- The Titans should have new faces throughout: With the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft in hand, Tennessee could transform its roster with an elite difference-maker.
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The NFL offseason represents a glimmer of hope for the 31 teams that fell short of a Super Bowl win, especially those that finished last in their divisions.
With that in mind, we ranked the likelihood of each last-placed team winning their division at the end of the 2025 NFL regular season.
1. San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco endured bad injury luck during the 2024 NFL regular season but should have every chance to get back into the playoffs and win its division in 2025.
If offensive cornerstones Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk can stay healthy, then San Francisco’s offensive output should return to recent years’ levels. Even though quarterback Brock Purdy is expected to take up a significantly larger share of the salary cap and Deebo Samuel may depart via trade, San Francisco still will have more than enough talent to compete for the NFC West title.
The 49ers’ biggest priority should be fixing their secondary, as cornerback Charvarius Ward and safety Talanoa Hufanga are expected to become free agents next month.
2. New Orleans Saints
The Saints were off to a great start in 2024 before it all went off the rails, which led to their mid-season firing of head coach Dennis Allen. Through two weeks, New Orleans looked like arguably the best team in the league, showing that new head coach Kellen Moore will have something to build on.
Quarterback Derek Carr finished the season with the seventh-highest PFF overall grade (85.6) at the position, while the offensive line surprised due to Erik McCoy earning the highest PFF overall grade among centers and former first-round pick Trevor Penning establishing himself as one of the better run-blocking offensive tackles in the NFL.
The NFC South not having a clear favorite can also aid the Saints, as none of the other three teams are expected to be dominant.
3. Tennessee Titans
Although the Titans are expected to pick first in the 2025 NFL Draft, their relatively weak division provides them some hope for finishing first and thus earning a playoff berth in 2025.
Tennessee finished with the worst record in the league but still managed to beat the Houston Texans — who ended up winning the division in 2024 — in Houston. The Titans must find a reliable quarterback this offseason, be it through free agency or the draft. Will Levis earned a 54.9 PFF overall grade in 2024, which ranked only 39th among 42 qualifying quarterbacks, while backup Mason Rudolph’s 62.5 PFF overall grade placed 34th at the position.
4. Chicago Bears
Unlike the AFC South and NFC South, the NFC North is a tough division to go from worst to first, with the three other teams having made the playoffs in 2024. However, the Vikings and Lions might take a step back due to quarterback unknowns and coaching staff turnover, respectively.
The Bears should have enough talent to field an above-average defense, spearheaded by cornerback Jaylon Johnson. He could not replicate his breakout season from 2023, but he still earned a 76.2 PFF overall grade, which ranked 11th at the position.
New head coach Ben Johnson will probably aim to strengthen the offensive line, which could go a long way toward helping quarterback Caleb Williams develop in his second NFL season.
5. New England Patriots
While the chances of going from worst to first seem very slim for the last four teams on this list, unlike the other three, the Patriots know they have their franchise quarterback.
Even though Drake Maye’s rookie season was a rollercoaster, the North Carolina product showed plenty of encouraging signs. He finished with a 3.7% big-time throw rate, which ranked 22nd among 39 qualifying quarterbacks.
New head coach Mike Vrabel and this Patriots team will have their work cut out for them, though, as the Bills are one of the NFL’s best squads and the Dolphins and Jets should have enough talent to compete for playoff berths.
6. New York Giants
The NFC East has not had a back-to-back winner since 2004, which certainly can work in the Giants’ favor despite the Philadelphia Eagles having just won the Super Bowl, the Commanders making the NFC Championship game and the Cowboys having a lot of talent on both sides of the ball.
However, head coach Brian Daboll showed three years ago in his first season with the Giants that he can get the most out of a team, even one lacking talent. The first step has to be finding a quarterback to maximize what second-year wide receiver Malik Nabers brings to the table. Nabers’ 86.7 PFF overall grade as a rookie ranked eighth in the NFL.
7. Cleveland Browns
If things weren’t bleak enough for Browns fans, star edge rusher Myles Garrett’s trade request likely means Cleveland will have to start from the ground up. Arguably the best defensive player in the NFL, Garrett has earned 90.0-plus PFF overall grades in each of the past four seasons and finished as the highest-graded player at his position in three of those years.
Trading their best player — and accumulating draft picks in the process — would be the first step of a rebuild for the Browns, who should also be involved in the quarterback market with Deshaun Watson coming off multiple Achilles tears and ranking just 33rd last season with a 63.1 PFF overall grade.
Being in the same division with the Ravens and the Steelers, who both made the playoffs in 2024, and the Joe Burrow-led Bengals makes it tough for the Browns to compete for a playoff berth, let alone win the AFC North.
8. Las Vegas Raiders
Like the Bears, the Raiders are in a division where all three other teams made the playoffs this past season. However, unlike the NFC North, the Broncos and Chargers are on an upward trajectory with a young quarterback and a promising second-year head coach, respectively. The division is rounded out by the Kansas City Chiefs, who have played in the past three Super Bowls and won two.
The Raiders face an almost impossible task of winning this division even if they had a quarterback and a lot of talent. Aside from tight end Brock Bowers and edge defender Maxx Crosby, they lack the core pieces to be a contender.
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