Free Agency Week 1

One week into Free Agency there have been many big moves, both by contenders and by teams trying to become contenders. One of the trends I noticed was the sheer amount of small moves teams were making from the start. Every year teams seem to get more savvy, going after unheralded role players, rather than the big name free agents who are looking for their retirement fund. Some teams have fully rebuilt aspects of their team (such as Oakland) while others have added one or two key pieces in the hopes of dethroning the Seahawks (such as Denver).

Here are what I consider the three best moves made in week 1 of free agency.
New Orleans Free Safety Shuffle
      Somehow, despite having no cap room to speak of, having to cut many veterans, and having a Tight End looking for a big pay day, the Saints were able to sign one of the best free agents on the market. The Saints were able to sign Free Safety Jarius Byrd from Buffalo on the first day of free agency; this was clearly their plan all along as they allowed Malcolm Jenkins to walk and sign with the Eagles without so much as offering him lip service, much less a contract. Adding Byrd will give Rob Ryan the freedom to let Kenny Vaccaro run wild even more on defense, while using Byrd as a deep safety in the middle of the field. Byrd's propensity for creating turnovers will go a long way towards helping the Saints improve upon their 19 takeaways from a year ago. (16th in the NFL).

Denver goes "All In"
      Ever since the Fax fiasco of last year, the Broncos have been looking for a way to replace Elvis Dumervil. Despite Shawn Phillips having a good year, he was not quite the dynamic playmaker they were looking for. Phillips' free agency combined with Von Miller having a lackluster performance of only 5 sack s during an injury plagued year, lead the Broncos into the move of improving their pass rush. Luckily for them Jerry Jones decided to actually try and manage the cap this year, unfortunately for Cowboys fans Jerry's idea of cap management was cutting DeMarcus Ware. However the Cowboys loss was the Broncos gain, delivering them an excellent Defensive End in the form of the 10 year vet from Troy. The Broncos also signed TJ Ward on day 1 of free agency. TJ is an unheralded Strong Safety who has spent his first 4 years in exile in Cleveland. Despite his relative anonymity Ward is a huge improvement to the Broncos secondary, and I predict he will be a household name by this time next year. The Broncos then made the move that kicked off an arms race with the Patriots. This move of course was the signing of free agent Cornerback Aqib Talib. Aqib Talib gives them a shut down corner to replace Dominique Rodgers Cromartie who is likely to be lost in free agency. The Talib signing also helps them by stealing an excellent player away from the Patriots.

Arms Race
      After losing Aqib Talib to Denver, the Patriots made a big splash of their own by signing Darrelle Revis after he was cut by the Buccaneers for cap reasons. This is an overall upgrade for the Patriots, as Darrelle Revis is still one of the best Corner's in the NFL. They weren't done yet however, in a move that I can only take as a move to keep up with Denver, the Patriots also signed former Seattle Seahawks pothead/ Cornerback Brandon Browner, who if he can stay off the weed, is one of the best Corners in the NFL. He will have to miss the first 4 games of next season, but with talent like his, he is well worth the risk. The only problem I have with either of these signings is that Revis can walk after this season, as he was only signed to a 1 year deal.

Honorable Mentions

Oakland helped to solidify their defense by signing LaMarr Woodley and Justin Tuck to add some extra oomph to their 18th ranked pass rush (44 sacks). They also were able to re-sign Darren McFadden to a one year deal, putting him in a boom or bust contract year. I believe they should add another Running Back to their roster as insurance should McFadden get injured and have to miss any time.

The New York Jets added Eric Decker, giving them the closest thing they've had in a while to a number 1 wide receiver. There are also reports that Maurice Jones-Drew and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Aside from the revenue boost the company that sells Nike the letters for their jerseys will get, both of these would be very good moves by Gang Green. The three headed monster of MJD, Bilal Bowell, and Chris Ivory could be a truly formidable force behind Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson's blocking. An improved run game would also give Geno Smith his best shot to develop as a pro Quarterback. DRC is merely a replacement for Antonio Cromartie, and as replacements go is a pretty good one. I don't consider DRC to be an upgrade or step back of any notable amount and should be able to lock down an opponents number 1 Wide Receiver just as well as Cromartie could.

Finally the Jacksonville Jaguars have added the 2012 Seahawks Defensive End tandem of Chris Clemons and Red Bryant. These two are clear improvements over Jason Babin and Tyson Alualu and are perfect fits for Gus Bradley's defense. As Bradley coached both of them just 1 season ago, they will come in on even footing with Jaguars players who will be in their second year under Bradley. The Jaguars also added Toby Gerhart from the Vikings, giving them a young running back with a lot of potential and very little tread off the tires. Gerhart should be able to replace Maurice Jones-Drew as the Jaguars new feature back.