NFL 2022 Free Agency – Top Ten Best and Worst Offseason Moves

Free agency is easily one of the most important times of the year for a team’s front office, right next to the draft and this year’s free agency had a few players you typically wouldn’t see hit the open market. While there were plenty of overpays and players who’ll inevitably disappoint, there is a good amount of players who are premium talents worth paying or were great value signings.

Best Free Offseason Moves

10. Kansas City Chiefs – SA Justin Reid: Three-year, 31.5 M, 20 M guaranteed

Many casual fans were shocked to see the star safety Tyrann Mathieu released by the chiefs, but ones who are are truly locked in on the league know Justin Reid is an underrated stud. Reid will very likely bring more value to this defense than Mathieu would’ve as he’s shown signs of regression and Reid has his best football ahead of him. Kansas City gave him a fair contract, that will ultimately work well for both sides. If it comes down to Mathieu signing a cheap one-year deal, I’d expect him to come back which would make for a great safety room.

9. New Orleans Saints – SA Marcus Maye: Three-year, 28.5 M, 15 M guaranteed

Similar to Kansas City, New Orleans signed an underrated safety to replace a key starter. It would’ve been better to have Marcus Williams back, but the cap situation couldn’t really be any worse for the Saints and it is even a surprise to see them keep giving out sizable contracts while they’re deeply below the cap space. I honestly have no clue if it makes logistical sense to pay a contract like this with the financial situation they’re in but it is clear that this is a great addition to this team for only a rather small price tag.

8. LA Rams – Allen Robinson: Three-year, 46.5 M, 30.7 M guaranteed

The Allen Robinson Signing for the Rams signifies this team is doing what the saints initially did years ago by pushing all of their signing bonus money into the future. There isn’t much of an argument as to why this shouldn’t be done in the position of the Rams, as they have a superstar QB alongside other elite talents, and Matt Stafford and Aaron Donald don’t have much prime football left, making it an urgency to win now. Allen Robinson never has gotten a ton of credit but is easily one of the most talented all-around receivers in the league. While he’s coming off a down season, he has consistently been a high-end X-receiver, but just hasn’t ever played with a quality QB. Whether LA has Robert Woods or Odell Beckham Jr. back or not, this will be a tremendous receiving core, and Robinson is poised to be borderline elite in this offense.

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – OG Shaq Mason: Traded by NE in exchange for a 22 fifth round pick

After it was looking like this team was falling apart, not only are they practically getting the whole team back from last year, but they managed to acquire one of the best guards in football in Shaq Mason. Alex Cappa, who was a serviceable starting guard, left this offseason and Ali Marpet retired after an all-pro season, but getting Mason to take his place will only make this o-line close to what it was before. Tom Brady, as always lucks out here and gets to reunite with one of his best old teammates. It’s not like he’s on the verge of falling off a cliff in terms of his play as he’s only 28 and looked great on film last season. The only logical explanation for Belichick doing this is that Mason told him he was going to retire after next season. Mason will come in and easily be one of the best run-blockers in the league, while still being an upgrade in pass-pro.

6. Las Vegas Raiders – WR Devante Adams: Traded by Green Bay in exchange for a first-round and second-round pick

The media and the fans of the Raiders are hyping this acquisition up as some all-time great steal, but with the longer picture in mind, this isn’t so bad for Green bay, nor is it going to automatically make this Raiders team super bowl contenders. I can understand the excitement from Raiders fans as he is the best all-around receiver in the NFL, but given this is now going to be a fiercely competitive division, it is very risky to go all-in on this team led by Derek Carr. Las Vegas paid Adams 28 million dollars a year, and nothing against Carr, but he is simply not on the same level as the other QBs in this division, and to sacrifice your future with both cap space and draft picks could turn out very disappointing. For Green Bay, they already had to push money into the future by resigning other star players and the contract Adams was demanding was well above the true receiver market. Having the cap available for Green Bay will allow them to get a different great receiver, while also having two new premier draft picks as this class has plenty of depth at receiver. This trade will look great for Las Vegas if they manage to win a SuperBowl but even after all of their offseason moves, Las Vegas is still likely to finish last in this division. At the end of the day, it’s still sad for Packers fans to say the least, and will be an elite addition for the raiders at an important position.

5. Baltimore Ravens – SA Marcus Williams: Five-year, 70 M

Baltimore, being one of the best front offices in the league was able to land one of the most talented free agents available and will fill an important positional need. Marcus Williams is the type of player who would’ve easily got resigned if his team weren’t in cap hell, and the Ravens were the team to see his value as being a great single-high free safety. Williams is also versatile and a tough, physical player who can make an impact in run defense. Getting him for five years, while only paying him an average of 14 million a season is a great bargain, though it may seem like a lot to fans that don’t watch saints games. Williams is only 25 and will certainly improve in this Baltimore culture, which would eventually make him a very underpaid player.

4. LA Chargers – J.C. Jackson: Five-year, 82.5 M, 40 M guaranteed

Every knowledgable football fan knew Jackson was gonna get the bag this offseason if Belichick had let him go, but the price he ended up getting was a true bargain for LA. The great thing about this signing is he’ll be a great scheme fit in this defense coached by Brandon Staley, and will have a rather easy job as the pass rush is now elite. With the talent and coaching around Jackson, there’s no reason he couldn’t improve and be a better coverage player. His ball skills are simply elite despite being 5’10 and his quickness and man skills are perfect for this team. As a fan of good football, I couldn’t be more excited to watch this defense in action next season.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars – OG Brandon Scherff: Three-year, 49.5 M, 30 M guaranteed

Jacksonville made some great moves as well as some horrible moves in this free agency period. Brandon Scherff is one of the best guards in the league and is the type of player who shouldn’t have hit the market, but Washington is consistently one of the worst franchises at retaining talent. The Jags surprisingly saw the value in Scherff and will make this O-line much stronger heading into 2022 as the pass-pro hindered Trevor Lawrence in 2021. Scherff will also be great as a blocker in this RPO-heavy offense run by Doug Pederson. As long as he can play even close to how he played for Washinton in 2021, I have no doubts this signing won’t pay off.

2. Denver Broncos – Russell Wilson: Traded alongside a 22 fourth-round pick in exchange for two first rounders, two seconds, a fifth, QB Drew Lock, IDL Shelby Harris, and TE Noah Fant.

There isn’t really much that needs to be said about this trade as Russell Wilson is likely a hall-of farmer and the team still has good talent around him. While it isn’t the end of the world for Seattle as he wanted at and had already given the team 11 great seasons, for Denver, they aren’t completely sacrificing their future and were in desperate need of a franchise QB. This likely won’t go down as the greatest trade of all time, but it ensures at least five seasons of high-level-elite level play at the QB position and will allow this team to be very competitive.

1. LA Chargers – Khalil Mack: Traded in exchange for a 22 second-round pick, and a 23 sixth-round pick

Every element of this trade for the Chargers is brilliant as they get an elite pass rusher and an elite run defender on a cost-controlled contract where he’ll be there for multiple seasons. Putting two truly elite edge rushers on the same team, paired with an elite secondary and great defensive coaching, will make this team a super bowl contender. Mack won’t be elite for too much longer, but for the price of only a second-rounder, it is a no-brainer deal. Alongside the other key signings LA made, I am thoroughly impressed with the work this front office has done this offseason.

Worst Offseason Moves

10. Arizona Cardinals – TE Zach Ertz: Three-year, 31.65 M extension, 17.5 M

As you’ll notice, the majority of the ‘worst’ offseason moves aren’t horrible as this offseason had a lot of solid ones with there being more talent available than usual. Resigning Zach Ertz is undoubtedly going to help this offense next season, but with him in his 30s while making ten-plus million a year isn’t great value for the position the Cardinals are in. Maxx Williams would’ve been fine as the starter if he could stay healthy, and this team lost multiple other key players in free agency.

9. Denver Broncos – IDL D.J. Jones: Three-year, 30 M, 20 M guaranteed

Denver ultimately won the offseason, but this signing doesn’t exactly help too much despite the decent price. D.J. Jones is a solid defensive tackle that played around elite talent in San Francisco, while one of the best run defenders in the league got the exact same contract, in Foley Fatukasi. The Broncos were still in need of a player like Jones and it’s a plus to have him, but 30 million is a lot of money for his position.

8. Denver Broncos – ED Randy Gregory: Five-year, 70 M, 28 M

This appears to be an even worst contract at first glance, but the site Spotrac reveals there is a potential out for Denver in 2025 for only a 4 million dollar dead cap, which isn’t a terrible deal by any means for Denver. Randy Gregory played well in 2021 but his caliber is that of a solid number two, which isn’t quite worth this kind of money, meanwhile, Von Miller got paid for not that much more. Gregory will still be a nice impact for Denver, but for a team who is now considered a serious contender, it would’ve been better to see the money spent elsewhere.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars – CB Darious Williams: Three-year, 30 M, 18 M guaranteed

Darious Williams is a good player and worthy of this type of contract but signing him with the intention to play him in the slot in this defensive scheme is just ignoring the principle of getting the most out of a player’s skillset. Williams is much better suited playing on the outside in a quarters heavy defense as he did for the Rams. What he’ll be as a slot corner is equivalent to what they could’ve gotten with a cheap one-year deal. It’s awesome to see Williams get paid, but not good knowing he’s not going to get used properly.

6. Cleveland Browns – TE David Njoku: Franchise tag (10.9 M)

This isn’t a horrible move and doesn’t pose any long-term risk, but David Njoku is essentially a bust and would’ve been easy to replace. Njoku has a good role in this offense, but it’s doubtful to see him progress and become a serious offensive threat. There are plenty of receivers Cleveland could’ve paid rather than giving him the tag as this receiving core has no good starters besides Amari Cooper. This won’t ruin their offseason, but it is just a move that doesn’t have much meaning behind it.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars – LB Foye Oluokun: Three-year, 45 M, 28 M guaranteed

While the Foley Fatukasi signing is a good honorable mention for the best offseason moves, this was one of the rather poor signings for Jacksonville. This team cut LB Myles Jack only to pay a different LB more money that isn’t as good. Jack didn’t play well in 2021, but who could blame him for not trying hard, playing for a coach like Urban Myer. Foye Oluokun has some nice traits but isn’t anything more than a quality sub-linebacker. The role he’ll play isn’t much different than the role of a nickel corner which isn’t worth giving 15 million a season. This contract isn’t going to screw them over of anything but could’ve kept them from saving it to help get a truly great free agent in the future.

4. Arizona Cardinals – HB James Conner: Three-year, 21 M extension

As great of a human James Conner is and as great as his TD numbers were, he’s simply not worth paying more than just a few million as there are plenty of HBs who’d bring 90% of the value for much cheaper. It is never smart to pay running backs in general, but it is even worse to pay ones who aren’t stars. Conner is a very solid power back, but doesn’t bring much of an elusive element and is not a big-play type of player. The contract isn’t bad enough to completely ruin this team’s chances but is certainly not one to be excited about. I am not sure this team is headed in a better direction than they were last year, based on the offseason so far, which is disappointing considering how good they were at a point last season.

3. Philadelphia Eagles – ED Haason Reddick: Three-year, 45 M, 30 M guaranteed

One of the most surprising free agency moves so far is the Eagles paying Haason Reddick a pretty hefty deal at 45 million. Production stats would tell you that Reddick is a borderline elite pass rusher, but this is simply far from the case. Following 23.5 sacks over the past two seasons, it would appear to some that he is a top-end edge rusher, but with more advanced stats, Reddick is nothing above average as a pass rusher, given most of his pressures have been converted into sacks and ultimately pressures are more important. In Carolina, his skillset was used very well and that won’t be the case here in Philadelphia as he’ll be a 4-3 DE. This contract was made just based on Reddick’s production and it’s not realistic to expect his production to be the same for Philadelphia.

2. New England Patriots – Fifth-round pick: Traded in exchange for OG Shaq Mason

It is an absolute shock to see Bill Belichick make the second worst move of the offseason as he is typically one of the smartest GMs each year. I won’t explain much more as it’s already been mentioned from the perspective of the Buccaneers. After losing Tackle Trent Brown, the Pat’s o-line wasn’t in great shape to begin with, and to only get a fifth-rounder in return is an unexplainable decision by Belichick.

1. Jacksonville Jaguars – WR Christian Kirk: 4 year, 72 M

Jacksonville didn’t completely botch free agency, but this one signing got them close to doing so despite other good signings. I personally liked Christian Kirk as a good starting slot receiver, but what they paid him is simply not worth it as his contract is now comparable to the best receivers in the league and he is not even a top 25 receiver. With the money Jacksonville used to pay Kirk, they could’ve easily signed three different receivers that would each bring 95% of the value that Kirk would bring. It would have been much better to resign D.J. Chark who is a great vertical threat and would’ve cost way less than Kirk. This signing will not be worth the price unless Kirk suddenly turns into an elite top-five receiver, which is very unlikely to happen.