Now that the NFL’s teams have largely finished building their rosters for the coming season, let’s consider which AFC teams will be the biggest threats to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2025.
15. Cleveland Browns
Fun fact: as of June 1, the Browns are going into 2026 with just 19 players under contract — while starting that offseason over the salary cap. Following their contract with quarterback Deshaun Watson, it will be years before they can again field a competitive team.
14. Miami Dolphins
This is one of my boldest takes for 2025: the Dolphins will be terrible. The roster is a shell of what it was a few years ago. The offensive line is still non-functional. Tyreek Hill doesn’t have the same impact. The defense has lost pieces — and Jalen Ramsey is about to leave, too. Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb are coming off major injuries. I think they’ll start the season slowly and never recover.
13. Tennessee Titans
I’m pretty optimistic Cam Ward becomes a top-12 quarterback. The Titans added free agents to the offensive line and drafted a variety of weapons. Those moves will put Ward in a solid environment. But this kept them from investing in their defense, which will be too poor for them to compete.
12. Jacksonville Jaguars
I think the Jaguars’ offense will be really good — especially if rookie Travis Hunter plays wide receiver — but the defense is a total train wreck. There’s an argument that it will be the NFL’s worst defensive unit.
11. New York Jets
After the Aaron Rodgers era, I believe the Jets have done a good job of clearing the building. I love their pick of the Armand Membou. New York will be an elite rushing team — and I expect the defense to play better, too — but the passing game will be too limited to win consistently. Still, the team has made the right moves for a new coaching staff.
10. New England Patriots
New England had a great draft, but I’m skeptical about the rest of its offseason; aside from Milton Williams, I’m not impressed with most of the team’s signings. I’m not sold on head coach Mike Vrabel, either — and I don’t love the team’s hiring of Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator. Vrabel will give them a better floor, but it’s still a young team with a long way to go.
9. Indianapolis Colts
For the most part, the Indianapolis roster is good — but I think the quarterback situation puts a big damper on the situation. Neither Daniel Jones or Anthony Richardson will be able to make a playoff push. While I really like the Colts’ collection of weapons, it won’t matter without competent quarterback play.
8. Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders are a weird team. I think the combination of Geno Smith, Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers is very strong, although they don’t have a good outside wide receiver. Still, on talent alone, I think the offense will be good — but I have no idea what coordinator Chip Kelly plans to do. With so much investment in the offense, I’m not encouraged about the defense. That will hurt the team’s push to make the playoffs.
7. Pittsburgh Steelers
It doesn’t matter who ends up as quarterback. I’m just not very high on the Steelers. D.K. Metcalf is their only functional wide receiver — and he is limited. Meanwhile, the defense is aging — and last season, it fell apart. But while the vibes are weird, head coach Mike Tomlin is still there. They’ll still win nine or more games.
6. Cincinnati Bengals
If this was a power ranking, I’d have the Bengals lower — because I think their defense will once again be a total disaster. They made no moves in free agency and Shemar Stewart is not going to help in Year 1. But having Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase will still make Cincinnati a viable threat to the Chiefs.
5. Houston Texans
The Texans have had a terrible offseason; their offensive line moves have been wild. They’re putting a second-round rookie into Laremy Tunsil’s spot. They signed Cam Robinson, Ed Ingram and Laken Tomlinson, who were disasters with their previous teams. The line was bad last year — and somehow, Houston made it worse. Still, the defense is elite.
4. Los Angeles Chargers
Given this season’s poor free-agent class, the Chargers’ patient approach made sense. Nonetheless, I think they’ll be worse this season. With a real running game, the offense should improve — but I think the defense could regress. A year ago, Los Angeles had an easy schedule and was relying on mediocre talent. The team did little to address that situation.
3. Denver Broncos
I agree with many others: the Broncos had a really good offseason. While Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga are risks coming off injuries, Denver already had a lot of defensive talent; they will help clean up the unit’s weak spots. I think the offense will still be around average, but the defense should be a top-3 unit. It’ll be awesome to see the Kansas City offense match up with it.
2. Buffalo Bills
I think the Bills had a good offseason. While I was lower on Maxwell Hairston than others, Buffalo was slow at cornerback. Hairston solves that. They didn’t get an ace pass rusher, but I think T.J. Sanders and Landon Jackson will still help the defense — and the offense should remain elite.
1. Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens’ biggest weaknesses were safety and edge rusher. Drafting Malachi Starks and Mike Green solved those issues. Under a new coordinator, the defense had a slow start in 2024 — but in the second half of the season, it was pretty good. With those two rookies filling its two biggest weaknesses, I expect Baltimore to field a top-8 defense alongside its elite offense.
