With the start of training camps less than one month away, it’s a good time to assess which team has the best group at every position.
It’s a close call with tight competition at almost every position except the most important — quarterback, where it’s an obvious pick.
Best Team At Every Position
QUARTERBACK: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
During last year’s postseason, I made the mistake of picking against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Until the reigning two-time Super Bowl champs and their three-time Super Bowl MVP are dethroned, I’m picking them to three-peat.
Mahomes has an outstanding 89-25 career record, including 15-3 in the postseason. It’s scary for other NFL teams to think Mahomes only turns 29 in September. He also has a better wide receiver corps this season with the additions of Marquise Brown and first-round pick Xavier Worthy.
It’s an easy call to go with the league’s best quarterback, who is a six-time Pro Bowler. The Chiefs have the best quarterback group since more than one rarely plays except for injuries.
Mahomes’ backup is Carson Wentz, who has turned into a journeyman quarterback. He brings plenty of experience, with 93 career starts (and an overall winning record) in his eight-year career. Wentz also has a terrific Andy Reid coach to build his confidence.
>> READ: Why Chiefs Have One of NFL’s Best Offenses
RUNNING BACK: SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 
Reigning Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey led the league in rushing last season with 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns. He added 67 catches for 564 yards and seven more touchdowns through the air. He has stayed healthy the past two years after battling injuries in 2020 and 2021.
In the undervalued running back market, McCaffrey is the highest-paid player and recently signed a two-year, $38 million extension.
The San Francisco 49ers’ run game also includes a fine No. 2 back in Elijah Mitchell, an intriguing rookie fourth-rounder in Isaac Guerendo and the game-breaking Deebo Samuel as a WR-RB combo who rushed for 225 yards and five touchdowns in 2023.
Plus, FB Kyle Juszczyk was a first-team All-Pro last season.
WIDE RECEIVER: HOUSTON TEXANS 
This is probably the closest call of any position, with many excellent wide receiver groups to consider, including Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Minnesota.
Based on how I expect them to perform, I’ll opt for the loaded Houston Texans. They traded for six-time 1,000-yard receiver and four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs in April.
He’ll join Nico Collins (1,297 receiving yards and eight touchdowns receptions last season) and last year’s star rookie Tank Dell (709 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games before suffering a fractured fibula) to form a potent receiver trio for last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, QB C.J. Stroud.
Veteran Robert Woods (40 catches for 426 yards in 2023) and former second-round pick John Metchie add depth. Metchie had a strong offseason after his production was limited in the aftermath of recovering from a torn ACL in 2021 and being diagnosed with cancer in 2022.
The Texans clearly are a team on the rise. Their seventh-ranked passing attack from 2023 should be even better with Stroud and his terrific receiver group this season.
TIGHT END: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 
The Ravens, with Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, are pushing for the top spot, and Travis Kelce’s stats dipped in 2023 to his first sub-thousand-yard season since 2015.
Yet, Kelce made his ninth straight Pro Bowl and still had 93 receptions for 984 yards and five touchdowns in the regular season (missing two games). Plus, he had 32 catches, 355 yards, and three touchdowns in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl run.
Kelce turns 35 in October, but the Chiefs added depth behind him and No. 2 TE Noah Gray (305 receiving yards and two touchdowns last season) by drafting Jared Wiley in the fourth round and signing Irv Smith Jr. in free agency.
Kelce has a great connection with Mahomes, so as long as they compete at the highest level, the Chiefs are in great hands at both positions.
OFFENSIVE LINE: DETROIT LIONS 
The Detroit Lions’ offensive line is a somewhat hidden ingredient that is a key part of their prolific offense (second-ranked last season). This group is equally adept at run blocking ( ranked fifth) and pass protection (fourth-fewest sacks allowed).
Two Detroit first-rounders who are Pro Bowlers and All-Pros and rank among the top-paid linemen in the league lead the Lions’ line — OC Frank Ragnow and OT Penei Sewell.
Add eight-year starter Taylor Decker as QB Jared Goff’s solid blindside protector, a quality returning starter at guard in Graham Glasgow, and an astute free agent signing of OG Kevin Zeitler, who made the Pro Bowl with the Ravens last season. Zeitler should replace the departed Jonah Jackson, who left for a big free agent deal with the Rams.
It’s quite the outstanding position group for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
DEFENSIVE LINE/EDGE: JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 
It seems there are key departures or other question marks surrounding many of the top defensive line groups. For example, Baltimore, the leading team last year in sacks, lost its best outside rusher to free agency when Jadeveon Clowney and his 9.5 sacks left for Carolina.
So I’m going outside the box and projecting the Jacksonville Jaguars as the best at this position group. The Jaguars ranked ninth against the run last season but only 25th in sacks.
Still, they have two young pass rushers who are on the rise — 26-year-old Pro Bowler Josh Allen, who ranked second in the league with 17.5 sacks last season, and Travon Walker, the first overall pick in the 2022 draft who had 10 sacks in 2023.
The Jaguars made a big free agent move in signing Arik Armstead, an excellent defensive tackle in his nine years with the 49ers. He should help the interior run defense and add pass rush help with his 33.5 career sacks.
Roy Roberston Harris has been effective, and DeVon Hamilton missed nine games last season but has played well when healthy. DT Maason Smith is a second-round rookie who also will help the line as he refines his game.
LINEBACKERS: SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
The linebacker corps plays a major role in the 49ers’ stout defense, which ranked third in points allowed and third in run defense.
Fred Warner is the NFL’s best inside linebacker. He has been selected first-team All-Pro and named to the Pro Bowl the past two seasons. His 2023 stats show what a terrific player he is against the run (132 tackles, four forced fumbles) and in pass defense (four interceptions and 11 passes defensed).
Dre Greenlaw is coming off another excellent season (120 tackles in 15 games), and he brings strong run defense and coverage ability alongside Warner. It hurt the 49ers in the Super Bowl when he tore his Achilles in the second quarter, and he is expected back in midseason.
The 49ers signed De’Vondre Campbell in free agency, and he’ll help as a quality linebacker who had 75 tackles in 11 games for Green Bay last season. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2021 when he had 146 tackles for the Packers.
CORNERBACKS: NEW YORK JETS 
The excellent play of the New York Jets‘ cornerbacks is a big reason the team’s defense ranked second against the pass and third overall last season.
Sauce Gardner has likely established himself as the league’s best corner in only two seasons. He’s earned first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in both of his seasons. Gardner had no interceptions last season. Teams avoided throwing in his area, but he did have 11 passes defensed and added 57 tackles.
D.J. Reed has also developed into an excellent starting corner and third CB Michael Carter is a fine player. Together these three defenders create an elite group for the Jets’ defense.
>> READ: Why Jets Have One of NFL’s Best Defenses
SAFETIES: BALTIMORE RAVENS 
I was tempted to go with Tampa Bay primarily because of the tremendous season Antoine Winfield Jr. had in 2023 and the free agent addition of Jordan Whitehead.
However, the Baltimore Ravens‘ sixth-ranked defense was better than the Buccaneers’ last season, and a big reason was the excellent play of their safeties, led by first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler Kyle Hamilton.
In just his second season, Hamilton had four interceptions, 13 passes defensed, three sacks, 81 tackles, and 10 tackles for loss.
The Ravens lost Geno Stone and his seven interceptions in 2023 in free agency, but Marcus Williams was a starter in 11 games last season and returns to that role. Williams had 55 tackles, eight passes defensed, and one interception in 2023. He should combine with Hamilton to form an elite duo if they both stay healthy.
SPECIAL TEAMS: DALLAS COWBOYS 
It’s tough to go against the Ravens, who usually have the league’s best special teams, with Justin Tucker as a future Hall of Fame kicker. But the Dallas Cowboys had the league’s first-team All-Pro kicker last season.
In Brandon Aubrey’s first year as an NFL kicker — he’s a former pro soccer player — he made 36 of 38 field goals, 49 of 52 PATs, and led the NFL in scoring with 157 points.
The kicker is the most important contributor on special teams. Aubrey made the Pro Bowl, and so did Dallas’ punter Bryan Anger. He recorded 51.4 yards per punt in gross average (third-ranked), and his 44.9 net average ranked second.
The Cowboys also have a fine returner in speedy KaVontae Turpin (29.2-yard kickoff return average in 2023, and he returns punts). Dallas’ coverage units could be improved based on last year’s performance, but their kicker and punter take them to the top of the league’s special team units entering the 2024 season.
