The NFL offseason has provided no shortage of excitement. Teams have released old players and agreed to contracts with new ones. Several players have been traded. Players have switched teams, and many franchises have already improved greatly this offseason, and that’s before they have another shot to beef up in the draft.
Here is a look at the NFL teams that have improved the most so far this offseason. Keep in mind that merely being active this offseason doesn’t get you on this list if you we don’t like what you did (ahem, Cardinals, Jets, Redskins). Also, whoever lands Jordy Nelson and Ndamukong Suh would have an argument for being on here too.
It’s one thing to have a lot of draft currency stocked up, but it’s a complete other to make good use of it. Former Browns exec Sashi Brown loaded up on future draft picks before losing his job with Cleveland. New GM John Dorsey has come in and gotten some impressive hauls with the excess picks while still keeping many for the upcoming draft.
The Browns acquired Tyrod Taylor, Jarvis Landry and Demarious Randall via trades. That gives them their best quarterback in years, a play-making wide receiver, and a good defensive back. They also signed running back Carlos Hyde, which should serve as a strong replacement for Isaiah Crowell, whom they lost to the Jets. Further, Cleveland has said that signing Hyde would not prevent them from drafting Saquon Barkley.
On top of adding Randle, the Browns signed T.J. Carrie to a four-year, $31 million deal, giving them a nice cornerback duo. And while Cleveland lost franchise stalwart Joe Thomas to retirement, they signed right tackle Chris Hubbard to a five-year, $37.5 million deal, taking him away from division opponent Pittsburgh. They also added tight end Daniel Fells, whose specialty is blocking.
If the Browns nail their draft, they could turn things around in a hurry.
The Bears wanted to give Mitch Trubisky some serious options next season, and they have succeeded at doing so.
Chicago signed wide receiver Allen Robinson to a 3-year, $42 million deal with $25 million guaranteed. Although he is coming off a torn ACL, he played in all 16 games in 2015 and 2016 and seems to be more reliable than the other top receiver on the market, Sammy Watkins. They signed Taylor Gabriel to a four-year, $26 million deal with $14 million guaranteed. Gabriel put together a particularly strong 2016 when the Falcons made their Super Bowl run. He had 35 catches for 579 yards and six touchdowns. He also had 171 yards in the playoffs and can be a good playmaker if used properly.
Desperate to improve, the Bears also signed tight end Trey Burton to a four-year, $32 million deal. Burton had five touchdown catches last season for Philly. His contract may be a reach, but at least Chicago has some receivers for Trubisky.
Another big move not to be overlooked was signing Cody Parkey, who made 91.3 percent of his field goal attempts last season with Miami. Kicking has been a major issue for Chicago since they let Robbie Gould go after the 2015 season.
The Bears also retained Prince Amukamara and Sam Acho on defense and then signed Chase Daniel to be their backup quarterback.
The Los Angeles Rams may have lost Trumaine Johnson in free agency, but you can’t say they their secondary isn’t looking good.
The Rams made two of the most notable trades this offseason by acquiring cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib. Talib was acquired for a fifth-round pick and remains one of the better corners in the league. He’ll be reunited with former Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
The Rams gave up more to get Peters. They surrendered a 2018 4th-round pick and 2019 2nd-round pick for Peters. Talent-wise, he’s worth it, but Peters had issues with the Chiefs, which led them to part ways with him. The big question is whether the Rams can keep him in line to ensure they get a good return from him on the field.
The Rams also retained cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman, signed Sam Shields, and tagged safety Lamarcus Joyner. Clearly the Rams were focused on their defensive backfield this offseason.
Philly clearly prioritized upgrading their defense this offseason.
The Eagles made one of the biggest trades of the offseason when they landed Michael Bennett from the Seattle Seahawks for a fifth-round pick and a wide receiver most people have never heard of. The defending Super Bowl champs already had one of the best defensive lines in football, so adding Bennett will make them that more dangerous. Speaking of the defensive line, they also signed Haloti Ngata to a one-year deal.
Philadelphia continued to address their biggest areas of need by trading Torrey Smith to the Panthers for cornerback Darryl Worley, a former third-round pick who started 25 games in Carolina over his first two NFL seasons. He should have a chance to compete for a starting role. In addition to adding pieces from outside, the Eagles also retained one of their most important players by signing linebacker Nigel Bradham to a five-year extension.
After they gave up 33 points in their Super Bowl win, the Eagles are clearly not content to bring back the same defense in 2018. The best always deserve credit when they make an effort to get even better.
Tennessee made some big noise in free agency.
They signed Malcolm Butler to a five-year, $61 million deal with $30 million guaranteed. Questions about whether he is worth that kind of money are legitimate, but there is no doubt that he upgrades Tennessee’s defensive backfield. He is a solid No. 1 cornerback who will now be paired with his former Patriots teammate, Logan Ryan.
The Titans also signed another former Patriot in Dion Lewis. Lewis proved his true value and versatility last season for the Patriots. He rushed for 896 yards and six touchdowns — both career-high marks. He had 32 catches for 214 yards and three touchdowns. He also returned a kick for a score. He should be an excellent complement to the larger Derrick Henry.
Tennessee also retained a couple of players. They kept guard Josh Kline with a four-year, $26 million deal, as well as defensive end DaQuan Jones.
Between Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and Kareem Hunt, the Chiefs already have plenty of offensive weapons around second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes. That didn’t stop them from signing Sammy Watkins, whom many considered the best wide receiver on the free agent market. Though Watkins has been somewhat of a disappointment during his career, perhaps Andy Reid can maximize his talent If Mahomes is as good as advertised, Kansas City could have one of the most dangerous offenses in football.
On the other side of the ball, the Chiefs acquired former Redskins cornerback Kendall Fuller in the Alex Smith trade. He may have been an underrated piece in the Smith deal, but he had four interceptions last season and should help replace Marcus Peters. They weren’t done there, as they also signed one of the best free agent linebackers available in Anthony Hitchens. The former Dallas Cowboys should help inject some youth into Kansas City’s defense after Tamba Hali was released.
Losing Jordy Nelson isn’t exactly great for Green Bay, but they did a good job trying to make fans forget about that. They signed Jimmy Graham to a three-year deal. Graham is now 31 and never quite broke out in Seattle the way he did in New Orleans, but he did put up 10 touchdowns last season. In the past, Aaron Rodgers has thrown eight touchdowns in a season to tight ends Jermichael Finley and Richard Rodgers, so you can figure Graham will be able to at least match that.
But the bigger move was signing Mo Wilkerson. Wilkerson is very talented but had disciplinary issues with the Jets. A change of scenery with new coaches, new teammates, a fresh start, and being on a winning team should help refocus him. Between Wilkerson and Mike Daniels, the Packers will have an excellent defensive line. This move should pay big dividends.
Green Bay did lose Damarious Randall in a trade with Cleveland, but they upgraded their backup quarterback position with DeShone Kizer.
8) San Francisco 49ers
It seems like ages ago that the 49ers began the 2017 season with nine straight losses. Jimmy Garoppolo still has not lost a game as an NFL starter, and he has brought plenty of excitement back to the Bay Area. The Niners made their first big move of the offseason when they signed Garoppolo to a five-year, $138 million contract extension. On Wednesday, they gave Garoppolo a nice weapon out of the backfield by signing former Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon to a four-year contract. They signed deep threat receiver Marquise Goodwin to a three-year extension. And San Francisco didn’t forget about the trenches either, as they are expected to sign center Weston Richburg to a five-year deal.
Their offense seems like it should be pretty well set, but the 49ers also made a big splash on defense by agreeing to a deal with Richard Sherman. The contract is team-friendly, loaded with incentives, and Sherman should be plenty motivated to prove he can bounce back from a torn Achilles. Keeping him in the same division as the Seahawks is huge and should only add more fuel to the fire.
