Which NFC West Team Improved the Most in Free Agency?
It has been over two weeks since the free agency period has kicked off. By now, most teams in the league are essentially done tapping into the market.
That certainly is the case for the San Francisco 49ers and the rest of the teams in the NFC West. This division was arguably the strongest in the NFL last season. Free agency was just one of many steps for these teams to maintain the high-level of competition.
However, some teams did better than others when it comes to improving themselves. Let's take a look around the NFC West to see which teams improved the most and which ones did very little.
Los Angeles Rams
Players Signed — OL Austin Blythe, DB Dont'e Deayon, LB Leonard Floyd, DE Michael Brockers, OT Andrew Whitworth, DT A'Shawn Robinson.
The Los Angeles Rams experienced a brutal offseason with 11 players entering free agency and nine of them have signed elsewhere or currently remain a free agent. In addition to those losses, the Rams didn't have much wiggle room to work with in terms of cap space, causing them to cut bait with RB Todd Gurley and LB Clay Matthews. As a result, they've lost a total of six starters from last year's squad.
With big money being allocated towards Jared Goff, Aaron Donald and Todd Gurley despite his release, the organization finds themselves with limited resources throughout. Also to note, Jalen Ramsey is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is destined to reset the standard at the top of the cornerback market, so a new deal is in his immediate future. In terms of the coming years, the Rams won't have much, if any payroll flexibility at all, causing them to strictly build their roster through the draft.
Bringing back four-time pro-bowl tackle Andrew Whitworth clearly ranked among their top priorities as the Rams reached an agreement with him on the first day of the new league year. Last season, Jared Goff didn't produce at the same rate of his 2018 campaign and a large part fo that was due to the surrounding pieces in the running game and protection from his offensive line.
Ultimately, the Rams brought back the man to protect Goff's blindside and a quality pass rusher but outside of that, they couldn't do much else other than add complementary pieces.
Rams' Free Agent Grade: D
Seattle Seahawks
Players Signed — TE Greg Olsen, OT Cedric Ogbuehi, OT Brandon Shell, DE Bruce Irvin, OG B.J. Finney, TE Luke Willson, DT Jarran Reed, OG Chance Warmack, WR Phillip Dorsett.
Traded For — CB Quinton Dunbar
So far the Seahawks haven't made any big splashes in free agency but rather they've made a handful of acquisitions that will help their roster from a depth standpoint.
For years now, Seattle has struggled to find stability within their offensive line. With that said, they still didn't land an offensive lineman with a significant track record in pass protection but adding four players to join the front unit should help preserve Russell Wilson from taking a multitude of hits.
In addition to adding support for Wilson's protection, GM John Schneider also brought aboard two skill players with Greg Olsen and Phillip Dorsett joining the mix. The Seahawks' most intriguing addition looks to be Olsen but time will tell how he'll fit in the plans of Brian Schottenheimer's play-calling alongside Will Dissly and the other tight ends they present.
While most teams are likely past the stages of handing out sizeable contracts, the Seahawks remain linked to pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney. They appear to be the front-runner to land the former number one overall pick but the progress of finalizing the deal has shown no indications how close they actually are.
By in large, Seattle has had a quality offseason where they didn't overpay in free agency and they've bolstered their roster with additional depth. If the signing of Clowney eventually comes of fruition, the Seahawks should be fairly happy with how free agency turned out.
Seahawks' Free Agent Grade: C+
Arizona Cardinals
Players Signed — LB De'Vondre Campbell, LB Devon Kennard, DT Jordan Phillips, RB Kenyan Drake, DL Trevon Coley, OT Marcus Gilbert, RB D.J Foster, S Charles Washington, OG Max Garcia, DT Jonathan Bullard, S Chris Banjo, QB Brett Hundley, T D.J. Humphries, WR Larry Fitzgerald.
Traded For — DeAndre Hopkins
The Arizona Cardinals pulled off a trade for WR DeAndre Hopkins, finding themselves on the right side of one of the more lopsided trades in recent memory. Hopkins is held to high regard and cementing him into the offense will give Kyler Murray one of the more dynamic receiving threats in the NFL.
In addition to Arizona's trade with the Houston Texans to bring in Hopkins, GM Steve Keim also brought back Larry Fitzgerald and Kenyan Drake who were important figures to Murray throughout his growth down the stretch run last season.
Arizona brought back both of their starting offensive tackles despite having issues with keeping Murray upright last season. Murray hit the turf 48 times in 2019 and Arizona still neglected the idea of adding an offensive lineman outside of their own organization so all indication suggests that they'll be big players in the tackle market come draft day.
One acquisition that continues to go under the radar for the Cardinals is the addition of De'Vondre Campbell. The outside linebacker tallied 129 tackles last season, ranking 13th in the NFL as a member of the Atlanta Falcons.
Overall, the Cardinals hit big on the skill positions but the offensive line remains an area for improvement. Had they added more punch to the roster outside of wide receiver and running back, Arizona would be buzzing more than what they already are.
Cardinals' Free Agent Grade: B-
San Francisco 49ers:
Players Signed — DL Erik Armstead, DL Ronald Blair, OL Daniel Brunskill, OT Shon Coleman, TE Ross Dwelley, OL Ben Garland, DB Jimmie Ward, DL Kerry Hyder, LB Joe Walker, WR Travis Benjamin, OG Tom Compton.
The San Francisco 49ers weren't big spenders in free agency but for their sake of things that was viewed as a positive. The main reason for not going spend-happy is partially due to their roster already being fundamentally sound while also having their back right up against the salary cap.
For now, it's fair to say the team took a step backward with players lost such as Emmanuel Sanders and DeForest Buckner who've now gone elsewhere. But, Kyle Shanahan and Jon Lynch did put themselves in a good position to fill those holes via the draft, including two first-round selections.
San Francisco's most pivotal signings were brining back Armstead and Ward in order to keep some of their core pieces on defense intact. Armstead's coming off a career year in which he totaled 10 sacks and all indication from the 49ers point of view was they wanted him back all along. With cornerback being an obvious area to upgrade through the draft, re-signing Ward was a no brainer due to his ability to serve multiple purposes as someone who can play both safety positions and nickel corner.
Given their financial circumstances, the 49ers have had an adequate offseason. Flipping Buckner for the 13th overall pick provided them with additional spending money while also gaining a premium draft pick, which from a big picture perspective was the best move for the organization moving forward.
49ers' Free Agent Grade: B
