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Ranking each NFL team by their offseason

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nfl

1. Houston Texans: The Texans had the best off-season in the entire NFL to me because they are a Playoff team that significantly upgraded the quarterback, running back and wide receiver positions. Osweiler may not become a superstar, but he has much more upside than Brian Hoyer. Lamar Miller is a speedster at halfback and drafting receiver Will Fuller to pair with DeAndre Hopkins is huge.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jaguars have gotten lots of national acclaim for their off-season, particularly for what looks to be a terrific draft. They return a young, franchise-QB and added two of the better prospects in the draft in Myles Jack and Jalen Ramsey, when healthy. Chris Ivory is a good complement to Yeldon. Plus, Dante Fowler makes his debut.

3. Washington Redskins: The Redskins are high, like the Texans, because they are a playoff team that added immediate help by signing top-flight corner Josh Norman, and drafting a big-play receiver in Josh Doctson. Cravens was a good value in the 2nd-round and despite letting go of Alfred Morris, Matt Jones looks like a potential star at running back.

4. Chicago Bears: The Bears may not be a great team next season, but they had a hell of an off-season. Danny Trevathan was a big haul and he gets reunited with coach Fox. He, along with Leonard Floyd, the 1st-round pick out of Georgia, should significantly improve their line-backing core and overall defense. They get last year’s first-rounder – wide receiver Kevin White – back from injury, who will complement Alshon Jeffery nicely.

5. New York Giants: The Giants won the off-season spending award by signing Janoris Jenkins, Oliver Vernon and Damon Harrison to big contracts in an attempt to restock an average defense. 1st-round pick Eli Apple and Jenkins should become a formidable duo at corner. Sterling Shepard is a nice addition at receiver. The pressure is on Ben McAdoo.

6. Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals adding Chandler Jones and Robert Nkemdiche to an already elite defense is scary. Both players aren’t without their red flags, but coach Arians is as good a coach there is at resurrecting troubled talent. The Honey Badger can attest to that. Carson Palmer fell apart in the Playoffs but he had an outstanding season.

7. Oakland Raiders: The Raiders added to an up-and-coming team by building on a talented defense. Safety Karl Joesph should help add some much-needed talent in the secondary. Drafting defensive linemen — Shilique Calhoun and Jihad Ward — could give them one of the best front sevens in football. QB Connor Cook was great value in the 4th-round.

8. Minnesota Vikings: Clemson cornerback Mackensie Alexander was one of my favorite players in the draft and they got him in the 2nd-round. Big-play receiver Laquon Treadwell is exactly what they need to help further Teddy Bridgewater’s development. They return a great defense and sign guard Alex Boone to an already solid offensive line.


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9. Buffalo Bills: Rex Ryan’s fingerprints are all over this draft. Adding Lawson in the first to an already stout defensive line was smart. Reggie Ragland in the 2nd-round was one of the best values in the draft. Taylor and Watkins are a nice young QB-WR combo. Rex hired his brother Rob to help teach defensive schemes that were originally created by their recently deceased father, Buddy Ryan.

10. Tennessee Titans: The Titans had an interesting off-season, adding Jack Conklin to protect Marcus Mariota, after trading down for a king’s ransom. They added Heisman winner Derrick Henry and DE Kevin Dodd in the draft, plus signed veterans Andre Johnson and DeMarco Murray. They should be able to fight for a Playoff spot in an improved division. They did a nice job of taking pressure off of Mariota by surrounding him with talent.

11. Miami Dolphins: Laremy Tunsil fell to Miami after being an essential lock for that 1st-overall pick until L.A and Philly moved up to get their franchise quarterbacks (and the whole Tunsil gas mask video). The Dolphins added safety Isa Abdul-Quddus and defensive end Mario Williams. Suh should be better in his second year and new head coach, Adam Gase, should be able to help Tannehill at this stage of his career.

12. Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles may not have a great season, but they added arguably the best quarterback in the draft and ended the Chip Kelly nightmare by hiring highly-regarded coach, Doug Pederson, who comes from the Andy Reid coaching tree. The Eagles kept some of their own talent and added guard Brandon Brooks and safety Rodney McLeod. Bradford signing is questionable, but that was before they traded up.

13. Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks quietly had a pretty decent off-season, despite losing Marshawn Lynch and Bruce Irvin. I like their approach adding offensive linemen in two of the first three rounds. Plus, they got an absolute steal in the 2nd-round of the draft, getting Alabama’s Jarran Reed. Thomas Rawls has more upside than people think.

14. Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens drafted Ronnie Stanley in the 1st-round, who will help improve their offensive line right away. Eric Weddle is an important piece of the secondary. More than anything, just getting guys back from injuries will help. Flacco missed time for the first time in his career and is coming back stronger than ever.

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NFL

Ronnie Stanley started three seasons for Notre Dame.

15. Detroit Lions: The Lions lost Calvin Johnson to retirement but have taken a receiver by committee approach in replacing him. Anquan Boldin’s signing along with Marvin Jones are good pieces that can help the transition. Taylor Decker adds a much-needed offensive tackle and getting A’Shawn Robinson in the 2nd-round was great value. Extending Darius Slay is huge long-term. The Lions need their young offensive line to gel as soon as possible.

16. New York Jets: The Jets made a big jump by re-signing Ryan Fitzpatrick yesterday to a one-year deal. Todd Bowles continued to add to the defense, drafting Ohio State’s talented outside linebacker, Darron Lee, in the 1st-round. While I’m not a fan of the Christian Hackenberg pick, the depth of talent along the defensive line is impressive.

17. Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons finally got a capable center, signing Pro Bowler Alex Mack away from the Browns. Mohamed Sanu should be a nice complement to Julio Jones. Keanu Neal should help an average secondary improve over time. I like the Falcons to make some noise with Freeman, Jones and Ryan being an excellent trio.

18. Indianapolis Colts: The Colts too added a center to a weak offensive line. Even if it was a slight reach, you can’t put a price on protecting the $87-million dollar man. Luck will be eager to prove he is worth the money. Tackle Le’Raven Clark and safety T.J Green should be welcome additions at positions of need.

19. Los Angeles Rams: The Rams made a big move in trading up to the first-overall pick to draft quarterback Jared Goff. They didn’t do much else and dumped some bloated salaries, but there is still enough talent on defense. They should be a contender fairly soon if Goff is the real deal. I preferred Wentz, but Goff had a phenomenal year for Cal last season.

20. Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers have one of the most talented teams in the league but did little outside of adding Artie Burns and Sean Davis in the draft. With suspensions to Martavis Bryant and potentially Le’Veon Bell, things don’t look as good as they did a few weeks ago. The Steelers don’t sign big-name free agents, but it’s worked well for them thus far, so why stop now?

21. Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals lost two receivers in Sanu and Jones, but their best player – AJ Green – is still on the roster. William Jackson is a nice player to add to their secondary. Tyler Boyd should help fill the receiver void and they stole a projected 1st-rounder in Baylor DT, Andrew Billings, in the 4th-round. The Bengals tend to draft well every year.

22. New Orleans Saints: The Saints are hard to figure out. They added Colby Fleener, but it seems like they overpaid. Still, New Orleans needed someone to play that Jimmy Graham role for the offense to work effectively. Sheldon Rankins is a much-needed addition to a sub-par defensive line. Adding middle linebacker James Laurinaitis and defensive tackle Nick Fairley should help, but aren’t earth-shattering moves.

23. San Diego Chargers: The Chargers surprised some when they drafted Joey Bosa. Many expected them to take a tackle or Jalen Ramsey, but Bosa should improve what has been an average defense the past few seasons. They lost Weddle in free agency but added talented receiver Travis Benjamin. Center Max Tuerk is a good fit for their offensive line.

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NFL

24. Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs were pretty quiet, but have one of the most talented rosters in all of football. Few free agent moves, but they get Houston and Charles back healthy and added mammoth defensive tackle, Chris Jones, in the 2nd-round.

25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs didn’t make many headlines this off-season, but added some key players that should help a young team improve. Brent Grimes should help upgrade the secondary and Robert Ayers is a welcome addition. Keeping muscle hamster, Doug Martin, will be good for Winston’s development.

26. Green Bay Packers: The Packers’ biggest move is getting Jordy Nelson back from injury. They added tight end Jared Cook, but didn’t do much else. Like the Steelers, this is pretty much the norm for the Packers. You have to wonder if they should change their approach if they are unable to make another deep Playoff run with so few acquisitions.

27. Carolina Panthers: The Panthers, like the Packers, get their number-one wide receiver back in Kelvin Benjamin. He alone, should keep the Panthers on top of the NFC South. They let Josh Norman go to the Redskins, which will hurt. However, they did draft talented 1st-round defensive tackle, Vernon Butler, and still have a very talented defense.

28. New England Patriots: The Patriots had a pretty poor off-season by most accounts. No first-round pick. No Tom Brady for four games. They traded Chandler Jones to the Cardinals for guard Jonathan Cooper. Their offensive line could be better but they just simply didn’t do much.

29. Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys are banking on Ezekiel Elliott becoming the next DeMarco Murray and getting back their dominant offense from 2014. Luckily, Romo and Dez will be back. Jaylon Smith likely won’t help this year and suspensions to Rolando McClain and Randy Gregory will hurt badly on a defense that is short of talent. They better hope 3rd-round pick, Maliek Collins, returns from his broken foot sooner rather than later.

30. Cleveland Browns: The Browns added Corey Coleman in the draft and signed Robert Griffin III in free agency. They lost Alex Mack and Travis Benjamin, which unquestionably makes them worse. Hue Jackson is a solid head coach but they’ll have to catch lightning in a bottle with RG3 if they hope to make it out of the basement of their division. Griffin’s old college teammate Josh Gordon returning should help.

31. San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers added former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. They drafted Oregon defensive end DeForest Buckner. The uncertainty at quarterback between Gabbert and Kaepernick doesn’t give fans a lot of hope. Wondering if they’re regretting parting with coach Jim Harbaugh?

32. Denver Broncos: The Broncos lost Danny Trevathan, Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler. Drafting Paxon Lynch could help in the long-term, but it’s hard to imagine them getting back to the Super Bowl with Mark Sanchez at starting quarterback. Von Miller may be the best defensive player in the league and they just re-signed him to a mega-deal. It may be a tough season, but the future is bright in Denver.

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