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Offensive fireworks? Grading NFC skill-position groups
The usual suspect — we're looking at you, Detroit Lions — should again have a high-powered offense. But what teams enter could enter the 2025 NFL season with dreadful offenses?
Ahead of training camps opening in late July, Yardbarker NFL writers grade each NFC team's skill-position group.
NFC East
DALLAS COWBOYS | Grade: B+ | A healthy QB Dak Prescott with WRs CeeDee Lamb (38 career TD receptions in five seasons) and George Pickens (16.3 YPC in three seasons) are solid. But the Cowboys don’t have a proven RB, so it’s all up to Prescott.
NEW YORK GIANTS | Grade: D | Really, who thinks QB Russell Wilson (6-5 as starter for Steelers in 2024) has anything left after three teams in four years? New York has a budding star in WR Malik Nabers (1,204 receiving yards as a rookie in 2024), but the Giants don’t have studs at RB.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES | Grade: A+ | QB Jalen Hurts, RB Saquon Barkley (2,005 rushing yards last season) and WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are the NFL’s best quartet. Barkley, the most valuable piece, can win games alone.
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS | Grade: A- | It would be an A alone with just QB Jayden Daniels, last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year. But Deebo Samuel helps Terry McLaurin and a deep crew into top-10 receiver corps. The running game is diverse but lacks the 1,000-yard banger. — Rick Snider
NFC West
ARIZONA CARDINALS | B | Led by Pro Bowl TE Trey McBride (1,146 yards receiving last season), the Cardinals are leaning on young talent to perform. 2024 first-round pick Marvin Harrison and veteran Michael Wilson are expected to highlight an explosive passing attack while James Conner (1,094 yards rushing last season) anchors one of the more underrated rushing offenses.
LOS ANGELES RAMS | A- | The offense is all about star power with Davante Adams and Puka Nacua headlining a receiving corps that can pick apart any defense. Kyren Williams has a claim for the title of best RB in the NFC West after 14 TDs rushing in 2024. The addition of rookie TE Terrance Ferguson adds depth for QB Matthew Stafford to build off a near-NFC Championship Game appearance last season.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS | B+ | The offensive weapons have boom-or-bust potential mainly because of the health concerns of RB Christian McCaffrey and WR Brandon Aiyuk. If both players perform at a high level, San Francisco could have an elite offense, especially with All-Pro TE George Kittle, who is approaching second place on the franchise’s all-time receiving yards list. Plus, San Francisco has a young, talented receiving corps led by Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS | B- | WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the lone star on the offense after 1,130 yards receiving and six TD catches in 2024. However, if veteran WR Cooper Kupp rekindles his 2021 magic (1,947 yards receiving with the Rams) and RB Kenneth Walker remains healthy, new QB Sam Darnold should have plenty of firepower to lead an impressive offense. — Sterling Bennett
NFC North
CHICAGO BEARS | Grade: B | DJ Moore is an underrated, reliable No. 1 WR with 2,330 receiving yards and 15 total touchdowns in his first two seasons in Chicago, while the young pass-catching trio of WRs Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III and TE Colston Loveland has sky-high potential in new HC Ben Johnson’s offense. With a host of talented receivers and home-run hitter D’Andre Swift leading the backfield, QB Caleb Williams is poised to take a big leap in Year 2.
DETROIT LIONS | Grade: A+ | The Lions, led by two-time All-Pro WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and the unstoppable thunder-and-lightning duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs at RB, might have the NFL's most dynamic group of skill-position players. With speedy WR Jameson Williams and versatile TE Sam LaPorta also in the mix, it was no surprise Detroit led the NFL in points per game (33.1) last season.
GREEN BAY PACKERS | Grade: B- | Green Bay’s offense is more about depth than top-end talent, as Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Matthew Golden and Tucker Kraft are solid pass-catchers but not superstars. The best of the bunch is RB Josh Jacobs, who rushed for 1,329 yards and a career-high 15 touchdowns last season in his first year with the Packers.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS | Grade: A- | It’s hard to go below an A- on the team that employs Justin Jefferson, a four-time Pro Bowler who has the most receiving yards through five seasons of any player in NFL history (7,432). With WR Jordan Addison, TE T.J. Hockenson and RB Aaron Jones also at his disposal, new starting QB J.J. McCarthy is set up to succeed right away. — Jack Dougherty
NFC South
ATLANTA FALCONS | Grade: B+ | Considering the resources spent on skill positions — top eight picks in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 NFL drafts — this group should be an A, and it almost is. Bijan Robinson is one of the league’s more dynamic RBs and Drake London is a legitimate No. 1 WR, but TE Kyle Pitts has disappointed, averaging 542 receiving yards per season from 2022-24.
CAROLINA PANTHERS | C- | RB Chuba Hubbard is coming off a season with personal highs in rushing attempts (250), rushing yards (1,195) and rushing touchdowns (10). He doesn’t offer much in the passing game, but neither did most of Carolina’s WRs for QB Bryce Young in 2024, which is why the front office picked Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan at No. 8 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft instead of addressing its league-worst defense.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS | B | No NFC South offense has as much potential to produce fireworks as the Saints, who feature five-time Pro Bowl RB Alvin Kamara and explosive WRs Chris Olave and Rasheed Shaheed. In Week 2 of the 2024 season, NFL Pro wrote, “Since the start of last season,” the two WRs “rank among the top six receivers in number of routes that reached 20+ mph.” But health concerns (the duo missed 20 games combined in 2024) and questionable depth behind them lowers New Orleans’ grade.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS | A- | The Bucs have an embarrassment of riches at WR, with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin established as the Nos. 1 and 2 on the depth chart, and rookie Emeka Egbuka and second-year pro Jalen McMillan giving QB Baker Mayfield strong secondary options. RB Bucky Irving averaged 5.4 yards per carry and gained 1,514 yards from scrimmage as a rookie, and TE Cade Otton had 59 receptions for 600 yards (both career highs) in 2024 despite missing the final three games of the regular season with a sprained knee. — Eric Smithling
More must-reads:
- Offensive fireworks? Grading AFC skill-position groups
- Did NFC personnel evaluator take shot at Browns over Baker Mayfield flourishing with Buccaneers?
- The '2023-24 NFL receiving leaders by team' quiz
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