USA TODAY International Edition
NFC grades
With the offseason complete, USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis hands out report cards for each NFC team’s performance:
Conference champion Seahawks aced offseason; how did other teams do?
A-
SEAHAWKS: Assuming their Super Bowl scars have healed, they should enter training camp with excellent odds to return to the big game. TE Jimmy Graham brings a needed red- zone presence and was certainly worth the 31st pick of the draft. RB Marshawn Lynch got his new deal. CB Cary Williams only toughens the Legion of Boom. Second- round DE Frank Clark was a controversial choice but fills a need, as does third- round WR- KR Tyler Lockett. All that’s left is for the newlook O- line to be fine- tuned; for DBs Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor and Jeremy Lane to fully heal after a bruising postseason; and, of course, for QB Russell Wilson to get paid.
B+
CARDINALS: GM Steve Keim has so many deft strokes to his credit, he’s almost beyond reproach. Perhaps his only failure this spring was the inability to acquire Adrian Peterson, no easy feat. Still, the Arizona ground game could take off with firstround T D. J. Humphries, free agent G Mike Iupati and sneaky-good third- round RB David Johnson. ILB Sean Weatherspoon, OLB LaMarr Woodley and DE Cory Redding were all nice shortterm investments.
PACKERS: Per usual, they took care of most of their own, resigning WR Randall Cobb, RT Bryan Bulaga, NT B. J. Raji and DE Letroy Guion. The draft brought versatile DBs Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins, but picking QB Brett Hundley raised eyebrows because he likely won’t start a game for Green Bay. GM Ted Thompson purged most of his inside linebackers without adding obvious replacements, meaning Clay Matthews likely has to man the middle again in the base defense.
VIKINGS: They have their most important player, RB Adrian Peterson, back — a major plus, even if he’s not exactly a totally happy camper. But time ( and maybe guaranteed money at some point) tends to heal the NFL’s emotional wounds. Peterson rejoins a promising young team seemingly bolstered by a top- shelf draft that included CB Trae Waynes, LB Eric Kendricks and OL T. J. Clemmings. And Peterson should find more room to roam with new WR Mike Wallace taking safeties deep.
B
RAMS: The headliner is firstround RB Todd Gurley, who just might be Marshawn Lynch 2.0 — if his knee is healed. An offensive line in disarray received four reinforcements in the draft and adds Isaiah Battle in the supplemental draft. If newly acquired QB Nick Foles doesn’t pan out, third- rounder Sean Mannion might just be worthy of a shot in 2016. Free agent Nick Fairley becomes the fifth first- rounder on an imposing D- line.
REDSKINS: New GM Scot McCloughan didn’t make a bunch of headline- grabbing moves ... which is pretty much exactly what this team has needed for years. He quietly revamped his defensive line, added high- quality Dashon Goldson and Chris Culliver to the secondary and got nice, solid OL Brandon Scherff atop the draft. Those transactions should directly or indirectly help determine whether Robert Griffin III is a franchise quarterback this year.
SAINTS: The stunning trade of Pro Bowl TE Jimmy Graham in March signaled a bit of an organizational reboot as the Saints loaded up on young defensive players and seemed to telegraph a desire to stress a more physical ground attack. Versatile RB C. J. Spiller joins Mark Ingram in the backfield, while the O- line was upgraded with first- round T Andrus Peat and Pro Bowl C Max Unger, who arrived from Seattle in the Graham deal. Secondround OLB Hau’oli Kikaha could cause a lot of havoc.
B-
BUCCANEERS: If No. 1 pick Jameis Winston blooms into the franchise quarterback the organization thinks he is, this offseason is a home run. If concerns about his maturity prove founded, GM Jason Licht and coach Lovie Smith will be on the street in no
time. Licht largely skirted free agency after last year’s disastrous foray, capped by the releases of DE Michael Johnson and T Anthony Collins this March. But he wisely reloaded the O- line in the draft.
EAGLES: Goodbye, LeSean McCoy ... hello and goodbye, Frank Gore ... hello, DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews. Goodbye, Nick Foles ... hello, Sam Bradford. Goodbye, Jeremy Maclin ... hello, Nelson Agholor. Goodbye, Trent Cole ... hello, Kiko Alonso. Goodbye, Cary Williams ... hello, Byron Maxwell. Good riddance, Evan Mathis. Welcome, Tim Tebow ... at least for now. Lots of talent lost, lots of talent gained. Few teams keep it as compelling on or off the field as Chip Kelly’s operation.
C+
COWBOYS: The last few months have been fraught with gambles — swapping 2014 rushing king DeMarco Murray for far cheaper but much less reliable Darren McFadden in free agency, signing controversial DE Greg Hardy and drafting promising but checkered pass rusher Randy Gregory. MLB Rolando McClain returns — sort of — but his substance abuse violation and resulting fourgame suspension obviously did not help. But signing rookie OL La’el Collins could be a coup. And finally securing all- pro WR Dez Bryant for the long haul brings a sigh of relief from Valley Ranch. And the reduction of Hardy’s suspension already shows some of the risks incurred seem to be panning out.
FALCONS: New coach Dan Quinn has been a hot prospect for a few years but accepts daunting tasks as he tries to build a new culture and turn around the league’s worst defense. GM Thomas Dimitroff opted for quantity over quality during free agency. Many of the incoming rookies appear to have serious boom- or- bust potential, though fourth- round WR Justin Hardy could be a gem.
GIANTS: The draft procured help for the O- line and at the dangerously depleted safety spot. However, the arrival of firstround OT Ereck Flowers was offset by the offseason chest muscle tear suffered by starting LT William Beatty. But a promising passing attack might yet hit a new gear with the arrival of thirddown back Shane Vereen and the healthy return of WR Victor Cruz, who should form quite a tandem with Odell Beckham Jr.
D+
BEARS: It feels like 2015 is already a lost cause as turnaround specialist John Fox and new GM Ryan Pace assess the roster. Unable to unload Jay Cutler, the new staff will be the latest trying to salvage the mercurial quarterback’s career. First- round WR Kevin White ultimately might prove an upgrade over Brandon Marshall, who was traded. But a defense that’s probably been the worst in a century of Bears football needed more than OLB Pernell McPhee, NT Eddie Goldman and some aging vets. The Ray McDonald debacle didn’t exactly get Pace off on the right foot, either.
D-
49ERS: A tough stretch not necessarily of the Niners’ making came in the retirements of LBs Patrick Willis and Chris Borland, DL Justin Smith and RT Anthony Davis. But the identity of a team that also parted with hard- driving coach Jim Harbaugh and franchise rushing leader Frank Gore remains a question. And here’s another one: Why didn’t they draft any corners? WR Torrey Smith and RB Reggie Bush might help, but only if QB Colin Kaepernick’s offseason tutorials with Kurt Warner have taken root.
LIONS: Shame on them for unwise cap management that created a scenario allowing game-wrecking DT Ndamukong Suh to escape for nothing. Losing fellow DT Nick Fairley was clearly an organizational decision, but a void remains that even an established player such as Haloti Ngata can hardly be expected to fill. Firstround G Laken Tomlinson leads a draft that might be fine but lacked flash — and D- tackles with high- end potential.
PANTHERS: The draft was thin on numbers ( five selections) and maybe talent. Shaq Thompson seemed like a reach in the first round, while second- rounder Devin Funchess could be too slow to play receiver and too small to be a tight end. Locking up a bona fide tight end, Greg Olsen, made sense. But after saying he’d be a player in free agency, GM Dave Gettleman settled for spare parts and declining veterans.
For AFC grades, go to nfl. usatoday. com.