The most (and least) improved NFL positional groups

Three years after misfiring on Haason Reddick in Round 1, the Cardinals have their best off-ball linebacker corps in a long time. After adding Jordan Hicks in free agency last year, Arizona acquired Atlanta's 2019 tackles leader, four-year starter De'Vondre Campbell, on a team-friendly deal and saw gifted Clemson chess piece Isaiah Simmons fall to No. 8 overall. The Cardinals' best-available pick may leave Campbell as merely a two-down player, or defensive coordinator Vance Joseph could find a way to get all three of his talented 'backers on the field by capitalizing on Simmons' versatility.

The Panthers lost many talented players this offseason. Super Bowl 50 starters Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, Greg Olsen and Trai Turner are gone. The latter is a Charger after an unusual lineman-for-lineman trade, with the Panthers swapping their 26-year-old guard for 32-year-old contract-year tackle Russell Okung. Carolina also lost Daryl Williams, a tackle who started eight games at guard last season, and two-year guard starter Greg Van Roten. Matt Rhule's team is starting over at guard. 

Perhaps the most obvious entry here, the Cardinals will pair all-time great Larry Fitzgerald with a top-five current wideout in DeAndre Hopkins. And it did not cost the Cards a first-round pick. Hopkins, Fitzgerald and third-year starter Christian Kirk will become one of the league's best active wide receiver trios. Hopkins is riding a streak of three first-team All-Pro seasons, and his contested-catch prowess will stand to help Kyler Murray as it did Deshaun Watson. Hopkins will be only 28 this season.

Short of drafting Isaiah Simmons over Derrick Brown, the Panthers were going to come out behind where they were at linebacker at season's end. Luke Kuechly will be enshrined in Canton this decade. His five first-team All-Pro honors are three more than any other player in the Panthers' 25-season history. While Shaq Thompson will anchor the group going forward, Carolina could not realistically replace the 2010s' best off-ball 'backer. The Panthers drafted seven defensive players but interestingly did not select a linebacker, going with street free agent Tahir Whitehead instead.

Good luck finding many weaknesses on the Ravens roster. Free agency defector Patrick Onwuasor could not fill C.J. Mosley's shoes, so the Ravens drafted a linebacker in Round 1 for the first time since selecting Mosley in the 2014 first round. Although undersized and bringing only one year of standout play at LSU, Patrick Queen possesses 4.5-second 40-yard dash speed and will be a Day 1 starter in Baltimore. Third-round pick Malik Harrison, a much bigger linebacker out of Ohio State, may join him soon. 

Chicago's offensive line ranked 29th in Football Outsiders' top run-blocking metric last season, and the team waited until the seventh round to address the unit. The Bears did sign underwhelming Seahawks right tackle Germain Ifedi and will try him at guard. But four of Chicago's five 2019 starters — including suddenly shaky tackles Charles Leno and Bobby Massie — return. This group, however, played much better in 2018. GM Ryan Pace appears to be counting on a bounce-back season from his holdovers.

The Bills vastly improved an inept receiving corps last year, signing John Brown and Cole Beasley, who nearly combined for 2,000 yards last season. The Bills gave up a lot for Stefon Diggs, but he will become their aerial centerpiece and provide Josh Allen with one of the game's best route runners. Diggs, 26, is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and will allow more Brown deep work while also complementing slot cog Beasley. While Diggs' $14.4 million-per-year contract may become an issue at some point, Buffalo has a prime-years standout locked up through 2023.

Despite Pro Football Focus ranking the Bengals offensive line 30th last season, the team waited until Round 6 to address this group and signed only Cowboys part-time starter Xavier Su'a-Filo. Cincinnati did invest first-round picks in its O-line in 2018 (center Billy Price) and 2019 (left tackle Jonah Williams). But the former has disappointed and is not a projected starter, and the latter missed all of last season. Their increased offseason spending aside, the Bengals remain undermanned up front.

While Freddie Kitchens' coaching helped accelerate Baker Mayfield's descent, the Browns' basement-level tackle duo did as well. New GM Andrew Berry responded by signing one of this year's top free agents, four-year Titans right tackle starter Jack Conklin, and using a first-round pick on Alabama's Jedrick Wills. The latter will almost certainly start in Week 1 opposite Conklin, with previous right tackle Chris Hubbard now in place to be a swing backup. The Wills-Conklin pair could do wonders for Mayfield and his array of playmakers.

Lost in one of this offseason's top stories — the Packers' receiver-less draft after their Jordan Love pick — is Devin Funchess' arrival. The former Panthers wideout was productive from 2017-18, catching 12 TD passes and approaching 1,400 yards in that span. But the slow-footed receiver missed 15 games last season. The Packers needed to give Aaron Rodgers more help. Green Bay also did little at tight end, drafting fullback-type Josiah Deguara to join a crew housing a host of unproven players and soon-to-be 36-year-old Marcedes Lewis. As Brett Favre said , Davante Adams (and Rodgers) may be on his own again.

Both Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup cleared 1,100 receiving yards last season, but a true best-player-available pick will send prized Oklahoma prospect CeeDee Lamb to Dallas. As far as receiver troikas go, this should be one of the NFL's best in years. Profiling as a shorter DeAndre Hopkins yet better after the catch, Lamb will take some heat off Cooper and further free up Gallup. Dak Prescott smashed his career-high with 4,902 yards last season. And Lamb — he of 25 TD catches over the past two seasons — will scare defenses more than Randall Cobb did. 

With it unlikely the Texans will carry four veteran salaries at receiver, it appears new GM Bill O'Brien exchanged DeAndre Hopkins and Kenny Stills for Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb. Cooks is attached to a $16.2M-per-year deal and has become an unfortunate concussion risk after sustaining two more in 2019. Losing Hopkins (signed through 2022) at age 27 without getting a first-round pick back may go down as one of the worst trades in modern NFL history. Cooks, Cobb and the injury-prone Will Fuller do not appear as threatening as the trio the Texans featured in 2019, yet it's somehow more expensive.

The Broncos went all out to determine Drew Lock's viability at quarterback, drafting wide receivers in Rounds 1 and 2. Alabama's latest route-running dynamo, Jerry Jeudy, will be an instant starter. Penn State slot speed merchant K.J. Hamler will likely join Jeudy and Courtland Sutton in Denver's lineup this season. The Broncos also made Division II product Zimari Manning (22 TD catches last season) a UDFA addition. Trades of Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders stripped the Broncos of proven receivers, so they capitalized on the 2020 draft's receiver depth to rearm their group.

Breakout linebacker Cory Littleton signed with the Raiders, and the Rams did not use much draft capital to address the position. The Rams have encountered predictable financial issues, so devoting much money here was not expected. Still, Los Angeles needs to find two three-down players out of a talent pool including two seventh-round picks, ex-Raven Kenny Young (six starts with Baltimore; none with L.A. thus far), 2019 UDFA Troy Reeder, one of PFF's worst-graded starters last season, and 2018 fifth-rounder Micah Kiser. The latter missed all of 2019. Veteran help may be required.

Both of the 49ers' Super Bowl LIV defensive tackle starters are now Colts. Not to minimize Sheldon Day's Indianapolis arrival, but the Colts acquiring DeForest Buckner is a game-changer. The anchor of San Francisco's D-line for years, Buckner is going into only his age-26 season. The elite inside rusher's prime should come in Indianapolis, and his top-market extension may not be a major issue when the Colts have only a rookie-QB contract on their payroll following Philip Rivers' retirement. In addition to giving the Colts their best D-lineman since maybe Robert Mathis' prime, Buckner will create favorable matchups for teammates.

Teddy Bridgewater, Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton signed elsewhere, which makes Cam Newton-to-New England unlikely. The Patriots may seriously be ready to use 2019 fourth-rounder Jarrett Stidham as Tom Brady's successor. The 2020 Pats look less talented than their 2019 version, with the playmaker group Brady struggled with remaining in place and thus may use this year to develop Stidham. But it would still be a historically strange route for the Pats to replace a 14-time Pro Bowler with such an unknown commodity. Unless Brian Hoyer (on Pats stint No. 3) wins the QB battle, that looks like the plan.

Passing on Jerry Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb for a far less productive wideout represents risk, but Henry Ruggs is a classic Raider. The sub-4.3-second 40-yard dash burner will take on a greater role as a pro than he did at Alabama, somehow, and become Las Vegas' WR1 early. The Raiders also drafted big-bodied South Carolina target Bryan Edwards and Kentucky gadget player Lynn Bowden in Round 3. This obscured the Raiders' March signing of former Eagles first-rounder Nelson Agholor, who, despite an inconsistent career, played a key role in Philly's 2017 Super Bowl run. 

This is either the NFL's most puzzling defensive position group, or some recent Giant mid-round picks are set for breakout seasons. The Giants' current top edge rusher is Kyler Fackrell, an ex-Packer rotational cog. While third-rounders Lorenzo Carter and Oshane Ximines combined for nine sacks last season, the team ranked just 22nd in sacks with  Markus Golden. The Giants did not address the position in the draft until Round 6, and Golden (10 sacks in 2019) remains a good bet to play elsewhere in 2020. 

Cornerbacks like Byron Jones do not usually hit free agency, making the Dolphins' March agreement with the ex-Cowboy one of this year's most important moves. Since moving from safety to corner in 2018, Jones has become one of the NFL's top boundary cover men. The Dolphins will pair their $16.5M-per-year signee with $15M-AAV man Xavien Howard, forming the most expensive cornerback duo in NFL history. Miami then used a first-round pick on potential slot corner Noah Igbinoghene, an Auburn product, to complete a massive overhaul.  

The Jets' post-draft outside linebacker depth chart looks thin yet again. Although GM Joe Douglas re-signed top sacker Jordan Jenkins, he is a mid-tier edge rusher at best — hence the one-year, $5M deal. The Jets used a third-round pick on self-proclaimed steal of the draft Jabari Zuniga, out of Florida, but that was their only notable outside addition. Gang Green tried to land Khalil Mack and Anthony Barr over the past two years but once again is carrying modest pass-rushing firepower. It may again be on defensive coordinator Gregg Williams to manufacture a quality defense despite this.

In addressing an O-line that has been one of the NFL's worst for years, the Jets did not mess around. They signed three outside free agents who were starters last year or have been first-stringers in their careers and used the No. 11 overall pick on massive Louisville tackle Mekhi Becton. The Jets added two-year Broncos starter Connor McGovern to play center, added ex-Panthers guard Greg Van Roten, a top-30 PFF guard last season, and re-signed left guard Alex Lewis. They also authorized a three-year, $27.3M deal — what amounts to an expensive 2020 test run — for ex-Seahawks swing tackle George Fant.

Injuries limited the Redskins' top two tight ends, Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis, to four combined games in 2019. As could be expected in a disaster scenario, Washington struggled to get much from that position. The unanticipated part: its 2020 tight end depth chart. Washington signed ex-Packer Richard Rodgers, who has one catch over the past two years, and did not draft a tight end. The Redskins did sign Randy Moss' son Thaddeus, a one-year LSU starter, as a UDFA. But after missing out on Greg Olsen, Ron Rivera has taken an interesting route to filling this position. 

Even if Rob Gronkowski was not in top form in his final Patriots season and is a perpetual injury risk, acquiring this era's most dominant tight end for a fourth-round pick is a huge win for a Buccaneers team that is loading up for a two-year run with Tom Brady. From 2011-17, Gronk (when healthy) was the NFL's biggest mismatch, and he changed the Pats' trajectory. Pairing him with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin will double as the best Bucs aerial corps in their 45-season history. With O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate still around, this is currently one of the best tight end groups in NFL history.

If Ben Roethlisberger returns to Pro Bowl form, listing this will look dumb. But Big Ben is 38 and coming off elbow surgery. And he has endured myriad injuries for years. More importantly, Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges fared poorly in Roethlisberger's 2019 absence. The Steelers plummeted from sixth to 32nd in offensive DVOA from 2018-19. Lacking a first-round pick, Pittsburgh was not in an ideal spot to draft Big Ben's successor this year. But a Steelers team that suddenly reloaded on defense could use better Roethlisberger insurance. 

This is simple. The Redskins drafted Chase Young. The Ohio State phenom recorded 16.5 sacks in 12 games as a junior and is one of the best defensive prospects to enter the league this century. The impact defensive end talent will join a talented D-line and make Washington's pass rush a handful to deal with this coming season. There are five first-round picks in this group, with Montez Sweat (2019), Daron Payne (2018), Jonathan Allen (2017) and Ryan Kerrigan (2011) joining Young. And starter Matt Ioannidis is no slouch either.