After spending the last four months analyzing all the roster additions and departures for the 32 NFL teams, I asked myself what are the biggest questions I still have for each of them. This can revolve around personnel, schematics and really any other topic that came to mind. Today we’ll start on the NFC side!
Over the past few months, we’ve extensively talked about the NFL Draft and the players selected by each team – most recently as part of my month-long divisional draft and roster review video series – to go with some thoughts on free agency. At this point of the calendar, we’ve largely reached the end of the roster acquisition period, and it’s time to make some overarching statements.
The purpose of this exercise is to draw conclusions one more time, but from more of a large-scale view, and outline the position groups that were improved the most through all these different avenues, also including trades. This is based on what each roster looked like following week 18, not taking injuries into account, whether those affected who were actually available at that time or those who may linger into this upcoming season.
Once again, the idea here is to talk about these units in a more comprehensive sense, rather than simply pointing at a singular player who might change the feel of those.
This is what I came up with:
We’re headed West, entering the final week of our divisional draft & roster review series. In this episode, we’re discussing the draft classes and roster constructions of the Cardinals, Rams, 49ers and Seahawks!
With the 2025 NFL trade deadline coming up next Tuesday (Nov. 4) at 4pm ET, here are the ten moves I’d like to see happen!
(This is simply a copy of my social media post, rather than my typical full-fledged article)
This is more of a long-term investment for Kevin O’Connell, potentially having two more years of contractual control. They can still give JJ McCarthy his opportunity, but could get Richardson onto the field late and give themselves options.
There’s no need for Tennessee to limit touches for Tyjae Spears, off the high-ankle sprain. Meanwhile, Isiah Pacheco just got banged up and the Chiefs haven’t found much consistency on the ground. Pollard is scheme-versatile and adds some juice.
New Orleans has been openly shopping their WRs. Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers is throwing the ball 3.1 yards short of the sticks on average, relying heavily on yards after the catch. Olave could provide some air underneath as a vertical threat.
Tampa Bay has lost Mike Evans for the season, along with having other WRs in and out of the lineup. Adding Njoku’s explosiveness from the TE spot could diversify their passing attack. Cleveland can continue to lean more into rookie Harold Fannin Jr.
The Raiders OL has been a mess. With JPJ having started to settle in at guard, this would offer Houston options to either plug him in there or replace center Jake Andrews. We just saw what C.J. Stroud is capable of with a solid pocket.
Cincy handed Hendrickson a one-year extension in the offseason, but now not competing for a title, it’s best for both sides to move on, and the Niners badly need pass-rush help. They could also be in the market for Jets LB Quincy Williams.
Dean took a massive step forward last season and has looked solid in his return from injury. Yet, Philly can’t afford to take rookie Jihaad Campbell off the field. Meanwhile, LB is a major weakness for Indy (no one with a PFF grade higher than 58.0).
Although NY’s defense has been best on defined dropbacks, putting KT on the field with Burns & Carter, they should try to get returns on the former top 10 pick, in the final year of his rookie deal. Baltimore is tied for 31st in sacks (9).
NY traded for Jarvis Brownlee Jr. in Carter’s absence, who’s become a key contributor for them, limiting the veteran to 6 defensive snaps in his return. Chicago recently placed starting nickel Kyler Gordon on IR and Carter would be a great fit.
Buffalo could use help at DT with Ed Oliver’s injury, but their biggest issue has been angles + missed tackles by their safeties – Thompson is right at his career average of just a 7%. Dadrion Taylor-Demerson is ready to step in for Arizona.
Saints QB Spencer Rattler ➡️ Browns
Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard ➡️ Vikings
Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr. ➡️ Patriots
Titans IDL Jeffery Simmons ➡️ Cowboys
Jets LB Quincy Williams ➡️ 49ers
Vikings CB Isaiah Rodgers ➡️ Eagles
The following conversation goes against what the NFL’s shield is trying to sell the public at the start of every single season – the idea of all 32 teams having a chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of it. As much as I love how they strive for parity, conceiving anything but achieving the ultimate goal as a failure would always leave all but one fan base dissatisfied. Generally, I sway away from asking questions like the one in the title, but due to several factors, I thought laying out which factors we should pay attention to and what constitutes a “successful campaign” was particularly interesting this year.
I’m fully aware that this by no means is an innovative concept, but looking back at this past season, I thought the gap between “the rich and the poor” was as large as ever once we got to around Thanksgiving. So I do believe it’s important to offer a frame of context for how we should probably view what these franchises are about to put onto the field once we kick things off. For some teams, simply measuring it by where the journey ends for them in 2025 is fair, yet for others, showing growth in certain areas may be even more crucial for their future outlook.
We’ll go through them all by division here!
We’re entering the final week of our divisional draft & roster review series, as we head West, starting off on the NFC side with the Cardinals, Rams, 49ers and Seahawks!
(This was recorded prior to the 49ers trading for Bryce Huff, hence why he wasn’t mentioned at all)
Following two 4-13 seasons and another slow start this year, the Arizona Cardinals have now won four straight games and sit atop the NFC West by half a game, with a manageable schedule the rest of the way. I’ll break down what they do schematically on offense and defense, along with how a bunch of their young players have stepped up!
With the NFL season just around the corner, instead of bringing up storylines and figures about dominating conversations on TV already, I wanted to discuss a few names that maybe we don’t fully understand who they are or how big a factor they may be in a new role/place, but have the potential to define the landscape of the league.
Going through all eight NFL divisions, I ranked the teams who finished last across those last season by likelihood of going first in 2024! Let me know who you think will make a jump!
In the second half of this annual series, we’re switching over to the defensive side of the ball and outlining young players around the NFL, who I expect to make a leap in 2024.
For the purposes of this exercise, considering it’s tough to set the guidelines for what counts as an actual “breakout”. Therefore, I relied mostly on statistical metrics that exclude players from this category – no front-seven defenders who recorded double-digit sacks or tackles for loss, players who intercepted 4+ passes, earned a Pro Bowl/All-Pro nominations or are just generally considered one of the better performers at their respective positions. Also, I generally stayed away from players who have barely seen action in the pros yet.
Also, in order to not repeat myself, I won’t mention names like 49ers edge rusher Drake Jackson (who had a hot start before suffering a quadriceps injury that ended last season early for him), Broncos edge rusher Baron Browning (who missed the first half of the season but did put up strong pressure numbers from that point onwards) and Bengals safety Dax Hill (whose grading looks worse than his raw production, but I expect to align more now and Cincinnati’s defense generally bouncing back with him in year two as a starter), since they made the list last year.
Let’s begin:
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