No team took a bigger step forward than the Chicago Bears in 2025. Going into this season, the Bears had made the playoffs just three times since making the Super Bowl back in 2006. In 2024, Chicago finished 5-12 in another lost season, firing head coach Matt Eberflus during QB Caleb Williams’ first NFL season. The franchise had reached a low point.
But the team made a huge 180 turn in 2025, bringing in Ben Johnson as head coach, shoring up the offensive line and adding multiple weapons on offense in the form of TE Colston Loveland and WR Luther Burden III. That, coupled with an improving Williams, plus second-year WR Rome Odunze and a solid running game featuring D’Andre Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai, and the Bears had everything they needed to be successful. And they were.
The Bears won 11 games and the NFC North division title, winning a playoff game for the first time since 2010. So, now that we have that blueprint, which team/offense will rise to the occasion in 2026 and also be more relevant in fantasy? Matt Harmon was joined by Adam Rank of NFL.com on a recent episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast to discuss which unit could make a similar jump next season.
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The analysts start by looking at the bottom-10 offenses in EPA per play (expected points added) in the NFL from 2025. Rank immediately views this as cheating and goes right for the Los Angeles Chargers, who finished 10th. The Chargers just brought in Mike McDaniel as the new offensive coordinator. L.A. also has a great offense already in place, led by QB Justin Herbert with WRs Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston, plus RB Omarion Hampton.
The New Orleans Saints are the other team that sticks out for Rank. Head coach Kellen Moore was able to do “so much with so little” this past season. If New Orleans’ offseason looks anything like what the Bears did this past offseason and go “all-in” on offense, the Saints have an easy path to success in a weak NFC South division.
Harmon agrees with Rank, stating the correct answer is the Chargers in this exercise with McDaniel coming in. Harmon was also surprised by Saints rookie QB Tyler Shough this season after being a skeptic. The ceiling for the Saints offense is also high, given how they looked with the lack of weapons in 2025.
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New Orleans has WR Chris Olave, who had a great season with 100 catches for 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns. The Saints also have a top-10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, which Harmon believes they could use to draft Ohio State WR Carnell Tate.