The 25 best position groups in the NFL

This isn't that crazy. Cleveland's deftly assembled a strong linebacking corps. Jamie Collins and Christian Kirksey are two of the game's highest-paid off-ball 'backers, and middle linebacker Joe Schobert joined Kirksey in playing every snap last season. Although that came for an 0-16 team, Schobert (142 tackles) delivered plus run defense and made the Pro Bowl. Collins is a solid cover man and can be a rush threat. Newcomer Mychal Kendricks' role is unclear, because few teams have the Browns' linebacker depth, but he thrived for a Super Bowl champion last season. Even fifth-round rookie Genard Avery's drawing praise in a unique setup here in Cleveland.

A team's goal when assembling a backfield should be to target complementary skill sets. The Titans' Dion Lewis signing accomplishes this. Their DeMarco Murray-Derrick Henry pairing featured overlapping talents; Henry-Lewis covers the bases. An ideal modern back, Lewis has just 329 career carries. He's shown proficiency on the ground (5.0 yards per carry on 180 attempts last season) and is an elusive outlet option. Henry is a bulldozer who should be fresh after being Murray's 1-B the past two years. 

Tampa Bay has an issue at quarterback but possesses one of the NFL's deepest aerial arsenals. Mike Evans is a supremely gifted receiver, and DeSean Jackson remains a deep-ball maven — even if he's not quite apex D-Jax. Adam Humphries (back-to-back 600-yard seasons) serves as a decent slot option, and Chris Godwin's a burgeoning starter. He graded as Pro Football Focus' top rookie receiver last season. Recently extended tight end Cameron Brate compiled 1,200-plus yards and 14 TDs the past two years combined, and O.J. Howard figures to earn a bigger role this year. There's a lot going on here. 

The Raiders made big changes after a major setback season, but unchanged is the offensive line. It's a smart move considering three Pro Bowlers — Donald Penn, Kelechi Osemele and Rodney Hudson — and a consistent right guard in Gabe Jackson are under contract. In its second season together, the Raiders' core four fared well. Marshawn Lynch gained steam down the stretch, and Derek Carr was sacked on just 4.1 percent of his dropbacks. First-rounder Kolton Miller slotting in at right tackle would put the best five out there, that is if Penn and the Raiders can get along.

More of a reputation pick than confidence in this cadre's future, the Patriots get here because of their unrivaled tight end weapon. Rob Gronkowski probably won't match Tony Gonzalez's stats, but for sheer importance to his team, he may be the most pivotal tight end ever. His return to health in 2014 coincides with Tom Brady's late-career resurgence, and Gronk saved the Pats in Pittsburgh last year. Julian Edelman coming off injury and suspension at 32 won't be what he once was, but he remains a top-tier slot weapon. Chris Hogan, Kenny Britt and whatever other player — Eric Decker perhaps? — emerges is enough as long as Gronk's healthy.

While the Seahawks dismantled their defensive line and Earl Thomas' holdout has the Legion of Boom era on the ropes, a faint link to the Super Bowl years exists. Bobby Wagner is arguably the best middle linebacker in the business, and longtime running mate K.J. Wright joins him as a top-flight three-down player. Seattle signed former first-round disappointment Barkevious Mingo to be the other starter, and fifth-round pick Shaquem Griffin's drawing steady praise. Seattle's rough offseason aside, its linebackers remain a premier unit.

Atlanta's weaponry situation (and massive regression from 2016-17) has offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian's seat boiling. Julio Jones is probably the second-most talented player in Falcons history behind Deion Sanders, and Mohamed Sanu does well for himself as an oversized slot man. Tight end Austin Hooper spent extensive time with Matt Ryan this summer and is a breakout candidate. The Falcons drafted Calvin Ridley, viewed by many as this year's top receiver prospect. If Ridley can assimilate quickly like ex-Alabama WRs Jones and Amari Cooper, the Falcons will maintain a lethal aerial operation. 

Transitioning smoothly from 3-4 outside linebackers to 4-3 defensive ends, Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa comprise the NFL's best edge combo. The duo combined for 23 sacks in 2017, and both are under contract through 2020. Bosa brings a complete pass-rushing package, and his slithery counterpart has shed the injury-prone label of his first three seasons to play in 48 games since 2015. The Bolts don't have much depth here, but their rising defense feeds off these dynamic defensive ends.

Much of New Orleans' valuable 2017 draft class went to address a secondary that not long ago was among the worst in NFL history. Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Williams quickly made the unit a strength, the former the Defensive Rookie of the Year and the latter a fast-rising safety talent. The undrafted Ken Crawley took major steps forward last season as New Orleans' second corner, and the Saints brought back their 2010 first-rounder — a now-formidable Patrick Robinson — to work the slot. The Saints added safety depth with Kurt Coleman, who's competing with two-year starter Vonn Bell. 

Atlanta's backfield doesn't boast the complementary identities the league's other high-end running back stables do, but it pairs two of the most explosive runners in the game. Together, Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. Freeman and Coleman have powered a potent ground game for the past two years. Coleman may be overqualified to be a supporting-caster, but he's a lethal caddie for the well-rounded Freeman. This tandem's locked down for at least one more season, with Coleman entering a contract year. 

A top-shelf tandem for six seasons, Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis are all-time Panther greats. Shaq Thompson's emergence bumps Carolina's trio over Seattle's. The fourth-year outside linebacker may well succeed the 35-year-old Davis as Kuechly's running mate. Kuechly remains on a Hall of Fame track, unless his scary concussion trouble stops him soon. He's surmounted that issue to a degree and when on the field is one of the NFL's best players. While Kuechly's health is certainly something to monitor, Carolina's 'backers are the best this league offers.

The Vikings swapped out Tom Johnson for Sheldon Richardson. The one-time Jets star-turned-nomad joins Linval Joseph, Everson Griffen, Danielle Hunter and veteran situational edge rusher Brian Robison and strengthens a dominant group. Two of the top-five sackers in Vikings history (Robison and Griffen) comprise part of this core, and Hunter recorded 12.5 sacks off the bench in 2016 with another seven in 2017. Possessing perhaps the best roster in the NFL, with many upper-echelon talents locked up into the 2020s, Minnesota's master plan relies heavily on its defensive front.

Entering its fourth season together, Pittsburgh's blocking armada has helped the team remain a perennial contender. The David DeCastro- and Maurkice Pouncey-led group helps Le'Veon Bell get away with his delayed running style. The Steelers led all 2017 lines in adjusted sack rate. Left tackle Alejandro Villanueva became the third Pro Bowler on this line last season, and Marcus Gilbert is one of the league's top right tackles. With Gilbert and Ramon Foster north of 30, time's running out for this group, but the Steelers, having signed all five to second contracts, believe this is a key ingredient in their 2010s run. 

Minnesota's made sure to draft high-ceiling talent on the back end. Harrison Smith and Xavier Rhodes evolved from first-round picks into top-tier defenders, and the team has first-rounder Trae Waynes under contract for two more years. The Vikes just used another first-round pick on a corner in Mike Hughes. Mike Zimmer's consistently gotten the best out of his DBs. Case in point: Undrafted safety Andrew Sendejo turned in a strong age-30 season, showing improved recognition skills to round out a formidable unit. Terence Newman being back at age 40 is a nice luxury for a loaded roster.

The Chiefs finished last season with a rushing champion, the NFL's best non-Gronk tight end and one of the fastest players in league history morphing from useful gadget to No. 1 wideout. And they added Sammy Watkins. While paying an injury risk coming off a nondescript contract year top WR money is questionable, Patrick Mahomes' first weaponry assortment is as good as any quarterback's (and maybe better than every Chiefs QB has ever had). Accompanying Watkins, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill (15.8 yards per catch, up from 9.7 in 2016) is fourth-year man Chris Conley, who returns from an Achilles tear. 

Build around one wide receiver, and deem his supporting cast disposable. Pittsburgh's operated this way for decades. Antonio Brown is making a run at being a top-five wideout in NFL history. He elevates this corps considerably, and JuJu Smith-Schuster is the latest Pittsburgh wingman find. Just as Martavis Bryant was tasked with replacing Emmanuel Sanders, James Washington will need to succeed Bryant. Eli Rogers (594 air yards as a rookie) is a nice fourth wideout. Jesse James and Vance McDonald, the latter having put together a strong offseason, form a solid (but definitely not spectacular) tight end pair.

In 2015, two young outside linebackers backed up Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware to form a dangerous edge-rushing corps that powered a Super Bowl run. Shaquil Barrett and Shane Ray are now in their contract years, just as Bradley Chubb gives this group a chance to be again among the elite. For 2018, Miller has his sidekicks — a top-shelf run defender in Barrett and a boom-or-bust pass rusher in Ray — ready after a tough 2017 for sack chances. If Chubb proves a quick study (he's already a starter), this will be the Miller era's deepest edge corps.

They aren't as deep as the other elite defensive lines, but the Rams are teeming with talent. Likely Hall of Famers Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh linking up in their primes figures to enhance both of their profiles and sets up tantalizing possibilities for Wade Phillips — presuming Donald's holdout doesn't shelf him for too long. Donald's taken the baton from J.J. Watt as the NFL's premier defender, and Suh — while not as consistent and set to be a 3-4 nose tackle for the first time — has been one of this century's biggest mismatches. Seventh-year starter Michael Brockers is an overqualified supporting actor. The Rams lack edge rushers but have a stacked front three.

The line that helped a backup quarterback morph into RPO Joe Montana this winter, plus Jason Peters, has the Eagles in a healthy place. Philadelphia returns all five of its starters — a now-healthy Peters (albeit at age 36), Lane Johnson, Brandon Brooks, Stefen Wisniewski and Jason Kelce — and now has a seasoned swing tackle in Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Peters and Johnson are Pro Bowl-level tackles, and the massive Brooks made his first Pro Bowl in 2017. As is the case at other spots for Philadelphia, it's hard to believe a Super Bowl champion can keep this kind of cast together. The Howie Roseman 2.0 era's going quite well.

Jacksonville has formed maybe the NFL's new top cornerback tandem. The No. 5 overall pick in 2016, Jalen Ramsey soared to All-Pro status and was Pro Football Focus' No. 1 corner last year. Bleacher Report saw the Jags' latest hired-gun defender, A.J. Bouye, as 2017's premier cover man. They teamed with the team's D-line warriors to produce all-world pass-defense numbers. Safety additions Tashaun Gipson and Barry Church are back for another year together, and the Jags drafted Alabama's Ronnie Harrison in the third round. Slot man Aaron Colvin's exit downgrades this group a bit, but it's still an envied talent collection.

The group isn't quite the same without Ron Leary and Doug Free, but the Cowboys still have the NFL's best offensive line trio. Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin anchor Dallas' offense for a fifth straight year. Martin now joins his All-Pro comrades on a lucrative contract, and in his second year at right tackle, La'el Collins should be better equipped for success. New O-line coach Paul Alexander brings decades of experience, and he's set to install second-round pick Connor Williams (one sack allowed at Texas) at left guard.

The Rams are betting big. Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters are two of this century's most talented cornerbacks, each unparalleled among modern disruption artists. Talib has 10 career return TDs (fourth-most in NFL history), and Peters' 24 forced turnovers easily pace corners since 2015. It's a high-risk, high-reward unit for an all-in Los Angeles outfit. An underrated slot corner (the aptly named Nickell Robey-Coleman), a breakout safety (Lamarcus Joyner) and "other guy" (John Johnson, a top-12 PFF safety a as a rookie in 2017) comprise this corps. The Rams took a flier on a Sam Shields comeback, too, to complete an intense makeover.

Flush with cap space for years, the Jags used it to largely to create a menacing mercenary crew. Malik Jackson, Calais Campbell and Marcell Dareus (each making at least $15M per year) are on the defensive line — which also features emerging homegrown sack artist Yannick Ngakoue. Campbell, Ngakoue, Jackson and Dante Fowler combined for 42.5 sacks and 15 forced fumbles last season, and Jacksonville used its 2018 first-round pick on defensive tackle Taven Bryan. This is an amazing experiment and, despite "Sacksonville" supplying iffy run defense, an effective one thus far.

Few NFL backfields have possessed these capabilities. This could be Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara's swan song together, as a suspended Ingram enters a contract year, but their debut provided one of the best seasons any ball-carrying tandem's produced. Both Ingram and Kamara surpassed 1,500 yards from scrimmage in 2017, the first running back teammates to accomplish this. The ever-disparate RBs give Drew Brees ground weaponry he's never had before last season and represent a key reason the Saints are Super Bowl contenders. Depth isn't lacking, either, with Shane Vereen and Terrance West vying to be the third man. 

Carson Wentz's cheap contract allowed Philadelphia to bolster an elite nucleus, and it's created a monster. Replacing Vinny Curry, Michael Bennett provides an upgrade for what may have already been the NFL's best position group. Bennett joins incumbents Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Chris Long, Derek Barnett and Timmy Jernigan on this unique stronghold. This legion of linemen is stacked enough that offseason addition Haloti Ngata may come off the bench once Jernigan's healthy. The Eagles led the NFL in run defense last season, but their 2018 sub-package pass rush will be a sight to behold.