Tag: offseason grade

PFF gives favorable offseason grade to rebuilding Patriots

It wasn’t a perfect offseason, but the Patriots addressed major roster needs

Pro Football Focus graded the New England Patriots’ offseason, as part of a series in which they handed out offseason grades to all 32 NFL teams. They gave New England a B-minus grade.

The Patriots had a busy offseason, even with their biggest outside move in free agency being the signing of wide receiver K.J. Osborn. They also upgraded the quarterback position with the addition of Jacoby Brissett, and they signed versatile running back Antonio Gibson.

The team also re-signed several key free agents, including wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, tight end Hunter Henry and safety Kyle Dugger. While it was not a flashy off-season, by any means, the Patriots did manage to get things done.

PFF’s Trevor Sikkema wrote:

New England moved on from head coach Bill Belichick this offseason, likely a good decision. They didn’t have any major free-agent losses but also didn’t have many impactful free-agent additions.

This offseason was more about the Patriots laying a foundation, and they managed to do that mostly through the draft. Time will tell if that foundation is strong enough for them to build on in the future.

Bleacher Report hands out grade for Colts’ offseason

Here’s the grade Bleacher Report gave the Colts for their offseason moves.

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The majority of significant moves for the Indianapolis Colts have been made this offseason, and now it’s time to prepare for the upcoming campaign.

With OTAs set to begin next week, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox handed out offseason grades for every team. He included a free agency and trade grade to go along with a draft grade and an overall offseason grade. Also mentioned is an “extra-credit project,” which could boost the overall grade in the future.

Free Agency, Trade Grade: C+
Draft Grade: A-
EC Project: Having a Plan for a Rookie QB
Overall Grade: B

The Indianapolis Colts weren’t especially active in the early stages of free agency. They added players like Samson Ebukam, Taven Bryan and Isaiah McKenzie while losing the likes of Bobby Okereke, Parris Cambell and Brandon Facyson.

The Colts also got a mere fifth-round pick for cornerback Stephon Gilmore and overpaid for kicker Matt Gay at $22.5 million for four years.

What Indianapolis did well was set the stage for a rookie quarterback. It hired former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen as head coach and brought in Philly’s former understudy in quarterback Gardner Minshew II.

Steichen helped Jalen Hurts grow into a viable MVP candidate in Philadelphia, and Minshew has proved himself to be a quality bridge and spot starter (career passer rating of 93.1).

Then, Indy either pivoted at the last minute or pulled off one of the best pre-draft smokescreens in recent memory. All the buzz indicated that the Colts wanted Kentucky quarterback Will Levis at No. 3 overall, but the Colts instead took Florida’s Anthony Richardson.

Richardson has the physical tools to be an elite dual-threat at the next level, not unlike Hurts. He’s a 6’4″, 244-pound quarterback with 4.43-second speed, good pocket awareness and a cannon of a right arm.

After two years of working with Hurts, Steichen is the perfect coach to unlock Richardson’s potential. And if Richardson isn’t ready to start from day one, the Colts can still field a functional offense with Minshew.

If star running back Jonathan Taylor can stay healthy, Indianapolis could even be surprisingly relevant in the AFC South this season.

The Colts started out very active in free agency, adding Ebukam, Gay and Minshew. They stayed pretty quiet after the first week, making subtle additions while preparing for the draft.

The draft is where they made the splashes. They added three potential Week 1 starters with their first three selections in Richardson, Brents and Downs. They also added plenty of upside, depth and competition with their nine selections on Day 3.

As we’ve said since the draft concluded, it will all come down to the development of Richardson. If they can get him moving in the right direction quickly, they could be a much more competitive team than currently projected.

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B/R grades Colts’ offseason entering 2023 NFL draft

B/R hands out a pre-draft offseason grade for the Colts.

The Indianapolis Colts were extremely active for about a week during the offseason, but they’ve been quiet for the majority of the time since the new league year began in the middle of March.

While some subtle moves were made in free agency, along with the departures of a number of veterans, the roster could still use some infusion of talent in several areas.

The talk of the offseason has been about the likely addition of a rookie quarterback in the draft, so grading their offseason up to this point would be an incomplete adventure.

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But it’s still not a bad idea to gauge the grades of teams entering the draft. That’s what Bleacher Report did in grading every team’s offseason moves leading into the league’s biggest weekend of the offseason, giving the Colts a C+.

The Indianapolis Colts’ offseason will hinge on their ability to find their quarterback of the future with the fourth overall pick, and they may be eyeing Kentucky’s Will Levis.

“Will Levis and the Colts, there is a little bit of buzz leaguewide about that pairing at No. 4 overall,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on SportsCenter earlier this month.

In the meantime, the Colts named former Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen as their head coach after he helped develop Jalen Hurts into a Pro Bowl quarterback and viable MVP candidate. The hope is that he can do the same with Levis or another top prospect.

Indy also picked up a solid bridge option in Gardner Minshew, who has a career passer rating of 93.1. While Minshew might not be a clear upgrade over 2022 starter Matt Ryan, he shouldn’t be any worse.

Ryan tossed only 14 touchdowns against 13 interceptions and had a lowly 83.9 QB rating.

The Colts picked up players like Samson Ebukam, Taven Bryan and Isaiah McKenzie, but their biggest additions thus far are those of Minshew and kicker Matt Gay, who might be a bit overpaid at $22.5 million for four years.

However, Indianapolis didn’t lose a ton aside from cornerback Stephon Gilmore and wideout Parris Campbell, who finally had some solid production (623 yards, 3 TDs) after three injury-hampered campaigns.

The Colts roster just doesn’t seem remarkably different than it was a year ago, but Indy could be a surprise AFC South contender if running back Jonathan Taylor can stay healthy and Minshew and/or a rookie-to-be-named can upgrade the quarterback position.

That’s a better grade than I would have assumed considering the lack of high-end moves the Colts have made this offseason.

The offseason for the Colts really does hinge on the draft as it does every year with Chris Ballard at the helm. Whether the selection is Will Levis, Anthony Richardson or C.J. Stroud, it’s likely we’re looking at an incoming rookie quarterback to work as the face of the franchise.

Even so, the Colts still need to add some depth to the cornerback, wide receiver and offensive line spots through free agency and/or the draft.

We’ll see how this grade changes after the draft takes place in less than a week as that will have a major impact on the perception of the future.

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Hindsight 2020: Grading the Cowboys roster moves last offseason

Before the Cowboys make their 2021 moves, it’s important to reflect on the changes they made in 2020. Which decisions worked? Which fell flat on their face. A position-by-position grading of the moves, adds and changes.

The Dallas Cowboys had a slew of free agents last offseason, and several big names at that. The decisions they had to make on who would stay and who they’d let walk centered around the elephant in the room, what they would do for the quarterback position.

In July, when the dust had settled, we took a look at the differences between the 2020 team and what it looked like in 2019, position by position. We graded it on being an upgrade, a downgrade or treading water compared to the previous group. Now, with a 6-10 season as a result of everything, it’s fair to assess whether or not those were the right moves as opposed to conjecture. Here’s what we thought then, and what the season showed us was reality.