The current offseason in the NFL has led to many trades for teams that have struggled in the past years. From Russel Wilson to Devante Adams to Matt Ryan to Tyreek Hill, this season’s offseason trades have been surprising and wild. 

In this offseason, not only is there room for improvement in trades, but the draft is also key for the teams in rebuild mode. Although the New York Giants have been on a decline the past few years, they had three picks between the first and second round with an early selection in the third as well. Another example is the New York Jets. The Jets had five out of the first 69 picks in the draft this year. And, according to most draft analysts, both New York teams made the most of those picks.

As for the local Miami Dolphins, they need to create an offense around quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and that is exactly what they have done. The Dolphins traded away five draft picks in order to receive one of the fastest receivers in the league dubbed “the cheetah,” Tyreek Hill. The Dolphins are centering their offense around Tua; meanwhile, the question still remains if he is the right guy for the job. Olympic Heights sophomore Ian Zavala believes that “Tua has one season left to prove if he is the guy or not.”

The Cleveland Browns made a deal with the Houston Texans to acquire superstar quarterback Deshaun Watson. Watson currently is facing a total of 22 civil lawsuits, which may limit the time he is able to play during the 2022-2023 season. The question is what will happen to their previous starting quarterback, Baker Mayfield.

On February 1, Tom Brady officially announced his retirement, which he has now withdrawn as he declared that “[his] place is still on the field and not in the stands.” Brady is coming back to Tampa Bay for one more year, but Bucs head coach has retired and is handing the team over to the team’s former defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.  OH sophomore Tyler Scaglione loves that Brady is returning as the starting QB for Tampa Bay.

In the AFC West, the Broncos acquired their new starting QB Russel Wilson, who had spent the previous ten seasons behind center for the Seattle Seahawks. The Broncos solved their QB situation with Wilson, but they still need more depth on their defense to be considered a top-tier contender in the league. OH sophomore Joshua Artzi notes, “The Broncos still need to add more assets to their team to compete in their division.”

In the NFC North, the Green Bay Packers extended the contract of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but soon thereafter Rodgers learned the Packers traded his number one receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Packers are going to need to fill that hole at receiver. It’s going to take a lot to replace Adams, but the Packers signed former Baltimore Raven receiver Sammy Watkins and took three receivers in the draft. With the first of those receiver picks coming in the second round, the Packersstreak of not drafting a wide receiver in the first round is now at 21 years. 

The Atlanta Falcons traded their 14-year quarterback Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts. Ryan takes over for Carson Wentz with Marcus Mariota, the former Tennessee Titans quarterback, now behind center for the Falcons.