam Thielen. If McMillan showcases the catch radius that made him a star at Arizona, he can jumpstart a Panthers' revival.
Chicago Bears: Head coach Ben Johnson
Johnson spent the last three offseasons as one of the NFL's hottest head coach candidates. Now he takes over a Bears' team loaded with young talent, including 2024 top overall pick Caleb Williams. As Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator, he maximized the potential of everyone from discarded veterans (Jared Goff) to undervalued draft picks (Amon-Ra St. Brown). Williams has special talent and is surrounded by a collection of proven and unproven playmakers like D.J. Moore, Cole Kmet, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland. Will he be able to do the same in Chicago, even with a relatively weak run game?
Cincinnati Bengals: EDGE Shemar Stewart
The Bengals got a head start on a proud tradition of antagonizing their own players, forcing Stewart into an earlier-than-expected impasse over language in his rookie contract. This means Cincinnati could be without the two most talented pass rushers on the roster thanks to an ongoing standoff with 2024 defensive player of the year runner-up Trey Hendrickson. The franchise badly needs both players to prop up a sagging defense that sacrificed coordinator Lou Anarumo at the altar of high expectations this offseason. The Bengals' non-Hendrickson players had 18.5 total sacks last fall and the team ranked 22nd in overall pressure rate despite Hendrickson letting loose the dogs of war each Sunday.
Cleveland Browns: Whomever is playing quarterback this fall
Deshaun Watson, formerly accused of more than 20 counts of sexual misconduct and what the NFL described as "predatory behavior," will likely miss the 2025 season with a torn Achilles (and he wasn't especially good before this). That leaves a four-way competition for the starting role between guys who weren't on the roster last season. Kenny Pickett, a 40-year-old Joe Flacco and rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders will compete for the QB1 role in northeast Ohio. That's, uh… phew.
Dallas Cowboys: WR George Pickens
Yes, the Cowboys are quietly negging their own Pro Bowl quarterback. But Prescott is set up to succeed despite the Brian Schottenheimer of it all (and continued lack of an efficient run game). Pickens' ability to play along the sideline pairs logically with CeeDee Lamb's work from the slot. The last time Dallas had a duo like that was Lamb and Amari Cooper -- and Prescott threw for nearly 4,500 yards and 37 touchdowns in 16 games that 2022 season.
Denver Broncos: S Talanoa Hufanga
Denver added a 25-year-old former All-Pro to its already stellar defense at the low cost of $39 million over three years. However, Hufanga has played only half the potential regular season games since his breakthrough 2022 (17) and his 2024 campaign saw his coverage and tackling both fall off (a passer rating allowed of 118.6 and a missed tackle rate of 11.4 percent. Neither are entirely damning as iffy statistics for a safety, but they are concerning). If healthy, the former 49er fills a need at strong safety. But his reliability is in question after the last two seasons.
Detroit Lions: Coordinators John Morton and Kelvin Sheppard
Sheppard isn't technically a new arrival -- he's instead been promoted after serving under former defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn after spending four seasons with the team as an assistant. Morton steps into the void Ben Johnson left behind after helping Bo Nix exceed expectations as the Broncos' passing game coordinator. Each has huge shoes to fill after their forebearers maximized Detroit's potential on both sides of the ball to turn the Lions into a contender.
Green Bay Packers: WR Matthew Golden
There's some pressure on Nate Hobbs to stabilize a secondary set to rely on Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine as its primary boundary corners -- both were solid in 2024 but lack the ceiling Jaire Alexander leaves behind. But that's not nearly as interesting as Green Bay's receiving corps. The Packers continue to field one of the youngest, deepest groups in the league, but the lack of a reliable WR1 to target on key downs remains an obstacle. Golden, the fourth wideout drafted in 2025 and the Packers' first first-round receiver in two decades, brings a diverse game and massive expectations to an offense capable of greatness or falling on its face behind Jordan Love's passing attack.
Houston Texans: OT Cam Robinson (and the five other new offensive line additions)
The Texans weren't content to see if C.J. Stroud could recover from a sophomore slump on his own. Houston got proactive this offseason, firing offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik (considered a rising head coach candidate just a year earlier!), trading away offensive linemen Laremy Tunsil and Kenyon Green and releasing Shaq Mason. Robinson is part of a shotgun blast of potential new starters which includes Laken Tomlinson, Trent Brown, Ed Ingram, Jake Andrews and Aireontae Ersery. There aren't many sure things when your headlining addition is a soon-to-be 30-year-old the Jacksonville Jaguars once considered releasing, but a fresh start makes sense.
Indianapolis Colts: CB Charvarius Ward
This could have been Daniel Jones, but I don't want to send Colts fans any deeper into a spiral. It could have been Tyler Warren, who is actually great for Jones' litany of short-range targets, but given the unpredictability of Indianapolis's quarterback situation I'll roll with Ward instead. The Colts added a 2023 All-Pro to punch up the league's 23rd-best pass defense (in terms of EPA/dropback). He can serve as a veteran leader to help push 2023 draft picks JuJu Brents and Jaylon Jones toward their potential, but there's no guarantee he'll be a massive upgrade after struggling through 2024 (a 116.6 passer rating allowed).
Jacksonville Jaguars: WR/CB Travis Hunter
Shoutout to James Gladstone here as well, who may thrive early on as Jacksonville's general manager merely by not being Trent Baalke. Gladstone is the man who aggressively traded up for Hunter, who stands to have a similar offense/defense impact as he did winning the Heisman Trophy at Buffalo last fall. He's no panacea for everything that ails the Jaguars, but he's a player who can keep opposing AFC South coordinators up at night and, importantly, help push Trevor Lawrence back to the 2022 form that got the Jags to the playoffs and earned the young QB a top 10 MVP voting finish.
Kansas City Chiefs: OTs Josh Simmons and Jaylon Moore
Recent additions of Jawaan Taylor (free agency) and Wanya Morris (2023 draft) have failed to give Patrick Mahomes the franchise tackle Kansas City desires. That led to major assets for blocking help in 2025; two years and $30 million for Moore, who has 12 career starts in four NFL seasons and a first round pick for Simmons, who wrecked shop at San Diego State and Ohio State but enters the NFL rehabbing a torn patellar tendon.
Both are high-risk, high-reward gambles. If they pay off, they can reinforce the weakness that saw Mahomes sacked six times and hit 11 more in a Super Bowl 59 blowout.
Los Angeles Chargers: G Mekhi Becton
There is nothing more in this world that Jim Harbaugh would like to do than grind you into dust on the ground, then ignite those particles with an efficient passing game. Becton helped clear a path for Saquon Barkley's 2,000-yard campaign after coming to Philadelphia and kicking inside to guard. Now he pairs with Zion Johnson to move earth for Omarion Hampton, Najee Harris, Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal. The Chargers are gonna throw BEEF at you until you're exhausted, then launch throws over the top of a tired defense with Justin Herbert. It's gonna be fun.
Los Angeles Rams: WR Davante Adams
Adams pairs with Matthew Stafford in what could be a last dance for both veterans as Pro Bowl-caliber players. Granted, each has avoided the gravity of time to date; Adams' 2.14 yards per route run (YPRR) were a top 25 mark among wideouts and Stafford's savvy play overcame a litany of offensive line injuries en route to another solid season. But both are beyond the point where comparable players at their positions begin to decline. Puka Nacua will boost the passing game, but having Adams to provide a Cooper Kupp-type presence could keep the Rams' Super Bowl window open -- especially with a young defense continuing to improve.
Las Vegas Raiders: QB Geno Smith, RB Ashton Jeanty and HC Pete Carroll
The Raiders needed a steady hand at the helm. Despite Antonio Pierce's interim success and the best efforts of Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew, they had none at head coach or quarterback last season. Smith's postseason resume is limited (one second half meltdown for the Seahawks) but he can create big gains with his vision and accuracy; his 6.7 completion percentage over expected (CPOE) outside of garbage time was third-best in the NFL last season. Carroll reclaims his throne as the NFL's oldest head coach, but his run-heavy approach gets one of the most prolific backs in NCAA history to lay the foundation for a revival. While the defense has plenty of questions to answer, Las Vegas could quietly field one of the league's most efficient offenses.
Miami Dolphins: S Ifeatu Melifonwu and S Ashtyn Davis
Miami didn't add much big name talent this offseason -- though a James Daniel-Jonah Savaiinea combo at guard should make life easier for De'Von Achane. But once Jalen Ramsey is traded, the Dolphins' starting cornerbacks will be some combination of Kader Kohou, Storm Duck, Artie Burns, Cam Smith and Jason Marshall Jr.
Kohou is solid in the slot and Duck has potential to grow, but this has the potential to be one of the league's weakest cornerback rotations. That's going to put a lot of pressure on the team's safety help, where Melifonwu and Davis join Elijah Campbell and 2025 fifth round pick Dante Trader Jr. Together, those four started five total NFL games in 2024. Unless these newcomers can exceed expectations, Miami could be stuck trying to keep up in a 18-week series of track meets.
Minnesota Vikings: About 2,000 pounds of BEEF
The offensive line added Ryan Kelly, Will Fries and Justin Skule in free agency as well as Ohio State standout Donovan Jackson in the first round of the draft. The defensive line brought in Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins. Minnesota reinforced its trenches to boost first-year starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy and add a little flexibility to defensive coordinator Brian Flores' "unleash hell" approach to blitzing.
New England Patriots: OT Will Campbell
The Patriots overhauled one of the league's least talented teams this offseason, outlaying more than $211 million in guaranteed money to add 16 new additions to the roster through free agency. The most important addition, however, may be the man tasked with keeping Drake Maye upright.
Maye shined despite underwhelming traditional stats as he worked against a 38.3 percent pressure rate -- tied for fifth-worst among starters last fall (he was blitzed only 26 percent of the time. The line was very, very bad). When pressured, Maye had a 62.6 passer rating and averaged -0.53 EPA per dropback. With a clean pocket, those numbers rose to 100.2 and 0.21. Campbell is just one man -- new additions Morgan Moses, Garrett Bradbury and Jared Wilson also need to step up -- but buying his quarterback time would be an immediate way to ingratiate himself to New Englanders.
New Orleans Saints: QB Tyler Shough
Derek Carr's sudden retirement focused the spotlight on a quarterback room that includes Shough, Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener and Hunter Dekkers. Shough, a second-round pick, has a clear path to the starting job but a difficult task in front of him, particularly with top wideout Chris Olave working through head injuries (four documented concussions in three years, per the AP) and possible trade drama.
The return of Olave and Rashid Shaheed -- a wonderful fit for Shough's downfield throws -- would help, but limited pass-catching depth behind them could ultimately curtail his rookie season growth. Still, he just needs to show proof of concept for a team in dire need of a franchise quarterback.
New York Giants: EDGE Abdul Carter
Carter joins a solid pass rush attack that already has Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux in tow. That should allow him to solidify his Micah Parsons comparisons by raining havoc down upon offenses from the middle of the field rather than exclusively from the edge. No matter where he's lined up, he'll have to be the booster rocket that makes the Giants' defense elite if they have any playoff hopes in 2025. An offense led by Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and Jaxson Dart will likely have its fair share of off days.
New York Jets: QB Justin Fields
The Aaron Rodgers trade cost New York a modest first-round pick swap (two slots) and a pair of second round picks and produced five wins in games the four-time MVP was capable of finishing. Now Fields steps into that void after a season that partially rehabilitated him after being shunted aside in Chicago.
He set career highs as a Pittsburgh Steeler in completion rate, passer rating, CPOE and EPA per dropback thanks to an offense that dialed back his average pass distance (7.7 yards), incorporated more play-action and generally defaulted to quicker, safer throws. The Jets can take advantage of that, particularly amidst an offense low on game-changing wideouts/tight ends beyond Garrett Wilson.
Philadelphia Eagles: LB Jihaad Campbell and S Andrew Mukuba
Philadelphia's offseason was defined by subtraction, as players like Milton Williams, Josh Sweat and Mekhi Becton played their way to bigger contracts than the Eagles could afford. Since most of general manager Howie Roseman's spending comes on the offensive side of the ball, it's vital to find low cost replacements. That can be through the draft -- see Williams, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean et al -- or free agency (the once cheap, now expensive Zack Baun).
Campbell and Mukuba fit into the former camp as the team's first two picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. Campbell will vie for a starting role next to Baun in the middle of the field. Mukuba joins Reed Blankenship and Sydney Brown in a thin safety rotation. If either can emerge as a trusted starter it will be another massive win for Roseman.
Pittsburgh Steelers: QB Aaron Rodgers
Can the league's 22nd best quarterback, who also happens to be 41 years old, return to MVP form after the least efficient season of his career as a starter? No.
Can he be league average and pilot the Steelers to their next Wild Card loss? We'll see!
San Francisco 49ers: EDGE Mykel Williams
San Francisco shed veteran talent as the salary cap closed in on a team that needed to pay Brock Purdy on top of a cache of stars. That cascaded across the roster, including the typically deep corps of defensive linemen Kyle Shanahan uses to generate pressure without sacrificing extra defenders via blitz. In 2024, the Niners slipped from 10th (38.5 percent) to 19th (32.6) in pressure rate. Leonard Floyd, who finished second on the team in both sacks and quarterback hits, left as a free agent.
Williams has a chance to step into his role after three seasons as a solid hand in Georgia's star-studded defense. He needs more reps and bulk to emerge as a three-down Pro Bowler, but a big rookie campaign would go a long way in getting the 49ers back on track.
Seattle Seahawks: QB Sam Darnold
Darnold goes from throwing to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson in his 2024 breakthrough as a Viking to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Noah Fant and a 32-year-old Cooper Kupp. Fortunately, Seattle doesn't need him to be a game-breaker. If Darnold can engineer an average offense, a young defense head coach Mike Macdonald helped transform into a top five unit over the last half of his first season at the helm should be enough to push the Seahawks back to the postseason.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: EDGE Haason Reddick
Tampa Bay's 35.8 percent pressure rate ranked eighth in the NFL, which seems great before you realize it lags behind the club's 36.5 percent blitz rate -- third-highest in 2024. The Bucs' edge rushers were useful in creating chaos -- this helped Calijah Kancey and Vita Vea combine for 14.5 sacks up front -- but struggled to get to the quarterback themselves.
The hope is Reddick can be a closer there, even after a wasted 2024 following his contract holdout with the Jets. Though he had just one sack in 393 snaps last season, his 13.5 percent pressure rate was in line with his 11-sack 2023 with the Eagles (and roughly in line with Nik Bonitto and Jonathan Greenard's numbers for 2024).
Tennessee Titans: QB Cameron Ward
Ward's arrival allows the Will Levis experience to be the comedy it was always meant to be rather than a Honky Tonk tragedy. Someone's going to need to step up in the Titans' receiving room behind Calvin Ridley -- and it would be especially nice if Treylon Burks could step into the role Tennessee envisioned before drafting him in the first round three years ago.
Washington Commanders: CB Trey Amos
Trades for Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel were the headliners of the Commanders' offseason. But those veteran additions will bolster an area of strength for one of the NFL's most efficient offenses. Instead, let's look at how Washington worked to overhaul the league's 22nd-ranked defense.
The cornerback rotation will rely on Mike Sainristil (solid), Jonathan Jones (headed into his age 32 season and coming off his worst performance as a pro) and Marshon Lattimore (29 years old, has played only 26 games the last three seasons and underwhelming in his brief audition as a Commander). This could throw Amos into the fire immediately for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. The second round rookie has the size, speed and physicality to be a valuable press corner along the sideline. If he can escape growing pains, he'd be an immediate boon for a secondary that had just five interceptions last season.