The winners and losers of free agency are always hard to determine until sometimes years down the road. However, there are certain criteria that allows us to look at what teams have done so far in free agency and assign it a grade right now. For example, the quality players lost opposed to quality players gained, how good or bad are the contracts of their new additions, and whether or not they addressed any needs with their new players. Here are the five biggest winners so far in NFL free agency:
5. New York Jets
The Jets don’t often find themselves near the tops of any lists unless it’s a bad list. This offseason is different though. With new head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Mike Mccagnan (who built the foundations of the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks) the Jets seem to finally be making the right moves. The biggest addition, by far, the Jets made in free agency was the signing of cornerback Darrelle Revis. While they likely overpaid him, he’s arguably the best cornerback in the game and will allow their defense to blitz the way Bowles likes to blitz. They also brought in Buster Skrine and Antonio Cromartie to make their secondary even stronger.
On offense they decided to part ways with wide receiver Percy Harvin while bringing in Brandon Marshall (via trade) to help out whoever ends up being their starting quarterback in 2015. To protect said quarterback, the signed offensive guard James Carpenter.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars had one of the best cap situations in the league to work with. One of the better players they decided to invest their money in was tight end Julius Thomas. Thomas is a huge target that can line up anywhere and will certainly help young quarterback Blake Bortles a lot, especially in the redzone. To protect Bortles they brought in young offensive tackle Jermey Parnell.
On defense they re-signed their own defensive end Tyson Alualu. While Alualu hasn’t shown what they Jaguars might have been expecting when they drafted him, he’s certainly a piece that can add depth to their front seven and came at good value. They also added free safety Sergio Brown to their secondary, Dan Skuta to their linebacking corps, and Jared Odrick to their defensive line.
3. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts currently have quarterback Andrew Luck on his rookie contract, which means they have much more cap space and money to spend than they will in the very near future. They made it to the AFC Championship game last season and aren’t too far off from being at the top of the AFC. To give Luck some help in the passing game and to fill in for Reggie Wayne, the Colts brought in veteran receiver Andre Johnson. Johnson is an instant upgrade over Wayne considering where they both are in their careers. While also releasing running back Trent Richardson, they were able to make their running game much stronger by bringing in Frank Gore who can hopefully take some pressure off of Luck. To assist in their run game they brought in offensive guard Todd Herremans, who was released by the Philadelphia Eagles. Herremans is a very good run blocking lineman.
On defense they added outside linebacker Trent Cole and defensive lineman Kendall Langford. Although Cory Redding is a big departure, Cole and Langford are major additions and can give this defense that extra little bit they might need.
2. Tennessee Titans
Sticking with the AFC South theme I have going here, the Titans have had an excellent free agency period so far. Their defense was a major issue this past season and they were able to add cornerback Perrish Cox, versatile safety Da’Norris Searcy, and outside linebacker Brian Orakpo while re-signing talented outside linebacker Derrick Morgan and defensive lineman Karl Klug. Their additions on defense should certainly have an immediate impact and it helps greatly that they were able to get very fair deals from all of these additions.
On offense they weren’t able to add quite as much but they were still able to land veteran wide receiver Harry Douglas, who will be able to mentor a very young receiving corps, and tight end Anthony Fasano, who, coupled with their other blocking tight end Craig Stevens, will be able to help their running game out a lot, especially in two tight end sets. All the signings the Titans made has allowed them to gain much more flexibility in the upcoming draft.
1. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals were really able to be active in free agency and they decided to do just that. They were able to address most of their needs through free agency and any departure they had they were able to bring someone in to fill that void. One of their biggest weaknesses in 2014 was their offensive line and they certainly addressed this need by bringing in Pro-Bowl guard Mike Iupati and center A.Q. Shipley.
A place they were already strong at last season, their front seven, they decided to make even stronger through free agency. They brought in defensive tackle Corey Peters, defensive end Cory Redding, outside linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, and defensive end/outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley. What puts the Cardinals’ free agency over all the others wasn’t necessarily the amount of talent they brought in but the fact that it gave them a much more clear direction in the upcoming draft. For a team that did so well last season and has the potential to do even better this season, a solid free agency could be just what they need to go to the next level.