NFL free agency 2019: 5 teams that drastically improved

The dust has settled on NFL free agency 2019. As always, there were some winners, and some losers. Below we take a look at 5 teams who are stronger after NFL free agency.

5. Oakland Raiders

Whether or not the Raiders are doing right by themselves in the long term remains to be seen. However the team is clearly better than it was a week ago. Even if you remove the Antonio Brown addition — it was a trade, after all — the Raiders still acquired left tackle Trent Brown, middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict and safety Lamarcus Joyner, along with wide receiver Tyrell Williams. The result is a team that is much-improved from the 4-12 mess we saw under head coach Jon Gruden a year ago.

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4. Carolina Panthers

Carolina might be the quietest team on this list, but the additions are significant. While the Panthers did lose wide receiver Devin Funchess and linebacker Thomas Davis, they were able to re-sign right tackle Daryl Williams while upgrading nicely (and cheaply) at center with Matt Paradis on a three-year deal. Carolina isn’t going to grab a ton of headlines for the moves it made, but all told, it kept a key piece and added another quality one up front. With Cam Newton recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, keeping him upright is more important than ever.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars

This one is obvious, no? Nick Foles is basically Joe Montana when compared to Blake Bortles. The Philadelphia Eagles couldn’t afford to keep the former Super Bowl MVP around any longer, and Foles wisely cashed in to the tune of $88 million over four seasons with the Jaguars. Jacksonville isn’t vaulted back into top-tier contender in the AFC, but it has to be respected as a potential playoff team. After the way Bortles has played throughout much of his NFL career, it would have been hard to make that statement about the Jaguars without Foles in the mix.

2. Green Bay Packers

The Packers did a really nice job of fixing some holes that their defense dealt with a year ago. Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst went out and spent some money on the edge rush, bringing in Za’Darius Smith from the Baltimore Ravens before signing Preston Smith away from the Washington Redskins. With those two upgrades already in tow, Gutekunst also added safety Adrian Amos, with the added benefit of stealing him from Green Bay’s biggest rivals in the Chicago Bears. A job very well done.

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1. New York Jets

This was an easy choice. Look, we can all argue about whether or not the Jets spent way too much money on certain players, but New York is definitely improved. The key additions are inside linebacker C.J. Mosley and running back Le’Veon Bell, but wide receiver Jamison Crowder is also a nice find. New York still has to make significant improvements on both sides of the ball to be a quality team, but this free agency period was a huge start.