NFL | Games are made

There are still a few veterans who still haven’t signed a new contract, but the overwhelming majority have. With the draft also behind us, the rosters of 90 players who will attend training camp for the 32 NFL teams over the summer are well in place. Which seem to have improved the most over the off-season and which seem to have weakened? Analysis.

Miguel Bujold
The Press

Rising teams

New Orleans Saints

In addition to rehiring Jameis Winston, who did well before his knee injury last season, the Saints rehired two former LSU Tigers stars, receiver Jarvis Landry and safety Tyrann Mathieu, who chose to return to Louisiana. Michael Thomas will return after missing the entire 2021 season and the Saints picked receiver Chris Olave in the first round of the draft. We can’t remember the last time the Saints had three wide-set wingers of the caliber of Landry, Thomas and Olave. It was believed that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be alone in the National South, but the Saints should offer them good opposition at the top of the division.

Philadelphia Eagles

AJ Brown is the kind of receiver who can change an attack on his own and will be the perfect complement to the very explosive DeVonta Smith. The Eagles also added backup receiver Zach Pascal to their offense. On the other side of the ball, the organization got its hands on two leaders and alumni of the University of Georgia, the imposing tackle Jordan Davis and the linebacker Nakobe Dean, in addition to having hired the versatile Haason Reddick . Recently released by the New York Giants, cornerback James Bradberry agreed to a one-year contract with the Eagles on Wednesday.

Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts

Two teams that have moved up a notch in the hierarchy of the American thanks to the acquisition of a leading quarterback on the transaction market. Russell Wilson will help the Broncos become legitimate Super Bowl contenders this year, while Matt Ryan could lift the Colts past the Tennessee Titans at the top of the American South. In addition to Wilson, the Broncos have bolstered their defense with the additions of DJ Jones, Randy Gregory, Alex Singleton and K’Waun Williams. For their part, the Colts have signed deals with defensive end Yannick Ngakoue and cornerback Stephon Gilmore, two reliable veterans.

New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars

These two clubs find themselves much more often on the list of off-season winners than at the top of their division, we all agree… Their good work in recent months is therefore far from being a guarantee of success. Still, the Jets managed to draft four players who were considered the best in their respective positions by some analysts: cornerback Ahmad Sauce Gardner, wide receiver Garrett Wilson, quarterback chaser Jermaine Johnson II and running back Breece Hall. As for the Jaguars, they paid dearly, but still managed to convince a slew of free agents to come to Duval, including guard Brandon Scherff, wide end Christian Kirk and tight end Evan Engram. They also picked defensive lineman Travon Walker with the first-ever draft pick.

Baltimore Ravens

Like the Jets, the Ravens received praise for their crop in the recent draft. They notably drafted the one who was seen as the best safety half available, Kyle Hamilton, at 14^and rank and the one who was considered the best center of the auction, Tyler Linderbaum, at 25^and rank. GM Eric DeCosta, head coach John Harbaugh and the Ravens then had some great takes in subsequent rounds with picks David Ojabo (2^and round), Travis Jones (3^and) and Daniel Faalele (4^and).

The declining teams

The West of the National (… except the Rams)

When the Super Bowl champion is in your division, the goal should normally be to improve your team, and significantly. However, the Seattle Seahawks traded Russell Wilson to the Broncos; the San Francisco 49ers got stuck with Jimmy Garoppolo, had no first pick and it’s still unclear what will happen to the Deebo Samuel case; then the Arizona Cardinals lost a handful of key players, including Chandler Jones, Christian Kirk and DeAndre Hopkins, who was suspended for the first six games for failing a doping test. Note that the Cards obtained receiver Marquise Brown from the Ravens, which however cost them their first draft pick. Meanwhile, the Rams added Bobby Wagner and Allen Robinson II, two high-quality players, to their roster.

Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans

These three teams all decided to trade their number one receiver because they refused to agree to their salary demands. The Packers’ receiving corps was already thin before Davante Adams left for Las Vegas. Hopefully for them rookies Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs will make a quick contribution. The Chiefs’ offense will certainly be hurt by the loss of Tyreek Hill, who will continue his career in Miami, and the Titans lost a piece almost as important as Derrick Henry when they agreed to trade AJ Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles. Hill, Adams and Brown will receive annual salaries of 30, 27.5 and 25 million respectively.

New England Patriots

The Patriots may not have weakened, but have done very little to improve their team, unlike their three division rivals. The off-season was indeed particularly quiet in Foxborough. Bill Belichick, however, got receiver DeVante Parker in a trade with the Dolphins and brought Malcolm Butler back after losing JC Jackson. The choice of Cole Strange in the first round of the draft also raised eyebrows for many. The guard was considered a future third-round pick by most draft pundits. But who are we to criticize the decisions of good old Bill?

Cleveland Browns

There are two ways to judge the Browns’ offseason. The first is that they probably FINALLY fixed their quarterback problem by paying a heavy price to get Deshaun Watson in a trade with the Houston Texans, which should ensure they have a good team for many years to come. . That Watson was the missing piece. The other way to analyze the Browns’ offseason is that they agreed to graft a player who several organizations deemed to be radioactive due to the lawsuit of 22 female massage therapists who accuse Watson of crimes of nature. sexually and thereby undermine the state of their organization. The decision to fire a warrior like Jarvis Landry is also questionable, and it’s still unclear how the team will settle Baker Mayfield, who is guaranteed to make $18 million in 2022 no matter what.

Atlanta Falcons

It’s not easy to be an Atlanta Falcons fan… Since losing the Super Bowl almost six years ago, this team has steadily gone downhill and, on paper, the Falcons are the worst team in the NFL today. . Their flirtation with Deshaun Watson led to the departure of Matt Ryan, who was traded to the Colts for a pittance. The club’s top wide receiver of 2021, Russell Gage, now plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Calvin Ridley suspended all season for betting on NFL games; and linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, who led the team with 102 individual tackles last year, signed with the Jaguars. Quarterback Marcus Mariota will have a lot to do to get his new team out of the slums, to say the least.