NFL Offseason Review: The 5 Best & Worst Moves

Piece By: Riley Leonard

To call the last few months in the National Football League unconventional would be an understatement. This year’s tumultuous offseason featured several high-profile trades, the NFL’s first (and likely only) virtual draft, and a new home for one of the league’s most decorated quarterbacks. Rising from the tumult is the inevitable chasm of winners and losers, with franchises emerging from this offseason positioned either better or worse than when they entered it. Some teams have used the draft and player-acquisition period to upgrade positional needs and build towards a more promising future. Others have made questionable personnel decisions that have left fans and analysts scratching their heads (or worse, sharpening their pitchforks). The road to the Super Bowl begins in the offseason, and every trade, signing, extension, and draft choice hopes to bring teams closer to that ultimate goal. Here, we discuss the five best and worst offseason moves.

The 5 Best Offseason Moves:

1. Cardinals Trading for WR DeAndre Hopkins

Few transactions in recent memory have been as lopsided as the Arizona Cardinals trade for All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Houston Texans for running back David Johnson, a second-round pick, and a swap of fourth-round picks. Not only did the Cardinals acquire one of the league’s most talented receivers in the prime of his career in Hopkins, they did so while surrendering very little draft capital and convincing the Texans to absorb all of the injury-prone Johnson’s remaining salary (including a $12 million cap hit next season). In all, the trade gives the Cardinals an elite offensive weapon for second-year quarterback Kyler Murray at a very low cost, which should help expedite the team’s ascension into the league’s top tier offenses.

2. Dolphins Drafting QB Tua Tagovailoa

“Tank for Tua” was the narrative surrounding the Miami Dolphins’ 2019-2020 season, with most of the team’s fans abandoning any hope for a winning season and instead directing focus towards the succeeding NFL draft. However, this plan hit a road-bump when, unexplainably, the Dolphins started winning football games. All of a sudden, the team that started the season 0-8 found themselves winning five of their last nine contests. The once unanimous favorite for the first overall pick swiftly fell to fifth in the draft, and the franchise’s year-long pursuit of their future quarterback seemed all for naught. Fortunately for the Dolphins, a premature end to Tagovailoa’s junior season and the unanticipated rise of Joe Burrow as the draft’s top quarterback prospect led to Tua falling right into their laps. From there, the pick was a no-brainer. Injury concerns make Tagovailoa a slight risk, but the Dolphins undoubtedly made the right decision in drafting their future face of the franchise. It certainly helps that Tua is a transcendent talent at the position.

3. Chargers Signing CB Chris Harris Jr.

A pro-bowler, first-team All-Pro, and Super Bowl champion, Chris Harris Jr. rarely gets the recognition he deserves. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, only one cornerback (Richard Sherman) has allowed fewer receiving yards per snap in coverage over the past decade than Chris Harris Jr. Undrafted out of Kansas, Harris Jr. has asserted himself as one of the league’s top defensive backs over the course of his nine seasons in Denver. The fact that the Los Angeles Chargers were able to sign him on a two-year, $20 million deal seems almost inconceivable. Without question, the Chargers found one of the biggest bargains of the offseason in their new cornerback, and in the process supplemented one of the league’s strongest secondaries.

4. Colts Trading for and Extending DT DeForest Buckner

An essential part of the 49ers Super Bowl run, DeForest Buckner was one of the best defensive players in the entire NFL during the 2019-2020 season. A second-team All-Pro at defensive tackle, it’s easy to see why Buckner demanded a premium from the Indianapolis Colts, who surrendered the 13th overall pick to acquire Buckner before signing him to a massive extension. That being said, he should be worth every bit of his 4-year, $84 million contract. At only 26 years old, Buckner has the potential to build on an already very impressive start to his career, and should provide immediate support to a burgeoning Colts defense.

5. Multiple Teams Drafting WRs

The Cardinals weren’t the only team supplementing their receiving corps this offseason, with plenty of other franchises boosting their pass-catching through trade, free-agency, and the draft (where many general managers took advantage of an unprecedented pool of receiving talent). Notably, the Buffalo Bills gave up a first-round pick to get Josh Allen a true number one option in Stefon Diggs, while the Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys managed to secure arguably the two most talented skill position players in the draft (Jerry Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb respectively) in the middle of the first round. Jeudy will give second-year quarterback Drew Lock an exceptional athlete and polished route-runner to target, while Lamb joins an already elite group of pass-catchers in Dallas. In total, a record 13 receivers were selected in the draft’s first two rounds.

The 5 Worst Offseason Moves:

1. Texans Trading WR DeAndre Hopkins

If the Arizona Cardinals were the offseason’s biggest winner for the aforementioned DeAndre Hopkins trade, that unequivocally makes the Houston Texans the biggest loser, relinquishing both a superstar wide receiver and a fan favorite in Hopkins. If Texans fans weren’t infuriated enough with Bill O’Brien for the team’s divisional round meltdown against the Kansas City Chiefs, then this had to be the coup de grace in O’Brien’s heedless tenure as head coach and general manager. Simply put, Deshuan Watson deserves better. J.J. Watt deserves better. The city of Houston deserves better.

2. Packers Drafting RB A.J. Dillon

While trading up to draft quarterback Jordan Love at the end of the first round was the more talked about and scrutinized Green Bay Packers’ pick, it’s hard to completely fault the team for investing in their long-term future, even if it raises questions about the direction of a franchise who just appeared in the NFC Championship. However, at a certain point, a team has to commit to building around their hall-of-fame quarterback, and failing to draft a wide receiver from arguably the best receiving class in NFL history is inexcusable. At no point was this more egregious than in the decision to draft running back A.J. Dillon with the 62nd overall pick. Even in a vacuum, the pick felt like a reach, with most experts ranking Dillon outside of the top 100 draft prospects. When considered in the context of the Packers’ positional needs, the pick looks even worse. While Packers running back Aaron Jones is entering the last season of his rookie contract, it’s reasonable to assume he’s earned an extension after posting over 1500 scrimmage yards and 19 touchdowns last season. For the time being, Jones’ presence limits Dillon’s ceiling to a backup or change-of-pace running back at best. While it doesn’t hurt to fortify the run game (and there’s still plenty to like about Dillon as a legitimate NFL prospect), there were far more important personnel issues for the Packers to address, especially if they plan on contending for a Super Bowl next season.

3. Bears Signing TE Jimmy Graham

Last season, the Chicago Bears had one of the league’s worst passing offenses. It didn’t help that the team also had the least productive group of tight ends in the entire NFL. With this in mind, it made sense for Bears general manager Ryan Pace to upgrade the tight end position in free agency. What didn’t make sense, however, was giving a $8 million/year deal to an aging and increasingly ineffective Jimmy Graham. Unsurprisingly, fan and media reaction to the signing has been overwhelmingly negative, with many disappointed in both the signing itself and the team’s failed pursuit of the more sought-after Austin Hooper. Jimmy Graham was an otherworldly talent in his prime, but it’s now been six seasons since his All-Pro selection with the Saints, and Graham’s weakness as a blocker and depreciating skills as a pass-catcher raise valid concerns for a Bears team in desperate need of an offensive upgrade. Graham’s contract, combined with $21 million in guarantees owed over the next three years to Nick Foles (an almost equally bad acquisition), imposes a huge financial burden on the Bears for the potential of only marginal return.

4. Bengals Signing CB Trae Waynes

Although most Cincinnati Bengals fans are ecstatic about an offseason in which the franchise used their number one overall pick on a quarterback coming off one of the most dominant single seasons in college football history in Joe Burrow, not every move by the team was as big of a hit. The Bengals took a huge gamble by offering former Minnesota Vikings cornerback Trae Waynes a 3-year, $42 million deal, and skepticism is certainly warranted. While the 27-year-old still has time to develop into an above-average cornerback, Waynes’ tenure in Minnesota was marred by inconsistency and underwhelming defensive numbers. It’s hard to blame Cincinnati for aggressively filling a positional need (especially with the departure of Darqueze Dennard), but making Waynes the sixth highest-paid cornerback in the league appears to be a massive overpay. Comparatively, the Los Angeles Chargers managed to sign Chris Harris Jr. (in a move discussed earlier) for far less, and Harris Jr. is by all measures the more effective defensive back. All things considered, the Bengals could have found much better value in a relatively lukewarm cornerback market.

5. Rams Unveiling New Logo and Uniforms

Put mildly, the Los Angeles Rams have had an offseason to forget. Facing cap issues, the team was forced to let go of beloved star running back Todd Gurley and trade away wide receiver Brandin Cooks. To make matters worse, the team failed to pay Gurley and linebacker Clay Matthews owed bonus money, prompting Matthews to file a legal grievance with the NFL. If Rams fans have one thing to take solace in, it’s a brand new stadium in 2020, and the franchise decided to inaugurate the new venue with fresh logo and uniform designs. While some teams (like the Buccaneers and Chargers) had uniform redesigns that were more subtle and well-received, the Rams opted for a full-on rebrand, a decision which was immediately ridiculed by fans and pundits. In fact, fans’ derision of the logo has been so intense that numerous online petitions have emerged urging the Rams’ front office to reconsider the decision. The whole debacle is not a good look for a team already stumbling through a messy offseason. The uniforms themselves are, in this writer’s opinion, an even worse look.