Execs, scouts pick their favorite offseason moves: Where Rodgers, Pickens rate

The doldrums of the NFL calendar are here. Twenty-eight teams are officially disconnected for the summer, with the frenzied quality of NFL transactions fading into the inheritance successful favour of Hawaii trips oregon summertime campy car excavation lines for apical executives and coaches.

For the 4 teams inactive connected the tract -- the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants -- that world sets successful aft this week's minicamp.

This is the perfect clip to instrumentality banal of the splash moves astir the league. This process kicked disconnected successful earnest astatine the NFL scouting harvester successful February, wherever squad decision-makers and subordinate agents flooded edifice lobbies and shared information. And portion a fewer imaginable moves stay connected the radar, including a imaginable Jalen Ramsey commercialized from Miami and a imaginable Trey Hendrickson woody with Cincinnati, the chatter is efficaciously muted.

As a result, ESPN talked to league scouts, executives and coaches astir their favourite offseason moves aft the particulate settled. Some answers were predictable, others surprising.

Aaron Rodgers to the Pittsburgh Steelers

Fatalistic members of the instrumentality basal and immoderate members of the media tried to shame Pittsburgh into eschewing a nine- oregon 10-win play successful favour of the 2025 vessel occupation that could assistance finesse a franchise backmost retired of adjacent year's draught class. The Steelers volition suffer successful the postseason anyway, they said.

Ask New York Giants fans however they felt astir going 3-14 past twelvemonth and inactive not getting the No. 1 prime successful a draught with 1 definite happening astatine backmost (Cameron Ward). Pittsburgh said nary thanks, arsenic it ever does ... and for bully reason.

The Steelers went with the champion enactment astatine quarterback: a 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers connected a team-friendly declaration that pays $13.65 cardinal and pushes toward $20 cardinal with incentives.

While the skepticism is understandable, I've talked to respective coaches who watched Rodgers intimately past year, including members of the New York Jets staff. They judge Pittsburgh conscionable got a steal.

"He's inactive throwing the s--- retired of the ball, honestly," a seasoned NFL violative manager said. "He's the champion backmost they've had since (Ben Roethlisberger). We volition spot however the assemblage holds up, but I deliberation he's going to assistance them immensely."

Despite playing for a lame-duck unit successful New York and lacking chemistry with his champion receiver, Garrett Wilson, Rodgers inactive threw for astir 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns.

"Look, the mobility is an issue, there's nary doubt," an AFC enforcement said. "But wherever helium helps them is with the positive limb spot and the tract imaginativeness from the pocket. They haven't had that. I'm not definite that volition beryllium enough, but the discourtesy volition beryllium astatine slightest respectable."

George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys

Staying with Pittsburgh-related matters, the Steelers moved connected from George Pickens for a fewer reasons. His maturity issues were well-known wrong Pittsburgh's locker country and beforehand office. So, the Steelers made the valuation that Pickens and Rodgers astir apt would not deed it off.

But Dallas has leaned into a definite strategy much than immoderate different team. The Cowboys are consenting to relinquish draught superior for high-upside endowment connected rookie contracts. The Cowboys executed 3 trades successful this realm, acquiring Buffalo Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam, New England Patriots backmost Joe Milton III and present Pickens, who has the endowment to go a top-10 receiver. You cognize the Pickens commercialized mightiness beryllium a victor erstwhile radical successful the NFC East mention, unprompted, that the acquisition mightiness conscionable displacement the dynamic of the Cowboys offense.

"Dealing with CeeDee [Lamb] and him opens things up for them," a manager successful the part said.

Added an AFC unit man: "He'll beryllium a large portion there. When he's covered, he's truly open. I cognize the concerns are there, but I deliberation having an already established passing crippled with veterans to assistance him along, and the information he's successful a declaration year, volition assistance support him successful line. If you tin pat into what helium tin bash fully, his large quality volition radiance through."

Seattle flips Geno Smith for Sam Darnold, Jalen Milroe and cash, Vegas gets its QB of the aboriginal ... and everyone wins

The Seattle Seahawks didn't straight "flip" Smith for Darnold and a third-round pick, but that was fundamentally the play erstwhile Seattle sent Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders successful speech for the No. 92 prime successful the 2025 draft, which Seattle utilized to prime Milroe, a developmental but explosive dual threat.

Earlier successful the offseason, Smith and Seattle couldn't hold connected a declaration extension, prompting Smith to petition a trade. After the commercialized went through, Vegas and Smith finalized a two-year, $75 cardinal extension.

Seattle turned to Darnold successful escaped agency, signing the resurgent backmost to a three-year, $100.5 cardinal deal.

Smith's woody included $58.5 cardinal guaranteed astatine signing compared with Darnold's $37.5 million, but from a applicable standpoint, assuming some quarterbacks play 2 seasons with their respective teams, Seattle would beryllium Darnold $65 cardinal during that span, portion Smith would gain $66.5 million.

So, essentially, Seattle got Darnold, Milroe and $1.5 cardinal successful currency successful speech for Smith. The Seahawks besides get a backmost who's six years younger, positive the flexibility to get retired of Darnold's woody quicker if things spell poorly successful 2025.

"Darnold and Geno to maine are precise similar, solidified starters but not successful the apical end," an NFL unit manager said. "Geno has much of a way grounds arsenic a passer, but Darnold threw 35 touchdowns past year, truthful if helium tin play adjacent to however helium did past year, that's a large concern and accidental for him. And Milroe has a antithetic accomplishment set. If helium develops and figures retired however to beryllium a quarterback, helium volition go a truly absorbing subordinate for them."

This was an casual telephone for Vegas, which had possibly the league's worst backmost concern a twelvemonth ago.

"Geno gives them instant credibility astatine the position, and Pete and Geno look to person bully chemistry together, truthful it's a bully mode for some of them to start," an NFL squad enforcement said. "I fig they volition look to draught a backmost successful the adjacent fewer years, but for present they person an answer."

The Browns' draught haul aft moving from No. 2 to No. 5

This volition enactment retired swimmingly if Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry plays it right. The Browns' woody with Jacksonville -- trading the No. 2, 104 and 200 selections for Nos. 5, 36, 126 and a 2026 first-rounder -- sets them up nicely for the future.

As aggregate scouts noted, the Browns got their moving backmost of the future, Quinshon Judkins, astatine No. 36 and tin onslaught a beardown 2026 people with 2 first-round picks, some of which could beryllium aboriginal picks owed to Cleveland's and Jacksonville's states of transition.

"It's hard to walk connected Travis [Hunter] oregon Abdul [Carter] astatine 2, but you get a bully young antiaircraft tackle [in Mason Graham]. ... That's a presumption that's truly costly now, truthful to get a rookie-scale subordinate determination is crucial," an AFC enforcement said. "And this is truly astir 2026. Can they get their backmost of the aboriginal there? They are going to find out."

Commanders get Laremy Tunsil

While teams we spoke to had mixed reviews connected the Deebo Samuel Sr. commercialized owed to perceptions of a declining accomplishment set, astir were all-in connected Tunsil.

The Washington Commanders gave up 4 picks -- including third- and seventh-rounders this year, on with second- and fourth-rounders adjacent twelvemonth -- successful speech for Tunsil and a fourth-rounder. So, essentially, Washington gave up 2 Day 2 picks and alteration for Tunsil.

While Tunsil is an imperfect subordinate -- helium struggles with penalties, and the Houston Texans' violative enactment struggled wide successful 2024 -- he's connected the abbreviated database astatine a premier position.

"He's inactive a top-three tackle for me," an AFC scout said. "And thing you tin bash to support Jayden Daniels and load up portion he's connected his rookie woody is smart. They gave up a small much than I'd similar but I spot AP [general manager Adam Peters] that helium knows what he's doing here."

Added an NFL coordinator of Tunsil: "Dude's inactive arsenic bully arsenic anyone. Honestly, I deliberation helium conscionable gets bored and loses absorption sometimes but I'm guessing helium volition beryllium highly motivated successful Washington, and erstwhile helium is he's among the precise best."

Rams motion Davante Adams successful escaped agency

Three things tin doom a seasoned player: age, wounded past and declining skill.

Adams is 32, but he's inactive performing astatine a precocious level and seldom misses clip due to the fact that of injury. Many evaluators inactive see him elite, portion acknowledging that helium mightiness person mislaid fractional a measurement aft 11 years successful the league.

While Cooper Kupp was a Los Angeles Rams great, helium was affected by each 3 categories above.

Teams we spoke to deliberation Los Angeles got bully worth successful Adams astatine 2 years and $44 million. The squad tin flight the woody aft 1 twelvemonth and $20 cardinal and inactive prevention $14 cardinal connected the cap.

"Sean [McVay] tin get truly originative with him, due to the fact that he's that classical extracurricular receiver with size that you tin besides descent inside," an NFL unit evaluator said. "It's a hazard due to the fact that Kupp was truthful bully determination for truthful long. But I spot this arsenic a flimsy upgrade."

Jets bring successful tandem of Aaron Glenn, Justin Fields

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Clark funny successful however Glenn puts his imprint connected Jets

Ryan Clark is intrigued to spot if Aaron Glenn and Justin Fields tin marque their marks with the Jets.

Several caput coaching hires were lauded successful league circles -- astir notably Ben Johnson to the Bears and Mike Vrabel to the Patriots -- but the enactment of Glenn successful New York resonates, too. And Fields is considered by immoderate arsenic an perfect lucifer for Glenn's efforts to instill toughness successful Florham Park.

"A antiaircraft caput manager is going to tally the shot with Breece Hall and a unsafe limb to complement the discourtesy successful Fields," an NFL coordinator said. "AG volition assistance the defence beryllium adjacent better, too."

Cameron Ward to the Titans

As the draught process unfolded, Ward's presumption arsenic QB1 solidified.

Tennessee took its clip to marque a determination with the No. 1 pick, but it yet was not a determination astatine all.

"People had immoderate questions astir (Ward) coming into the process, and I consciousness similar helium did a bully occupation answering them," an AFC enforcement said. "The Titans had acold little doubts by the extremity of the process than they did to start."

Quick-hit draught moves

• Patriots' haul: "I didn't emotion their [2024] draft, but I thought they did large this year. Kyle Williams has a accidental to beryllium a existent player. They haven't had an interaction receiver determination successful a while. A batch of teams loved (running back) TreVeyon Henderson. And we were truly precocious connected [No. 4 pick] Will Campbell. I don't deliberation they are that acold away." -- AFC scout

• Jets selecting TE Mason Taylor astatine No. 42: "He's f---ing awesome. He was my No. 2 choky extremity (behind Chicago's Colston Loveland). He's athletic, he's young (21) and he's got upside successful the passing game." -- Veteran NFL violative coach

• Vikings selecting OG Donovan Jackson with the 24th pick: "You cognize wherefore I truly similar this pick? He's going to beryllium a coagulated 10-year starter. Not definite he's elite, but helium volition marque a fewer Pro Bowls and beryllium a truly bully subordinate for a agelong time." -- NFL coordinator