10 NFL teams set up for dynasty runs

During the past few seasons, certain standout NFL teams have been making key moves that will ensure their future success in the league.

While some of the more consistent winning teams are actively working to keep their rosters solid as steel, other underdog teams are slowly emerging in this group after some brilliant offseason activity of their own.

After making some wise acquisitions via free agency and in the NFL Draft, the following clubs appear to be poised for potential dynastic success.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars may possibly be the sexiest team kicking off the 2016 NFL season this fall.

Diligently working to improve their stature within the AFC South, the Jaguars hit some home runs during the offseason. Following some big moves in free agency they continued their trend up after nailing it in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Building up a dominant “under-25” offense, led by Blake Bortles, Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns, the team expanded its depth by adding a bull-dozing Chris Ivory to the squad. The run-game was one area in which the Jags severely lacked last season. Ivory will make an instant impact.

Addressing the team’s major weakness at the pass rush, the Jags wisely acquired former Broncos’ defensive end Malik Jackson for quite the pretty penny. He, along with last year’s No. 1 pick, Dante Fowler, will make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks.

Help at cornerback was addressed as well when the team signed former New York Giant, Prince Amukamara.

Taking full advantage in the draft, Jacksonville swooped in and stole Florida State stud cornerback/safety Jalen Ramsey who fell to them at No. 5. Outside linebacker Myles Jack, who slipped to the second round due to his knee condition, will hopefully reward the Jags as well.

Lastly, the Jaguars added even more depth to their defense by drafting tackle Sheldon Day and outside linebacker Tyrone Holmes.

Possessing some of the best and youngest talent in the NFL, the Jaguars are making some splashy moves to build a well-balanced dynasty-level roster.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals will once again be a force to reckon with this year and for seasons to come after adding several promising rookies to an already stout roster.

A new weapon for Andy Dalton was drafted in Round 2. Pittsburgh tight end Tyler Boyd, who averaged 1,120 yards per season, could see significant action out of the gate in 1-2 sets (one running back, two tight ends).

With two young running backs in place, Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill, Boyd should complement A.J. Green. And, we must not forget about tight end Tyler Eifert, who is only 25 years-old and is hitting his prime. Eifert posted a career-high 13 touchdowns in 2015 and there should be more where that came from.

Cincinnati’s defense only looks to improve with the addition of first-round cornerback William Jackson III out of Houston. After five interceptions (two went for touchdowns) in 2015, Jackson may unarguably be the best corner aside from Ramsey in this year’s draft class.

Other noteworthy draft selections made by Cincinnati include linebacker Nick Vigil, nose tackle Andrew Billings and left guard Christian Westerman.

Had Andy Dalton been able to complete last season, who knows how far the team would have gone in the playoffs? Dalton’s accuracy as a passer improved immensely, and he threw only seven picks compared to 25 touchdowns in 13 games.

The Bengals, who haven’t won less than 10 games since 2011, are inching in on the ideal perfect package moving forth.

Carolina Panthers

After posting a 15-1 record last season and falling short in Super Bowl 50, there aren’t too many things that are lacking in the Carolina Panthers’ camp.

A mixture of young and improving talent, combined with skilled veterans, makes the Panthers an overall dominate force in the NFC.

Cam Newton recorded a career- and league-high 45 total touchdowns last season. This took place while veteran running back Jonathan Stewart posted the best numbers we’ve witnessed since 2009. Tight end Greg Olsen remains tough as nails and he too achieved a career-high in receiving yards (1,104) last year.

There is no reason the offense won’t repeat its success, especially with 6-foot-5 wideout Kelvin Benjamin returning to the mix.

In harmony with the tight offense, Carolina’s defense ranked No. 6 overall last year. Making strides to fill the gap left by cornerback Josh Norman, the Panthers tripled-up with cornerbacks in the draft selecting James Bradberry, Daryl Worley and Zack Sanchez.

This was after the Panthers chose Louisiana Tech’s monstrous-sized defensive tackle Vernon Butler, who weighs in at 325 pounds, in Round 1.

If Carolina’s defense proves resilient despite the loss of Norman, then the team will continue to be one of the top threats in the league for years to come.

Washington Redskins

After a playoff appearance in January, Washington has been busy at work this offseason to ensure it wasn’t a fluke.

Stealing the attention away from the new draft class is Norman, whom Washington forked over a massive amount of money to snare. He will definitely give his NFC East cast of interception-prone quarterbacks, (Eli Manning, Tony Romo and maybe Sam Bradford), a test of their patience for seasons to come.

Meanwhile, Washington drafted wisely for the future, securing Texas Christian wide receiver Josh Doctson. The productive big-play machine was responsible for 1,326 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2015. He’ll join an impressive receiving corps featuring fellow receiver DeSean Jackson and tight end Jordan Reed.

On the defensive side, USC stud safety Su’a Cravens will be an immediate starter. Washington also selected more depth in cornerback Kendall Fuller, defensive end Matt Ioannidis and linebacker Steven Daniels.

Confident in Kirk Cousins, despite his rocky start, Washington appears to have found their future franchise passer. In 2015, Cousins completed a league-high 69.8 percent of his passes for 4,166 yards, 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Nothing about Washington’s current roster would suggest that the team is headed anywhere but up starting with this upcoming season.

Green Bay Packers

Determined to make Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay’s offense more productive, the Packers drafted additions at both left and right tackle in Jason Spriggs and Kyle Murphy.

General manager Ted Thompson made several key picks for the team’s defense, which hit some bumps in the road last season. In order to utilize linebacker Clay Matthews to the best of his capabilities, Green Bay deepened the roster at the position when it drafted Kyler Fackrell and Blake Martinez in the third and fourth rounds.

These selections came after the team spent their first round pick on UCLA’s nose tackle Kenny Clark.

Rodgers should benefit from a spruced-up offensive line and the much-needed return of his No. 1 wideout Jordy Nelson. Eddie Lacy is reportedly losing weight and will hopefully make his fans forget about a paltry 2015 campaign with a nice rebound.

While playing under less-than-perfect circumstances last year, Green Bay still managed 10 wins and two postseason games. They’ll look to top last year’s performance after a successful draft and with a healthy roster.

Houston Texans

Starting with the acquisition of their franchise quarterback in March, the Texans are making some keen moves that could see the team on the upswing over the upcoming years.

If Brock Osweiler plays out to be the pillar of stability that the Texans have lacked at quarterback for so long, then the rest of the pieces will naturally fall in place.

In addition to the offseason addition of Osweiler, Houston went out with the old when they released Arian Foster, and in with the new by signing Lamar Miller. Excited not to be held back like he was in Miami, Miller will have an immediate impact in the Texans run game as well in short-passing plays.

To help out DeAndre Hopkins, who has been nothing but brilliant the past couple of seasons, Houston moved up in the draft to secure Notre Dame’s Will Fuller. Fuller recorded 138 receptions for 2,352 receiving yards and 29 touchdowns over his last two seasons in college. Talk about a one-two punch for a 6-foot-7 Osweiler to play catch with this fall.

In addition to Fuller, the Texans added extra depth at wide receiver with Braxton Miller and another running back in Tyler Ervin.

Addressing a glaring need at their offensive line, the Texans hit up Notre Dame again to draft center Nick Martin in Round 2.

Take all of this and pair it with J.J. Watt and Houston’s No. 3 ranked defense, and the Texans are ready to go to town. The return of pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney will be icing on the cake.

New York Giants

Making strides to jump ahead of their competition in the NFC East, the Giants have been diligently addressing glaring team needs during the offseason.

For starters, the team signed three major impact players to its defense that ranked dead-last in 2015. After allowing opposing teams to tally an average of 420.3 yards per game, New York jumped at signing defensive end Olivier Vernon, defensive tackle Damon Harrison, and cornerback Janoris Jenkins to mega-deals.

That’s a move that hopefully pays off well, in addition to the team drafting other promising players on defense.

With their No. 1 pick in the draft, the Giants chose cornerback Eli Apple out of Ohio State. Then they doubled-down with safety Darian Thompson and middle linebacker, B.J. Goodson in Rounds 3 and 4.

Not ignoring their offense that will hopefully see a long-awaited return of Victor Cruz, the Giants spent their Round 2 draft pick on wide receiver Sterling Shepard. Shepard posted 1,288 yards and 11 touchdowns in his final season at Oklahoma. He makes for a handy security blanket beyond Odell Beckham Jr., Cruz, and Dwayne Harris.

If the Giants can manage more scores on the ground, it will certainly counter-balance the efforts of Eli Manning, who passed for 4,436 yards and a career-high 35 touchdowns on 2015.

Due to the wise improvements the Giants’ brass has made, their team should be on the upswing moving ahead.

Seattle Seahawks

Since Russell Wilson was drafted in 2012, the Seahawks have been a permanent fixture in the playoffs, making it to two Super Bowls and securing one ring along the way.

Moving ahead into upcoming seasons, not much looks to change. Wilson is coming from a 2015 campaign in which he posted career-highs in both passing yards (4,024) and touchdowns (34). One of the most-sacked quarterbacks in the league last year, Wilson still managed to complete an impressive 68.1 percent of his passes.

Therefore, the Seahawks took three positions in the draft to address their horrendous offensive line. That included nabbing right tackle, Germain Ifedi selected in Round 1. This should keep Wilson on his feet and even more productive than ever.

On the downside, the Seahawks lost Marshawn Lynch after he announced his retirement last season.

Though, the team didn’t skip much of a beat when it turned to Thomas Rawls, who did a spectacular job picking up the slack. For extra insurance behind Rawls, the Seahawks drafted three more running backs for safe-keeping.

And, we must not forget the emergence of Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse and second-year wideout Tyler Lockett, who comprise an up-and-coming group of young receivers at Wilson’s disposal.

On the other side of the field, the Seahawks drafted defensive tackles Jarran Reed at No. 2 and Quinton Jefferson in Round 5. This will hopefully aid in softening the blow of losing Bruce Irvin in free agency.

There’s not much to suggest that Seattle’s fourth-ranked offense and second-ranked defense from last season are going to go belly-up anytime soon.

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders took off in 2015. Oakland was a thrilling team to watch compete in the AFC West, winning seven games along the way.

After a productive offseason in which the team landed some sweet free agent acquisitions, and nailed key needs in the NFL Draft, the Black and Silver are finally getting it right.

Looking to improve their defense, the Raiders signed Irvin from Seattle and former Bengals safety Reggie Nelson. They also drafted safety Karl Joseph in Round 1, who was responsible for five interceptions at West Virginia in 2015.

In addition to drafting Joseph, Oakland also added defensive end Jihad Ward and linebackers Shilique Calhoun and Cory James.

Adding a little love for Derek Carr, Oakland signed guard Kelechi Osemele in free agency and drafted Vadal Alexander.

Knock on wood that Carr remains healthy. But if there is an issue, the Raiders nabbed Michigan State’s quarterback Connor Cook, who slipped to Round 4.

If anything, Cook makes for some intriguing trade bait that could pay off handsomely for Oakland. Perhaps Dallas’ Jerry Jones should be packaging up a post-draft offer.

Fresh and full of young talent across the board, the Raiders are hardly a team to be slept on this fall.

Denver Broncos

Just because the Broncos are starting from scratch at quarterback does not mean they are not still destined for greatness.

We must take note that last year’s Super Bowl champions reigned victorious, despite some pretty horrific quarterbacking under Peyton Manning. In 10 games, Manning threw 17 interceptions compared to nine touchdowns. And, Brock Osweiler was not a whole lot better.

Thankfully, the Broncos still have one of the best defenses in the league, which will cover for the shortcomings of Mark Sanchez and rookie Paxton Lynch, should he be called to start. If things play out as planned, Lynch will eventually inherit the starting role. After all, the Broncos moved up to draft Lynch to be the future gleaming face of the franchise.

On defense, the Broncos let Malik Jackson go in free agency. But, Denver still has an amazing cast of defensive linemen behind Super Bowl MVP Von Miller. They also added defensive end Adam Gotsis in the draft, along with safeties Justin Simmons and William Parks.

Still there for the long haul and to aid Sanchez and Lynch are Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman. Plus the Broncos drafted running back Devontae Booker, who rushed for a total of 2,773 yards and 21 touchdowns during his two seasons at Utah, in Round 4.

The Broncos are far from going down for the count on any level despite a slight quarterback issue.