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.
Chicago Bears 2025 Free Agency Losses:
OT Larry Borom (Miami Dolphins)
LB Jack Sanborn (Dallas Cowboys)
OL Teven Jenkins (Cleveland Browns)
DE Jacob Martin (Washington Commanders)
LS Patrick Scales (Free Agent)
S Kevin Byard (Free Agent)
WR Velus Jones Jr. (Free Agent)
Chicago Bears 2025 Free Agency Signings/Additions:
WR Olamide Zaccheaus (1 year, $2.5M, $1M guaranteed)
C Drew Dalman (3 years, $42M, $28M guaranteed)
OL Joe Thuney (Acquired via trade, 1 year, $16M, $16M guaranteed)
TE Durham Smythe (1 year, $2M, $0.5M guaranteed)
OL Jonah Jackson (Acquired via trade, contract not disclosed)
DT Dayo Odeyingbo (3 years, $30M, $15M guaranteed)
DT Grady Jarrett (2 years, $20M, $10M guaranteed)
LB Olasunkanmi Ogbongbemiga (2 years, $5M, $2M guaranteed)
CB Josh Blackwell (2 years, $6M, $3M guaranteed)
CB Nick McCloud (1 year, $1.5M, $0.5M guaranteed)
Chicago Bears 2025 Rookie Draft Picks and Undrafted Free Agents:
TE Colston Loveland (1st Round, No. 10)
WR Luther Burden III (2nd Round, No. 39)
OT Ozzy Trapilo (2nd Round, No. 56)
DT Shemar Turner (2nd Round, No. 62)
LB Ruben Hyppolite II (4th Round, No. 132)
CB Zah Frazier (5th Round, No. 169)
G Luke Newman (6th Round, No. 195)
RB Kyle Monangai (7th Round, No. 233)
S Major Burns (UDFA)
LB Power Echols (UDFA)
WR JP Richardson (UDFA)
K Jonathan Kim (UDFA)
WR Jahdae Walker (UDFA)
LS Luke Elkin (UDFA)
DE Xavier Carlton (UDFA)
DL Gio Paez (UDFA, minicamp invite)
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Detroit Lions 2025 Free Agency Losses:
CB Carlton Davis III (New England Patriots)
OG Kevin Zeitler (Tennessee Titans)
S Ifeatu Melifonwu (Miami Dolphins)
DE Za’Darius Smith (Released, Free Agent)
DE John Cominsky (Free Agent)
CB Emmanuel Moseley (Free Agent)
CB Kindle Vildor (Free Agent)
DT Kyle Peko (Free Agent)
LB Ben Niemann (Free Agent)
OG Netane Muti (Free Agent)
DL Jonah Williams (Free Agent)
LB Kwon Alexander (Free Agent)
Detroit Lions 2025 Free Agency Signings/Additions:
QB Kyle Allen (1 year, $1.27M, $0.5M guaranteed)
CB D.J. Reed (3 years, $48M, $24M guaranteed)
CB Rock Ya-Sin (1 year, $1.5M, $0.5M guaranteed)
CB Avonte Maddox (1 year, $1.5M, $0.5M guaranteed)
DT Roy Lopez (1 year, $4.65M, $2M guaranteed)
DT Levi Onwuzurike (1 year, $5.5M, $2.5M guaranteed)
DT Myles Adams (1 year, $1.5M, $0.5M guaranteed)
DT Pat O’Connor (1 year, $1.5M, $0.5M guaranteed)
DE Al-Quadin Muhammad (1 year, $1.5M, $0.5M guaranteed)
DE Marcus Davenport (1 year, $2.5M, $1M guaranteed)
LB Derrick Barnes (3 years, $25.5M, $12M guaranteed)
LB Ezekiel Turner (1 year, $1.5M, $0.5M guaranteed)
LB Grant Stuard (1 year, $1.5M, $0.5M guaranteed)
TE Kenny Yeboah (1 year, $1.5M, $0.5M guaranteed)
Detroit Lions 2025 Rookie Draft Picks and Undrafted Free Agents:
DT Tyleik Williams (1st Round, No. 28)
OL Tate Ratledge (2nd Round, No. 57)
WR Isaac TeSlaa (3rd Round, No. 70)
OL Miles Frazier (5th Round, No. 171)
EDGE Ahmed Hassanein (6th Round, No. 196)
S Dan Jackson (7th Round, No. 230)
WR Dominic Lovett (7th Round, No. 244)
OL Mason Miller (UDFA)
WR Jackson Meeks (UDFA)
RB Anthony Tyus III (UDFA)
WR Jakobie Keeney-James (UDFA)
C Leif Fautanu (UDFA)
TE Andrew Prieskorn (UDFA)
DL Brandon Cooper (UDFA)
CB Jyaire Holmes (UDFA)
RB Koryn Robichaux (UDFA)
S Ian Kennelly (UDFA)
TE Brandon Horton (UDFA)
Ross Jacobs’ analysis...
Chicago Bears Off-season Grade: A
I could quibble about the age and contracts of some of the free agents they signed/traded for, but there's no arguing the Bears got significantly better this off-season. In the span of a few days they fixed the interior of the offensive line, the most important thing they could have done. Why other teams don't get this aggressive to solve problems I'll never know. Now this doesn't mean Chicago suddenly has a great line, but it's at least respectable.
In the draft they added several more impact players in Loveland, Burden, Trapilo, and Frazier. That's a couple of excellent weapons for Caleb Williams along with a good starting left tackle and a very interesting corner prospect. Heck, Shemar Turner might turn into something at defensive tackle. He's certainly athletic enough. Again I don't love how high they took Loveland, but it's inarguable that he's a good player and adds something to the team.
Ben Johnson got to Chicago, identified a few weaknesses, and attacked them with precision and efficiency. I was a bit skeptical of the former Detroit OC, but so far he's living up to the hype.
Detroit Lions Off-season Grade: B-
The Lions have built up the team so well over the past 3 years that they no longer need free agency to fill any huge holes. They did lose Carlton Davis but almost immediately replaced him with the very capable DJ Reed. There were several other moves in and out but nothing super impactful.
The draft, however, is where Brad Holmes really shines, and he came through with a very underrated class in my opinion. Tyleik Williams never got much 1st round hype but I had him on the bubble and even included him in the 1st in a few early mocks. He's a big, powerful nose tackle but one that can really move. If he continues to develop his pass rush he could be quite a steal. They also addressed their looming interior line losses with Tate Ratledge, a gritty guard from Georgia, and Miles Frazier. Then they shocked everyone by taking Isaac TeSlaa in the 3rd. While they may have been able to get him later, we'll never know for sure. TeSlaa is an athletic freak and I'm excited to see what they can do with him. Even their late picks are interesting. Ahmed Hassanein isn't very athletic as an edge rusher but he's powerful and productive, and Dan Jackson might as well be the safety equivalent of Dan Campbell as a prospect, not athletic but smart, tough, and hits like a truck. There were times he looked like the best player on the field at Georgia and that's saying something.
Overall, a very solid meat and potatoes draft to help keep the Lions train going.
Winner: Chicago Bears
As much as I love what Detroit did with the draft, this is clearly a Chicago win. They had a lot more problems to solve and they solved them, fixing the offensive line and adding more weapons for Caleb. Mission accomplished. The Bears are going to be hard to beat in this tournament.
RC’s analysis...
Detroit offseason comments:
The only major item the Lions lost in free agency was CB Carlton Davis, but they signed away D.J. Reed from NYJ to replace him...so, little-to-no impact potentially.
The Lions ditched free agents that won’t be missed, but looking through their low-level signings in free agency -- a lot of brilliant small pieces that championships are built on. Roy Lopez, Pat O’Connor, Grant Stuard, Kyle Allen at QB -- these are guys I would’ve been signing, if I were a GM, for league minimum or close to it deals and would’ve gotten away with highway robbery. A really/subtly brilliant free agency season for Detroit’s personnel team. Bravo.
Then they followed that up with a really nice draft...2-3-4 starters potentially coming out of this draft with most of their picks at least being useful to the cause right away and over the years.
Chicago offseason comments:
The Bears killed it in free agency...losing little-to-nothing but then signing and trading for offensive line strength, which is SO key and the thing most every team should be doing, but don’t. 2-3 impact offensive linemen added. That alone makes this a top 1-5 offseason. But they also added Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo at DT...another critical position to bolster. Beautiful job in free agency and trade.
In the draft, they were solid...several useful players, future starters and contributors. The Bears got markedly better this offseason...but if they don’t fix Caleb, it won’t play out as genius as it really is.
RC’s WINNER: Chicago Bears
A thumbs up for the Lions offseason, for sure. Really subtle-savvy. But the Bears had such a killer offseason...possibly the single best (we’ll see) of 2025, that the Lions take a tough ‘loss’ here...but that’s a shame because the Lions were smart but the Bears were smarter and had more room to do things they needed to do.
*Officially Moving on in the Tournament* Chicago moves on to the NFC North finals.
