NFL Team Building: Who Does the Best Job?
Building an NFL franchise is more than just getting the right quarterback and head coach.
Last week, I discussed teams that haven't been good at building their franchises, with issues ranging from kicking salary cap hits too far down the road to not having a clear direction for the franchise.
If those teams are the examples of how not to build an NFL team, then who are the examples of how to actually build a team?
For the record, these teams have done things that are what people usually think about: Get a quarterback, get an offensive-minded head coach, and either get a wide receiver or an offensive line, depending on what you think is more important.
In reality, the teams that do the best job are the ones that do the best possible job of building their teams. They don't always get it right, but if they get it wrong, they do the best they can to ride out the mistake until they are able to move on.
These teams look at what they have in a quarterback and figure out the best way to build around the QB. They won't avoid free agency, but they'll be wise about it. If they take a swing in free agency and don't get the expected results, they'll step back and reassess.
The teams that do the best job of building their rosters are the ones that remain playoff contenders, year in and year out, because they have a quality front office as much as they have a quality quarterback and head coach.
Let's examine some of the teams that have done the best job in recent years of building their teams.
Philadelphia Eagles
Howie Roseman doesn't get the most praise for building a good team, but when you look at the Eagles under his run, they have found ways to remain in the playoff hunt. And if they do miss the playoffs, they don't panic.
Case in point: The extension for Carson Wentz. While Wentz failed to perform as expected after signing his extension, Roseman didn't trip over himself to spend money in free agency or make blockbuster trades in hopes of overcoming that.
Instead, he did the unexpected in drafting Jalen Hurts in the second round. Ultimately, he was able to trade Wentz, despite dealing with the short-term pain of the salary cap implications.
But look at where the Eagles are at now. Hurts is playing well and the Eagles are a favorite to win the NFC. The cap issues the Eagles had at the time are resolved -- and though they will be tight under the cap for 2023, Roseman has shown he can navigate that situation without kicking too much down the road.
The draft hasn't always bore fruit for Roseman, but he's quicker to move on from players who didn't work out. Rather than drag things out with Jalen Reagor, he traded him. If things do work out with a draft pick, he'll try to extend him.
Roseman is a general manager who spends each season assessing where things are at. If things work out, he'll want to build upon it. If they don't, he takes a breath. That's the makings of a smart general manager and an organization that does things well.
Kansas City Chiefs
It's easy to say that the Chiefs are successful because of Patrick Mahomes. But the Chiefs have been taking their time to build a quality roster, years before they made the trade up the 2017 draft board to get Mahomes.
When Andy Reid was first hired in 2013, the Chiefs did what they could at quarterback by trading for Alex Smith. Meanwhile, they set about using the draft to build a roster around Smith, even if Smith wasn't necessarily the QB to get them to the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs build a playoff roster for the next four seasons and, once they identified Mahomes as their guy, they went and got him. Mahomes ultimately proved to be the QB to take the Chiefs to the next level.
Once they won a Super Bowl, they extended Mahomes. They failed to win a second straight Super Bowl, so they looked at the offensive line and made a big free agent signing (Joe Thuney) and a significant trade (Orlando Brown) to upgrade the line.
When they failed to get back to the Super Bowl, they didn't panic. They took a breath, examined the roster and reassessed. And when Tyreek Hill made it known he wanted an extension, they traded him, even though some would wonder why the Chiefs would trade their best receiver away.
But the Chiefs front office understood that they couldn't keep going all in, year in and year out. They did what they could at the receiver position and trusted that Mahomes could get the job done. And, thus far, that's what has happened.
Furthermore, the Chiefs continue to do a good job of identifying players in the draft. That's how they replenish the roster as other players get older or otherwise decline. As with the Eagles, their picks don't always work out, but they understand it's better to build through the draft than go overboard in free agency.
Los Angeles Rams
There are those who will wonder why a team that keeps trading away its first-round picks to acquire players could possibly be considered a team that does a good job of building its roster.
However, look past that and you'll see a team that hasn't simply built the roster by trading away the farm. The Rams have been aggressive in trading for players, but they've been selective in other areas.
The Rams generally don't explore free agency -- they may take a chance on a player or two, but they aren't aggressive. When it comes to spending money, they are more likely to pay the players they drafted or acquired via trade.
Speaking of the draft, the Rams like to trade down. That's what they did in 2019, when they had their own first-round pick, but it was the 31st overall pick of the draft. They've also traded down in later rounds.
The Rams are also quick to move on from mistakes as soon as they can. They dealt with short-term pain by cutting Todd Gurley, but they recovered from it. They did have to send more draft capital to unload Jared Goff's contract in the Matthew Stafford trade, but they were able to get out of that deal.
Of course, some people will look at the contracts that the Rams handed out to multiple players this past offseason and note how everything went wrong. But the Rams are more likely to step back and reassess rather than insist on another "all in" move.
The Rams' past behavior indicates they are more likely to leave contracts alone and hope that players get healthy. They might be prepared to trade somebody like Allen Robinson after June 1, simply to unload his salary and get what draft capital they can.
That's what makes the Rams a well-run franchise. If moves work out, they build upon them, but if they don't, they move on at the earliest possible opportunity.
There are other franchises that have typically been run well, though they are reaching points in which they will have some challenges ahead.
* Baltimore Ravens: Under Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens drafted well, weren't aggressive in free agency and emphasized value in making moves. They have been similar under Eric DeCosta thus far, though he does have a challenge ahead. He'll have to show he can handle the Lamar Jackson contract talks and get an extension done for Roquan Smith after giving up significant draft capital.
* Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers have drafted well for the most part and prefer to extend their own players, rather than spend money on other teams' free agents. This season, they are likely going to have a high draft pick and the 2023 QB draft class looks pretty good. Will they continue to ride it out with Kenny Pickett for another year or will they draft another QB at some point for a fallback option in case Pickett doesn't take the next step?
* New England Patriots: The Patriots surprised people with their free agent spending back in 2021, but they had shown a willingness to go after top free agents if they fit their organization. They had drafted well in the past, but more recent drafts haven't been as good. They do have a couple of questions they have to answer -- the first being who they think is the QB to build around (Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe) and the second being if they can do a better job with the draft.