We take a look at all 16 AFC teams and outline the one area they should still be looking to address heading into the upcoming season, in the second half of this series.
Tag Archives: NFL Rosters
Biggest remaining needs for each NFC team heading into 2023:
After extensively discussing the individual players and draft classes put together by NFL teams, along with outlining the most improved position groups across the league last week, it was time for me to work through these rosters yet again and find the one area they should still be looking to address personnel-wise. We’ll start with the NFC here, as part of this two-part series!
Most improved position groups during the 2023 NFL offseason:
We’ve entered a point of the NFL offseason, where rosters are largely finalized, in terms of free agents being signed, veterans being extended or traded elsewhere, the draft nearly two months in the past now and only a few bigger names still on the open market, who to some degree are awaiting potential injuries or just looking to skip OTAs, before they sign somewhere.
So at this stage, I think it’s a helpful exercise to compare what rosters and specific position groups/units look like compared to a year ago. I went through each of them and outlined the one team that improved the most in that area, along without another group or two, which deserved an honorable mention.
Please keep in mind that I tried to judge the upgrades made as a whole, rather than just pointing at a franchise that brought in only one true difference-maker. And this is just based on player acquisitions from the end of this past season onwards, meaning no injuries or other factors that kept guys already under contract off the field.
NFC East 2023 draft & roster review
Kicking off week two of our divisional draft & roster breakdown series, we’re looking at the Cowboys, Giants, Eagles & Commanders.
I’m looking at the draft classes of each team, give a quick scouting report on every single player selected, how the new faces fit within the rest of the roster and then compare the classes against each other.
Most improved position groups from the 2022 NFL offseason:
Now that “draft season” of 2022 is finally done for me, with the conclusion of my divisional draft breakdown series (breaking down every single pick, their fit on the roster, etc. for all 32 NFL teams), it’s time to point out which teams improved the most this offseason at every single position, through free agency, trades and of course the draft.
For the purpose of this exercise, I didn’t want to just mention the obvious major additions of one specific player, such as quarterback Russell Wilson going to Denver or wide receiver Davante Adams going to Las Vegas, but rather look at the entire unit and how much better their depth chart looks like altogether, compared to 2021. Therefore I’m also considering the allocated resources to some degree, in particular the money invested.
I will mention all the additions and departures, explain how big of a difference those moves will actually make and how it changes what each team can now expect or even do altogether from a schematic/game-plan perspective.
Now that “draft season” of 2022 is finally done for me, with the conclusion of my divisional draft breakdown series (breaking down every single pick, their fit on the roster, etc. for all 32 NFL teams), it’s time to point out which teams improved the most this offseason at every single position, through free agency, trades and of course the draft.
For the purpose of this exercise, I didn’t want to just mention the obvious major additions of one specific player, such as quarterback Russell Wilson going to Denver or wide receiver Davante Adams going to Las Vegas, but rather look at the entire unit and how much better their depth chart looks like altogether, compared to 2021. Therefore I’m also considering the allocated resources to some degree, in particular the money invested.
I will mention all the additions and departures, explain how big of a difference those moves will actually make and how it changes what each team can now expect or even do altogether from a schematic/game-plan perspective.
Breakout candidates for 2020 – Defense edition:
I started this exercise of choosing second- and third-year players in the NFL I expect to take the next step in their development, based on being in a better situation due schematic changes, the respective team not re-signing certain veterans and allowing their young guys to play a bigger role or just my evaluation of them coming out of college.
Once again, my criteria was – they were not allowed to have a Pro Bowl so far, reached a major statistical milestone (1000 yard season, double-digit sacks, etc.) or are just looked at generally as one of the better players at their position already. I didn’t include guys that made my list already last year (Kemoko Turay, Justin Reid, etc.) or haven’t seen the field at all yet (Jonah Williams, Hakeem Butler, etc.). Across my two articles on these breakout players, you will only find one top ten pick, since I believe those are obvious choices anyway, if those guys just haven’t been healthy or whatever it may be.
In this version, we are looking at eight more defensive players ready to break out in 2020 after talking about offense last week already:
Biggest remaining needs for each team in the AFC for 2020:
We are at the second part of my “biggest remaining needs for each NFL team” breakdown and today we look at the AFC side of things. Once again, at this rather eventless point of the offseason, I get to break down the rosters of all 32 teams and watch some tape to pin-point the one area each squad should still improve at to be their best.
That can be an impact player at a certain position, a contributor in a specific role or just a backup at a spot, where the team doesn’t have great depth. Of course scheme fit and available ressources have to be considered individually, but looking at this from a more general perspective, these are the one spots each team should still be looking to upgrade at.
Also check out my NFC version of this write-up and you can listen to my breakdowns on Youtube as well.
Halil's Real Footballtalk 