Although several starter-caliber veterans remain unsigned, NFL teams have largely taken their big swings this offseason. Be it through free agency, the trade market or the draft, franchises have updated their rosters in hopes of improving in 2023.
Any conversation of 2023 improvement efforts probably needs to start with the Jets. Thanks to the Sacramento Kings’ playoff advancement, the Jets hold major North American sports’ longest postseason drought — at 12 years. After missing on a few rookie-contract QBs in the time since their last playoff run, the Jets now have Aaron Rodgers. The six nationally televised games on Gang Green’s docket illustrate Rodgers’ impact on the team’s perception, and although the four-time MVP will turn 40 before year’s end, he has made the Jets a free agency destination of sorts. The team added ex-Rodgers Packer wideouts Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, with those moves coming after the addition of safety Chuck Clark via trade.
As the Jets stands to be a factor in the one of the deepest conferences in recent memory, the Dolphins added Jalen Ramsey via trade and will pay Vic Fangio upwards of $4.5MM to run their defense. Miami will bank on Tua Tagovailoa health and showed faith in the oft-scrutinized passer by picking up his fifth-year option two months early.
The Ravens took their biggest steps yet — in the Lamar Jackson era, at least — to strengthen their receiving corps, keeping Odell Beckham Jr. from a Big Apple return (via a $15MM guarantee) and drafting Zay Flowers in the first round. The Browns bolstered their receiving corps as well, trading for Elijah Moore and drafting Cedric Tillman in Round 3. Cleveland also has now added two edge rushers — with Jadeveon Clowney not expected back — in Za’Darius Smith and Obo Okoronkwo to complement Myles Garrett. Cincinnati may have made the biggest outside addition in the AFC North, signing Orlando Brown Jr., though the team did lose both starting safeties (Jessie Bates, Vonn Bell) in free agency. The Steelers added two likely O-line starters, in Broderick Jones and Isaac Seumalo, and made changes at cornerback by signing Patrick Peterson and drafting Joey Porter Jr.
The returns from this year’s top AFC South headlines likely will not emerge until the mid-2020s, but the Texans, Colts and Titans drafted hopeful long-term QBs (C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Will Levis). Houston also gave up a bounty to move back into the top three for Will Anderson Jr.
Making Nathaniel Hackett just the third HC since the 1970 merger to be fired before his first season ended, the Broncos paid up — both in terms of draft capital and salary — to add Sean Payton. They also spent heavily to better protect Russell Wilson, signing Ben Powers and Mike McGlinchey. The latter will be Denver’s 11th Week 1 right tackle in 11 years. The Raiders added Tyree Wilson in Round 1, but the team’s Derek Carr-to-Jimmy Garoppolo transition injects considerably more injury risk into their equation.
Darren Waller going from Las Vegas to New York provided the centerpiece of the Giants’ hopeful pass-game upgrade, which includes a few midlevel wide receiver investments. The team added likely starters in cornerback Deonte Banks and center John Michael Schmitz. Dallas brought in Pro Bowlers Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore via trade, and Mike McCarthy will dust off his play-calling chops after Moore’s Chargers exit. The Eagles drafted two more Georgia defenders (Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith) in Round 1 but lost Javon Hargrave and both coordinators.
Few position groups received more attention than the Lions’ secondary. The rising team added Cameron Sutton, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Emmanuel Moseley and second-rounder Brian Branch. This came after Jameson Williams‘ six-game gambling ban and after two first-round picks (Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell) receiving positional value-based criticism. While the Bears collected future assets from the Panthers in the Bryce Young swap, they pried D.J. Moore from Carolina and added two likely O-line starters in Nate Davis and Darnell Wright.
Carolina stopped its QB carousel with the Young move, and Frank Reich will be tasked with developing the atypical prospect. The Panthers also lured Ejiro Evero from the Broncos, despite Denver’s interest in retaining its DC. Though, the team’s receiving situation — now featuring Adam Thielen and DJ Chark — may take multiple years to fix post-Moore. The rest of the NFC South will also include new Week 1 starting QBs. The Saints made the second-most notable veteran quarterback addition this year — in giving Carr what amounts to a three-year, $100MM deal — and will hope this brings the QB stability Drew Brees‘ retirement stripped away two years ago.
While the 49ers lost another coordinator (DeMeco Ryans) to a head coaching job, they gave new DC Steve Wilks superior D-line talent via Hargrave’s $20MM-AAV deal. With the Colts taking Richardson at No. 4, the Seahawks doubled down on the recently re-signed Geno Smith by beginning this year’s receiver run with Jaxon Smith-Njigba at No. 20. Seattle also zagged from its Pete Carroll–John Schneider M.O. by taking cornerback Devon Witherspoon at 5. This and the Dre’Mont Jones contract headlined a big year for Seahawks defensive investments.
What other teams deserve mention here? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.
Bears deserve a mention.
Had a pretty good draft fortifying the lines and had a pretty good free agency period..
Detroit Lions have improved more. They fixed the defensive secondary through the draft and FAgency and added more talent to an already explosive offense. They should make some noise this year barring everyone is healthy.
I think you meant to say that the Lions should make some noise this year barring INJURY. I don’t think you meant to say that they’ll do well as long as everyone is hurt. That’s ok, I often say the opposite of what I mean to all the time too. Sometimes the words don’t come out the way the brain wants them to.
Yeah, that’s what I meant.
Houston, not that that’s saying a lot though.
I also voted for Houston. Stroud, Anderson, and bringing in DeMeco Ryans are three moves that will be looked back upon as when this team turned around their losing culture…
Quite a but may depend on the success of his OC, but Ryans was born to be a leader of men. He’s also one heck of an DC, and truly excelled at making halftime and in-game adjustments.
Now, obviously it helped having all-pros like Hufunga, Bosa, Warner, and excellent pros like Mooney Ward, Dre Greenlaw, and Arik Armstead, but Ryans definitely improved this defense after Saleh left. Time after time he confused and stopped some of the games most potent offenses, and that was especially put on display during their last two playoff runs.
Houston got a great hire in Ryans, and with their draft they’re on the right path to turning around that miserable franchise.
Yes, they probably had the farthest to climb, but they significantly closes the gap during this one offseason, amd they’ve set themselves up for a bright future.
What????? You think a DEFENSIVE guy can be a successful head coach????? Haven’t you heard????? Only offensive geniuses can be successful!!!!!!! And the only thing you need to be a “leader of men” is a perfectly-trimmed beard!!!!! And it helps to be a front-running unappreciative backstabber too.
Seriously, I think Demeco Ryans will be a good head coach, possibly great, but we need to give him some time to develop into that before that statement is true. I do like your appreciation for the importance of a coach being a leader…all too often people don’t understand what that really means and why it’s so important.
What????? You think a DEFENSIVE guy can be a successful head coach????? Haven’t you heard????? Only offensive geniuses can be successful!!!!!!! Seriously, I think Demeco Ryans will be a good head coach, possibly great, but we need to give him some time to develop into that before that statement is true. I do like your appreciation for the importance of a coach being a leader…all too often people don’t understand what that really means and why it’s so important.
I think that is one of the few ways to turn around any team that consistently loses. In order to breed success, you have to change the culture, and make guys uncomfortable with losing again.
Personally, I feel like Ryans can definitely be that guy for the Texans. Even as the 49ers LB Coach, his players went out of their way to mention his name over and over again.
It was hard to really enjoy his time here as a 49er, just because everyone knew it would be extremely short lived before someone came calling and wanting him to lead their franchise.
Like I’ve said previously, his success might come down to Slowik’s abilities as an OC.
I agree with your assessment of Ryan. The Texans did him no favor by overpaying for Will Anderson, though. But otherwise I think the Texans have begun to turn things around. I hope Stroud proves his doubters wrong and I hope Ryan succeeds; maybe then we can get off this notion that defensive coaches can’t be successful head coaches. I was impressed with his work in San Francisco. The Texans must continue to build the offensive line and improve their wideouts.
I agree with both of you, as I have always been more of a fan of good defense than good offense generally. However, we would be remiss to not note that the way that the rules are constructed now makes good defense much less impactful than good offense. The standard for defenders is so grossly high that their production is significantly outweighed by offensive players, and stacks the deck against defensive coaches. And, if they’re too successful, the rules inevitably change to help offenses more.
As I said, though, I do agree with you. Ryans’ leadership qualities should hopefully contribute to what is in fact the most important aspect of successful coaching (and the most difficult): building a good and self-reinforcing culture.
Yeah, as a kid in Georgia I grew up watching the 49ers and the Georgia Bulldogs, and I’ve stuck with them ever since.
It’s kind of odd now that both teams are now known for having dominant defenses, especially in such an age where offenses generally have every advantage.
It can be done though, it just isn’t always the popular route, and you have to pair yourself with a good OC in order to be sustainably successful. Luckily for the 49ers, even though they have a dominant defense, their HC is a pretty decent playcaller and OC himself..lol
True-if you manage to get to where you can afford to construct a workable elite defense in today’s NFL (or college, as you pointed out), it would be worth even more given how rarely offenses face them. I suppose that could be true, if we consider that possibility.
Perhaps it’s best to say that elite defense is even more valuable now, given its scarcity, than it was in years past. Most teams don’t face great defenses often, so the handful of times that they do, perhaps it is more difficult to adjust than it would be if they faced them regularly. If this is true, then I think that it would be accurate to say that the increased difficulty in creating such a unit inherently makes it more valuable as an asset due to its rarity.
Daaaaaaaa Bears
It’s weird, but it doesn’t seem like many teams dramatically improved themselves by adding players. Some will be much better because of players getting better, but it has been a weird offseason.
That’s why I voted for the Texans. They did improve dramatically by player moves and coaching upgrade. Dramatically doesn’t mean they will be any good though. They were just that bad. Only one way to go.
If we’re considering non-player additions and just general adds, I think you have to go with New England. Adding an actual offensive coordinator in lieu of the madness from last year is a huge upgrade. No matter how good or bad the hire was, having an actual coordinator is better just be default than their prior effort.
New Orleans Saints added a viable quarterback and even gave him some weapons. Given the level of competition in the NFC South, the Saints have to be viewed as an immediate playoff team. Not sure if the Saints have enough bodies on defense yet as they are still in cap hell
Wrong. The Falcons will be better than the Saints this season. They did very well in free agency and drafted the most explosive player in the draft.
The Falcons aren’t going to win with Ridder at QB, at least not this year. I’m not convinced the Falcons will even be better than Carolina. It’s the Saints division, Carolina and Atlanta in the middle, and the Bucs in the basement.
They went 2-2 with him starting as a rookie, and improved everywhere else. Saints won’t get 9 wins.
He won two starts against two teams with a combined record of 12-22. I’m not saying the Falcons will go winless, but I think 6 or 7 wins is their ceiling.
The Saints will take the division with 10, give or take a win.
He still won two out of four games, which is not bad at all for a rookie. But let’s be honest here, the Falcons OLine and running attack won the games.
The Falcons pass protection is not very good, but those guys are very good at run blocking, so I do not see it slipping, especially with another back to tire out the defenses. That running attack also helps control clock better and keeps a suspect defense off the field.
So, with 3-4 significant upgrades during the pre-draft offseason in free agency and via trades, as well as some depth/rotational additions, plus the draft picks .. I see the Falcons getting better. While they did get some close wins last year, they also had some tough losses, so I think that doesn’t cause regression. Last but not least, Ridder may quickly surpass what Mariota gave the Falcons last year, if he hasn’t already.
As for the Saints, I am not moved at all by the Carr additions. The Raiders have been one of my favorite teams ever since the Howie Long/Lyle Alzedo days. It’s hard to tell how good Carr is, but he certainly didn’t make them into consistent winners, so I hedge on the side of him just being a ‘numbers’ guy.
Falcons go 8-9 and win the South.
Not The Raiders at all….. BUT
Las Vegas (FOX Bet, BetMGM, PointsBet, WynnBET, Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings and FanDuel) will ultimately decide “Which Team Has Improved Most This Offseason?”
Interesting take. Not sure if you’re saying you’ll rely on the expert odds-makers to make that conclusion for us, or if you’re being facetious about this sport being more about betting and generating money than playing a fun game. Either way, unfortunately, you’re correct.
The Houston texans have made vast improvements on both sides of the football. Cj stroud for better or worse is a move in the right direction. Singletary as the complement to pierce in the backfield could be solidly above average. Shaq Mason will bring stability to the interior and help our rookie center get his feet wet. Dalton Schultz as a lead receiver inside the numbers will get at least 120 targets. Robert woods brings strength character and wisdom to a wr room that desperately needed it. That’s just the offense.
You also did not mention Tank Dell, who I think was pretty underrated in the Draft.
Like you said though, that’s not even counting the defense where they have added several complimentary and veteran pieces like Jerry Hughes, Hassan Ridgeway, Sheldon Rankins, Chase Winovich, Denzel Perryman, Corey Littleton, Steven Nelson, Jimmie Ward, Shaq Griffin, and Desmond King.
The Texans absolutely remade their defense, and they were able to bring in quite a few solid veterans at every level.
Although, honestly, I’d argue their biggest addition was their hiring of DeMeco Ryans. He’s going to change their culture, invigorate their entire team, and from Day 1 instantly their defense will be significantly improved.
Never confuse “changed” with “improved”. It’ll be interesting to see the impact of these off-season changes, but I would expect that most of them will turn out to be meaningless. If things go as usual, three teams will be better than expected and three teams will be worse than expected.
Jets fans better get ready for massive disappointment. Won’t even make playoffs
Wasn’t Rodgers deemed a pile of garbage for at least the last two seasons, yet now he’s the savior of the Jets.
Vastly overpaid? Yes. “Pile of garbage???” No. 2021: 68.9% completion percentage, 4115 yards, 37 TD, 4 INT (0.8% of pass attempts); 2022: 64.3% completion percentage, 3695 yards, 26 TD, 12 INT (2.2% of pass attempts)…yes, he is probably the most cloying, self-important player in the league, whose presence in New York ESPN breathlessly updates us on 24/7, but to describe his past two seasons in the manner in which you did is simply not accurate. Almost every team in the league would’ve taken that production last season (or any other year, too).
I didn’t mean pile of garbage statistically as he got an MVP in one of the recent years. But fundamentally as a player one would want on their team.
Well, while I disagree with calling any person “a pile of garbage,” even Aaron Rodgers, if you’re saying you wouldn’t want to play with or represent your team, then I have to agree with you. I know a lot of guys justify tolerating him because of his great abilities, but I can’t imagine very many actually enjoy playing with him. He seems narcissistic and condescending. I’m sure many of his Packer teammates were thinking “don’t let the door hit you in the butt on your way out” when he got traded.
Yet now he’s the savior of the Jets. It will be interesting to see if he does in fact elevate the Jets. What happens with the Packers could be even more interesting. Nothing points to Love having the skill of Rodgers, but stranger things have materialized.
Considering how poorly the Jets’ top quarterback has played, it’s very fair to say that any above average quarterback would have vastly improved their team. You have to figure that a meticulous and cerebral quarterback like Rodgers will need a year to gain cohesion with the players, at least to the point where they will be good enough to beat the top teams, and not just the rest of the league. That said, Rodgers has only really been beat up on as of last year, where he played with a host of receivers who had, at that point, yet to record a 1000 yard or even fifty catch season. Randall Cobb, the exception, played sparingly as a reserve who was injured. The offensive line was also poor. The year prior, Rodgers won another MVP, so no, I can’t say that he was a pile of garbage.
The negativity on Rodgers comes from his personality, his anti-vaccination opinions, and his supposed lack of playoff success (even though that is certainly a team statistic moreso than an individual one, and we conveniently forget that a Super Bowl win in 2011 is still a Super Bowl win). The Jets simply needed someone above average in order to compete-or at least, that was expectation. Actually wanting to compete, as compared to the Packers’ refusal to go all-in, is an improvement for Rodgers as much as competent quarterback play is expected to be for New York.
At the end of the day, though, fit’s the upgrade from Wilson that is the real story, even more than the actual addition of Rodgers.
The subtraction of Dan Snyder is the best long-term change a team experienced this off-season — I vote Redsk..er, Commanders.
The only thing is, “Riverboat Ron” is still the HC.
There’s a new offensive coordinator (no more predictable Scott Turner) and perhaps someone else will handle clock management?
Improved at what? The Jets and Bears have always been skilled at bamboozling and hoodwinking their fans but does that deserve a vote? Seattle seems like an intriguing team to me. Not sure if they’re getting better or just capitalizing on the decline of the Rams and Cardinals.
A bit of both, at this point. Seattle has always been good at capitalizing on seemingly small opportunities, which has allowed them to remain competitive without the big splash additions that some other teams have made. Their biggest addition, Jamal Adams, has ironically been one of the most disappointing, as his pass coverage has dropped dramatically since his Jets days (Seattle’s differing scheme likely is a part of that as well). I don’t think that Geno will sustain his career rennaissance for too long, especially if Seattle’s schedule gets tougher than last year, but the Seahawks have always been very good at building team culture amongst younger players.
I don’t consider Pete Carroll to be a schematic genius, but he is certainly one of the best team builders when it comes to that culture that we’ve seen (especially from younger players, whom Seattle has relied on, and which gives them the advantage in having draftees become contributors early). Schneider has been particularly good in finding production lower in the draft, which makes it hard to judge their picks purely from a pre-draft valuation perspective. Basically, these lower level guys commonly outplay their draft slot in Seattle. It’s hard to tell for the Seahawks every year in the offseason.
In any case, only San Francisco seems to have gotten better in the division, as the Rams and Cards figure to struggle. San Fran, despite making good additions around the roster, also has its competitiveness depending on a relatively inexperienced seventh round QB who is coming off surgery to maintain his impressive rookie production, which may or may not be possible. I don’t know if Seattle, while improved, improved more than any other team, and I don’t know if Geno will play as well this year as last, but the team has a great chance to improve its record overall.
I’m so looking forward to Jets football this season. Listening to the Jets fans and media one would expect that old, has-been flake of a QB will lead them to the playoffs. Oh the hilarity that will ensue. I can’t wait.