The most puzzling move each NFL team made this offseason

Arizona has seemingly gone back and forth between offensive and defensive head coaches, now with former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon replacing offensive mastermind Kliff Kingsbury. While the Eagles defense was strong last season, Gannon didn’t seem like a hot head coaching hire, with many feeling Philly underachieved with their elite defensive talent. The hire is even more head-scratching if the organization wants to get Kyler Murray back on track following knee surgery.

Becoming a run-first offense in the modern NFL is likely a mistake if the Falcons want to compete for a Super Bowl, and they’ve compounded the issue by taking Robinson eighth overall in the draft when they already had 2022 draftee Tyler Allgeier on the roster. Running backs can now be added on the cheap in free agency or the draft, as Chiefs seventh-round pick Isiah Pacheco showed last season. Allgeier was also extremely productive as a rookie, averaging 4.9 yards per carry.

The addition of Beckham Jr. in itself was a good move, but the contract was a head-scratcher. The team clearly needed receiving help, but in their desperation, they overpaid for Beckham with a contract worth up to $18 million this season. He’s being paid like a No. 1 receiver after taking a year off and undergoing his second ACL surgery. The last time Beckham gained 1,000 yards was 2019, and he will turn 31 this year.

Bills acclaimed defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier has gone on a one-year hiatus in 2023, an obvious blow for the team’s defense. Buffalo is left in a tough spot, assuming Frazier returns in 2024, as a potential replacement would only be in the position for one year. Still, the roster has a Super Bowl window now with Josh Allen in his prime, and can’t afford to waste a year. Head coach Sean McDermott is set for double duty this season, calling plays on the defensive side of the ball, and there’s reason to be nervous about potential defensive decline without Frazier.

After trading DJ Moore, Carolina had a major need for wideout help. It remains to be seen if Thielen is the answer, though. He averaged only 42 yards per game as Minnesota’s No. 2 wideout last season, and is now entering his age 33 season. A three-year, $25 million contract for a player his age and already in decline could come back to bite the Panthers.

The Bears seemingly had a firesale on defense last year, moving on from Akiem Hicks, Khalil Mack, and Roquan Smith. After those moves, the addition of a new middle linebacker in Edmunds on a four-year, $72 million contract is a step in the opposite direction. Edmunds established himself as an elite defensive player in Buffalo, but the Bears are paying a premium for a position that’s usually much cheaper and hasn’t been stressed as important by the franchise in recent history.

Undoubtedly, Cincinnati needed to improve their offensive line more despite making big moves last year. Still, the addition of Brown came almost out of nowhere, with his insistence on sticking at left tackle a hindrance for some teams. He had mixed results as a pass blocker over the last two seasons in Kansas City, and paying him to protect Joe Burrow might not be the answer.

Cleveland has struggled to find answers at safety, and gave Thornhill a three-year, $21 million contract early in the offseason. Thornhill improves the defense, but the move looks like an overpay in retrospect with other seasoned starters like C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Terrell Edmunds, and Jabrill Peppers signing for much less.

Dallas prioritized the interior of their defensive line, but drafting Smith in the first round instead of a tight end or linebacker is an interesting use of draft resources. Smith was never a factor as a pass rusher at Michigan, and players with his role can usually be found later in the draft or free agency.

Improving the offensive line was much-needed in Denver and one key way to help fix Russell Wilson. However, McGlinchey has been an inconsistent performer during his career in San Francisco and received elite right tackle money with a five-year deal worth nearly $90 million. The addition is a giant risk for a franchise that has limited cap space due to Wilson’s contract.

The Lions entered the draft with two first-round picks, but didn’t use optimal resources by using them on a running back and inside linebacker. Gibbs appears to be a gifted runner with elite speed and receiving ability, but his skill set is similar to a back the team already had in D’Andre Swift.

It’s been a while since the Packers have had a long-term tight end. After losing Robert Tonyan in the offseason, the team spent two picks in the top three rounds on tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft. While it was an area of need, tight end doesn’t have a great hit rate in the draft, and rookie tight ends can be especially difficult to develop early.

After selecting a quarterback with the second overall pick in the draft, Houston traded up with Arizona for the No. 3 overall pick. The value they gave up was more in line with what a team would give up for a quarterback, including the No. 12 overall pick and their first-round pick in 2024. While Anderson looks like a great talent, the team will likely regret the trade if they don’t see great immediate improvement.

Earning the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, the Colts chose to stand pat rather than trade up. Anthony Richardson looks like a premium athlete, but his ability as an accurate NFL passer still remains to be seen. All quarterback draftees are giant risks, but Richardson is even more so because of his passing struggles. Trading up would have allowed Indy to potentially draft either Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud, two more accurate passers.

The Jaguars saw a breakout season from former first-round pick Travis Etienne last season, and JaMycal Hasty did a fine job as his backup. Those backs remain in Jacksonville, while former Brown D’Ernest Johnson was also added to the roster. With strong depth, it was a surprise to see Jacksonville spend a third-round pick on Bigsby. The team has many offensive line and defensive needs to address that might have been better used with the third-round selection.

There’s no debate the Chiefs needed to address their offensive line after losing tackles Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie in free agency. However, giving Taylor a four-year, $80 million to play right tackle is a curious decision. Taylor received top-end money to play the right side, but hasn’t performed as an elite right tackle during his career in Jacksonville.

Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels apparently thought he could do better than Derek Carr when the team informed the long-time franchise quarterback that the team was moving on late last season. We’re still waiting for that better quarterback to arrive. Carr has been better than Garoppolo in his career by most measures, and most importantly, is far more durable than the former Patriots and 49ers signal caller. Garoppolo will unlikely help the Raiders compete in an AFC West with Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert.

Linebacker was a problem area for the Chargers last season, but signing a linebacker in his 30s who is already in decline probably isn’t the answer. Kendricks was an All-Pro with the Vikings back in 2019, but he’s struggled recently, particularly in coverage.

The Rams had to make up for years of draft pick trades and cap manipulation eventually. That time came this offseason, and the result is a roster that’s very young, inexperienced, and has holes across the depth chart. Still, the team opted to keep 35-year-old quarterback Matthew Stafford despite playing only nine games last season due to injury. Without much of a chance to compete this year, LA would have been better off finding whatever draft value and cap relief they could get for the veteran.

Cornerback was a major need for Miami this offseason, and the team certainly answered that need by adding the former All-Pro Ramsey. The price in trade compensation was very reasonable, with only a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long going back to LA, but the monetary price was tremendous. Ramsey has over $70 million remaining on his contract, and showed some inconsistency last season with the Rams. The contract will become an issue if the Dolphins want to pay Tua Tagovailoa.

There’s no doubt Minnesota needed to address their declining defense, and coordinator Brian Flores is a home run hire. Still, the front office made some interesting moves to fit the new scheme, signing Marcus Davenport to a lucrative deal after recording only one half-sack last season and trading Za’Darius Smith for peanuts (two late-round draft pick swaps) to Cleveland. After missing nearly all of 2021, Smith had 10 sacks last season, and has been one of the most productive pass rushers in the league since 2018. The Vikings will have questions to answer if the pass rush struggles this season.

New England’s issues at wideout were clear last season. Meyers has been the team’s most productive receiver since Julian Edelman‘s retirement and had his best season with 57 yards per game and six scores last year. Instead of keeping him around, the team let Meyers walk in free agency and signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to a comparable contract. The cumulative improvement at the position is negligible and complicates Mac Jones‘ development.

Alvin Kamara’s recent decline and legal issues made running back a need for the Saints, but not necessarily one they needed to open their wallet to address. Williams earned a big free agent deal after leading the NFL with 17 rushing scores last season, but he’s also averaged a mediocre 4.0 yards per carry for his career. Even for three-years, $12 million, the Saints spent valuable resources that would have likely been better used elsewhere.

The Giants were caught in a tough spot with Daniel Jones this offseason. After three poor seasons, he finally took a big step forward under the new coaching staff to go 9-6-1 as a starter in 2022. Still, his stats weren’t exactly great, throwing for only 3,205 yards and 15 touchdowns. New York apparently believes in the improvement, as Jones received a significant four-year, $160 million contract that pays him like one of the better quarterbacks in the league. If Jones doesn’t continue to make strides, New York will have made a massive error.

When the Jets signed former Packers Lazard and Randall Cobb, the writing was on the wall for Aaron Rodgers’ addition. Kudos to the Jets for making moves to appease their quarterback, but the team could be stuck with Lazard beyond Rodgers’ tenure after signing him to a four-year, $44 million contract. Lazard is a fine Red Zone target at 6-foot-5 with 14 touchdowns over the last two years, but he never produced huge numbers for the Packers and is lower on his new team’s depth chart.

Carter was considered by some to be the top talent in the entire 2023, but his draft stock took a massive tumble after he was charged in a car racing incident that resulted in a fatal crash. By talent alone, the ninth overall pick value makes Carter a steal, but there are valid questions about how his addition will impact the chemistry of a locker room that advanced to the Super Bowl last season, not to mention the potential effect on Carter’s own development. The Eagles could afford to take risk with their great draft capital, but a top-10 pick for the franchise is a rare opportunity that they might have bungled.

Robinson was once a star with the Jaguars and Bears, but the decline has been clear over the last two seasons. He was in a favorable spot with the Rams last year, yet Robinson finished the season with only 33 catches for 339 yards in 10 games. Pittsburgh was able to add Robinson basically for free, aside from the $5 million they have to pay him. Based on recent on-field performance, Robinson isn’t worth that type of financial commitment.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has gushed about Darnold since signing him this offseason, and there’s no doubt the former first-round pick is physically gifted. Still, the addition was more of a luxury than a necessity at $4.5 million, as Darnold could potentially be the team’s No. 3 quarterback behind Brock Purdy and Trey Lance. Shanahan’s system is built on quarterback efficiency, something Darnold has been unable to produce with a sub-60% completion rate for his career.

It seems Seattle cannot resist spending high draft capital on running backs. Since 2018, they’ve spent one first-round pick and two second-round picks at the position, with second-rounder Charbonnet being their most recent addition. NFL teams, including the Seahawks with Chris Carson, have proven spending a high pick at running back is unnecessary, and yet the team continues to go to the well. Charbonnet is stuck behind 2022 draftee Kenneth Walker in the near term.

The Bucs had an extremely disappointing 2022 season despite winning the NFC South, and had an inevitable purge of veterans during the offseason. Rather than search for a long-term quarterback to replace Tom Brady, the Bucs settled on Mayfield. While Mayfield showed some flashes with the Rams, he still went 1-3 as the team’s starter after getting released by Panthers for his poor play. Mayfield has four losing seasons in five years as an NFL starter, and it’s hard to see how his addition helps Tampa Bay now or in the future.

The new Titans front office made bold moves during the offseason, and the addition of Levis is included. The team invested an early second-round pick on the former Kentucky quarterback, who seems to already be breathing down Ryan Tannehill‘s neck. Tannehill missed significant time with an ankle injury last season, but was still relatively efficient on a roster with holes across the offense. Many of those holes remain, but the Titans apparently believed enough in Levis to use an early draft pick instead of addressing a more pressing need.

Stopping the run was arguably the biggest issue for Washington’s defense last season, averaging 4.4 yards allowed per carry, and the struggled to find an answer at middle linebacker. Barton’s addition comes at a minimal cost after four years in Seattle, but it’s hard to see how he’s the answer to the team’s linebacker after some struggles as a starter last season, particularly in pass coverage. Washington’s defense can ill-afford to take a step back as the offense employs an inexperienced quarterback.