This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/hallach_halil on 2024-06-12 12:00:58+00:00.
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After spending the last month reflecting on what the player acquisition process looked like for all 32 teams, with a focus on the names brought in via the draft, it’s now time to take a step back and identify the positional units that improved the most throughout this process, comparing the additions and departures at those spots.
This is purely based on the players that were brought in/let go from the point the 2023 NFL season ended onwards, not taking injuries into account. So you’re not going to find the Jets here for getting back Aaron Rodgers from the torn Achilles he suffered four snaps into his time with New York for example. Along with that, I like to take a broader look at this in terms of which position groups were stocked up best rather than just talking about a singular star performer they acquired.
Let’s dive in:
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Quarterbacks – Atlanta Falcons
Additions: Kirk Cousins & Michael Penix Jr.
Departures: Desmond Ridder & Logan Woodside
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While a lengthy conversation can be had about how Atlanta approached the way they constructed this QB room in general and I did discuss the implications that come along with it as part of my big draft recap and NFC South draft and roster review. However, I don’t believe anybody would argue that any of these position groups improved more from what they had this past season than the Falcons – even if the two honorable mentions below would be outlined by me in some other years – based on the combination of financial and draft capital investment they made here. Personally, I was pretty high on this offense coming into 2023, largely based on the pieces around the quarterback – including the play-caller in Arthur Smith. Yet, I also thought Desmond Ridder could at least be a serviceable distributor compared to the inconsistency of Marcus Mariota, based on my college evaluation of him and some of the positive flashes when he was inserted for the last month of his rookie season, also considering the confidence they showed by only targeting largely a backup signal-caller in Taylor Heinicke. Obviously, the accuracy and some of the decision-making he put on display didn’t live up to an NFL starter – even though worse circumstances than I anticipated made him look even worse, I’d argue. Heinicke is back on the latter half of his two-year contract, who was at least good enough to earn a couple of starts over Ridder and had starter the previous 24 contests for Washington. The other QB that is off this roster compared to last season is Logan Woodside, whose has double the rush attempts (14) as attempted passes, as a designated kneel-down guy. So bringing in a four-time Pro Bowler on a 45-million-dollar average along with the eighth overall pick, who just led the FBS in passing yards and finished second in the Heisman voting, obviously is an astronomic shift.
Beginning with the veteran and the guy pretty much cemented as the starter – outside of a setback in his recovery from the torn Achilles – based on the financial commitment they made, Cousins has consistently been on the fringe of being a top-ten quarterback over the last five years, only once ranking outside that range in terms of EPA per play across the league. This past season, his ranking at number six was actually the highest since 2016, still in Washington, as he had the same offensive play-caller (Kevin O’Connell) in back-to-back years for the first time in his career as a starter. Zac Robinson will be calling the shots in Atlanta, working his way up as a former member from Pro Football Focus from assistant quarterbacks coach to pass game coordinator for the L.A. Rams. So we have a solid idea of what this offense could look like, considering Sean McVay began his NFL career in Washington with Kirk under center, while in L.A. they’ve drastically transitioned from the more traditional West Coast attack with a heavy dose of outside zone to running a lot more man-/gap-schemes and keeping the quarterback inside the pocket off play-action to take shots down the field, instead of booting that guy out. Considering where Cousins has had success in the past and the offensive line they’re putting in front of him to stay upright, this is a situation that should set him up for success.
Meanwhile, the rookie will have a certain adjustment period in terms of facing NFL defenses and engraining himself into this type of offensive system, but this is a 24-year-old who spent six years between Indiana and Washington. After dealing with a myriad of injuries at his initial stop, he’s stayed healthy these past two seasons with the Huskies and produced massive numbers – completing 65.4% of his passes for 9544 yards and 67 touchdowns compared to 19 interceptions, plus seven TDs on the ground. Personally, I thought he performed even beyond what those numbers would suggest and should have won the Heisman Trophy over LSU’s Jayden Daniels, as he battled through a scary slate of Pac-12 opponents – the top conference in college football – and led them to an undefeated National Championship appearance. In the playoff game against Texas, Penix showcased what he could be at his best, playing vertical throws to where his receivers can make plays for him, occasionally moving around before re-setting to fire from his hip and even without a clean platform being able to let it fly. The Falcons have the aerial weaponry to take advantage of that skill-set with guys like Drake London and Kyle Pitts. For him, the difficulty will be to solve more complex defensive structures and not deferring to laying throws up for his favorite target now, before he can Cousins’ level.
Either way, while I may question the ceiling of these more statuesque prototypes at the position – especially with their respective medical histories – I can easily envision these guys pushing the ball down the post or layering it to receivers working across the field. So these staple vertical play-action concepts are very much in their wheelhouse. With second-year star running back Bijan Robinson setting the table for it and the dimension he presents as a check-down option but also at times taking a linebacker deep, I think this crew could be highly effective.
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Honorable mentions: New England Patriots & Pittsburgh Steelers
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Running backs – Philadelphia Eagles
Additions: Saquon Barkley, Will Shipley & Tyrion Davis-Price
Departures: D’Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny & Boston Scott
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It’s interesting to see the Eagles show up here, after I already listed them as an “honorable mention” in this category last year, considering the unwillingness of general manager Howie Roseman and the rest of that front office to invest into the running back position in the past. In fact, since then-head coach Chip Kelly surprisingly sent LeSean McCoy to Buffalo in a trade following the 2014 season, only one player had led the team in rushing for more than one of the nine years since then – Miles Sanders. And I would argue, while showing promise early on, he was always more of a product of the environment in Philadelphia, with an elite offensive line and run-game design for pretty much his entire run with “The Birds” before his production plummeted in Carolina last season. Looking at the financial commitments at that position, over the last five years they’ve gone from 27th to 24th, 15th, 20th and now 19th for 2024 in terms of RB cap spending – which will likely continue to go up with how Saquon Barkley’s contract is structured. Since they drafted Sanders in the second round back in 2019, the only RB they selected since then was Kenneth Gainwell as a fifth-rounder two years later, before spending a fourth-rounder on Will Shipley (Clemson) this April. They did try to upgrade from Sanders to former Lions second-round pick D’Andre Swift, who they made a draft-day trade for a year ago, but ultimately he didn’t elevate a fairly predictable, simplistic run game and had the least productive receiving season of his career. They did also sign Rashaad Penny on a one-year, prove-it deal, as someone who’s had some breakout performances but has consistently struggled to stay healthy as a former first-rounder for Seattle and he was barely even active for the Eagles this past year (12 touches). So signing Saquon to a three-year, 37.5-million-dollar deal as someone who’s basically averaged 100 scrimmage yards for his career as the driving engine for the division-rival Giants, and selecting a consensus top-10 RB in the draft, could provide a substantial upgrade.
Since Saquon led the league in scrimmage yards and was named Offensive Rookie of the Year back in 2018, only once did the Giants rank above 20th in terms of PFF run-blocking grade over the past five seasons (14th in 2022). That’s why his per-carry average over his time in New York was even higher than that 4.3 mark and in part why he’s not quite up there with the elite in terms of missed-tackle-forced rate, consi…
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