The NFL used to be defense-controlled. Even looking at the New England Patriots dynasty, their early championships were led by hard-hitting, stingy defenses and what we might call a ‘game manager’ Tom Brady at quarterback. The safety changes in the NFL along with America’s insatiable appetite for more points has turned the league into a fireworks show over a fistfight. Defense no longer wins championships. The best three offenses in the NFL all made it to Conference Championship weekend, with two of them making the Super Bowl.
So, who had the best offenses in the NFL in 2023 and how does that translate to 2024? In order to answer that question, I turned to PFF grades and roster turnover. Points scored can be an important part of this equation, but it feels just lazy to see who scored the most points; one 70-point game will throw off those metrics. Instead, I looked at the team’s top-graded PFF performers at QB, RB, WR, and TE.
Often times people will talk about teams have the top three playmakers and leave out TE, but I think it’s an important observation that the teams with the top two grade TE in the NFL last year met in the Super Bowl. Like slot receiver a decade and a half ago, TE is becoming a more important position in the NFL – allowing offensive coordinators to match up big athletic pass catchers with LBs over the middle of the field or sprinting up the seam of the defense.
The Best 3 Offenses in the NFL Heading Into 2024
To find the best 3 offenses in the NFL, I took the top-graded QB, RB, WR, and TE for each team. I didn’t take into account anomalies like the Lions having two RBs in the top 15 or the 49ers having two WRs in the top 12, just the top performer on each team at each of those positions. Some teams were high in a couple of positions, but really low in another (most likely TE), and their averages fell out of the top three spots.
Who were the best 3 offenses in the NFL? I don’t think you’ll be surprised by the results.
3: Detroit Lions 83.375 Average PFF Grade
QB: Jared Goff 85.7 PFF Grade (10th)
RB: Ty Montgomery 79.6 PFF Grade (11th)
WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown 91.2 PFF Grade (4th)
TE: Sam LaPorta 77 PFF Grade (5th)
As the breakout offense and team of 2023, the Detroit Lions found themselves leading in the NFC Championship game and so close to reaching the Super Bowl for the first time. Goff, cast off from the Los Angeles Rams has found a new home (or mansion after his $212 million payday) in Detroit. Doing much the same he did early in his career for the Rams, Goff got the ball to the right players at the right time and they made plays.
St. Brown has shown that he is one of the top WRs in the game, and should have been drafted much higher than he was. St, Brown is and will be the focal point of this offense and by the time he retires, his name will carry the same type of weight that Megatron and Barry Sanders does in Detroit.
Montgomery was in a timeshare with Jahmyr Gibbs, who was also an important part of the Lions’ offense and graded just a bit lower than Montgomery on the PFF scale. The real difference maker for the Lions offense was LaPorta. He collected 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie. That’s top twenty in receptions and top 40 in yards in the league.
Luckily for the Lions, all four of these players, along with Gibbs, are all returning in 2024. The only expectation is for this offense to get even better with Jameson Williams hopefully ready to live up to his draft pick. Goff could be in for an All-Pro year if all the pieces continue to fit while they grow.
2: Kansas City Chiefs 85.225 Average PFF Grade
QB: Patrick Mahomes 90.5 PFF Grade (2nd)
RB: Isiah Pacheco 79.9 PFF Grade (10th)
WR: Rashee Rice 84.9 PFF Grade (14th)
TE: Travis Kelce 82.6 PFF Grade (2nd)
The Super Bowl Champion Chiefs come in as runner-ups here. The importance of Mahomes will never be understated. He leads the way with running mate TE Kelce. Every season Mahomes is the betting favorite for MVP and the Chiefs have a chance at a Super Bowl win. Rostering a top two QB and TE will help keep you relevant offensively, but it takes more than that to be a top offense in the league.
The Chiefs have shuffled RBs since Mahomes took over, starting Kareem Hunt (2017-18), LeSean McCoy (2019), Clyde Edwards-Helaire (2020-2021), and now Pacheco (2022-Present). Pacheco has the opportunity to be the first RB on that list to start three years in a row as he looks to lock up that starting position ahead of Edwards-Helaire again in 2024.
The biggest question mark for the Chiefs since trading Tyreek Hill (the top PFF Ranked WR for 2023) is who besides Kelce is going to catch passes from Mahomes. The Chiefs thought they found their next big time WR with Rice last year, who graded in as a top 15 WR and helped the Chiefs hoist the Lombardi trophy. After a not-so-stellar off-season, Rice is participating in the Chiefs’ OTA’s, but one has to imagine he will receive some type of fine if not jail time. So the Chiefs brought in FA Marquise Brown, formally of the Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens, and rookie Xavier Worthy to possibly fill those shoes.
PFF tells us that Rice had a better season than Brown last year, but the surrounding talent has to improve Brown’s numbers this season, and Worthy is an unknown at the NFL level. Will the Chiefs stay a top-three offense in 2024? With head coach Andy Reid calling the plays, and Mahomes facilitating them, there is little doubt the will be.
1: San Francisco 49ers 89.225 PFF Average
QB Brock Purdy 87.4 PFF Grade (6th)
RB: Christian McCaffery 90.3 PFF Grade (2nd)
WR: Brandon Aiyuk 91,5 PFF Grade (2nd)
TE: George Kittle 87.7 PFF Grade (1st)
The Super Bowl runner-ups top their Super Bowl opponents here. The gap between the top team and the second-highest team is double that of the second to third-place team, telling us the Lions were closer to the Chiefs than the Chiefs to the 49ers. PFF grades aren’t everything though, as the Chiefs brought home the trophy.
Purdy had a breakout second season, breaking the 49ers’ single-season yardage total and leading the league in QBR. McCaffrey was a legitimate MVP candidate as an RB and brought home the OPOY award as a consolation prize. Aiyuk made his case to be considered not only WR1 for the 49ers but to get paid like a top-five WR this offseason – something that hasn’t happened yet. Kittle continued to do Kittle things.
Currently, all four of these players, along with 49ers WR2 Deebo Samuel, are slated to return to the 49ers, along with their top-rated FB Kyle Juszczyk, number two-rated left tackle Trent Williams, and then the entire rest of the offensive line, meaning the 49ers are currently returning their entire starting offense. If Aiyuk were to be traded, as some have suggested, the 49ers still would be the top returning PFF-ranked offense with Samuel taking over Aiyuk’s spot.
There is no reason to believe that Purdy will take a step back during his third season in the league, and with the addition of rookie WR Ricky Pearsall, the offense could be even better. They were only one missed read (Aiyuk wide open in the endzone on the last offensive play for them during the Super Bowl) from winning a Super Bowl.
