10 most improved position groups in the 2021 NFL off-season

With most player acquisitions in the NFL off-season now over, it’s time to look at which teams were able to upgrade their rosters and in which positions.

In this write-up, we will analyze which teams managed to address a certain position group and managed to improve that by way of free agency, trade and the NFL draft.

Ten most improved positions going into the 2021 NFL season:

For the sake of simplicity, we will not consider NFL teams signing back players who were already on their roster but missed most of last season with injuries. So, for example, the Giants' running backs aren’t going to make the list just because Saquon Barkley is coming back.

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Without further ado, let's dive into the ten most improved positions ahead of the 2021 NFL season.

#1 Quarterbacks – Chicago Bears

I was thinking about some of these high-end singular replacements like Matt Stafford over Jared Goff or Ryan Fitzpatrick over the mess in Washington. But if we’re looking at a full room, I think the Bears have gotten the best balance of quarterbacks able to play right now and with a potential upside.

It didn’t look like Bears fans would be excited about the guys they will have under center in 2021. That was especially the case when the Russell Wilson noise died down, and they decided to opt for old sturdy Andy Dalton instead. But in reality, getting a reliable lower-tier signal-caller like him over the likes of Nick Foles and Mitch Trubisky already could be big for a team.

That's because they had a defense over the first half of the season that was good enough to overcome the least exciting offense in football. So they made a splash in the draft that could change their fortunes in the NFL. They took advantage of the talented Ohio State QB Justin Fields slipping, trading up nine spots in exchange for next year’s first-round pick to get their guy.

There are some issues with mechanics and eye discipline that Fields needs to clean up. That could take some time to fully overcome. But I believe his playmaking and off-script qualities will allow them to work through those. He could give the team somebody who could win NFL games by taking over.

Trubisky started getting into a bit of a groove down the road last season. But all Chicago needed was competency at the most important position, and once Fields is ready to go, they will be so much more exciting as a unit.

Notable Mentions: Los Angeles Rams and Washington Football Team.

#2 Running backs – New York Jets

The 49ers deserve to be mentioned here for getting a sneaky-good Wayne Gallman for a million dollars and two rookies I liked quite a bit. But this really was a two-team race I would say, simply because the Jets and Falcons had the two worst groups of running backs last season.

I love the additions of Mike Davis, after what he showed as a featured back in Carolina in the absence of Christian McCaffrey last season. Louisville’s Javian Hawkins from the UDFA market could be an explosive complement to Davis.

However, I really believe when you look at a backfield, where 37-year-old Frank Gore accounted for more rushing yards than the next three backs combined, they desperately needed some juice at that position. And the best thing for them is that they gave up no more than a fourth-round pick to acquire my RB4 in the draft in North Carolina’s Michael Carter Jr.

He is a perfect fit for this zone-run heavy offense that new offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is bringing over from San Francisco. Carter is somebody who could press the front side and get out to the edges and also has a superb vision for cutback lanes.

Moreover, he was the best pass-catching back in this class and has the ability to give rookie Zach Wilson a dump-off option. He can consistently make the first man miss. Yet, even before that, they signed Tevin Coleman on a deal worth a maximum of two million dollars after he was fighting through nicks and bruises last season.

However, Coleman has been working under Kyle Shanahan almost his entire career and is very well-versed in this offensive system. That would be great for this young room of RBs as long as he can stay healthy.

Notable Mentions: Atlanta Falcons (Mike Davis & Javian Hawkins)

#3 Wide receivers – New York Giants

There are three NFL teams I seriously considered here. Obviously, with the number of talented receivers in the draft once again, there were plenty of options to increase the firepower. But the Giants, Football Team and Ravens all – more or less – paired that up with free-agent signings.

The way I looked at this is that New York are the only one that got a major upgrade at WR1, and the best name among the bunch is Kenny Golladay. He is going to be Big Blue’s X receiver, giving Daniel Jones a big-bodied target to rely on in third downs and also in 50-50 ball situations and to boost the red-zone success rate.

That moves Darius Slayton to the flanker spot, if you want to stick with the classic WR tags, where he should be. He is able to stretch the field on the outside of trips sets up open spaces for Sterling Shephard in the slot as the possession guy. Moreover, they invested their first-round pick on a dynamic playmaker in Florida’s Kadarius Toney, after trading back with the Bears.

We can only imagine how this offense could have looked like if they got Alabama’s Devonta Smith, who they were reportedly after. But Toney brings a very unique skillset to the table himself. He still needs some refinement as a route-runner, but he is explosive and tough to read and has the moves in his bag to put defenders on skates after the catch.

Moreover, while certainly disappointing for their former teams, having top-ten pick John Ross and top-50 pick Dante Pettis as your number five and six isn’t bad either.

Notable Mentions: Washington Football Team and Baltimore Ravens.

#4 Tight-ends – New England Patriots

This was by far the easiest choice, and I don’t have any other team listed here as a notable mention because of how big the drop-off is.

Atlanta certainly came to my mind in terms of the best tight-end added when they drafted a unicorn-type of prospect in Florida’s Kyle Pitts. But New England were the only team that added two legitimate tight-ends, and I believe they were arguably the top two names on the open market.

When we think back to the early 2010s, with the tandem of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, Josh McDaniels created a 12 personnel-heavy offense that presented challenges for opposing defenses every week. While I don’t think either one of the guys they added in free agency could fill that prototypical Y role in terms of an in-line blocker, Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith give the Patriots a lot of versatility.

Henry could be playing more at the end of the offensive line but also work away from it, oftentimes as a de facto X-receiver unless N’Keal Harry makes a major jump in year three. Henry had split time almost exactly, even between the two in LA last season.

Smith could be used more as an H-back or even fullback, executing sift and wrap-around pulls in the run game, sneaking out for run-after-catch opportunities off play-action. I’m sure he could also take some creatively designed carries. With some of the speed guys they have added on the perimeter, I believe their efficiency in between the numbers should certainly improve.

When you look at who will be featured in those areas of the field, the tight-end production of just 254 receiving yards should see a big bump. Moreover, I believe their two three-round picks from last year in Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene still have some potential.

#5 Offensive line – Kansas City Chiefs

I went full offensive line, because no team brought in two clear-cut improvements (or replacements in general) at tackle. I'm not sure there is a clear winner and where exactly which team would play all their guys.

However, I believe this is how the Chiefs' O-line at full strength could look like this upcoming season – LT Orlando Brown, LG Joe Thuney, C Creed Humphrey, RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and RT Kyle Long. I believe Long was at his best inside, but you can have two Pro Bowl-level guards in their natural positions and Humphrey plugged into center, replacing Austin Blythe, who is a solid player himself.

But I wouldn’t put up there with my top-ranked interior linemen in the draft, excluding Landon Dickerson due to injury concerns. And that makes Blythe a high-quality backup for those three interior spots, to go with a few other guys I liked quite a bit in the last few drafts.

If both their starting tackles and one of the inside guys got injured, like it was in the Super Bowl in February, I believe they could hang in there. But that is with the assumption that Mike Remmers might not be on the roster. However, that starting five has a chance to be top-five-ish in the league, boosting a run game that they couldn’t rely upon all the time and allowing Patrick Mahomes to step up, rather than routinely backing up or escaping outside.

Their offense should be even better because they can operate under more balance. They don’t have to formulate game plans where the ball has to come out in under two seconds, and they are certainly not as quarterback-reliant.

Notable Mentions: Los Angeles Chargers (Corey Linsley, Matt Feiler & Rashawn Slater)

#6 Edge rushers – Tennessee Titans

Moving on to the defensive side of the ball, I believe no position is tougher to really upgrade than the play on the edge, unless you are ready to trade assets. Elite pass rushers are arguably the second-most important pieces to any NFL team, so those difference-makers rarely hit the market.

The likes of Chase Young and the Bosa brothers have skewed our perception of instant playmakers that are usually available in the draft. So looking at the Titans here, of course the additions they have made would have helped any team out there. But they make this list because of how desperate they were to upgrade in this area.

Looking at their numbers from a year ago, their tally of 19 sacks on the season were more than only two teams – the one-win Jaguars and the four-win Bengals. However, unlike those bottom-feeders, they were ranked next to a division-winning 11-5 squad.

The next-closest playoff team in that category still had 32. And the Titans were only 0.1% better than the worst team (Lions) in terms of percentage of pressures provided on dropbacks (17.6%). Harold Landry and Jeffery Simmons were the only reliable players on that D-line for them.

They added Bud Dupree from Pittsburgh, who came into his own last season and was on track for 11.5 sacks and 41 pressures by himself. He is a reasonable 16.5-million annual salary with a potential of two years from now, coming pff a torn ACL. Then there is the highly underrated Denico Autry, who quietly racked up 7.5 sacks for Indy last year, on a two-plus-one deal for 7 million per year.

There is also the very technically-sound, powerful Rashad Weaver (Pittsburgh) in the fourth round, so they go four deep on the edge, with a couple of guys having inside flexibility.

Notable Mentions: New York Giants (Azeez Ojulari, Ryan Anderson and Ifeadi Odenigbo)

#7 Interior defensive line – Detroit Lions

When I look at who made my list last year in terms of the defensive interior, the Cowboys on paper seemed to have boosted that group. But Gerald McCoy didn’t even make it to week one due to a ruptured quad,

Dontari Poe fell off dramatically and was cut midway through the season. and Neville Gallimore didn’t even play a third of the snaps, which were mostly out of position, I believe anyway. So them being the 31st-ranked rush defense and their true defensive tackles combining for 1.5 sacks on the year certainly doesn’t count as an improvement in hindsight.

With that being said, I have a tough time imagining the Lions not making a big jump at that position. The bar is set pretty low, as they finished 28th in rushing yards allowed, and Nick Williams accounted for half of the group’s pressure production (10), and he is still there.

However, I believe Detroit drafted themselves a new starting DT duo with Levi Onwuzurike (Washington) and Alim McNeill (NC State). While Levi filled in as the Huskies' nose tackle in 2019 after opting out of last season, he displayed the ability to stand his ground against double teams,

I look at him being best suited as a penetrating three-technique, which he should be allowed to play, thanks to grabbing McNeill a round later, who was an immovable object in the middle of the Wolfpack defense. While new defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn comes from New Orleans, one-gapping front, his influence from Bill Parcells and Vic Fangio could signal more 3-4 base principles.

I see their personnel fitting much better for four-down looks. Yet, even if they do want to get more into those odd fronts, with the addition of Michael Brockers as sort of a prototype four/five technique, that would still allow Onwuzurike to attack more upfield.

McNeill has plenty of experience with two-gapping the center. They still have Da’Shawn's hand as well. He hasn’t been able to stay healthy but has shown serious flashes in a penetrating role.

Notable Mentions: Jacksonville Jaguars (Roy Robertson-Harris, Malcolm Brown and Jay Tufele)

#8 Linebackers – Cleveland Browns

I called out this group of linebackers a little bit ahead of last season when I thought their biggest remaining hole on the roster/ depth chart was MIKE linebacker. But I am not being super excited about the other guys in that group either.

Sione Takitaki was the best of the bunch. While he did make some nice impact plays, I think calling him a fringe starter wouldn't be a stretch. If the Browns start games in nickel, I don’t envision him being on the field. Firstly, Cleveland brought in Anthony Walker from Indianapolis, who I believe has been a very underappreciated player these last three years. That's because he played alongside Darius Leonard.

Leonard may not have the same type of sideline-to-sideline range as his former teammate, but he is sturdy enough to stonewall linemen working up to him. He has improved as a tackler every year, missing just six of 98 attempts last season while making six plays on the ball in coverage.

They got a major steal due to some late medical concerns about his heart when Notre Dame’s Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah somehow made it to pick 52. He was my 17th overall prospect and complements very well what Walker does. Koromoah is a more rangy coverage defender who could funnel Lamar Jackson back inside when they face their biggest competitors for the division in the Ravens, for example.

They can also play him as a big nickel as well if they want to put three linebackers out there against heavier personnel. Moreover, the Browns also got Tony Fields out of West Virginia in the fifth round, who I looked at as a sleeper at the position, as a depth piece, at worst, all while not really losing anybody from last year.

Notable Mentions: Miami Dolphins (Bernardrick McKinney and Duke Riley).

#9 Cornerbacks – Denver Broncos

It’s not like I thought the Broncos were bad at the cornerback position. When I look at the Broncos' depth chart, I have difficulty finding real holes, as long as they get solid play from the quarterback position. But if you were to point out a position group that needs to make a jump in 2021, they certainly attacked that hard.

So the big move there last season for Denver was trading a fourth-round pick to Jacksonville for A. Bouye to see what he has left in the tank. Unfortunately, he barely was on the field for them, as he was fighting through a shoulder injury and then had his season cut short prematurely due to a PED suspension.

The two guys who easily led that group in playing time were Bryce Callahan, who played at a Pro Bowl level but missed six games and rookie Michael Ojemudia, who had some difficulties and didn’t get the benefit of doubt, I thought, on many of the flags thrown against him. But he did battle and put some good things on tape.

Moreover, they had a bunch of other guys they threw out there. However, Vic Fangio certainly wasn’t satisfied with what he got from that group and brought in his former All-Pro corner, Kyle Fuller from Chicago, who will play the field side corner role.

That will be in more off-zone coverage, and he will be allowed to drive on routes. They also invested the ninth overall pick in the draft in Alabama’s Patrick Surtain, who will be their boundary guy that crowds receivers more at the line of scrimmage, where he is already extremely technically sound at.

As well as he played on the outside, Bryce Callahan can now move back into the slot full-time again, where Fangio had him with the Bears. And let’s not overlook the signing of Ronald Darby, who had a rough couple of years in Philly but is still a pretty talented corner. Then there is a steal in the seventh round of the draft in Kary Vincent Jr. from LSU, who I believe could potentially be a starting nickel in many teams in the NFL.

Notable Mentions: Cleveland Browns (Greg Newsome II and Troy Hill).

#10 Safeties – Las Vegas Raiders

So, let’s just quickly talk about how the Raiders used their group of safeties last season. Jonathan Abram led the position with 78.6% of snaps as their boundary/strong safety. Erik Harris at two-thirds was a field-side guy, and Lamarcus Joyner with a little less than that was their starting nickel.

Moreover. they had Jeff Heath as a combo-guy, who filled in at either safety spot. Paul Guenther used a lot of quarters coverage last season, as they tried to keep everything in front of them. But Abram made several mistakes and has been a disappointment as a coverage defender altogether.

As ferocious as he may be in filling the alley and getting involved as a Blitzer against the run, I wouldn’t call any of these other guys real playmakers, though. So with Gus Bradley coming in as Las Vegas’ new DC and having evolved from his Seattle days, the team clearly focused on adding rangy back-end defenders and being more diverse in that regard.

Firstly, they brought back their former first-round pick, Karl Joseph, who did a year of growing in Cleveland and could be deployed closer to the line of scrimmage. Then they went to the draft and got the no. 1 safety on most people’s boards in TCU’s Trevon Moehrig, who excelled in a very complex defense.

They used many split-safety looks, but he did show the ability to cover a lot of ground when rotated into the middle. Then in the fourth round, they brought in two of my favorites in Missouri’s Tyree Gillespie, who finds a mention here, as he had no interceptions in college and was a super-consistent free safety in the SEC for years.

He could possibly be paired up with Moehrig in an interchangeable capacity and change the picture post-snap. Then there is Virginia Tech’s Divine Deablo, who has surprising range for a 225-pounder but presents the most intrigue as a tight-end eraser and dime backer.

Notable Mentions: Jacksonville Jaguars (Andre Cisco, Rayshawn Jenkins and Rudy Ford).

If you enjoyed this breakdown, I would really appreciate if you could visit the original piece here. I have detailed breakdowns of every team's draft on my page and on my Youtube channel.

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