NFC Offseason Grades: Lions, Bears, Cowboys Dominating Free Agency!
With teams making a ton of moves with signings, re-signings, trades, and more; we are going to take a look at what every team in the NFC has done so far and give them a grade for their offseason up to this point.
NFC East
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles didn’t need to do a lot, but somehow managed to bring back James Bradberry, Darius Slay, and Jason Kelce which looked very unlikely at times. That is a huge win for them. They also brought in Rashad Penny who should be good for the three days he’s healthy, replaced Kyzir White with Nicholas Morrow who is good enough and added Marcu Mariota who if they lose their QB they are in trouble anyway.
Grade: A-
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys did most of their work through trades adding Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore while not losing anything higher than a fifth-rounder. Cooks has been good everywhere he has been and Gilmore is still a solid corner. They also cut Ezekiel Elliott which was necessary and re-signed Tony Pollard. Still, where they shined was in the trade market.
Grade: A-
New York Giants
The Giants have done some things we really like and some things we really don’t like. After declining Daniel Jones’s fifth-year option, they had to sign him to a huge contract this offseason which is very scary as cut bait with Kenny Golladay and his disastrous contract. However, this is a new regime so it’s hard to blame them for past mistakes. They also added Darren Waller for just a third-round pick who is worth the risk and we love the additions of linebacker Bobby Okereke and slot corner Bobby McCain. To a lesser degree, Parris Campbell was a nice pickup as well.
Grade: B-
Washington Commanders
The worst team in the division easily had the worst offseason so far. They’ve lost some key pieces on defense and have added very little to improve their team. We fully expect them to be in last place again next season.
Grade: D
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NFC North
Minnesota Vikings
Not a whole lot to see here. They downgraded Eric Kendricks for Troy Reeder and added Marcus Davenport to rush the passer. They didn’t lose much but didn’t add a whole lot either. We do like that they moved on from aging veterans like Adam Thielen and Patrick Peterson who are no longer worth the money their names command.
Grade: C-
Detroit Lions
The Lions’ biggest issue that was stopping them from taking the next step was their passing attack and they addressed it in a major way adding both Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Emmanual Moseley, and Cameron Sutton. Bringing back Alex Anzalone was a great move too. They did lose Jamaal Williams but replaced him with David Montgomery is comparable. We love what they did on defense. The only thing this team is missing from being a true contender very soon is the QB.
Grade: A
Green Bay Packers
This team has been completely held hostage by Aaron Rodgers and has done very little to get better. It’s hard to imagine that this team will be competitive next season and we aren’t sure if they are better off with or without Rodgers. Unless they get a massive haul for their disgruntled QB this offseason is going to viewed as a disaster.
Grade: F
Chicago Bears
The Bears had the most valuable draft asset and the most cap space entering this offseason and they did what they are supposed to do. They traded their pick for a haul that included D.J. Moore. Also on offense, they’ve added D’Onta Foreman, Robert Tonyan, and Travis Homer who are all solid role players. On defense, they rebuilt their LB corps with Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, and Dylan Cole. They did what they were supposed to do with all that they had.
Grade: A
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NFC South
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
All the Bucs have done this offseason is replace the greatest quarterback of all-time with Baker Mayfield. I’m sure that will work out great.
Grade: F
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers’ big move was trading up to first-overall in the draft to get a quarterback so it’s almost impossible to know how to grade them at the moment. However, they did make some big adds on offense that we don’t love. Adam Thielen, Miles Sanders, and Hayden Hurst were all added and struck us as players with recognizable names but overvalued production. We do like the Vonn Bell signing though. Still, we will have to revisit this after the draft to reevaluate what they do with that pick.
Grade: C-
New Orleans Saints
The Saints did enough on offense this offseason that they should probably be the favorites to win the South. They added Derek Carr and Jamaal Williams and re-signed Juwan Johnson and Michael Thomas. This won’t make them a serious Super Bowl contender, but it should get them into the playoffs.
Grade: B
Atlanta Falcons
Another mediocre offseason for the Falcons. This fanbase wanted Lamar Jackson so badly and this team will never pull the trigger on the big splash move. Jessie Bates was a great pickup besides that they haven’t done anything worth mentioning unless you are excited about backup QBs and TEs.
Grade: D+
NFC West
San Francisco 49ers
San Fran made a huge pickup with Javon Hargrave, however, they also lost a ton of key pieces and no one seems to be talking about it. They lost Jimmy G, Jimmie Ward, Emmanuel Moseley, Azeez Al-Shaair, Samson Ebukam, and Hassan Ridgeway. If the QBs don’t pan out this team could take a step back, but they also lost these guys because of the other great players they had to pay.
Grade: C-
Seattle Seahawks
Seattle signed Geno Smith to a serious deal and didn’t lose anyone that stands out as a huge loss. They added a few solid guys on defense like Jarran Reed, Devin Bush, Dre’Mont Jones, and Julian Love. This team should be considered a realistic dark horse to dethrone the 49ers in the west this season.
Grade: B-
Los Angeles Rams
Yikes. This was a brutal offseason for the Rams who find themselves in cap hell after going all in for a ring. This defense is no longer recognizable. They lost too many pieces to add, however, the most glaring loss was them getting fleeced for Jalen Ramsey by Miami in a contract dump. This team is going to be bad for a while.
Grade: F
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals haven’t done much of note with their biggest signing being Kyzir White. Their biggest move will likely be an eventual trade of DeAndre Hopkins. Nonetheless, there isn’t much to see here.
Grade: D+
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