With free agency in the National Football League officially opening on Wednesday afternoon, NFL fans are getting a clearer picture of how their favorite team will look headed into the next big piece of the off-season: The NFL Draft.
Given what we have seen to date, who are some winners of the free agency period so far, and who are the losers?
Winners
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins entered free agency with two major tools at their disposal: Salary cap space and draft capital. They put the former to work over the start of the free agency period, making a number of critical additions, particularly on the defensive side of the football. They added former Buffalo Bills EDGE Shaq Lawson to the front of their defense, and his 6.5 sacks from a season ago would have led the Dolphins. They added linebacker Kyle Van Noy from the New England Patriots, who served in a few different roles for the Patriots a season ago. The off-ball linebacker can rush the passer but can also handle coverage responsibilities. They also added cornerback Byron Jones, who has true lockdown corner abilities and also some versatility, having played safety in his career as well.
Offensively, the Dolphins added Ereck Flowers, who seemed to rejuvenate his career after a switch to guard. Miami added to their running back group by adding Jordan Howard, giving them a solid runner to complement their arsenal of pass-catching backs.
Now what can they do? Well, they have three first-round selections and six in the top 70 selections.
The Dolphins are in a great spot right now, and with some wise draft picks, they are set up to contend in the AFC East sooner rather than later.
Buffalo Bills
The driver for this ranking is the acquisition of wide receiver Stefon Diggs. The Buffalo Bills acquired him from the Minnesota Vikings along with a seventh-round selection in this draft in exchange for picks in the first, fifth and sixth rounds this year an a fourth-round selection in the 2021 draft.
The Bills made the playoffs a year ago despite quarterback Josh Allen struggling as a downfield passer. Allen ranked 23rd of 24 qualified passers in Adjusted Completion Percentage on downfield throws last season, according to charting from Pro Football Focus. Getting a downfield threat in Diggs, who had a career-high 1,130 yards receiving and an impressive 17.9 yards per reception a season ago will go a long way towards helping Allen in the vertical passing game. Diggs saw 29 targets of over 20 yards last season, catching 16 of those for 635 yards and six touchdowns. Those 29 deep passing targets tied Diggs for the third-most in the league. Additionally, Diggs just signed a contract extension last off-season and is signed through the 2023 campaign.
That alone makes the Bills winners, but they also added on the defensive side of the football with outside linebacker Mario Addison, defensive tackle Vernon Butler, defensive end Quinton Jefferson, and inside linebacker Tyler Matakevich. Plus, they retained free safety Jordan Poyer, a critical component on the back of their defense. All very solid moves for Buffalo.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
They added the greatest quarterback of all time.
That alone should make the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a winner.
Now some might question the fit of Tom Brady in Bruce Arians’ passing game, but as we here at Touchdown Wire have argued, Brady is still playing the position at a high level, and his fit in what Arians does schematically is more ideal than you might think it is.
Brady instantly makes this offense dangerous. The Buccaneers were able to put up points a year ago, but the 30 interceptions thrown by Jameis Winston consistently put the Tampa Bay defense in difficult positions. Brady’s penchant for avoiding big mistakes will go a long way towards improving this offense.
But beyond Brady, the Buccaneers retained two big components of their pass rush in Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul. They applied the franchise tag to Barrett, giving them time to work out a long-term extension, and they signed a two year extension with Pierre-Paul. Furthermore, they might not be done, as reports indicate they might even be interested in running back Todd Gurley and a wide receiver as well.
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns made a number of moves that are completely logical and give us a window into how they will approach their offense in the year ahead. They acquired the best tight end available on the market, bringing in Austin Hooper from the Atlanta Falcons. Hooper might struggle to win one-on-ones consistently, but with Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry on the outside, he will continue to see favorable matchups on the inside of the Browns’ passing game. This might not necessarily spell the end of David Njoku’s time in Cleveland, however, given how much Kevin Stefanski relies on two-tight end packages. Last year the Minnesota Vikings used 12 offensive personnel 35 percent of the time, and only the Philadelphia Eagles surpassed that as a percentage of their offensive plays.
Cleveland also added a tackle, acquiring Jack Conklin from the Tennessee Titans. Conklin was a solid right tackle last season after returning from injury, and gives Cleveland a solid option on that side of the line. Considering that they likely look to draft a tackle with the tenth overall selection to lock down the left tackle spot, the Browns might be close to fixing their tackle spots. They acquired Case Keenum, who can serve as a veteran backup familiar with Stefanski’s offense while also perhaps as a mentor to Baker Mayfield. Finally, they added fullback Andy Janovich via a trade with the Denver Broncos. After 12 offensive personnel, the Vikings used 21 offensive personnel (two running backs, one tight end and two wide receivers) 26 percent of the time last year, their second-most utilized personnel package. For a team that is likely to rely on 12 and 21 personnel packages, the Browns addressed some critical needs.
Arizona Cardinals
In a move that left many wondering what exactly the Houston Texans were doing, the Arizona Cardinals acquired DeAndre Hopkins in a trade with the Texans, and were also able to shed the contract of David Johnson in the process, sending him to the AFC South. In Hopkins the Cardinals get one of the premier wide receivers in the NFL, and since they still hold the eighth overall selection in the draft, they could conceivably draft their choice of the top WRs in this draft class, which many consider to be a historically deep group. You could see Kyler Murray lining up next season with a 10 personnel package with Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk and CeeDee Lamb at his disposal. Good luck defense.
Beyond the Hopkins addition, Arizona added defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, to help the interior of their defensive line, and placed the transition tag on running back Kenyan Drake. That will give the Cardinals the chance to match any contract he is offered on the open market. But the big piece is Hopkins, and given the minimal expenditure (Johnson, a second round pick and a fourth round pick in 2021) it was a steal.