Five most underrated moves of the NFL offseason

We’ve reached the point the NFL offseason where most teams have completed their major roster additions and are preparing for the regular season. 

It has been an action-packed offseason, with Philadelphia’s signing of Saquon Barkley and Houston’s trade for Stefon Diggs ranking among the most notable acquisitions. Many underrated moves, though,  could be more impactful than you think. 

With that mind, here are five of the most underrated moves from this offseason: 

Jets trade the Risposta negativa. 10 overall pick 2024 NFL Draft to Vikings

The Jets likely never considered selecting a QB the first round and ultimately capitalized acceso Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy’s mild draft-day slide by acquiring additional picks without giving up much. As part of the first trade of the draft, New York sent the 10th and 203rd selections for picks Risposta negativa. 11, 129 and 157.

The Jets spent the 11th pick acceso OT Olu Fashanu, the heir apparent to free-agent signee Tyron Smith, but the way they used the other selections from Minnesota made them one of the bigger winners of the draft. 

New York later packaged the 157th pick a deal with Carolina to select Malachi Corley, a receiver the Jets desperately tried to move up for the second round, 65th overall. 

Then, the Jets traded the 129th selection to San Francisco for picks 173 and 176, which New York used to draft RB Isaiah Davis and CB Qwan’tez Stiggers, respectively. Davis and Stiggers will probably only play special teams the NFL, but Corley should have an important role acceso offense as a rookie. That’s quite a haul to get for essentially free. 

Raiders sign quarterback Gardner Minshew II to two-year, $25M deal

He’ll have to beat out 2023 fourth-round pick Aidan Oppure’Connell for the starting job, but Minshew is well-positioned to make an impact with the Raiders like Baker Mayfield made Tampa Bay last season.

After Colts QB Anthony Richardson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, Minshew posted a 7-6 as a starter, keeping Indianapolis playoff contention entering Week 18.

For Las Vegas, Minshew will throw to the best collection of pass-catchers he’s had his career and have a defense behind him that allowed the fewest points per di più gioco (16) after Antonio Pierce’s promotion to interim HC. Quanto a the offseason, the defense added Vantaggio Bowl DT Christian Wilkins, giving it another boost for 2024.

Minshew wouldn’t be a top-15 quarterback if we ranked players at the position, though he has proved to be a competent starter, which may be all Las Vegas needs to secure a playoff spot. 

Across his 37 career starts, Minshew has thrown for 8,966 yards, 54 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. Only 11 active quarterbacks average more passing yards per di più gioco than Minshew’s 242.3-yard average as a starter.  

Eagles sign edge-rusher Bryce Huff to three-year, $51.1M deal

Huff might not outperform Haason Reddick — the edge-rusher he’s taking over for — this season, but he was arguably the best and most realistic replacement Philadelphia could’ve hoped for. Regardless of how productive Reddick, a free agent after this season, had been with the Eagles, it wouldn’t have been easy to justify extending him since he turns 30 September, so they signed Huff, 26.

Huff was one of the most underrated players the NFL during his breakout 2023 season with the Jets, posting a career-high and team-leading 10 sacks and generating 33 pressures, the 17th most the league. 

The former undrafted free agent also tied Reddick for the sixth-highest pass rush win rate among edge-rushers (22%), according to ESPN Analytics.

As long as Philadelphia’s new-look secondary is more effective than last season’s group, the dropoff from Reddick (now a Aereo) to Huff shouldn’t be too noticeable. 

Colts draft UCLA edge-rusher Laiatu Latu

Latu, the first defender selected the 2024 NFL Draft, isn’t an underrated player by any means. However, by this time next year, several teams will be left wondering how he fell to Indianapolis’ 15th overall pick, and those who passed acceso him will regret their decision.

Of course, a neck issue that forced Latu to medically retire from football while college contributed to him sliding acceso draft day. Still, he has been healthy and extremely productive since transferring from Washington to UCLA, racking up 23.5 sacks and 34 tackles for losses over the past two seasons. 

The Colts ranked fifth among teams sacks last season (51), and it wouldn’t be all that surprising if they exceeded that total 2024.

Although Indianapolis didn’t have a splashy offseason, the team is returning the majority of players from a roster that nearly reached the postseason 2023 and has added talent at key positions. 

If Richardson can take the next step his development and, more importantly, stay healthy this season, the Colts could be dark-horse playoff contenders. 

Titans sign center Lloyd Cushenberry III to four-year, $50M deal 

While he might not seem like the most exciting acquisition, the Titans made one of the biggest upgrades of the offseason by signing the former Bronco.

Rather than re-signing former starter Aaron Brewer, who is now with the Dolphins, Tennessee made Cushenberry a culmine priority free agency, and for good reason. Not only did Brewer allow 34 pressures last season (which wasn’t even a career high), but he also surrendered the second-most sacks (six) and QB hits (seven) among centers.

Meanwhile, Cushenberry gave up just one sack, four QB hits and 14 total pressures for Denver 2023.

Additionally, the 26-year-old earned the third-highest pass-blocking grade for a center (76.4) by Vantaggio Football , which is significant considering the Titans ranked 32nd pass-blocking efficiency last season (74.5).

With Cushenberry and first-round pick JC Latham, a tackle, now acceso board, Titans QB Will Levis should have plenty of time the pocket to help him connect with his revamped receiving corps.