The NFL offseason so far has been absolutely wild so far. A lot of unexpected and great signings have happened, and many players have signed with their former team’s rivals. Some teams stand out above the others and have won free agency greatly improving their team and playoff chances for next year.
Winners:
Houston Texans:
One of the biggest winners of the offseason has been the Houston Texans. The Houston Texans are coming off an unexpected season where they were able to win the AFC South and even win a playoff game against the Cleveland Browns. Their high draft picks, C.J. Stroud and Will Andersen, performed exceptionally well throughout the year bringing home both ROY awards for both offense and defense. Going into the offseason, the Texans had plenty of holes to fill and ways to improve, and with a lot of cap space and a great QB on a rookie contract, this was the time to spend. To start off, they resigned TE Dalton Schultz who had a solid year and was an important piece to the offense. They traded for RB Joe Mixon from the Bengals, which was a great move as the overall run offense for the Texans was not great last year. The offense overall is solid at all points now because of this trade. The moves the Texans made on defense, however, were even greater and more important to strengthen the team. The biggest move they made was signing edge-rusher Danielle Hunter. There was some talk of injury concern, but he is coming off back-to-back seasons of playing all 17 games, and last year he had 16.5 sacks and one of the best pressure rates in the league. Another big defensive move they made was signing LB Azeez Al-Shaair from the Titans. He had a solid season last year with over 150 tackles, but the most important part of this signing is that he is familiar with the defensive scheme of HC, Demeco Ryans, who was the defensive coordinator of the 49ers while Al-Shaair was there. The Texans also signed Denico Autry and Tim Settle for the defensive line and Mike Ford, Lonnie Johnson, Desmond King II, Jeff Okudah, and Eric Murray to strengthen the secondary. Overall, this was an incredibly successful offseason for the Texans, and they should have high hopes for next season.
Philadelphia Eagles:
Another one of the biggest winners of the offseason has been the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles are coming off a disappointing season following a year where they were in the Super Bowl. The Eagles started the season hot being 10-1 but they absolutely fell apart, finishing 11-6 and getting eliminated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. To add to the disappointment, Eagles legends Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox retired, and even in their later years, they were still big contributors and great leaders for the team. The Eagles also let go of the OC and DC of the team. However, GM Howie Roseman has attacked free agency signing some big pieces for the team. One move they made was resigning edge-rusher Brandon Graham who has been on the team for many years and is a great contributor and leader. They also extended Landon Dickerson, one of the best guards in the NFL. Their most underrated move in my opinion was signing edge-rusher Bryce Huff from the New York Jets. He may not be the biggest name, but he is coming off a season where he had 10 sacks while
playing fewer snaps than a lot of other edge rushers. His most impressive stat however is his pressure rate which is at the same level as players like Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, and Micah Parsons. Another big defensive signing was safety C.J. Gardner Johnson. He had left the offseason before last season for the Lions, but he is back now and he is bound to make a huge impact on an Eagles secondary which was absolutely terrible last year. The Eagles made some other solid signings like linebackers Devin White, Julian Okwara, and Zack Baun, and also extended kicker Jake Elliot. However, their biggest signing was running back Saquon Barkley from the Giants. When healthy, Saquon Barkley is one of the best running backs in football, and now he has an incredible offensive line to play behind, and he should have a great season. Overall, the Eagles had a great offseason improving offensively and defensively and you should expect a big bounce-back year from them next season.
Chicago Bears:
Lastly, another one of the biggest winners of the offseason has been the Chicago Bears. The Bears are coming off yet another disappointing season where they missed the playoffs and finished 7-10. However, because of trades they made the offseason before, they have great draft picks and they also have a lot of cap space which they have used well this offseason. So far the Bears have been able to resign corner-back Jaylon Johnson, one of the best and highest-graded corners in the league. They also strengthened their secondary by signing safeties Kevin Byard and Jonathan Owens. The Bears have also strengthened the offensive line by signing Coleman Shelton, Ryan Bates, Jake Curhan, and Matt Pryor. They also signed running back Deandre Swift from the Eagles who had a solid season last year and they just recently made a big move trading for wide receiver Keenan Allen from the Chargers for only a 4th round draft pick. Because of their trade with the Carolina Panthers, the Bears have the first overall pick in the draft this year. They also have their own first-round pick at 9. With the first pick, they can take QB Caleb Williams who is considered one of the greatest QB prospects of all time and a generational talent. He will be able to enter a great situation being able to throw to D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen, and also having Deandre Swift in the backfield. The Bears will also be able to restart at the QB position moving off of Justin Fields who has been very disappointing. They will not have to give an extension to Justin Fields and they can put Caleb Williams on a cheap rookie contract. With the 9th pick, they are at a great spot where they can draft Dallas Turner from Alabama who would greatly benefit the defense, but they could also draft Rome Odunze from Washington or unexpectedly take Brock Bowers from Georgia to strengthen the offense even further. Overall, the Bears are at a great spot and their offseason moves should help to propel the Bears into the playoffs for the first time in a couple of years.
