National Football League

Offseason reports: Who got better?

Published May. 6, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

The NFL Draft is in the books and now it's time to turn our attention to OTA's and training camps. Who won the offseason? It's never too soon to speculate. Our experts did the research and have decided which teams got better or worse.

AFC West

Oakland Raiders: Reggie McKenzie has quietly put together one of the best offseasons in all of football this spring. — Peter Schrager Read full report.

Denver Broncos: Nobody loved the signing of Wes Welker in Denver more than me. Peyton Manning gets arguably the best slot receiver in NFL history and steals him from Tom Brady, in the process. — Peter Schrager Read full report.

Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs had two wins in 2012, but managed to have five Pro Bowl players on the AFC team. What does that mean? There is some talent on the roster. That talent just hasn’t put it all together. — Peter Schrager Read full report.

San Diego Chargers: The Chargers were awfully quiet at the start of the offseason, failing to make any big signings during the first week of free agency. — Peter Schrager Read full report.

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens: Defending Super Bowl champions usually don’t undergo as many roster changes as the 2013 Ravens. — Alex Marvez Read full report.

Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals aren’t big spenders in free agency but did a nice job retaining the bulk of their own talent capped by last week’s re-signing of right tackle Andre Smith. — Alex Marvez Read full report.

Cleveland Browns: The hiring of two outstanding coordinators in Norv Turner (offense) and Ray Horton (defense) gives first-time head coach Rob Chudzinski a bona fide shot at success. — Alex Marvez Read full report.

Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers are paying the price for trying to keep the window of opportunity with veteran players open for too long after falling short against Green Bay in Super Bowl XLV. — Alex Marvez Read full report.

AFC South

Houston Texans: The Texans bid farewell to several productive starters from back-to-back playoff teams in James Casey, Connor Barwin and Glover Quin. They responded by signing a group of veterans in Ed Reed, Shane Lechler and Greg Jones. — Peter Schrager Read full report.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jaguars have a new front office, head coach and coordinators on both sides of the ball. — Peter Schrager Read full report.

Indianapolis Colts: The Colts went from a 2-14 team to a playoff squad a season ago. Andrew Luck, Vic Ballard, T.Y. Hilton and tight end Dwayne Allen were all big rookie performers, while Reggie Wayne and Robert Mathis proved they were worth keeping around for the new era in Indy. — Peter Schrager Read full report.

Tennessee Titans: It’s officially time for Jake Locker to put up or shut up. In Year 3, he doesn't have any more excuses and will be expected to get the job done. — Peter Schrager Read full report.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills: From losing standout left guard Andy Levitre in free agency (Tennessee) to signing quarterback Kevin Kolb as a stop-gap starter, I hated everything about Buffalo’s offseason until the draft. That’s when the Bills scored major brownie points by using the No. 16 pick on Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel. — Alex Marvez Read full report.

Miami Dolphins: While this doesn’t bring a Lombardi Trophy, the Dolphins have a legitimate claim to being the NFL’s paper champions of the offseason. — Alex Marvez Read full report.

New England Patriots: Even with the free-agent signing of replacement Danny Amendola, losing wide receiver Wes Welker to Denver is a major blow to New England’s offense. — Alex Marvez Read full report.

New York Jets: The Jets did embattled head coach Rex Ryan no favors this offseason as the team began to rebuild under new general manager John Idzik. — Alex Marvez Read full report.

NFC West

San Francisco 49ers: It was an old school game of tit-for-tat between the 49ers and Seahawks this offseason, and I think the defending NFC champions won the battle. Note the word battle. — Peter Schrager Read full report.

Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks were a last-minute Matt Ryan game-winning drive away from the NFC Championship Game a season ago. — Peter Schrager Read full report.

St. Louis Rams: While the 49ers and Seahawks dominated the headlines this offseason, the Rams quietly upgraded their roster, too. — Peter Schrager Read full report.

Arizona Cardinals: It’s tough to grade the Cardinals objectively without looking over their shoulders and seeing what their NFC West cohorts did this offseason. — Peter Schrager Read full report.

NFC North

Minnesota Vikings: The offseason started rough with the initial outcry surrounding the trade of wide receiver Percy Harvin to Seattle and the release of veteran cornerback Antoine Winfield. But the Vikings replaced both, signing wide receiver Greg Jennings away from Green Bay in free agency and later using the No. 25 overall pick in last week’s draft on Florida State cornerback Xavier Rhodes. — Alex Marvez Read full report.

Detroit Lions: After losing eight consecutive games to end last season, Detroit’s front office didn’t stand pat. — Alex Marvez Read full report.

Green Bay Packers: Although the Packers have lost in the second round of the playoffs the past two seasons, Green Bay general manager Ted Thompson refuses to stray from his plan of building almost exclusively through the draft and re-signing his own talent. — Alex Marvez Read full report.

Chicago Bears: In his second season as general manager, Phil Emery continued to put his touches on Chicago’s roster by addressing some of the weaknesses on a team that went 10-6 in 2012 but didn’t make the playoffs. — Alex Marvez Read full report.

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons: They were busy, and happily so. They replaced everything they lost, Michael Turner with Steven Jackson, John Abraham with Osi Umenyiora and Dunta Robinson in the draft. — Jen Floyd Engel Read full report.

Carolina Panthers: The reality about pass coverage in the NFL is there is a point of diminishing returns. Even the best secondary is only as good as their front seven after a while, a shorter and shorter while. — Jen Floyd Engel Read full report.

New Orleans Saints: Their biggest upgrade of the offseason was getting head coach Sean Payton back. Talking to him at the NFL owner’s meetings, it was obvious how refreshed and fired up he is. — Jen Floyd Engel Read full report.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: It is impossible to grade their draft (or their offseason) without talking Darrelle Revis. He is a big part of it. — Jen Floyd Engel Read full report.

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys: The biggest news of the Cowboys' offseason was their decision to double down on quarterback Tony Romo and his one playoff win. It's a decision, even with the $108 million price tag, that looks better once you consider the alternatives — Mark Sanchez, Vince Young, et al. — Jen Floyd Engel Read full report.

New York Giants: They are probably heartbroken in New York over losing Martellus Bennett to the Bears. And by heartbroken, I mean giddy. — Jen Floyd Engel Read full report.

Philadelphia Eagles: However you feel about coach Andy Reid, it was time for him to go. He had probably stopped listening to himself. — Jen Floyd Engel Read full report.

Washington Redskins: Their offseason rides on the success and speed of quarterback Robert Griffin III’s knee rehab. — Jen Floyd Engel Read full report.