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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/hallach_halil on 2025-06-13 16:19:26+00:00.
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We officially put a close to our coverage of the talent acquisition period of the calendar, as we’ve extensively discussed everything heading into and coming out of the NFL Draft, before weaving it into the rest of the roster construction in our month-long video series, where I broke down every single move and its meaning one division at a time.
Now, it’s time to draw conclusions one more time through a league-wide lens and identify the position groups that were most improved through free agency, trades and the draft. This is based on what each roster looked in week 18, not taking injuries into account, whether they affected who was actually able to be on the field at that time or those who may linger into the season.
And one more disclaimer – I always look at this exercise in more of a holistic sense. One singular player may give an entire unit a very different feel, but I try to point out those groups that at least made multiple meaningful acquisitions.
Here’s what I came up with:
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Quarterbacks – Las Vegas Raiders
Additions: Geno Smith, Cam Miller (& Tommy Mellott)
Departures: Gardner Minshew II & Desmond Ridder
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It’s always a good starting point for a position group when arguably the best player among it is now in a backup capacity. That’s how I feel about Aidan O’Connell and what he’s been able to do when called up and he’s had a solid run game to complement him. More importantly, I think they added what I believe has established himself as a legit franchise quarterback and what they lost are pretty definitively a QB2 and QB3 in this league. Gardner Minshew has had some really fun moments and deservedly has received opportunities to start for extended periods when called upon in Jacksonville, Indianapolis and Las Vegas. Yet, he’s also had some rough turnovers and missed throws at the worst times and needs a certain set-up to succeed. Meanwhile, Desmond Ridder is someone I used to defend to a certain degree in Atlanta, when I believed he delivered more high-level quarterback play for the majority of games than he was given credit for, but the lack of consistent accuracy and more of those catastrophic giveaways made the Falcons move on from the former third-round pick, and it took several injuries for him to see the field in multiple games for the Raiders last year.
Geno Smith is on a whole different level of existence in my opinion, as far as NFL signal-callers go. And based on the general temperature on him, I don’t believe people truly understand how bad his protection in Seattle was last season and the level of difficulty he operated under. Pete Carroll immediately trading for his former QB when he took over this gig and abruptly handing him a new two-year, 75-million-dollar extension, should be very telling for how highly he’s regarded in that organization. I’m willing to acknowledge that by the numbers, he’d be around the middle of the pack. Yet not only would that be an upgrade compared to what they had in-house previously, but I believe what his aggressiveness as a passer provides is a level of game-changing throws as part of the risk assessment that was almost completely missing, if their quarterbacks didn’t have a clean look. We have yet to see if a couple of the young guys on this O-line can take a step forward and/or if either Alex Cappa or one of their draft picks can step into a prominent role, but even if all of their guys stayed the same, you’re working with a unit that finished last year as 13th in PFF pass-blocking grade compared to 26th for Seattle. At the same time, although we have yet to see how this receiving corp comes together, second-round pick Jack Bech (TCU) can do a lot of the same stuff out of the slot for Geno as a zone-beater as Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and this is a QB who can take advantage of a couple of speedsters they’ve brought in recently. Envisioning what this offense will look like under offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, leaning on sixth overall pick Ashton Jeanty as your workhorse on the ground and then using heavy play-action off that, but then also being able to isolate a talent like Brock Bowers on the backside of 3-by-1 sets and attacking the space created by spreading the field, I believe Geno is a great fit.
At the end of round six in the draft, Las Vegas also basically selected the two quarterbacks who faced each other in the FCS Championship game, with Montana State’s Tommy Mellott – who was actually announced as a wide receiver – and North Dakota State’s Cam Miller. The former being expected to make a position change right away isn’t shocking, considering he ran the 40 in the high 4.3s reportedly and not only was he the fastest player on the field pretty much anytime I saw him onto the field for the Bobcats, but for someone at six foot, 205 pounds, his toughness to fight for yards and embrace big collisions stood out on numerous occasions. He’ll probably be utilized as a package player by Chip, considering how often upon his quarterback’s number last year at Ohio State, with plenty of “power” and “counter” concepts, along with the occasional trick play off that, as they how he can develop his game as an actual pass-catcher. Miller, on the other hand, is much more of your traditional pocket passer, who minority owner Tom Brady has already endorsed publicly. The former member of the Bison shows a lot of poise, is consistent with his base and has enough arm talent to access pretty much all areas of the field. He’s shown the mentality capacity to handle even full-field progressions at times in timely fashion and I saw some high IQ moments by replacing the blitz with throws that led his targets away from nearby defenders. It’s when he’s moved off his spot and gets a little lazy with his feet, that you saw the ball being sprayed to some degree, and overall, there’ll be a learning curve operating in a crumbling NFL pocket compared to the time he was afforded at NDSU.
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Honorable mention: Tennessee Titans
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Running backs – Los Angeles Chargers
Additions: Najee Harris & Omarion Hampton
Departures: J.K. Dobbins & Gus Edwards
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To discuss this Chargers backfield appropriately, we have to go back to 2023 and the transition it’s gone through since then. At that point, this trio consisted of a seemingly washed Austin Ekeler and a couple of fourth-round picks from the previous two drafts. The long-time veteran went through a little bit of an upswing this past season as a role player and actual second-team All-Pro kick returner in Washington this past season, but the other two are scratching and clawing for roster spots on the Titans and Chargers respectively. When Jim Harbaugh, Greg Roman and company came in last year, they basically imported the previous Ravens backfield, which the offensive coordinator of course, was very familiar with from his days in Baltimore. Edwards has generally been a very serviceable power runner as part of a rotation for his career, while Dobbins has put together truly impressive stretches in his career as a second-rounder, but unfortunately injuries have marked his career. That includes 2024, when he put up 1058 yards and nine touchdowns from scrimmage across 13 games, and definitely offered the most “juice” of anyone in that group. However, the Bolts fundamentally didn’t end up producing the efficient ground game they probably envisioned coming in. Dobbins ripping off the occasional chunk run was the difference between finishing 18th in rush EPA (-0.079) and tied for 27th in rushing success rate (36.9%), as an indication of their down-to-down consistency. That’s largely a result of their offensive line, in particular on the interior, and with the “Gus Bus” lacking that explosiveness, the lows of this rushing attack became more prevalent, as he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry. We can question how much they improved up front this offseason, although I do believe swapping out Trey Pipkins for Mekhi Becton at right guard is a substantial indication of where they want to go.
Nonetheless, L.A. clearly thought they needed to upgrade from the guys handling the ball, who were both on just one-year deals. First, they signed free agent Najee Harris, who was generally regarded as an underwhelming former first-round pick in Pittsburgh, whose fifth-year option was declined, but we do have to give him credit for going over 1000 rushing yards in all four seasons with the Steelers and he added another 1149 yards on 180 receptions. I have wanted more out of him based on what he was at Alabama, as he’s another guy who can grind out tough yardage, but simply lacks the short-area burst or long speed to be a true difference-maker. Still, he has largely operated in antiquated offensive systems until this past season, when he simply wasn’t necessarily a great fit for a wide zone-based run game. Getting him going downhill and showcasing his ability to conceptually take advantage of the blocking should be helpful, and maybe his best contributions have been as a reliable outlet in the passing game, which he’s now working with a quarterback in Justin…
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