Arizona Cardinals: Drafting Kyler Murray
Look, I’m a huge Josh Rosen fan, but Kyler Murray is the perfect fit to run Kliff Kingsbury’s air raid offense. The Cardinals probably should’ve gotten more in return for Rosen, but this organization is ready to commit to Kingsbury and his system and that starts with making Kyler Murray the franchise guy.
Atlanta Falcons: Giving Grady Jarrett the Franchise Tag
It’s not that easy to find someone who truly wreaks havoc as an interior defensive lineman, and finding someone who does is great to not only have a great defensive player but to increase the production of pass rushers on the outside. The 25-year-old Jarrett does just that for the Falcons and giving him the tag for this year was the right move as the two teams work on a long-term deal.
Baltimore Ravens: Drafting Marquise “Hollywood” Brown
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Hollywood is the best offensive player out of this draft. His combination of Tyreek Hill’s speed and Julian Edelman’s toughness and reliability out of the slot is absolutely lethal and his ability to take the ball to the house every time he touches the ball is unique. He’s going to be a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators.
Buffalo Bills: Protecting Josh Allen
I absolutely love what the Bills did this offseason and this is my way of talking about more than one move, so here we go. Signing Mitch Morse to start at center, Ty Nsekhe to play tackle, Quinton Spain to play guard, and drafting the versatile Cody Ford will create an insane contest for the five starting spots on the offensive line. I honestly only feel confident guaranteeing two things about the Bills line this year: Mitch Morse will start week 1, and this offensive line will be much better than last year’s.
Carolina Panthers: Signing Matt Paradis
Carolina got an absolute steal in Paradis. Many people believed he was even better than Mitch Morse, and the Panthers got him for about $2 million less annually. He will provide a huge boost to the entire Panthers offensive line and give Cam Newton more time to shine.
Chicago Bears: Signing HaHa Clinton-Dix
After losing Adrian Amos to the Packers, the Bears found a much cheaper replacement in former Packer HaHa Clinton-Dix. The Bears didn’t have too much money to spend this offseason, and signing Clinton-Dix to a one year, $3.5 million contract doesn’t hurt the cap too much and fills a need with a quality starter.
Cincinnati Bengals: Drafting Jonah Williams
In my opinion, Jonah Williams was hands down the best offensive lineman in this draft. He has the versatility to play both guard and tackle, along with being one of Nick Saban’s top offensive line prospects this decade. They already have the weapons for Andy Dalton, now give him the blocking he needs so he has one last shot to be the franchise quarterback before the 2020 Draft.
Cleveland Browns: Trading for Odell Beckham Jr.
Do I even need to explain this one? Come on, he’s Odell. Putting him alongside former college teammate Jarvis Landry is going to be absolutely electric. Combining that with quality defense, a great backfield headlined by Nick Chubb, and Baker Mayfield throwing the football is a scary thought. These guys are going to wake up every day feeling pretty dangerous.
Dallas Cowboys: Extending Demarcus Lawrence
Lawrence is arguably the best player on the Cowboys and had just received the franchise tag. Outside of the quarterback position, the star pass rusher is the most important player on the field, and Dallas just locked up one of the best in the league for the next five years.
Denver Broncos: Drafting Drew Lock
This is a guy I had the Broncos selecting 10th overall, but they were able to wait until the second round to pick up their potential franchise guy. Since he doesn’t have the pressure of a top draft pick now, Lock can sit behind Joe Flacco until he’s completely ready to take over the starting job.
Detroit Lions: Signing Danny Amendola
To be honest, I’m not a big fan of the Lions offseason. Trey Flowers is a former fourth-round pick with only 21 career sacks now making $90 million, Justin Coleman was grossly overpaid, and I’m not a fan of tight ends in the top ten. However, I can get on board with Amendola. He’s a reliable target over the middle who could be a good security blanket for Stafford.
Green Bay Packers: Drafting Rashan Gary
It’s truly mind-boggling to me that Gary fell to 12th overall. I know some teams were a little skeptical with his health, but he has a wicked first step, great hands, and the strength to get through any offensive tackle. The crazy thing about Gary is that he still hasn’t even reached his full potential. The Packers got a true stud.
Houston Texans: Signing Bradley Roby
Houston needed someone to start alongside the aging Jonathan Joseph, and I think they got the perfect guy in Bradley Roby. I’m a big fan of his, and they signed him to only a one year contract, so they can lock him up long term if he performs well or let him walk if he doesn’t play well.
Indianapolis Colts: Resigning Pierre Desir
I think Desir really improved last year, and corner has been a weak spot for the Colts for a while. Locking up Desir for three years at a pretty team friendly number of only $22.5 million should look like an absolute steal a few years down the line. Another great move by Chris Ballard and company.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Signing Nick Foles
Blake Bortles just wasn’t getting the job done in Jacksonville. They still have an insanely talented defense and a bright young running back in Leonard Fournette, and they now have a competent quarterback in Nick Foles to help take them past the Patriots. I’m not sure it’ll work out, but you need to take a chance before their talented defense splits up.
Kansas City Chiefs: Signing Tyrann Mathieu
In my opinion, this was one of the overall best moves of the offseason. It’s impossible to not love Eric Berry and you hate to see a guy like that leave, but Mathieu is without a doubt an upgrade at the position and one of the best safeties in the league. The three-year contract covers the final three years of Patrick Mahomes’ rookie contract, so the team is making the wise move to do everything they possibly can to win while they have Mahomes on a cheap contract.
Los Angeles Chargers: Drafting Nasir Adderley
When they selected Derwin James in the first round last year, the Chargers got a truly dynamic playmaker. However, Derwin does more damage in the box and isn’t stellar at protecting the home run ball. Adderley is perfect to stop that and is a raw talent who will develop well in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Rams: Signing Clay Matthews
The only noticeable hole for the Rams last year was at linebacker. They didn’t have too much money to spend this offseason, so they chose to take advantage of the declining skills of Packers legend Clay Matthews. He’s not going to be the demon he was in Green Bay, but I expect him to still produce at a high level for the Rams at a position of need as they look to return to the Super Bowl.
Miami Dolphins: Trading for Josh Rosen
Like I said earlier, I’m a huge Josh Rosen fan and I think Miami got the best quarterback in the draft at the end of the second round. Even if he doesn’t pan out as the Dolphins franchise guy, all they did was lose a second round pick and spend only $6 million over three years and can find a new quarterback at the top of next year’s draft. I’m always a fan of low-risk high reward moves, and this particular move has a higher chance to reward the team than most, if not all.
Minnesota Vikings: Drafting Garrett Bradbury
After spending $84 million on Kirk Cousins last season, they allowed him to stand in the pocket and get sacked 40 times last year. Bradbury will help keep the Vikings franchise guy upright and give him more time to fine Stefon Diggs and newly extended Adam Thielen.
New England Patriots: Signing Demaryius Thomas
Thomas has been a reliable target for quarterbacks for his entire career. Although he’s getting older and is coming off of a gruesome Achilles injury, who would be better to make the most of the last few years of his career than Tom Brady?
New Orleans Saints: Extending Wil Lutz
Due to not having a first-round pick and lacking cap space, the Saints had a very quiet season. Some people might laugh at the fact that I’m saying their best move was extending their kicker, but Lutz is one of the best in the game, going 28 for 30 last year and making every kick inside 40 yards. People don’t realize it, but a reliable kicker is a luxury unlike any other. If you don’t believe me, just ask any Bears fan.
New York Giants: Drafting Dexter Lawrence
This guy is an absolute anchor in the middle of the defensive line. Dave Gettleman loves his big linemen and Lawrence fits exactly what he loves. Although I’m not a fan of a lot of what the Giants did this offseason, I think Lawrence could be the centerpiece of their defense for years to come.
New York Jets: Signing C.J. Mosley
Le’Veon Bell this, Quinnen Williams that, I don’t care, those moves are nothing compared to this. I think Mosley is one of the best linebackers in football. He’s had over 100 tackles in four of his first five seasons and has only missed three games in his career. He’ll be the leader of the Jets defense for at least the next five years.
Oakland Raiders: Drafting Josh Jacobs
This kid is just the perfect Raider to me. The silver and black resemble toughness and no one is tougher than this guy. After growing up without a home and living with his father and siblings in a car for a while, he’s now a first-round NFL draft pick. Also, he’s a speedy downhill runner who’s not afraid to run over a few linebackers. He fills a big need for the Raiders.
Philadelphia Eagles: Trading for DeSean Jackson
The Eagles were lacking at the wide receiver position entering this offseason, and they especially needed a vertical threat. So who better to fill that need that a Philadelphia legend? Jackson can still produce well, putting up over 700 yards last year, and I expect him to thrive in his return to Philly.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Drafting Devin Bush
The Steelers defense simply hasn’t been the same since they lost Ryan Shazier. Bush will hopefully serve as Shazier’s replacement, as his college tape is truly just as electric as Shazier was. Also, I just need to mention that taking Benny Snell in the fourth round is going to turn out to be an absolute steal.
San Francisco 49ers: Drafting Nick Bosa
I’ve been giving explanations for each move so far, but I really don’t see the need here. They got the best player in this year’s draft at their biggest need. It’s really just that simple. Bosa is an absolute slam dunk of a pick and might be even better than his brother.
Seattle Seahawks: Drafting D.K. Metcalf
I’m not the biggest fan of Metcalf’s and I think he fell for a reason, but you can’t overlook the upside that this kid has. He’s an absolute freak of nature and has the potential to be a great target for the newly extended Russell Wilson for years to come, especially with the potential loss of Doug Baldwin.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Drafting Devin White
They lost Kwon Alexander to the 49ers this offseason and needed to fill that need on one of the worst defenses in the league last year. White has great speed for an inside linebacker and is a great tackler who could be the leader of Tampa’s struggling defense for the next decade. The Bucs got the best linebacker in the draft.
Tennessee Titans: Signing Rodger Saffold
Picking up Adam Humphries was a huge move for Tennessee, but I think getting Saffold was even bigger. Mariota’s issue isn’t necessarily finding the receiver, but it’s staying on the field to find him. Saffold will help protect Mariota in the last year of his rookie contract as he looks to prove to the Titans that he’s the franchise guy.
Washington Redskins: Signing Landon Collins
Haskins was a great pick, but this was probably my favorite big signing of the offseason. I think Collins is an absolute stud and the Redskins have one of the best tacklers in the NFL in Washington for the next six years as opposed to playing for their division rival.