Quarterback is the most important position in professional sports and while elite talent matters most, the players and system around the quarterback are just as important. As we look ahead to the 2024 season, some of the worst NFL supporting casts will make achieving success more difficult for their quarterbacks.
For this exercise, we are including a variety of factors. Many focus on the offensive weapons around a signal-caller, but arguably just as important is the coaching staff and offensive line. We’re considering all of that in ranking the worst NFL supporting casts in 2024.
Los Angeles Chargers
The good news for Justin Herbert is that the Los Angeles Chargers supporting cast is improving. Bringing in Jim Harbaugh and Co. is the first step towards healing unlock Herbert, putting him in an environment tailored for success. The new Chargers front office also improved the offensive line and this could develop into a top-10 unit by the end of the season. With that said, the Chargers receiving corps is arguably the worst in the NFL and Herbert doesn’t have a defense that can consistently give him good field position. All of that equals one of the worst NFL supporting casts in 2024.
New England Patriots
It’s a good thing Drake Maye isn’t going to start immediately. The New England Patriots have a bottom 5 offensive line heading into the season and the receiving corps is also among the worst in the league. A rookie quarterback under constant duress and playing without a No. 1 receiver is rarely a recipe for success. It’s not even a great situation for veteran Jacoby Brissett. However, he’s composed under pressure and will help rookie Ja’Lynn Polk make a smooth transition into becoming a key contributor.
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Carolina Panthers
The good news is one of the worst supporting casts in NFL history finally improved. Bryce Young watched this offseason as the Carolina Panthers spent tens of millions of dollars upgrading the roster. Young will have a more stable interior offensive line protecting him and both Xaviere Legette and Diontae Johnson can get open quickly to make this a more effective, quick-hitting offense. We’re also excited to see if Dave Canales can do for Young what he did for Baker Mayfield. With all that said, no one should mistake Carolina’s offensive line or receiving corps for even being league-average.
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New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints offense is a mess outside of wide receiver Chris Olave. Derek Carr (64.4 QB rating) is one of the worst quarterbacks in football when pressured and he doesn’t threaten defenses with his legs or the deep ball. As for the Saints’ run game, it finished the 2023 campaign ranked 19th in EPA per Play (-0.113) and the offensive line blocking for it might be even worse this year. We are holding out a bit of hope for New Orleans because Olave is an outstanding No. 1 receiver and new play-caller Klint Kubiak should bring some much-needed change. When you consider the offensive line, run game and the lack of weapons beyond Olave, that’s when this becomes one of the worst NFL supporting casts in 2024.
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Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is one of the most divisive stars in the NFL and he really shouldn’t be. As a rookie, he was burdened with arguably the worst coach in NFL history (Urban Meyer). Last season, Doug Pederson inexplicably allowed Press Taylor to call plays and that only made things worse in combination with a bottom 10 offensive line and and a below-average receiving corps. Very little was done to improve the line and we don’t believe there’s a No. 1 receiver in Jacksonville. The Jaguars might not make this list if Pederson ran the offense, but his loyalty to Taylor might prevent that from happening.
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New York Giants
Not much needs to be said about the New York Giants. They allowed 20 more sacks than the second-worst offensive line in football last season. Meanwhile, whichever quarterback lined up under center also experienced playing with one of the league’s worst receiving corps in the last 3 years. Improvements were made this offseason, but not nearly enough. When your top running back is Devin Singletary, you have a bottom-10 offensive line and a bad receiving corps outside Malik Nabers, it’s easy to see why the Giants have one of the worst NFL supporting casts right now.
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Washington Commanders
If our list just focused on the receiving corps, there’s a case for the Washington Commanders in the top 12. When you factor in the play-caller and offensive line, that’s what drops the supporting cast around Jayden Daniels. The Commanders’ rookie quarterback will likely spend at least half his first season running for his life. A great play-caller can mitigate a bad offensive line, but we’ve seen nothing from offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury to believe he is that guy. Daniels can be an excellent quarterback long-term, but Washington’s front office didn’t do remotely enough this offense to build a better team around him.
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Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys haven’t exactly provided Dak Prescott with the support he needs in a contract year. Jerry Jones let two starters on the offensive line walk, meaning Dallas now has three big question marks in the trenches. At running back, the Cowboys are inexplicably placing everything on the shoulders of Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle. If all of that isn’t concerning enough, CeeDee Lamb’s holdout will show in training camp how barren the Cowboys’ receiving corps is outside of the All-Pro weapon. Suffice it to say, Dallas surrounded Prescott with one of the worst NFL supporting casts and it’s hard to know if that’s intentional considering how little they spent this offseason.
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Denver Broncos
It’s Sean Payton and not much else for rookie quarterback Bo Nix. At best, we’d describe the Denver Broncos offensive line as league average. Moving to the receiving corps, Courtland Sutton is an excellent No. 2 receiver but everyone behind him (Tim Patrick, Marvin Mims and Josh Reynolds) is either a role player or unproven. We also can’t expect the Broncos’ defense to be providing Nix and Co. with a lot of extra possessions or great field position. It’s a tight battle between Nix and Daniels in terms of which quarterback has the worst supporting cast.
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Las Vegas Raiders
It’s Davante Adams and not much else for the Las Vegas Raiders. While there’s some optimism for the Raiders offensive line thanks to Andre James, Kolton Miller and Thayer Munford Jr., this unit also could easily be below average. Opponents will fear Adams, but not nearly as much as on a typical offense considering the Raiders’ backfield consists of running back Zamir White and either quarterback Aidan O’Connell or Gardner Minshew. We’re not sold whatsoever on play-caller Luke Getsy. It’s a shame the Raiders don’t have much defensively because the defense in Las Vegas looks great and the locker room is bought in on head coach Antonio Pierce.
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