Who won the NFL offseason? From Browns to Beast Mode, here are 10 candidates
Other candidates include Jameis Winston, Blake Bortles and, of course, the Patriots
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7 min read
Now that Rex Ryan no longer is employed in the NFL and therefore unable to claim the crown for himself, the race for Offseason Champion is officially wide open. Ryan, most recently coach of the Bills, proclaimed before his final season in Buffalo that his team won the offseason. Here's where I point out that Sammy Watkins underwent foot surgery, Shaq Lawson had shoulder surgery, Chris Hogan left for New England and Rob Ryan joined the coaching staff -- all in one offseason.
Anyway, Ryan isn't a coach anymore, which means we're free to appoint the actual offseason victor. This might come as a surprise, but the Patriots didn't finish in first, though they're certainly in the top 10.
Onto the list ...
10. Davis Webb and Patrick Mahomes
Oddly enough, Mahomes stole Webb's starting job at Texas Tech when Webb went through a rough injury patch, which led Webb to transfer to Cal. In the end, both wound up in good college situations, playing in quarterback-friendly systems that showcased their big arms. Both should be considered developmental prospects and were picked by perfect teams in last month's draft.
Mahomes landed with the Chiefs, where he'll sit behind Alex Smith. That's not the important part. The important part is that he'll be coached by Andy Reid. Say what you want about Reid's inability to manage the clock -- because there's plenty to say -- but he's the coach to bring along Mahomes. Look at what he has done with Brett Favre, Donovan McNabb, Kevin Kolb, Michael Vick, Jeff Garcia and even Smith.
As for Webb, he didn't go as high as he wanted, lasting until the third round, but still wound up in a great spot. Before the draft, I spoke with Webb's coach at Cal, Sonny Dykes (who was fired after the season), about Webb's NFL chances. Here's what he told me:
"I think it all depends on what organization he goes to," Dykes says. "I think that his success, a lot of it is going to depend on that. That's just the way it works. That's the way, unfortunately, this stuff goes. If he has an opportunity to go to New Orleans and work with Sean Payton and watch Drew Brees then what a great opportunity, what an invaluable experience. If he's got to go someplace else and he has to play early and takes his lumps early ⦠it's a different experience. But he's still going to benefit from that experience as well, assuming everybody doesn't turn on him immediately.
"That's the bad thing about the NFL. If you don't throw six touchdowns the first week, you're labeled a failure and everybody turns on you. I think he would, like any quarterback, be very fortunate to go and have a chance to learn behind somebody and come along slowly."
He won't learn from Drew Brees and Sean Payton, but learning from Eli Manning isn't the worst outcome. Neither is throwing passes to Odell Beckham.
Webb and Mahomes have the chance to sit, learn and eventually start for playoff-caliber teams. Those are much better outlooks than say, Jared Goff, who joined a bad Rams team and is expected to turn around a franchise by himself.
9. Brandon Marshall
In a rough 2016 season, Marshall failed to reach 1,000 receiving yards for only the third time in his 11-year career. He caught fewer touchdowns (three) than the Jets' win total (five).
But his offseason couldn't have gone any better. He escaped the Jets when they released him, allowing him to join the good New York team.
With the Giants, he won't need to carry an offense. He won't even be the No. 1 receiver, as those duties belong to Beckham. Marshall will catch passes from Manning a year after watching Ryan Fitzpatrick throw passes over his head and into enemy hands. He'll actually have a legitimate chance to break his playoff-less streak -- he has never played in a postseason game.
Marshall recently said he is planning on playing for two more seasons. He found the perfect spot to finish his stellar career.
8. The Browns
It still feels weird to place the Browns on this list. But give them credit.
Give them credit for having the cap space to take on Brock Osweiler's contract, which resulted in an extra second-round pick. Give them credit for bolstering their offensive line by signing guard Joel Bitonio to an extension and landing two more offensive linemen, JC Tretter and Kevin Zeitler. Give them credit for taking Myles Garrett with the first overall pick in the draft, which might have seemed like the obvious selection, but given their draft history the Browns deserve credit for making the right move. Finally, give them credit for landing DeShone Kizer in the second round when many thought he would go at the end of the first round.
Give the Browns credit, no matter how strange that might seem. They're not ready to compete this season, but they're inching closer to relevancy.
7. Matt Kalil
This one's simple. Matt Kalil, who appeared in two games last season, was given a five-year, $55.5 million contract that includes $31 million guaranteed, courtesy of the Panthers. In 2015, when Kalil appeared in all 16 games, he was Pro Football Focus' 42nd-highest graded tackle. He finished 44th in pass-blocking efficiency.
Matt Kalil, a bad player who got rich this offseason, won big time this offseason.
6. Cam Newton
Kalil's new teammate, Cam Newton, also won big time -- not because of Kalil's arrival, of course. Newton won because the Panthers dedicated their draft to supplying him with play-makers, including Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel. McCaffrey is an elusive running back who also can burn linebackers as a slot receiver while Samuel is a play-maker who can line up anywhere.
Newton regressed in 2016 after his MVP season primarily because of his poor supporting cast. Expect Newton to rebound in 2017 -- not that his level of play needs to improve. For Newton, it comes down to his help.
5. Jameis Winston
Winston already had Mike Evans -- a big-bodied receiver with a huge catch radius, which is important given Winston's lack of accuracy. The Buccaneers added DeSean Jackson, who has an absurd 17.7 yards per catch average for his career, and first-round tight end O.J. Howard.
At this point, if Winston doesn't improve, he'll only have himself to blame.
4. Blake Bortles
All the evidence suggests Bortles is a bad quarterback. Since he entered the NFL three seasons ago, he ranks 45th in completion percentage, 45th in yards per attempt, 28th in touchdown percentage, 43rd in interception percentage and 41st in passer rating (minimum 200 pass attempts).
Yet the Jaguars refused to bring in competition, which means they're seemingly OK with letting Bortles kill any sliver of hope they have in 2017. Bortles wins because he's getting a fourth chance to prove himself when he doesn't deserve one.
3. John Lynch
When the 49ers chose Lynch to run their franchise, they chose someone with zero experience. Sure, Lynch was a damn good safety and a solid TV analyst, but he had never held a front-office job. Well, it turns out experience might be a bit overrated.
Because on the other end of the spectrum, you have Ryan Pace -- someone who had tons of front-office experience with the Saints before landing the Bears' GM job. Yet it was Lynch who robbed Pace in the draft.
Lynch is one of this offseason's biggest winners because he turned the No. 2 pick into the No. 3 pick, a third-round pick (67th overall), a fourth-round pick (111th overall) and a third-round pick in the 2018 draft. He still got the player he wanted (Solomon Thomas) and drafted Reuben Foster later in the first round.
2. The Patriots
What else is there to say? The best team in football found a way to get better by trading for Brandin Cooks, signing Stephon Gilmore, stealing Mike Gillislee, retaining Malcolm Butler and gaining a draft pick thanks to a clever tender move involving new Eagles running back LeGarrette Blount.
Bill Belichick almost always wins -- in the regular season, playoffs and even in the offseason.
1. Marshawn Lynch
Beast Mode won the offseason. He took a year off from the NFL (getting completely healthy in the process), ended his retirement, didn't get involved in a messy situation with the Seahawks (who owned his rights) and landed with the Raiders -- a team that desperately needed a running back after the departure of Latavius Murray -- in a city where Lynch is an icon. If that's not a perfect offseason, I'm not sure what is.
He's such an icon of the city that hundreds of Oakland fans recently joined him in a bike ride.
Marshawn Lynch on a Saturday bike ride with his friends â hundreds of them. Group will ride to Berkeley and back to Oakland. pic.twitter.com/HaAffMaW5R
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) May 20, 2017
That's a victory lap for this year's offseason champion.
