Which NFL team had the best offseason so far? Which has had the worst?

[JP51]

4 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

No Detroit mentions yet? They lost both coordinators and made no meaningful improvements to their roster, at best I would say their losses and gains in FA were a wash. And then there was their draft which I thought was awful with a lot of reaches. Taking a 1T who underperformed in college in the 1st round was bad value, then they reached for a guard in Tate Rutledge, then they used three 3rd round picks (their original 3rd rounder plus two future 3rds) to draft Teslaa who was seen as a 6th or 7th round option. They still have an extremely talented offense and Hutchinson will hopefully come back fully healthy, but I don't know how you can say their team has gotten better. With the coordinator losses I'd say on the whole they got significantly worse.

 

I forgot they lost both C's this is a very good point... 

[Maynard]

I’d probably throw Seattle in the mix somewhere. Pretty damn good draft and it depends on what Darnold they get, but good overall.

[Cash]

49 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

 

We shall soon see.  AT BEST I see him as a bridge type QB but the impossible pressure on whatever franchise is cursed with him to make him the face of said franchise won't allow for that.  I don't think you can separate that and all that brings from his mediocre skillset.  Holding the ball too long is poison in the NFL, as are gimmick plays

 

I wonder how much of his game is due to his dad basically trying to game the system in terms of QB rating, stats, etc.  Sacks don't scare people off nearly the way INTs do, and completion % has been the #1 metric in draft projection for a while.  I watched as little of Colorado as I could, but from all accounts the offense was geared around maximizing Shedeur's completion percentage.  I imagine the coaching he's been getting from his HD (Head Dad) has been heavily slanted towards completing every pass he throws.  Coaching a guy to avoid INTs and also not throw the ball away leaves him taking a lot of sacks when he's in trouble.  Or running heavily, but Shedeur isn't the athlete to make that work.

[dorquemada]

10 minutes ago, Cash said:

 

I wonder how much of his game is due to his dad basically trying to game the system in terms of QB rating, stats, etc.  Sacks don't scare people off nearly the way INTs do, and completion % has been the #1 metric in draft projection for a while.  I watched as little of Colorado as I could, but from all accounts the offense was geared around maximizing Shedeur's completion percentage.  I imagine the coaching he's been getting from his HD (Head Dad) has been heavily slanted towards completing every pass he throws.  Coaching a guy to avoid INTs and also not throw the ball away leaves him taking a lot of sacks when he's in trouble.  Or running heavily, but Shedeur isn't the athlete to make that work.

 

To prove your point, over 1/3 of his passes were caught behind the line of scrimmage.  And if you watch the highlight reel of him that seems to have launched a new religion, the bulk of them are fantastic catches on toss up type throws.  For the life of me I don't see what the hype is about.  The video clip with him talking to Cam Ward at some offseason workout pretty much encapsulates my take on those two players

[Crunchem]

I think we're still light in the LB area. Would have been nice to grab a couple. Milano is awesome but has been having troubles staying on the field for a full season. 

[mannc]

21 hours ago, DrBob806 said:

The Browns actually had a solid draft outside of those QB picks. Two solid RBs, two top-rated defenders.

 

The truth is nobody really knows how much these 32 teams will improve or not until they get on the field.

The Browns also fleeced the Jags of their 2026 first round pick and still got Mason Graham in the first round.  I think the Browns had a good draft.  They have no sure answer at QB, but at least they drafted two rookies who have a shot at improving the position for them.  Their defense is going to be a pain in the ass and their offense will be much better.

Edited Friday at 11:15 AM by mannc

[mannc]

On 4/30/2025 at 3:51 PM, RobbRiddick said:

You can see why Stefanski looked pissed when they announced the pick. Clearly an owner order, and as soon as the Browns lose a few games you know the talk of Deion becoming their new HC will start. 

 

I'd be amazed if that doesn't end up a disaster for them. If he doesn't start the season the chants for him will begin as soon as the starter has a bad game. If he does play well he'll be demanding more money. If he plays and plays badly Deion will say it's because they're not using him the right way. Urgh, definitely a circus waiting to happen

Ten days ago, Shedeur Sanders was pretty widely considered the second best QB in this draft…now everyone is acting like they knew all along that he’s a fifth round talent.  He could actually turn into a decent quarterback.
 

I can’t stand the Coach Prime show, but  it’s a stretch to think he’s going to have any meaningful negative effect on the Browns’ situation.  Being drafted in the fifth round might have been just the shot of humility that that family needed.

[nosejob]

17 hours ago, transient said:

 

For those unfamiliar, NSFW.

Just watched that. Great series.

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, mannc said:

Ten days ago, Shedeur Sanders was pretty widely considered the second best QB in this draft…now everyone is acting like they knew all along that he’s a fifth round talent.  He could actually turn into a decent quarterback.
 

I can’t stand the Coach Prime show, but  it’s a stretch to think he’s going to have any meaningful negative effect on the Browns’ situation.  Being drafted in the fifth round might have been just the shot of humility that that family needed.

 

Yep. I don't think he is a franchise guy but he can definitely be a serviceable Quarterback. And I think if the four guys on that roster have a genuine open competition then Sanders is, at this stage in Flacco's career, the most talented of the four and would emerge as the starter. Whether they have that genuine competition I am sceptical.

[Shaw66]

I don't care about any of the other teams.

 

Therefore, by default, the Bills had the best off-season.

[billsfan89]

4 hours ago, Crunchem said:

I think we're still light in the LB area. Would have been nice to grab a couple. Milano is awesome but has been having troubles staying on the field for a full season. 

I think the Bills much like at WR are gonna bring in a vet LB before camp. I was very surprised the Bills didn’t grab a LB in the mid to late rounds in the draft for depth and development.

 

My read on that is that they must like Spector and Ulo as depth more than fans think. But given that they carry 6 LB’s usually I think they are gonna bring another body into camp. Not sure who’s out there at LB. I think a name to look out for is Jalen Reaves Maybin, a bit older at 30 but not a lot of wear and tear and a special teams ace with 14 starts under his belt. Could be a solid back end addition if he’s still out on the market.

[billsfan89]

2 hours ago, mannc said:

Ten days ago, Shedeur Sanders was pretty widely considered the second best QB in this draft…now everyone is acting like they knew all along that he’s a fifth round talent.  He could actually turn into a decent quarterback.
 

I can’t stand the Coach Prime show, but  it’s a stretch to think he’s going to have any meaningful negative effect on the Browns’ situation.  Being drafted in the fifth round might have been just the shot of humility that that family needed.

To act like Sanders as a talent wasn’t a QB with at worst a “2nd round grade” is just revisionist nonsense. He’s a talented QB who on talent alone shouldn’t have slipped past the early 3rd round he just really turned off a lot of in his potential teams and it cratered his value due to off field issues  

[transient]

1 hour ago, nosejob said:

Just watched that. Great series.

Truly laugh out loud funny. Noho Hank is a great character, but the casting for the whole thing in general was awesome. That is my favorite clip from the whole series. My wife enjoys the series, as well, but probably wasn't as amused by it when I referred to her as "queen of Suckballs Mountain" for the next month. 

[Cash]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yep. I don't think he is a franchise guy but he can definitely be a serviceable Quarterback. And I think if the four guys on that roster have a genuine open competition then Sanders is, at this stage in Flacco's career, the most talented of the four and would emerge as the starter. Whether they have that genuine competition I am sceptical.

 

If you buy the idea that Jimmy Haslam mandated the Shedeur pick, it might actually wind up rigged in Sanders' favor.

[mannc]

It is hard to think the answer is anyone besides NE…huge upgrade at HC, some splash FA acquisitions, and a very solid draft…imagine the talent they could have added if they had lost the last game of the year to us and came away with the first pick…I think they are comfortably the second best team in the division now.

[Success]

14 minutes ago, mannc said:

It is hard to think the answer is anyone besides NE…huge upgrade at HC, some splash FA acquisitions, and a very solid draft…imagine the talent they could have added if they had lost the last game of the year to us and came away with the first pick…I think they are comfortably the second best team in the division now.

 

I'm so glad that we lost that game.  The Pats having to settle for the 4th pick was pretty huge given the nature of the talent in this past draft. 

 

I think they had a great offseason - but I'm still not that worried about them.  A lot for them depends on if Vrabel & Maye are both as good as they've been hyped to be.  Personally, I think both have been a bit overhyped to this point.

 

[nosejob]

3 hours ago, transient said:

Truly laugh out loud funny. Noho Hank is a great character, but the casting for the whole thing in general was awesome. That is my favorite clip from the whole series. My wife enjoys the series, as well, but probably wasn't as amused by it when I referred to her as "queen of Suckballs Mountain" for the next month. 

Yeah it was well done except the end, but NOHO was the first thing to pop in my head with Jackson. lol

[SoTier]

I think that the Jags had the stupidest draft: to move up to #2 plus a 4th rounder (#106) and a 6th rounder (#200), they gave up #5, their second round pick (#36) and their fourth (#126) plus their 2026 first rounder ... to draft a WR/DB, Travis Hunter.   I don't care if Hunter is superman, trading that much draft capital for anything but a top rated QB prospect is stupid.  

 

Trevor Lawrence is in the final year of his rookie contract, so the Jags seriously need to decide if he's worth a second contract, and so far, he hasn't lived up to his #1 pick status, regressing since his sophomore season when he looked really good.  In 10 games in 2024, he threw  for 2045 yards, 11 TDs, and 7 INTs.  I think that getting Lawrence another target is a good move, but they paid way too much for Hunter.   This move smells of something done to placate the fan base and boost attendance.

 

On 4/30/2025 at 5:14 PM, BullBuchanan said:

Cleveland is giving themselves as many kicks at the QB can as they can. I can't fault them for doing it as they clearly understand that without an answer, they are finished before they start. Every team that doesn't have certainty at the position should do the same thing.

 

I don't know if every team without a top QB "should do the same thing", but I can't criticize the Browns for their draft moves at all.  They needed a QB but after Ward was gone, who was there really at #2 or #5?  Instead, they acquired a second first rounder for 2026 with the hope that if the QBs in 2026 are significantly better, they have the ammo to move up to get one.  Then they got premier DT prospect Mason Grant plus LB Carson Schwessinger, and RB Quinshon Judkins in their first 3 picks.   They took a TE and a QB with their 2 3rd round picks.   They took a flyer on Sanders in the 5th.  Personally, by the end of the fourth round, I was wondering if the Bills should take a flyer on Shedeur to upgrade the backup QB position, even if it was highly unlikely that Beane would ever make that kind impromptu move.

 

Edited Saturday at 12:41 AM by SoTier

[RoscoeParrish]

On 5/1/2025 at 2:19 PM, HappyDays said:

No Detroit mentions yet? They lost both coordinators and made no meaningful improvements to their roster, at best I would say their losses and gains in FA were a wash. And then there was their draft which I thought was awful with a lot of reaches. Taking a 1T who underperformed in college in the 1st round was bad value, then they reached for a guard in Tate Rutledge, then they used three 3rd round picks (their original 3rd rounder plus two future 3rds) to draft Teslaa who was seen as a 6th or 7th round option. They still have an extremely talented offense and Hutchinson will hopefully come back fully healthy, but I don't know how you can say their team has gotten better. With the coordinator losses I'd say on the whole they got significantly worse.

 

That’s where draft value matters imo.

 

Theres a lot of talk about how Detroit drafting Gibbs and Campbell in the first round years ago proved draft value is for nerds. But the wheel of the NFL never stops pounding. 
 

Gibbs is a great player and Campbell is fine. But if you prioritize shorter term moves (which is fine), you pay for it in the long-term.

 

It would not surprise me to see the Lions be an 8 win team.

[dgrochester55]

On 4/30/2025 at 5:14 PM, BullBuchanan said:

Cleveland is giving themselves as many kicks at the QB can as they can. I can't fault them for doing it as they clearly understand that without an answer, they are finished before they start. Every team that doesn't have certainty at the position should do the same thing.

 

I can see why Cleveland is doing this. I wish that Buffalo had done this more often during the drought era. As bleak as the QB room looks in Cleveland, it was much worse in some years here. Buffalo would rest their laurels on Tyler Thigpen or Jeff Tuel as competition for a shaky starter for years. When they finally did something similar to what Cleveland is doing in 2015 with EJ Manual, Tyrod Taylor and Matt Cassel, they ending up improving their situation from past year by discovering Tyrod who was the best that we had in awhile before Allen came around.

 

 

Edited Saturday at 07:01 PM by dgrochester55