Ranking The 5 Worst NFL Rosters Ahead of 2024 OTAs

NFL roster building is part science and part art. And some general managers and teams are better at it than others.

Kansas City's Brett Veach has mixed together a combination that has won back-to-back Super Bowls. Howie Roseman and Eric DeCosta have been painting perennial contenders in Philadelphia and Baltimore, respectively, for years.

It hasn't really seemed to matter who calls the shots in Pittsburgh—the Steelers have had three head coaches in team history and haven't had a losing season in over two decades.

For some NFL clubs, though, it isn't so easy. Many have had continued turnover at head coach and general manager that leads to disjointed roster construction. Some have seen time, free agency or the salary cap punch holes in their plans, while others have just made bad decisions.

They know who they are.

Roster deficiencies can add up quickly for a team. Get too many (or get them at the wrong position), and you can wind up like one of these teams—just entering OTAs and already essentially playing for little more than progress, pride and draft position in 2025.

These teams didn't quite make the cut for our five worst rosters, but they did get some consideration. These are all franchises with the kind of flaws that are going to be difficult to overcome in 2024.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders went 5-4 last year under interim head coach Antonio Pierce, and they have one of the league's best receivers in Davante Adams and one of its most feared edge-rushers in Maxx Crosby.

However, Las Vegas also has, arguably, the worst offensive line in the NFL, and even more importantly no quarterback to protect.

Aidan O'Connell is not an NFL starter, and while Gardner Minshew II may well become a fan favorite, he's 15-22 as a starter with a passer rating barely above 90. The team also lost running back Josh Jacobs.

The Raiders offense will likely be bottom-10 in scoring again in 2024.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers are the only team in this group that can boast a legitimate star at quarterback in Justin Herbert. That may well be what attracted Jim Harbaugh to the job.

But the Harbaugh regime gutted Herbert's receivers. Rather than throwing passes to Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, it will be Joshua Palmer, Quentin Johnston and journeyman D.J. Chark.

The Chargers' new-look offensive line should be better, but handing the keys to the run game to Gus Edwards and Co. is a risky move. And so is doing little to address the AFC's worst pass defense a year ago.

Tennessee Titans

The Titans have some good things going for them.

De'Andre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd are an excellent trio of receivers. The addition of first-round pick JC Latham at tackle and veteran cornerbacks L'Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie should up shore a pair of position groups that needed it.

But the offensive line could be a major problem if Latham struggles with the move to the left side, Tony Pollard is not a one-for-one replacement for Derrick Henry at running back and the team took steps back at linebacker and safety.

As a rookie, Will Levis had a QBR of 33.2. Only Zach Wilson of the Jets had a lower one.

The Arizona Cardinals possess something no one else in the bottom five of NFL rosters has: a $200 million quarterback.

But it's fair to wonder if the Redbirds are having buyer's remorse about that extension for Kyler Murray.

Since signing it in 2022, the 26-year-old has missed 15 games with an ACL tear and won six of 19 starts. Last year, his career-low QBR of 47.2 was lower than Minshew's.

However, tight end Trey McBride told reporters that he has every confidence in what Murray can accomplish in a full, healthy season:

"I'm so excited to have him at the helm running this program because he's a phenomenal person, a phenomenal leader and obviously a phenomenal athlete. So I'm super excited to have another year with him and to see what we can do because I feel like there was a lot that we left out there last year."

McBride blossomed into a fine young tight end last season, and Marvin Harrison Jr. has the makings of a star at wide receiver. But the wideout group behind the first-round pick isn't imposing. And while James Conner and Trey Benson are a capable pair of running backs, it's not easy to generate consistent offense behind a bottom-five offensive line.

The offense is the Cardinals' strength, though.

Arizona was 25th last year in total defense and 31st in points allowed. The team's starting edge-rushers (B.J. Ojulari and Zaven Collins) combined for 7.5 sacks in 2023. Jalen Thompson and Budda Baker form one of the league's better safety tandems, but the cornerback room might be the weakest in the entire NFL.

No one knows better how fleeting success can be in the NFL than the New York Giants.

Two years ago, they were a surprise playoff team that shocked a 13-win Vikings team in Minnesota. Quarterback Daniel Jones got a big extension, and Brian Daboll won Coach of the Year.

Fast-forward to today, and fans are surprised Jones wasn't replaced in the draft after a disastrous season in which he got hurt, the offensive line imploded and the defense crumbled under constant assault.

The Giants reportedly made a play to trade up for Drake Maye this year and also brought in Drew Lock during the offseason.

Daboll told reporters he's been up-front with all his signal-callers that no one's job is certain:

"You're just transparent with the entire team about the whole draft process. You're trying to improve your team. You know, the last meeting we had, I showed a picture up here of all of our area scouts, Joe, his leadership group, and you know, part of their role is to help improve our football team by creating competition."

However, Malik Nabers, the No. 6 pick this year, should give Jones something the Giants haven't had in a long time: a No. 1 receiver. But the rest of the depth chart at the position remains unimpressive. Running back is now a question mark, with Devin Singletary trying to fill Saquon Barkley's shoes. There's also the matter of an O-line that surrendered a staggering 85 sacks a year ago.

New York's defense ranked outside the top 25 last year in both yards and points allowed and gave up over 130 yards a game on the ground.

Pairing Brian Burns with Kayvon Thibodeaux gives the G-Men two imposing edge-rushers, but it's an expensive addition that doesn't address their issues in the secondary, which have been exacerbated by the departure of safety Xavier McKinney.

In news that should surprise no one, the first three teams to pick in the 2024 NFL draft are also the bottom three teams on our list.

The Washington Commanders endured a miserable four-win campaign in 2023, largely because of terrible quarterback play.

However, that miserable year did allow the team to select Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 pick in the draft.

And while just about everyone expects him to start Week 1, the LSU product told Keyshawn Johnson on the All Facts No Brakes podcast that no guarantees have been made in that regard:

"Do I anticipate (starting Week 1)? I mean, I'm confident in my abilities, but that's a decision that they've got to make. That's above me. From what I heard, they said whenever I'm ready, I'm ready. So, whenever I feel like I'm ready, I'm ready. They didn't tell me, 'Oh, you've got to start Week 1.' They just said, 'Whenever you're ready, you're ready. Whenever you feel ready, we feel you're ready, we're gonna throw you out there.'"

Once Daniels is "thrown out there," that's when the trouble could start. The offense isn't without talent. Terry McLaurin is an excellent wideout, and running back Austin Ekeler was a bargain addition.

But there are reasons why the Commanders were a bottom-10 offense in terms of both yards and points. Former first-round receiver Jahan Dotson has disappointed, and the offensive line is ranked as the NFC's worst by Dallas Robinson of Pro Football Network.

The addition of edge-rusher Dorrance Armstrong should help the pass rush, and veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner offers stability in the middle. But no team in the NFC allowed more passing yards per game last season than Washington, and that secondary is not markedly better in 2024.

Daniels had best be ready for some shootouts.

The best thing that can be said about the 2023 season in Carolina is that it's over.

The Panthers mortgaged their future to select quarterback Bryce Young last year and then promptly threw him to the wolves with precious little in the way of help.

There's a new regime in town in 2024, though, and general manager Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales at least made an effort to change that this year.

Carolina acquired wide receiver Diontae Johnson in a trade with Pittsburgh and brought in wide receiver Xavier Legette and running back Jonathon Brooks in the first two days of the draft.

Johnson told reporters that he intends to offer Young a "go-to" target this year.

"Just a guy that can get open, just give him a sense of comfort when he's back there knowing he has a guy that can get open anywhere on the field,'' he said. "That's what I'm here to do, to make plays."

Carolina is better at the skill positions this season. But despite giving guards Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt big contracts, the offensive line still ranks in the bottom 10.

And the problems get that much bigger on defense after Carolina lost multiple key players from last year's fourth-ranked defense in terms of yards allowed.

Edge-rusher Brian Burns, who led the team in sacks last year, was traded to New York. Linebacker Frankie Luvu, who led the team in tackles, left in free agency.

Replacements were procured in DJ Wonnum and Josey Jewell, but both are downgrades. A defense that was somehow top-five in yards allowed and bottom-five in points allowed didn't improve.

Neither did the team as a whole, at least not demonstrably.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

For two decades, the New England Patriots were the NFL's gold standard. They won a whopping six Super Bowls and played in three others. They are the only team in NFL history that has navigated a 16-game regular season without a loss.

But that was then and this is now. Quarterback Tom Brady is gone. So is head coach Bill Belichick. And the team left behind is a mess.

To be fair, new head coach Jerod Mayo's roster has some talent on defense in the likes of edge-rusher Matt Judon, defensive tackle Davon Godchaux and safety Kyle Dugger.

Godchaux told Cameron Wolfe of NFL.com that if the Patriots can get the offense squared away, New England can get right back in the mix.

"Once we get that offense clicking, we will be back in playoff mode and hopefully further," he said. "Always will be a top defense if not the best defense."

However, that defense wasn't exactly a top one a year ago. The Patriots were a solid seventh in yards allowed, but just a so-so 15th in points allowed. Their front seven isn't what it once was, especially with Judon coming back from injury.

New England's offense? Nightmare fuel. The team drafted North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye third overall, but it's expected that veteran journeyman Jacoby Brissett will open the season under center. Rhamondre Stevenson is a capable running back, but the team's No. 1 wide receiver is second-year pro Demario Douglas.

Behind him is, unquestionably, the weakest assemblage of pass-catching talent in the NFL. New England's offensive line is ranked as the third-worst in the league, with left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor a particular concern.

Simply put, there's no clear path to this team scoring points. Whether it's Brissett or Maye at quarterback, they are being set up to fail.

And it's fixing to be a long year in Foxborough, Massachusetts.