Winning in March is not always going to translate to winning in September and beyond. You can put together the best possible team on paper, but when it comes down to it, having a great offseason can ultimately end up meaning absolutely nothing. Remember the “Dream Team” the Philadelphia Eagles assembled at one point in time? Sometimes a “great” offseason means doing very little.
But you can’t fault teams for being aggressive in pursuing upgrades. There are teams that can afford continuity and there are teams that simply had to shake things up in 2023. And some did that better than others. Which NFL teams made the most improvement in March? Which teams made the moves that are going to make the biggest difference when the games are actually being played?
Let’s take a look at the top five.
5 NFL teams that improved the most in the 2023 NFL offseason
5. Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears no longer hold the no. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and some would argue they are much better for it. In exchange for the no. 1 pick, the Bears received a bounty from the Carolina Panthers.
Panthers get:
- 1st overall pick
Bears get:
- 9th pick
- 61st pick
- 2024 1st-round pick
- 2025 2nd-round pick
- WR DJ Moore
It’s a steep price to move up to the no. 1 overall pick. It’s a steep price to get your QB of the future. The Bears feel like they have theirs in place in Justin Fields, which is why they were comfortable making this trade and moving not only off the top pick overall, but outside the top five completely.
The biggest piece of the trade — to this point — is wide receiver DJ Moore. Moore fills a void for the Bears that the 2023 NFL Draft likely could not. This is not a top-heavy receiver class, and the Bears desperately needed a playmaker there. Having a rookie would have been okay, but the Bears instead landed a proven playmaker.
Then you have free agency. The Bears have obviously been very active, considering they started with nearly $100 million in overall cap space.
They revamped their linebacker corps by signing Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards to big-money deals. They added former Titans guard Nate Davis to an offensive line desperately needing help. They revamped their running back depth with Travis Homer and D’Onta Foreman.
One of the Bears’ underrated moves was adding defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker on a three-year deal after he racked up seven sacks for the Titans last season.
There is still work to be done with this roster, but the Bears have addressed arguably their biggest need (receiver) and they still have tons of draft capital to work with.
4. Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos got much better almost right away in the 2023 offseason, although the process of hiring a head coach took a little longer than the fan base wanted it to.
The Broncos fired Nathaniel Hackett after a Christmas Day debacle in Los Angeles last year which left the new ownership group in Denver more than furious — they were embarrassed. After Hackett’s dismissal, the search for a new coach was on, and the Broncos jumped through the necessary hoops to land Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints. Although Payton was “retired”, he was still under contract with the Saints and the Broncos had to pay a hefty price to get him.
Payton cost the Broncos a first-round pick in 2023 and a second-round pick in 2024 for his services. Not to mention, his contract (however big that is).
Adding Sean Payton — regardless of the cost draft capital-wise — makes the Denver Broncos instantly better. Then you have NFL Free Agency.
The Broncos went on a massive spending spree in NFL free agency to improve a roster that was ailing in several areas:
Denver Broncos free agency haul
- OT Mike McGlinchey
- OG Ben Powers
- DL Zach Allen
- LB Alex Singleton
- RB Samaje Perine
- QB Jarrett Stidham
- TE Chris Manhertz
The Broncos have upgraded their offensive line, they replaced Dre’Mont Jones (Seahawks) very capably on the defensive front with Zach Allen, and they were able to upgrade the running back position behind Javonte Williams with Samaje Perine.
Ultimately, though, it’s the addition of Sean Payton that lands the Broncos on this list. Of course, we need to see things play out on the field, but if anyone is going to maximize the roster in Denver — led by QB Russell Wilson — it’s got to be Payton, right?
3. Miami Dolphins
It’s impossible not to love what the Miami Dolphins have done so far in the 2023 offseason unless you really dislike Tua Tagovailoa, who had a tremendous season in year one under Mike McDaniel. The Dolphins, like it or not, are committed to Tua. They went out at the 2022 NFL trade deadline and added Denver Broncos pass rusher Bradley Chubb into the mix before signing him to an extension.
The Dolphins have made two very big moves so far in the 2023 offseason that show this team is going to be tough to handle in the coming season. First and foremost, they brought in another former Denver Bronco — Vic Fangio — to coach up and scheme their defense. They then went and added superstar cornerback Jalen Ramsey into the mix of an already-loaded secondary.
Even if you just stopped at Fangio and Ramsey, the Dolphins might be the most improved overall team in the entire league as of mid-late March. The addition of Fangio cannot be overstated in its importance. He might be one of the top “chess players” in the league when it comes to scheming defenses and coverages against modern NFL passing attacks.
Adding Ramsey into the mix now gives one of the ultimate chess players a unique chess piece to work with. Fangio will significantly boost that Miami defense, which now not only has added Ramsey and Chubb, but also linebacker David Long, formerly of the Titans. That signing flew under the radar, but Long will be a great pickup for Miami.
2. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are one of the most beloved teams in the NFL right now by the masses. Unless you’re a fan of a division rival team, and maybe even then, you probably watched the Lions with a lot of intrigue last season as they went from being a tremendous feature on HBO’s Hard Knocks to knocking on the door of the NFL playoffs.
The NFL playoff seeding rules, although expanded to accommodate more teams, failed the Lions miserably last season. They won nine games, beat the Packers in their regular season finale, and still didn’t make the playoffs while the eight-win Buccaneers did. And the Bucs got predictably bounced early.
The Lions are still knocking on the door of the postseason. At least, they are clear postseason contenders and I think most people would have said that before all the moves they made in 2023 NFL free agency. Have a look at their haul thus far:
- SAF CJ Gardner-Johnson
- CB Cam Sutton
- CB Emmanuel Moseley
- RB David Montgomery
- OL Graham Glasgow
The Lions entered the 2023 offseason knowing full well they had to upgrade defensively, specifically in the secondary. I guess if that were their first test, they passed it with flying colors. You get the guy who had a league-leading six interceptions along with a couple of really good corners in Sutton and Moseley?
The Lions are building something special.
The decision to move on from running back Jamaal Williams was an interesting one, but I don’t hate the replacement with David Montgomery at all.
The Lions still have multiple first-round picks to work with, as well. Not only multiple first-round picks but multiple second-round picks on top of that. This team keeps on getting better and they’ve had an impressive offseason that’s only going to look better after the 2023 NFL Draft.
1. Carolina Panthers
Simply put, I don’t like anyone’s offseason in the entire NFL right now better than I like the Panthers’ offseason. This team has done a remarkable job of putting itself in a position to compete right away in a weak division, and they hold the number one overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Let’s start with the most important — the Panthers upgrading their coaching staff. I think Frank Reich being their selection is as smart as it is poetic. The former Panthers QB (the first to ever take a snap for the franchise) is now in charge of leading them to the promised land from the head coach’s chair, and he’s not alone on his all-star staff. Look at some of the big names Reich brought in to coach up this team:
- Duce Staley, Assistant HC, RBs
- Thomas Brown, OC
- Josh McCown, QBs
- Parks Frazier, Passing Game Coordinator
- Shawn Jefferson, WRs
- Ejiro Evero, DC
When you look at some of the key pieces on that staff, what stands out most of all? There is probably not a young quarterback in the league that’s stepping into a better overall situation, is there? That’s why when the Panthers moved up for the no. 1 overall pick — as steep as the cost was — it made so much sense for them to do so. Now, about getting the right guy…
In the meantime, the Panthers brought in Andy Dalton to hold down the fort. Dalton was okay for the Saints last year, so he will be serviceable for the time being. They enhanced the running game by bringing in Miles Sanders from the Eagles, reuniting him with Duce Staley after the best year of his NFL career to date.
They also just recently signed Adam Thielen, a nice veteran presence for a wide receiver room that lost DJ Moore but still features some intriguing pieces in Terrace Marshall Jr. and Laviska Shenault Jr.
Then you add Von Bell, Shy Tuttle, and former Broncos starter DeShawn Williams to a defense now being coached by former Denver defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero? This Carolina team is set up so perfectly to break in a rookie QB and have success early on in Frank Reich’s tenure.