Highlight clips of deep passes being completed in practice are social media’s sign that training camp season has arrived in the NFL.
With fans looking to latch onto any reason for excitement for the upcoming season and teams try to give them one, nothing creates a stir quite like a potential preview of big plays to come. The dazzling deep balls are enticing, even if thrown in settings that fall well short of a game atmosphere. For some franchises, however, this might be the height of offseason optimism, as personnel and coaching constraints can quickly throttle any unit.
Still, summer in the NFL is all about examining untapped upside, and there are more than a few groups that have significant potential for becoming more dynamic. Here are five teams that are shaping up to be more explosive this season than they were last year:
Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes had a clear statement of purpose for the Chiefs’ offense in offseason workouts.
‘Our job is to test the defenses down the field and we have to get back to doing that if we want to open up other guys underneath,’ Mahomes said in June. ‘Coach (Andy) Reid has challenged me this offseason to push the ball down the field, let guys have chances to make plays and then once we get that back to where we want to be in our standard that we believe we should have, then we can come back to the underneath stuff.’
The sentiment, however, is almost exactly the same as what he put forward a year ago as the team looked to rediscover its freewheeling ways. And last season’s outcome serves as a reminder of how quickly even the most dedicated effort can fall apart.
With Rashee Rice and Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown lost for the majority of the season by September, Kansas City quickly reverted to the more laborious method it has pivoted to in recent years. Two years after leading the NFL with 73 completions of 20-plus yards, the Chiefs had the sixth fewest in 2024 with just 42. With the deep game disintegrated and the field compressed, Mahomes’ average air yards per attempt sagged to a career-low 6.3, according to Next Gen Stats.
As in past years, part of the problem stems from the preponderance of two-high shells the team has continued to face as opposing defenses deny Mahomes anything deep and instead force him to be more patient and discerning. But much of the disappearance of the downfield game also traces back to the injury-ravaged receiving corps that failed to find consistent separation and an offensive line that came undone in critical stretches.
Getting back Rice, who could be facing a suspension after being sentenced for his role in a high-speed crash last year, and Brown no doubt will be a boon, with the former able to do plenty of heavy lifting as a go-to target underneath. But while Xavier Worthy showed promise once his role shifted after Rice’s season-ending knee injury, the first-rounder still has a long way to go to be the downfield burner the team envisioned him as when it selected him in the first round last April. But if the 40-yard dash record setter can improve on his 10.8 yards per catch average, it could have a significant ripple effect for the rest of the unit. Meanwhile, a trimmer Travis Kelce could be more dynamic after averaging a career-low 8.5 yards per catch last fall.
A more pressing concern than the pass-catching crew, however, could be the offensive front. The Chiefs made sizable investments at left tackle – a two-year, $30 million contract for Jaylon Moore and a first-round pick used on Josh Simmons – after Mahomes’ blindside protection quickly proved insufficient last fall. And with Joe Thuney sent to Chicago, Kansas City is counting on either Mike Caliendo or Kingsley Suamataia, who began last year as the starting left tackle before being benched, to hold down the left guard spot.
Affording Mahomes sufficient time to take chances could be the difference between an offensive rebirth and yet again having to repeatedly scrape by on third and fourth downs. But if given the window, there’s little question that the Chiefs will be looking to take their shot whenever they can.
Chicago Bears
Ben Johnson’s explanation this offseason of his stance on the Tush Push, the Philadelphia Eagles’ signature variation on the quarterback sneak, served as a window into the first-year Bears coach’s offensive philosophy.
‘Man, I tell you what, does it become an explosive play ever? Have you ever seen a Tush Push become an explosive play? I like explosive plays,’ Johnson said in May. ‘I like big plays. ‘So I’m not a big Tush Push guy myself.’
Of course, Johnson’s mindset would have been readily evident to anyone familiar with his work orchestrating the Detroit Lions’ offense for the previous three years. His units ranked in the top five for both yards and points every season during that span. The peak came in 2024, when the Lions led the NFL in scoring and tied a league record by reaching at least 40 points in six games. Detroit also had the most touchdowns of at least 20 yards with 18.
It’s little wonder, then, that Johnson was such a draw to a team that finished last in yards per game (284.6) amid heightened expectations for quarterback Caleb Williams’ debut campaign.
Johnson has said that while he’ll carry over his aggressiveness and focus on taxing defenses in a variety of manners, he’ll cater to the Bears’ specific personnel landscape. And despite the systemic breakdown that dragged down all parties in 2024, there’s a clear sense of big-play potential brewing thanks to Williams’ singular creativity, an overhauled offensive line and a receiving corps that could be on the verge of a breakout.
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Still, there’s a clear walk-before-you-run element for a Chicago team that was derailed by incessant pressure last season. With Johnson having declared how highly he prizes expected points added in the passing game, his tolerance for drive-killing sacks will be low. The complete remaking of the interior offensive line might go a long way toward resolving the front’s most pressing shortcoming, but larger changes are no doubt due after Williams took a league-high 68 sacks. While there’s been plenty of questioning about how Williams would jibe with Johnson in a system that calls for the quarterback to stay on schedule, expect the signal-caller to get rid of the ball more quickly and significantly boost his checkdown rate after posting the lowest figure in the league in 2024 at 7.1%, according to Pro Football Focus.
Once the attack reaches a level of overall functionality, however, the big plays could come in waves. Johnson excels at throwing defenses off balance to create big gains both through the air and on the ground, and the Bears’ skill-position talent could easily capitalize on the run-after-catch opportunities that are sure to come.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It’s difficult to find much fault with one of last year’s most efficient attacks. The Buccaneers ranked fourth in scoring (29.5 points per game) and fifth in expected points added per play. And with a league-best 50.9% conversion-rate on third downs, Tampa Bay was difficult to stop in its tracks.
What, then, could first-year coordinator Josh Grizzard and the offense be setting their sights on as an area for growth this fall? For one: deep shots.
‘We’re trying to get some more explosive (plays) in,’ quarterback Baker Mayfield told reporters in June. ‘Obviously, when you look at the stats – I’m not a big stats guy, but we weren’t as much down-the-field explosive. We were creating a lot of open, in the middle, and guys getting some YAC.’
Mayfield and the aerial attack, which Grizzard helmed last year as pass game coordinator, did prove to be particularly deadly operating in the underneath area. Despite losing slot target Chris Godwin to a season-ending dislocated ankle in Week 7, the Buccaneers ranked second in yards after catch with 3,830. Mayfield set career highs with a 71.4% completion rate and 106.8 passer rating along with 4,500 yards and 41 touchdown passes.
But the downfield game never quite took off for Tampa Bay, which ranked 29th in average air yards per attempt (6.8). The compressed attack was reflected by the contributions of Mike Evans, a perennial deep threat throughout his career who saw his yards per reception (13.6) and average depth of target (11.58) sink to all-time lows. Even then, his overall efficiency didn’t wane, as he tied for sixth in the NFL with 2.8 yards per route run.
Still, with Godwin back and first-round receiver Emeka Egbuka in the fold, the Buccaneers will have a better shot at utilizing the full field. As he turns 32 in August, Evans might not be the same field-stretching threat as he once was, though his 91 open score in ESPN’s receiver metrics was tied for the league’s best mark. But his ability to threaten defenses vertically hardly hinges entirely on speed, as hauling in contested catches down the sideline has long been his calling card. With Godwin and Egbuka holding down the short-to-intermediate area, Evans could benefit with a return to a heavier proportion of his work coming deep downfield.
One potential hiccup: All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs’ expected early-season absence due to a knee injury could threaten the superlative protection Mayfield has enjoyed.
Atlanta Falcons
Coaching staffs often look to rein in a young quarterback’s aggressiveness. The Falcons want to harness their second-year signal-caller’s attacking approach, though striking the right balance could be a season-long project.
When Atlanta benched Kirk Cousins for the final three games of last season, it didn’t take long for Michael Penix Jr. to strike a stylistic contrast from his veteran predecessor. The rookie averaged 10.2 air yards per attempt during his three-game run, which placed him only behind the Indianapolis Colts’ Anthony Richardson among starting quarterbacks on the season.
But the shift produced a much higher variance from a passing game that still ranked fifth in yards per game despite Cousins’ limitations on his mobility and velocity. Penix completed just 58.1% of his passes on the season while struggling with erratic ball placement.
‘He’s an aggressive player with an aggressive arm, but sometimes you got to be able to dial it back a little bit,’ Falcons quarterbacks coach T.J. Yates said of Penix in May, according to the team’s official site. ‘He has great field vision. He has the ability to manipulate underneath defenders with his eyes. And sometimes he might not need to do that all the time, but it’s one of his greatest assets, so we don’t want to over-coach or out-coach some of those things out of his system. It’s just the process of learning the quarterback and learning how to coach him, and him learning the offense and rolling through those things.’
Even if Penix does rein in his tendencies a bit, Atlanta no doubt will be looking to embrace a new outlook. Raheem Morris admitted late last season the team had ‘neglected’ the play-action portion of its playbook, and the team should be able to engineer more favorable downfield looks. Penix’s deep-ball prowess could also bring out the best in Drake London, who connected with the quarterback for 22 catches for 349 yards and two touchdowns in the final three games last season. With the 6-4 London and speedster Darnell Mooney Jr. both offering a proven track record threatening defenses vertically, Penix could unlock a component of the passing attack that Cousins struggled to access.
And while Bijan Robinson picked up rushing yards in bunches after finishing fourth in the NFL with 1,887, the third-year back has drilled down on how to create more long runs after again failing to produce one of 40 yards or more.
‘I work on it every single day,’ Robinson said in June. ‘Obviously, the explosives, we always want them. We’ve added so many things to this offense so we can create more explosives. And, for me, sometimes it’s that one defender, but now that’s all. That’s what I’ve been working on all offseason, just seeing that free hitter and making moves off him.’
Las Vegas Raiders
The story of the Raiders’ offensive downfall was one of compounding problems, with an untenable quarterback situation worsened by a rock-bottom run game and a receiving corps left listless after the Davante Adams trade. It only made sense, then, for Las Vegas to take a multi-pronged approach toward a repair.
Bringing aboard Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly provided stability to a franchise that hasn’t enjoyed much in the way of consistency since moving to Las Vegas. Another major boost came with Geno Smith settling the longstanding quarterback question. The two-time Pro Bowler has been one of the league’s best deep passers in recent years, though having to compensate for a Seattle Seahawks line that struggled to stave off interior pressure somewhat obscured the full extent of his abilities. That experience should prove handy, however, as Smith takes on a heavy load in jolting one of the more inert passing attacks.
Do the Silver and Black have enough juice in the receiving corps to give Smith proper help? Brock Bowers is more than capable of serving as the focal point of the attack after his record-setting rookie season. But the Raiders might need Dont’e Thornton, a 6-5, 205-pound fourth-round pick out of Tennessee who ran a 4.3-second 40-yard dash and averaged 25.4 yards per catch last year, to create the deep connections that might not otherwise be readily available to other targets.
‘We want to be efficient. That’s the main thing,’ Smith said in May. ‘We want to do well in the situations, the third downs, the red zones. But also we want to be explosive. When teams come up and play us in man-to-man (coverage), we have guys that are going to win those matchups. I really feel good about where we are. We’re still in work in progress but we’re in a good spot and we’ve just to keep working hard to get better.’
The Raiders also should see a radical shift in their run game. No. 6 overall pick Ashton Jeanty brings an immediate big-play threat to the backfield after notching 12 runs of 50-plus yards in his final year at Boise State. Las Vegas’ longest rush of the season, meanwhile, went for just 40 yards.
This post appeared first on USA TODAY
