We’re looking at all NFL team’s free agent moves (in and out) and their NFL Draft to see who got better and by how much -- setting the tone for analyzing them for the upcoming season for FF purposes and for betting evaluations on team over/unders, etc.
We had Grok list all the moves and we show them first and then Ross and I (RC) weigh in on what we see with all the roster moves -- how they affect 2025 only. And ultimately we pick a winner.
We’ll do two matchups per day, within each division seeded from the 2024 final standings, for 16 days...then we’ll take the 16 winners and accelerate the matchups after that and advance the best ‘offseason’ moves teams through to the ‘Super Bowl’, declaring a final winner.
Cincinnati Bengals 2025 Free Agency Losses:
G Alex Cappa (Las Vegas Raiders)
DT Sheldon Rankins (Houston Texans)
DE Sam Hubbard (Retired)
LB Akeem Davis-Gaither (Arizona Cardinals)
RB Khalil Herbert (Indianapolis Colts)
DT Jay Tufele (New York Jets)
OT Trent Brown (Houston Texans)
CB Marco Wilson (Free Agent)
Cincinnati Bengals 2025 Free Agency Signings/Additions:
RB Samaje Perine (2 years, $8M, $4M guaranteed)
DT T.J. Slaton (2 years, $12M, $6M guaranteed)
LB Oren Burks (2 years, $6M, $3M guaranteed)
G Lucas Patrick (1 year, $2M, $1M guaranteed)
LB Anthony Walker (1 year, $1.5M, $0.5M guaranteed)
Cincinnati Bengals 2025 Rookie Draft Picks and Undrafted Free Agents:
DE Shemar Stewart (1st Round, No. 17)
LB Demetrius Knight Jr. (2nd Round, No. 49)
G Dylan Fairchild (3rd Round, No. 81)
LB Barrett Carter (4th Round, No. 119)
OT Jalen Rivers (5th Round, No. 153)
RB Tahj Brooks (6th Round, No. 193)
WR Jamoi Mayes (UDFA)
WR Jordan Moore (UDFA)
OL Caleb Etienne (UDFA)
C Seth McLaughlin (UDFA)
DT Eric Gregory (UDFA)
DT Howard Cross III (UDFA)
WR Rashod Owens (UDFA)
LS William Wagner (UDFA)
CB Bralyn Lux (UDFA)
DT Dante Barnett (UDFA, International Player Pathway)
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Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 Free Agency Losses:
OT Dan Moore Jr. (Tennessee Titans)
RB Najee Harris (Los Angeles Chargers)
WR Van Jefferson (Tennessee Titans)
QB Justin Fields (New York Jets)
G James Daniels (Miami Dolphins)
G Nate Herbig (Washington Commanders)
LB Elandon Roberts (Free Agent)
CB Donte Jackson (Los Angeles Chargers)
WR George Pickens (Just traded)
QB Russell Wilson (NYG)
DL Larry Ogunjobi (Buffalo Bills)
Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 Free Agency Signings/Additions:
WR D.K. Metcalf (Acquired via trade, 5 years, $150M, $60M guaranteed)
QB Mason Rudolph (2 years, $10M, $5M guaranteed)
QB Skylar Thompson (1 year, $1.5M, $0.5M guaranteed)
WR Robert Woods (1 year, $2M, $0.5M guaranteed)
CB Darius Slay (1 year, $10M, $5M guaranteed)
CB Brandin Echols (1 year, $3M, $1.5M guaranteed)
LB Malik Harrison (2 years, $8M, $4M guaranteed)
WR Ben Skowronek (2 years, $6M, $3M guaranteed)
S Juan Thornhill (1 year, $2M, $1M guaranteed)
TE Donald Parham (1 year, $1.17M, $0 guaranteed)
DT Daniel Ekuale (1 year, $1.5M, $0.5M guaranteed)
RB Kenneth Gainwell (1 year, $1.5M, $0.5M guaranteed)
Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 Rookie Draft Picks and Undrafted Free Agents:
DL Derrick Harmon (1st Round, No. 19)
RB Kaleb Johnson (3rd Round, No. 67)
EDGE Jack Sawyer (4th Round, No. 123)
DL Yahya Black (5th Round, No. 158)
QB Will Howard (6th Round, No. 195)
CB Donte Kent (7th Round, No. 229)
S Sebastian Castro (UDFA)
TE J.J. Galbreath (UDFA)
K Ben Sauls (UDFA)
WR Roc Taylor (UDFA)
FB DJ Thomas-Jones (UDFA)
OG Aiden Williams (UDFA)
WR Ke’Shawn Williams (UDFA)
Ross Jacobs’ analysis...
Cincinnati Bengals Off-season Grade: D+
In typical Cincy fashion they didn't do much in free agency, and by that I mean make any smart, cheap signings. They do occasionally spend big -- but other than Hendrickson that has mostly been a failure. This year they basically did nothing even though their offensive line is trying to get Burrow killed and the defense can't stop anyone.
The first round of the draft brought them...another edge rusher and one that isn't particularly good at rushing the edge. Leave it to the Bengals to take the defensive equivalent of Amarius Mims after how great that worked out. It got a tiny bit better after that as they snagged a good run-stuffing inside linebacker in Demetrius Knight, a good coverage linebacker in Barrett Carter, and one of my favorite RBs, Tahj Brooks. Dylan Fairchild and Jalen Rivers were reaches in the 3rd and 5th rounds respectively but at least they tried to add to the line. Their draft was just ok overall.
Between blowing their first round pick, not adding anything helpful in free agency, and essentially punting on addressing the offensive line again, I can't give them a "C" grade.
Pittsburgh Steelers Off-season Grade: C+
The big move for the Steelers was trading for DK Metcalf, a receiver that's been an annual letdown in Seattle and has a similar skillset to George Pickens (who I expect to be traded before the season starts). Does that really move the needle? Darius Slay might be the more impactful addition to compliment Joey Porter. They also let Najee Harris walk, which is addition by subtraction. Also out the door are both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields...and so far nobody has been signed to replace them. The grade I've given them is contingent on Aaron Rodgers signing eventually, a move I still think will happen although I can't imagine what the holdup is as it seems obvious for both sides.
The draft brought possibly the best defensive tackle, Derrick Harmon, a solid but boring RB in Kaleb Johnson to split with Jaylen Warren, Jack Sawyer, an unspectacular but productive defensive lineman, and underrated linebacker Carson Bruener. Will Howard is a complete nothing for me. Overall, a pretty good haul. A solid draft, an upgrade at corner and receiver, and, assuming Rodgers signs, a slight upgrade at QB is worth a respectable off-season grade. If Rodgers does not sign, however, you could drop this by a full letter grade as their QB situation will have degraded significantly.
Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers
This one is easy. Cincy only really improved at linebacker, a position that doesn't matter all that much, and Pitt got better at several critical positions (again assuming Rodgers signs) including nabbing the best-in-class defensive tackle from the draft. Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins are sexy, but with no help they might be looking at another 3rd place finish in the North behind the boring but perpetually over-achieving Steelers.
RC’s analysis...
Cincinnati offseason comments:
The Bengals didn’t lose anything major in free agency...except OT Trent Brown, which is kinda big since the Bengals struggle so with their O-Line. Cincy didn’t have a lot of money to spend after dealing with Higgins-Gesicki, so what little money they had didn’t go to great use...no real impact players signed to radically aid the cause.
The Cincy draft was little help either...a borderline disaster. Some decent linebackers, that’s about it. They may have saved themselves after the draft with UDFA OC Seth McLaughlin, but he’s coming off a serious injury and may not contribute anything for 2025.
Pittsburgh offseason comments:
The Steelers lost several contributors and two useful QBs in free agency, and they replaced them with a lesser QB and an expensive, sketchy WR (DKM), and are one-year-too-late on Darius Slay. The QBs downgrade is massive...and I am not convinced that Aaron Rodgers is going here, but if he does -- all is forgiven.
The Steelers draft was OK but nothing special. They did get an impact starter in Derrick Harmon and an RB upgrade with Kaleb Johnson.
RC’s WINNER: Pittsburgh Steelers
The Bengals are not really any better today than they were to end last season. But the Steelers would be fine if they signed Aaron Rodgers, but without Rodgers it’s a huge drop from Russ-Fields to Rudolph. Getting DK Metcalf is a big add...more than anything else these two teams did in free agency.
It’s close enough to where I’ll give the Steelers the nod to buy them some more time to sign Rodgers and see where that gets them in the AFC North finals in a few days or so.
*After this was all written, then they traded George Pickens -- a huge blow. I’m gonna let PIT advance still but that was a huge blow to them, but Cincy’s offseason has been so nothing that we’ll let PIT move on to see if they do land Rodgers.
*Officially Moving on in the Tournament* Pittsburgh moves on to the AFC North finals.
