Most improved position groups from the 2022 NFL offseason:

Now that “draft season” of 2022 is finally over for me, with the conclusion of my divisional draft breakdown series (breaking down every single pick, their fit on the roster, etc. for all 32 NFL teams). Now is the time to point out which teams have improved the most this offseason in every single position. Whether it's through free agency, trades and of course the draft.

For the purpose of this exercise, I didn’t want to just mention the obvious major additions of one specific player, such as quarterback Russell Wilson, going to Denver. Or wide receiver Davante Adams going to Las Vegas, but rather look at the entire unit. How much better each team's depth chart looks altogether, compared to 2021. Therefore I’m also considering the allocated resources to some degree, particularly the money invested.

I will mention all the additions, departures and explain how big of a difference those moves will make. Also, how does it change what each team can now expect or even do altogether from a schematic/game-plan perspective.

New Colts quarterback Matt Ryan

Quarterbacks – Indianapolis Colts

Additions: Matt Ryan, Nick Foles & Jack Coan

Departures: Carson Wentz & Jacob Eason

I already gave the disclaimer of Russell Wilson now being a Bronco not being taken into account here. The Broncos basically swapped him for Drew Lock (plus a bunch of other assets) and replaced Teddy Bridgewater with a career backup in Josh Johnson. This is obviously a much better room of QBs altogether, but in the spirit of this exercise, I want to talk about a different situation than the one that was so heavily discussed already, I went with the Colts here.

They were in a really tough situation to start this offseason, coming off an embarrassing loss at Jacksonville with their playoff lives in their own hands. They were without a first-round pick due to trading for Carson Wentz from Philadelphia last year. I think they wasted a sixth-round pick on Sam Ehlinger last year, who I simply believe is a college quarterback. They waived Jacob Eason, who they drafted in the fourth two years ago. He won the backup role and then got to throw five passes, filling in for Wentz early in the season. One of those throws ended up being picked off and then getting hurt himself. I thought they fleeced Washington when they sent Wentz back to the NFC East after just one year. Head coach Frank Reich wasn’t able to re-invigorate him by getting back a third-round pick. Indianapolis moved up five slots in the second and then another third-rounder in 2023 that could turn into a two, based on similar parameters to their deal with Philly.

So the Colts are getting an upgrade at the position in Matt Ryan in exchange for a third-rounder. They then signed Nick Foles as a backup at a 2.5-million dollar price and grabbed an undrafted free agent in former Notre Dame QB Jack Coan. Who I believe should be a high quality backup himself, is very smart business. Wentz wasn’t bad last season and if you just look at the numbers, you’d say he was actually better than Ryan, but that’s ignoring several key factors. Indy was number two in total rushing yards and average per attempt, and while Atlanta was in the bottom-three for both, the Colts had the number nine scoring defense. The Falcons were number 29, Ryan was under pressure at a higher rate, held onto the ball less and so on. I believe the biggest improvement we will see with their new signal-caller is not having those moments of breaking down in chaos, trying to force plays that aren’t there and protecting himself against injuries. In terms of arm talent and movement skills, Ryan is a slight downgrade. However he’s much cleaner with his reads, allowing Reich and company to ask him to work through longer progressions and show the maturity to play within himself.

You now pair up Ryan with Michael Pittman Jr. as a pretty complete X receiver. Alec Pierce has the speed and size element as a flanker and two massive tight-ends working down the seams, where the former Falcons QB has always excelled. Combining that with Jonathan Taylor once again spearheading a dominant rushing attack. This allowed the offense to get into tight formations and let Ryan work from play-action, where he felt very comfortable under Kyle Shanahan. The Ryan and Shanahan combo won one MVP award, and presents a more complete offense all the time. Foles brings a very similar skill-set to the table and has always been able to deliver a spark when called up, being confident in taking more downfield shots. Coan even brings similar strengths in terms of a big pocket-passer, who when in rhythm can rip it.

Also considered: Cleveland Browns & Denver Broncos

New 49ers running back Raheem Mostert

Running backs – Miami Dolphins

Additions: Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert, Sony Michel & ZaQuandre White

Departures: Philip Lindsay, Malcolm Brown, Duke Johnson & Patrick Laird

The Dolphins are a candidate for the most improved offensive line as well and that will certainly be a part of an improvement we should see from this rushing attack altogether. Re-configuring the left side with Terron Armstead and Connor Williams. However, no other team in the league I believe added as many bodies this offseason in the backfield (at least in terms of veterans) as Miami.

Looking at their statistics from a year ago, they finished 30th in total rushing yards and 31st in yards per attempt. Their leading rusher in Myles Gaskin averaged 3.5 yards a pop – who by the way is still there – and all but one of the players who carried the ball at least five times last season, averaging less than four yards per touch. That one guy to cross that mark by the way was Duke Johnson, who was brought in for the latter stages of the season and didn’t step into a prominent role until the final four weeks. Johnson is already off the roster again. As for the other guys they lost this offseason – Philip Lindsay couldn’t even log 100 touches in 14 games between the Texans and Dolphins. Arguably the two worst backfields in the league, Malcolm Brown was knocked out after seven games with a quad injury, at which point he had 135 yards on 36 touches. Patrick Laird seemingly spent about half of 58 snaps last season in Pass-Pro.

Miami may be a year late in terms of the noise for the names they brought in via the free agent market, but if they are healthy, there’s a lot to like here. Chase Edmonds by far accounts for the biggest cap hit at 5.5-million this year. He's on basically a one-plus-one deal, where they could cut him next year for 600K of dead cap. You compare that to his backfield teammate in James Conner sticking around in Arizona at 21 million, with 13.5 million guaranteed at signing, that looks like a pretty good deal. They were also able to bring in Raheem Mostert and Sony Michel both at less than two million on one-year prove-it deals. Plus, they picked up UDFA ZaQuandre White, formerly of South Carolina, at just 700K this year.

These four guys all kind of bring a different skill-set to the table, while adding something to the offense that makes sense in relation to how Mike McDaniel wants to build up the unit. Edmonds is a very dynamic space player who can quickly eat up yardage on screen or draw plays, but also beat linebackers on angle routes and make people miss out in space. Mostert is a perfect wide zone back who can make one decisive cut and blow through the line of scrimmage, with the speed to take it the distance. Michel is more so an inside zone/power type of runner as they get into short-yardage situations and need to close out games as well as want to keep a back in protection. Finally, White has that blazing speed and ability to make dynamic moves on the fly. He will contribute in the return game as a rookie, while they figure out exactly how to distribute snaps and touches on offense. Overall, I’d say while they are very different, the guys they had there last season had much narrower skill-sets. They simply couldn’t consistently pick up positive yardage or contribute a whole lot of explosive plays. This, on paper at least, should be a much better group in a far more advanced scheme.

Also considered: Houston Texans

New Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams

Receiving core – Detroit Lions

Additions: D.J. Chark, Jameson Williams, James Mitchell & Kalil Pimpleton

Departures: Khadarel Hodge, Trinity Benson & Darren Fells

On a quick note here, while the status of first-round pick Jameson Williams is still in question as it pertains to when exactly he’ll be ready to play, right now the belief is that he’s ahead of schedule and should be back some time in October. Him recovering from an ACL isn’t really taken into account here, but I felt the need to mention it here.

Let’s start with the position they were in the middle of the 2021 season and then the offseason. With the ascent of last year’s fourth-round pick Amon-Ra St. Brown, they all of a sudden had a legitimate threat at receiver he can win in a multitude of ways. Brown ended the season with six straight games with at least eight receptions, 86+ yards and a touchdown in all but one of them. Obviously with tight-end T.J. Hockenson and running back D’Andre Swift, they now have that kind of triangle inside, with St. Brown mostly operating out of the slot and best kept there. The issue was that they didn’t really have anybody on the perimeter to threaten the defense. Outside of those three names, only Kalif Raymond really contributed through the air, after he was more so a return and vertical threat in Tennessee. Still, Raymond, Josh Reynolds and Quintez Cephus barely combined for 1,000 receiving yards and then there were names like Khadarel Hodge and Trinity Benson.

So what did Detroit do? They brought in D.J. Chark on a one-year, 10-million-dollar deal trying to resurrect his career after fracturing his ankles four weeks into this past season. However, he’s just two years away from a 1000-yard season, when 17 of his 73 catches went for 20+ yards, and he went for just over 700 in 13 games of 2020. His average depth of target was up to 14.0, being able to win down the field and make some acrobatic grabs with defenders around him. Then they went into the draft, where we all expected them to get a difference-maker on the edge defensively and maybe target a developmental quarterback with their pick at the end of the first round. Instead, once they secured Aidan Hutchinson second overall, they traded up 20 spots with the Vikings all the way to 12th overall and selected Alabama first-team All-American receiver Jameson Williams. I already mentioned that he’s coming off a torn ACL, that’ll likely cost him four to six games. However, this guy was a big-play machine for the Crimson Tide, with the ability to blow by the corner and safety trying to bracket him. Williams also would take a shallow crosser and kill the pursuit angle as he hit that extra gear down the opposite sideline. That’s why he was able to score an FBS-best 11(!) touchdowns of 30-plus yards last year.

Just by having those two guys on either end of the formation and stemming vertically, defenses will have to respect that and come out in a lot more two-high looks. Even if Jared Goff isn’t going to scare people with bombs over the top, he can float the ball down the sidelines or hit a post route on the hitch off a five-step drop. That should even lead to even box counts for them, as they want to play more throughout the run game anyway. The Lions also drafted Virginia Tech’s James Mitchell in the fifth round, who I thought was one of the more complete tight-ends in this class and was heavily underdiscussed due to tearing his ACL last season. Although that was fairly early and he might be ready week one as the number two behind Hockenson. Finally, they brought in Kalil Pimpleton as an undrafted free agent, who I believe could make their return game a lot more dynamic and while featuring diminutive size, can deliver some big YAC plays.

Also considered: Pittsburgh Steelers & Miami Dolphins

New Bengals offensive tackle La'el Collins

Offensive line – Cincinnati Bengals

Additions: La’el Collins, Ted Karras, Alex Cappa & Cordell Volson

Departures: Quinton Spain, Trey Hopkins & Fred Johnson

The Bengals were able to put together an unlikely run all the way to the Super Bowl thanks to the clutch play of quarterback Joe Burrow. Along with a dangerous group of skill-position defense that put together effective gameplans in every single round of the postseason. They had an understanding of how to get the opposing team out of their comfort zone. The unit that often held them back in spots and ended up being the reason, they weren’t able to finish the job was the offensive line failing to keep their QB upright. If you remember last year's Super Bowl, Burrow didn’t have enough time to hit Ja’Marr Chase streaking up the sideline on the final play.

You can point to a lot of different statistics to illustrate Cincinnati’s issues in protection. Not only was Burrow sacked more than any other signal-caller in the NFL during the regular season (51 times). They also had two games in the playoffs where they surrendered nine and seven sacks against the Titans and Rams. My favorite way to look at it is this – Joe Burrow was sacked the eighth-most times among passers, despite being 24th in pocket time, meaning he routinely got the ball out quickly. Yet he still took several big hits pretty much every game. The front-office finally decided to protect their most important asset after he already tore a couple of ligaments as a rookie when he had one of his linemen thrown at his legs.

Free agency for the Bengals started with fortifying the interior with veteran player Alex Cappa – a rugged guard who helped create vertical movement for the Buccaneers’ inside zone/duo-based approach. Another veteran, Ted Karras, who after being a backup in New England for the first three years of his career, started all but four games played over the latter three, with a one-year stint in Miami mixed in. He returned to Foxborough, having put together quality play at center and then left guard last season. Subsequently once La’el Collins was released by the Cowboys after missing all of 2020 with a hip injury. He was suspended for five games last season due to claiming he wouldn’t play in Dallas anymore. The Bengals jumped on the opportunity to get this major upgrade at right tackle with a Pro Bowl-level performer, since this has been a sore spot for them for several years now. Finally, they took one of my favorite prospects in this draft with North Dakota State’s Cordell Volson, who helped the Bison win a national championship and rush for 272+ yards per game in all but one of his seasons there, as a stalwart on the right edge.

Not only was Cincinnati’s O-line bad last season, even when they had their best five. They were also shuffling people in and out, and of the 11 players the team has used for 50 or more snaps, seven of them received sub-58.0 grades from Pro Football Focus. Despite getting beaten by Aaron Donald for a hit on Burrow on that final offensive play in the Super Bowl, Quinton Spain is a loss on the left side next to Jonah Williams. The other two guys they didn’t bring back should be more so default options than designated starters. No matter how they end up deploying their new additions, they should have three significant upgrades along the front. While they may want to give last year’s second-round pick Jackson Carman another chance, he did show the ability to uproot defenders out of gaps in the run game, but allowed rushers to get around him at too high a rate. That way Volson would be an ideal sixth man, with the ability to jump in at every spot other than center. Volson could most likely and eventually take over one of those guard spots. I would expect Zac Taylor to leave wide zone runs to some degree, however, with more gap-scheme maulers being brought in.

Also considered: New York Giants & Carolina Panthers

New Chargers defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day

Defensive line – Los Angeles Chargers

Additions: Khalil Mack, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Austin Johnson, Morgan Fox & Otito Ogbonnia

Departures: Linval Joseph, Justin Jones & Kyler Fackrell

If there’s one team in the NFL that showed major potential last season already and really boosted the roster at key spots that were looked at as question marks, it’s the Chargers. Offensively, they were focused on bringing back all of the pieces and used their first-round pick on my top-ranked guard prospect, but defensively they exerted all avenues to upgrade a defense. A defense which finished last season 29th in points allowed – which is really what it comes down to.

There were some issues with the back-end in terms of limiting big plays based on coverage structures under Brandon Staley and Renaldo Hill. They were largely basing it on two-high principles, where they would play top-down and put a lot of pressure on their defensive front. This would lead to nullifying box-count disadvantages in the run game, get opponents into third-and-long situations and then for their pass-rush to get home. That’s despite being dead-average in blitz rate (25.1%), while their secondary had to make tough open-field tackles, which led to the third-most misses in the league (127).

Looking at Staley’s scheme, that he devised as an outside linebacker coach under Vic Fangio in Chicago and Denver. His biggest accolade was leading the Rams D to being the top-ranked unit league-wide. I think the biggest issue for them last season was the lack of bodies up front that would allow them to stick with their philosophy. Since he first took over as defensive coordinator, he’s primarily run odd fronts, where a lot of times there will be uncovered offensive linemen. The guys across from them would be asked to play “one-and-a-half gaps”, meaning they don’t crash through but rather stay in position. This leads to falling off the gap next to them and slowing down the flow of offenses, as more and more teams run a lot of zone concepts.

Now, I would argue that even if he had some real difference-makers up front, Staley & company should self-scout themselves to some degree and realize when their principles get them into front looks. They allow extra gaps to form as offenses utilize pullers and now your safeties would have to rapidly fill from depth, making it nearly impossible to “win” those downs. I put out a video on a couple of key third downs against the Patriots last season, where pre-snap they basically had no shot at stopping rushing conversions on third downs. And looking through sharpfootballstats.com, it appears that opponents had a 78.6 percent conversion rate on runs in third-and-three-or-less situations.

Still, not only did they trade a second-round pick for Khalil Mack, who is one of the most physical edge setters to tighten up the creases. They can then develop on the interior and gives them a pass-rushing threat off the opposite edge from Joey Bosa, but they also added plenty of beef in the middle. Sebastian Joseph-Day was one of the biggest unsung heroes on that 2020 Rams defense. He consistently forced offensive lines to stick with combos on him to free up the second level and has that ability to come off late as the ball-carrier approaches. They get him at 8-million per over the next three years. Austin Johnson won’t be 30 until his two-year, 14-million dollar deal runs out, after starting all 17 games for the Giants last season. Morgan Fox was one of the sneakier signings late in free agency, who had six sacks and eight TFLs under Staley just two years ago, and now they get him at just 4 million per coming off a down-year in Carolina. Finally, they draft UCLA’s Otito Ogbonnia in the fifth round, who has great lateral movement skills and base strength to contribute on early downs, while at least adding some pocket-pushing value.

Other than Mack, these may not be huge sack guys, but they’ll allow L.A. to get to longer downs, affording their pressure players time to get home and be more creative schematically.

Also considered: Detroit Lions & Denver Broncos

New Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun

Linebackers – Jacksonville Jaguars

Additions: Foyesade Oluokun, Devin Lloyd & Chad Muma

Departures: Myles Jack & Damien Wilson

First and foremost, I really believe that if Myles Jack can return to form in Pittsburgh, they got themselves a steal and he could upgrade the linebacker spot for them in a major way. However, he has been fighting through nicks and bruises for the last couple of years, being a frequent name on the injury report. Jack has struggled not being able to play at the level he’s supposed to, while some people believe his knees at only 26 years old are a major concern.

Either way, even if we do take into account how the Jaguars might have lost what was not too long ago considered one of the most promising young linebackers, I think they are much better set up at the second level in 2022. Jack himself had zero sacks, interceptions, fumbles forced or recovered. Going along with just three tackles for loss while surrendering a passer rating of 108.3 and recording just four pressures on 53 blitzes. Another designated starter (in nickel packages) Damien Wilson had slightly better coverage and rush numbers. He missed 13 tackles and a lot of his successful attempts came several yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Their PFF ratings were by far the worst of any starting duo in the league at 37.7 and 44.0 respectively.

Now, those results don’t take into account that their defensive line had its issues. Starting with the pre-existing pieces not really fitting, the 3-4 hybrid front former Ravens assistant Joe Cullen probably had in mind to run. They were dead-average (17th overall) in terms of yards per rush – since the total numbers will look different with how much they were trailing last season – isn’t bad. But I thought in passing situations, that LB unit was a major issue, because not only were they very small factors in terms of production. With pressure-players themselves, Jacksonville blitzing at the fifth-highest rate in the league (31.5%), we saw their backers get isolated a whole lot with backs and having to pick up receivers in match-zone.

While major changes in the coaching staff were inevitable, with Urban Meyer incapable of even showing appropriate human decency to the people around him. In terms of the basic idea behind the defense, we should see new DC Mike Caldwell try to follow up on early down odd fronts and exotic blitz-packages in passing situations. He will use a man or match-quarters behind in, having his roots in Todd Bowles’ defense. They added two other key pieces to allow that talent on the second level to flourish, in a run-stuffing machine named Foley Fatukasi. Along with another guy in Darious Williams, who will slide inside and sure up the nickel spot for them.

It’s a huge contract (three years, 45-million), but they went heavily after former Falcon Foyesade Oluokun in free agency. Not only traded back up into the first round for what was generally viewed as the number one linebacker in the draft in Utah’s Devin Lloyd. Then selected Wyoming’s Chad Muma in the third. The first two here could be huge pieces in their pressure packages, with Oluokun recording three times as much pressure as Myles Jack did on the same amount of blitzes. While Lloyd was a versatile piece in college, being able to threaten off the edge with speed or cross multiple gaps as a stand-up player. Then you also get Muma, who’s a super-instinctive player and can spy behind that initial wave or pick up crossers between the hashes. I believe they’ll be able to fabricate pressure at a much higher rate with the help of these guys and can clean up the stuff they leave themselves vulnerable to more effectively.

Also considered: Philadelphia Eagles & Atlanta Falcons

Cornerbacks – Los Angeles Chargers

Additions: J.C. Jackson, Bryce Callahan & Ja’Sir Taylor/Deane Leonard

Departures: Chris Harris Jr., Davontae Harris & Ryan Smith

I told ya’ll the Chargers really upgraded on defense and they make another appearance here. I’ve already discussed some of the front mechanics and how they coincide with what they want to do on the back-end under Brandon Staley and Renaldo Hill. Now I want to take a look at the pieces they added at the cornerback spot this offseason.

Last year in the draft, I thought they made a slam-dunk pick with Florida State’s Asante Samuel Jr. in the second round. I thought he’d be a perfect fit as more of their field-side off-zone cornerback, with the ability to cap over routes vertically, as well as plant and drive on stuff in front of him. He was certainly on the right track early on, holding opposing passers to six-of-13 when targeting him, with zero touchdowns compared to two interceptions over his first three games. He got banged up and had some issues holding his own in contested situations against bigger bodies, but that’s not necessarily the matchups you want him in anyway.

So my question heading into the year was the guy they could line up in the boundary and have in more quasi-man-coverage, whether it was Michael Davis or Tevaughn Campbell. The good news is those two guys are still there, but they’re now backups, because the Chargers brought in the diamond for this free agency class of corners in J.C. Jackson. While the Patriots do traditionally use their top corner against the number two receiver and double the biggest threat. However, we did see Jackson shadow the opposing team’s star a lot of times. Even when the Patriots had to somewhat defer to more zone looks last season, he was able to make big plays on the football. Basically, this guy in three seasons as a stable, leads the NFL with 22 interceptions, with passer ratings of 34.1, 66.5 and 46.8 allowed, respectively.

The second big addition was Bryce Callahan, who was one of the top nickels in the league back in 2017 and ‘18, when Staley was with him in Chicago. Callahan missed the 2019 season and then performed like one of the best outside corners in Denver in 2020. Last season wasn’t quite up to par, but over his last 34 games, he’s only been responsible for two touchdowns compared to his four picks. So you get him there now in the slot over Chris Harris Jr., who has been a great player for a long time. Harris will turn 33 years old and has certainly fallen off recently, with seven TDs allowed versus two picks over his 23 games in L.A.

So as I’m trying to envision how this defense could look different, I’m picturing J.C. Jackson lining up across the X receiver, particularly in three-by-one sets. As well as being in quasi-man as they’re playing quarters or cover-two and keep that safety to his side on the hash. With Callahan's addition inside, they can stick him onto the slot and allow Samuel to drive up as a flat defender. Another option Samuel carries out wide and then you can kind of work in banjo shenanigans, as you drop down Derwin James or incorporate switch calls late. They can do this because you have versatile coverage pieces and guys that have experience in multiple spots. So I’m excited to see what those guys will cook up. Finally, they brought in a couple of developmental CBs late in the draft, with Ja’Sir Taylor from Wake Forest and Deane Leonard from Ole Miss fighting for a roster spot.

Also considered: New York Jets & Houston Texans

Baltimore Ravens safeties

Safeties – Baltimore Ravens

Additions: Marcus Williams & Kyle Hamilton

Departures: DeShon Elliott & Anthony Levine

And lastly, we get to a Ravens group of safeties, which over the last couple of years wasn’t a weak-spot and former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale ran his defense largely through that unit. Chuck Clark is the green-dot guy for them, who will communicate all the calls with the rest of the defense. However, with him being in the last year of his contract, they have already re-invested into that group and brought in players who will allow them to play in a few different ways.

If you look at how Baltimore’s defense was structured under Wink, they were in multiple fronts. In general, there were a lot of three down-linemen with heavy rotations and two outside linebackers asked to attack the chests of blockers on the edge. To not allow any real creases to ball-carriers on early downs. Then on third downs, no other team in the league would probably put as many bodies at or near the line of scrimmage to make it tough on protections to figure out who exactly is coming and mostly they would send one more than the offense could block, with man-coverage across the board, along with some match-zone principles.

That meant their safeties were put in quite a few tough situations, having to match up with slot receivers and with Clark dropping down as a robber or picking up tight-ends as a member of the box. The other guy was asked to drift into the deep middle, with lots of space for guys stemming vertically down the seams. And when you look at the coverage numbers, whether it was DeShon Elliott or the guy who replaced him after tearing his biceps and pectoral muscle six weeks in, with Brandon Stephens, that becomes clear. Combined, they allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 41 of 56 passes for 571 yards and five touchdowns versus one interception, with passer ratings of 128.8 and 120.6, respectively. Clark, in comparison, was at two TDs and INTs each, with a passer rating of 81.9.

Still, those guys were heavily involved in Baltimore’s pressure packages, as the two names I mentioned along with Clark were blitzed 76 times last season. I don’t believe we’ll quite see that same type of defense, but rather see more quarters principles to complement what they want from a blitz perspective. Where I see former Michigan DC Mike Macdonald now returning to Baltimore to play more top-down on the back-end. In doing so, they signed free agent Marcus Williams to a five-year, 70-million dollar deal, with about half of it guaranteed. The Ravens then used the 14th overall pick on the consensus number one safety in the draft in Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton.

Williams is a phenomenal single-high option, with range to make plays in-between the numbers, but also great instincts and anticipation skills to drive down in two-deep looks and shut down easy yardage for the opposing offense. Hamilton, on the other hand, presents a freakish physical profile at 6’4”, 220 pounds, being able to charge up the alley, squeeze down from the slot or truly play in the box as a run defender. While his reliable tackling skills make him an attractive option to play anywhere between the hashes in zone or match up with tight-ends. Not only are those two major upgrades, in my opinion, but with the change in defensive play-callers, I believe Williams can excel as somebody who can rotate into the high post. Hamilton can then be the guy who cleans up all the mess they create as they send extra bodies in passing situations, while being two ultra-dependable tacklers will transform the whole defense to some degree.

They did lose Anthony Levine, who has been a special teams stalwart for them for a decade, but he only played three percent of the defensive snaps in each of the past two seasons.

Also considered: Indianapolis Colts

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