NHL Best Bets for Tuesday (11/19)
Kenneth Le
Teams have cut down to their 53-man rosters and NFL action is less than a week away. At the start of the offseason, I went through all 32 teams to assess their biggest need heading into free agency and the draft.
This article will focus on how well each team filled their biggest needs throughout this offseason to set them up for success heading into 2023.
Arizona Cardinals
Pre-Offseason Need: Wide receiver talent
On one hand, the Cardinals did invest a 2023 third-round pick on Michael Wilson. On the other hand, the team moved on from DeAndre Hopkins, so the overall wide receiver group in Arizona ended up as a net negative. Wilson possesses good size but struggled with injuries throughout his college career at Stanford and is more of a projection than a sure thing. That works for Arizona since they’ll be in the running for the first overall pick in 2024’s NFL draft.
Atlanta Falcons
Pre-Offseason Need: Stability at quarterback
The Falcons moved on from Marcus Mariota this offseason, leaving Desmond Ridder as the projected starter heading into 2023. Atlanta opted to pass on a quarterback in the 2023 draft and took running back Bijan Robinson, signaling another year of a run-heavy approach. Atlanta didn’t walk away with nothing at quarterback though, signing Taylor Heinicke in free agency to provide a veteran option should Desmond Ridder fail in an extended showing.
Carolina Panthers
Pre-Offseason Need: Find the quarterback of the future
The Panthers ensured that their 2022 quarterback experience had to improve when they acquired the first overall pick from the Chicago Bears for a massive package featuring plenty of draft capital and DJ Moore. Carolina decided to go with the safest route, selecting Alabama’s Bryce Young first overall after a collegiate career that saw him complete 65% of his passes for 8,356 yards and 80 touchdowns with 12 interceptions in three seasons.
Chicago Bears
Pre-Offseason Need: Everything except quarterback
This one feels like cheating since the Bears had so many holes on offense that they couldn’t possibly regress. Chicago did an excellent job targeting their needs this offseason, trading for wide receiver DJ Moore, signing a veteran guard in Nate Davis, and drafting players like right tackle Darnell Wright in the first round and upside skill players like wide receiver Tyler Scott and running back Roschon Johnson in the fourth round. This offense is significantly improved, but it will still rely on Justin Fields leaping to truly hit their potential.
Dallas Cowboys
Pre-Offseason Need: Additional receiver help
The Cowboys’ offense was starving for receiver help alongside CeeDee Lamb in 2022, so the team proactively targeted Brandin Cooks on the trade market and acquired him early in the offseason. Cooks struggled in an awful Texans’ offense last season but isn’t far removed from being an automatic 1,000-yard receiver. He adds a much-needed deep speed element to the Cowboys’ passing attack and should fit in extremely well as a complement to Lamb and Michael Gallup.
Detroit Lions
Pre-Offseason Need: Find an early-down back
It seemed unlikely that the Detroit Lions were going to pay Jamaal Williams after he had a career season in 2022 with 262 carries for 1,066 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns. Paying running backs for past production is a tough sell in the modern NFL and Williams turned 28 this offseason. Detroit aggressively targeted running back on the free agent market, signing David Montgomery away from the Bears after a productive career in one of the NFL’s worst offenses. Montgomery is an upgrade over Williams and should be able to pace the backfield in touches when he isn’t ceding pass-catching work to 2023 first-round pick Jahmyr Gibbs.
Green Bay Packers
Pre-Offseason Need: Receiver talent
It always seemed likely that 2022 was going to be Aaron Rodgers’ last season with the Packers, so this team needed to upgrade their pass-catching weapons to give Jordan Love a chance. Both Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs showed flashes of potential in their rookie seasons, but the team featured a cast of aging veterans and UDFAs behind them on the depth chart. Green Bay aggressively attacked the receiver and tight end market in the 2023 NFL Draft, selecting wide receivers Jayden Reed (second round), Dontayvion Wicks (fifth) and Grant DuBose (seventh). They also selected two exceptional athletes at the tight end position in Luke Musgrave (second) and Tucker Kraft (third) to attack the middle of the field. This is the NFL’s youngest wide receiver corps heading into 2023, but if the Packers picked the right players, then Jordan Love should be set up for success.
Los Angeles Rams
Pre-Offseason Need: A massive infusion of offensive line talent
This was always going to be an impossible task for the Rams given the lack of cap space and draft capital the Rams had going into the offseason. The Rams did use one of their few draft picks on former TCU guard Steve Avila in the second round. Avila was arguably the best interior pass blocker in this class and upgraded a position of need. The Rams also traded for veteran guard Kevin Dotson from the Pittsburgh Steelers during roster cutdowns. Make no mistake though, this is arguably the worst offensive line in the NFL even with the upgrades.
Minnesota Vikings
Pre-Offseason Need: Add an additional receiving threat
The Vikings have one of the two best wide receivers in the NFL in Justin Jefferson but struggled to find any other pass catchers to complement him last season. Adam Thielen continued to struggle with injuries, K.J. Osborn proved to be just an average receiving weapon, and T.J. Hockenson provided great fantasy value at tight end but isn’t dynamic after the catch. The Vikings addressed one of their biggest weaknesses in the draft, selecting USC’s Jordan Addison in the first round. Addison struggled in his lone season at USC but is just a year removed from 100 catches, 1,593 receiving yards and 17 receiving touchdowns with the University of Pittsburgh. He should be able to exploit defenses that are working to take away Jefferson in the passing attack going forward.
New Orleans Saints
Pre-Offseason Need: Find quarterback stability
New Orleans got solid quarterback play from Andy Dalton during the 2022 season, but any team planning on starting Dalton for the foreseeable future isn’t set up for success. New Orleans was linked to plenty of quarterbacks this offseason and ultimately landed Derek Carr after a falling out with the Las Vegas Raiders. Carr regressed in his first year in Josh McDaniel’s offense, producing his lowest completion percentage (60.8) since 2014 and the fewest yards (3,522) since 2017. The Saints will be hoping that his rough 2022 was an aberration after signing Carr to a four-year, $150 million contract.
New York Giants
Pre-Offseason Need: Figure out receiver help
The Giants were one of the biggest surprises in 2022, making the playoffs in Brian Daboll’s first year with the team. Despite the growth of Daniel Jones and the success of the team, this was an offense starving for a legitimate receiving weapon after Saquon Barkley (76 targets) and Darius Slayton (71 targets) paced the passing offense. The Giants did their best to upgrade and add depth this offseason, adding Parris Campbell, Cole Beasley, Jamison Crowder and 2023 third-round pick Jalin Hyatt to their established group of Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins, Sterling Shepard and Wan’Dale Robinson. The crown jewel of the offseason though was the trade for tight end Darren Waller. The Giants will use him plenty as an outside receiver and he should finish as the team’s top receiver assuming he can complete a healthy season. This is a much better group than the one that finished 2022 in New York.
Philadelphia Eagles
Pre-Offseason Need: Add a running back
The Eagles let Miles Sanders walk this offseason and needed to find a suitable replacement in an offense that is designed to win now. While many speculated that the team would target this need in the NFL draft, the team took a different approach, signing oft-injured running back Rashaad Penny and trading for D’Andre Swift. When healthy, both players will fit into Philadelphia’s multi-faceted running back room alongside Kenneth Gainwell. Swift is especially intriguing considering his high-level efficiency (despite a lack of touches) during his time with the Lions.
San Francisco 49ers
Pre-Offseason Need: No clear needs, but pick the right quarterback
Anybody who expected the team to turn back to Trey Lance after his 2022 season ended due to an ankle injury was officially proven wrong. Brock Purdy healed well this offseason after undergoing elbow surgery and is poised to enter 2023 as the unquestioned starter in San Francisco. The team also added a veteran quarterback in free agency when they targeted Sam Darnold after an inconsistent but effective season with the Carolina Panthers. Ultimately, these two players caused the team to move on from Lance, trading the former third-overall pick for just a fourth-round pick from the Cowboys. Purdy will now have a chance to build on a strong 2022 that saw him go undefeated in the regular season while passing for 1,374 yards and 13 touchdowns with just four interceptions.
Seattle Seahawks
Pre-Offseason Need: Decide on the quarterback position
Seattle was considered a wild card at the quarterback position heading into the 2023 offseason. Geno Smith exceeded all expectations replacing Russell Wilson and pushing Seattle into the playoffs thanks to a wildly efficient 69.8% completion percentage with 4,282 yards and 30 touchdowns with just 11 interceptions. However, Smith was not signed beyond 2022 and Seattle had the fifth overall pick in a strong quarterback class with plenty of draft capital to move up to secure the quarterback of the future. Instead, Seattle took cornerback Devon Witherspoon with the fifth pick and extended Geno Smith to see if they could capture lighting in a bottle twice. At the very least, Smith earned the ability to show that he deserves a longer look at being an NFL quarterback based on his 2022 play.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Pre-Offseason Need: Start figuring out life without Tom Brady
Things were always going to be rough for Tampa Bay in a post-Tom Brady landscape. However, I don’t know how many people had “a quarterback competition between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask” on their bingo card. Mayfield ultimately won the starting job and will have solid weapons in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rachaad White at his disposal, but he is playing behind a bottom-3 offensive line and with a subpar defense. The good news for Tampa Bay is if Baker fails, they should find themselves squarely in the Caleb Williams sweepstakes in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Washington Commanders
Pre-Offseason Need: Find a quarterback
Well, Washington’s quarterback search started and ended with their backup quarterback in 2022, Sam Howell. The 2022 fifth-round pick made one start to end the season last year, completing 57% of his passes for 169 yards and a touchdown with one interception and adding five carries for 35 yards and a rushing touchdown. Don’t forget, Howell was considered a potential first-round pick after the 2020 college season with North Carolina before regressing thanks to all of his best weapons graduating to NFL rosters in 2021. At the very least, Howell has the mobility to extend plays and solid receiving weapons at his disposal, but this seems like a move for a team that is content rebuilding in 2023 and hoping that they hit the quarterback lottery in the 2024 draft.
