I can't talk too much about this season because I have only seen the first episode, plus some bits and pieces. But given the story arc of the group in the last few seasons, this season seems pretty good. Rick and the group are slaves/peasants now, there is a larger world than just Rick's group, a bad guy, and zombies, and it is a new situation. They will have to build ties with other groups to succeed, get a more sophisticated strategy to fight Negan, and be able to manufacture ammunition. These kinds of things have been missing in the earlier seasons. By the end of this season, they may have a pretty big world with villages so they can make progress building society. That's a completely different story line than before.
I hope someone saved a copy of "The Art of the Deal" for Rick to read.