Among the many things Tom Brady accomplished by reaching the 10th Super Bowl of his career was settling the question of which offseason signing was the best.
Every year, we look back on the previous offseason and, based on the season's results, assess which transactions turned out to be the best and the worst. This year, we have a team that went out and signed a veteran quarterback to replace a guy who threw 30 interceptions the season before and has made it to the Super Bowl almost directly as a result of that one move. I'd say it has to top the list.
But there are other 2020 offseason moves worth revisiting -- good ones, bad ones and sneaky-bargain ones. Here are five of each, starting with the obvious:
Most successful moves of the 2020 offseason
1. Buccaneers sign QB Tom Brady.
Honestly, what more could they have asked from this? The Bucs weren't on many people's lists of obvious Brady destinations when the offseason started, but they pitched him on the idea that they were a team on the cusp -- ready to win if they could get someone like him to bring calm, reliability and a championship mindset into the building.
There were hiccups along the way and times when it looked as if they weren't good enough to get here. But underestimating Brady has been a bad bet for a couple of decades now. Tampa Bay sure is happy it didn't underestimate (a) the impact he would have on its team, or (b) its ability to get him.
2. Bills trade a first-round pick to Vikings for WR Stefon Diggs.
This is a deal that turned out to be a win for both sides, since the Vikings used that pick to draft electric wide receiver Justin Jefferson and the Bills used Diggs to unlock the full potential of Josh Allen and their offense. Diggs led the NFL in catches (127) and receiving yards (1,535) in his first season in Buffalo, and the Bills made it to the AFC Championship Game before losing to the defending champion Chiefs.
Buffalo's roster was strong already. But adding Diggs on the premise that he was a No. 1 receiver, and then having him perform like one, elevated them to the upper echelon of NFL title contenders.
3. Browns sign OT Jack Conklin, draft OT Jedrick Wills Jr.
Cleveland had two main goals for the 2020 offseason: hire the right coach this time and shore up the offensive line to give Baker Mayfield a chance. Early returns indicate that Kevin Stefanski fulfilled the first goal, and signing Conklin and drafting Wills in the first round fulfilled the second.
These moves weren't cheap. Conklin signed a three-year, $42 million contract with $30 million fully guaranteed, and Wills was the No. 10 pick. But they were necessary and their affect on Mayfield and Cleveland's offense was undeniable. The Browns won 11 games for the first time since 1994 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
4. Colts trade a first-round pick to the 49ers for DT DeForest Buckner.
As was the case with Diggs and Buffalo, if you're going to trade a first-round pick, the return had better have an immediate and significant impact. The Colts signed Buckner to a four-year, $84 million extension with more than $39 million guaranteed right after the trade, so they were all-in on the player. But think of it this way: Javon Kinlaw, the player the 49ers took with that No. 14 overall pick, got a fully guaranteed $15.488 million contract, so the Colts were going to spend that much on a rookie anyway if they had kept the pick. Apply that money to Buckner's deal and it looks a lot better.
The Colts' defense was one of the best in the league for a good portion of this season and Buckner shoring up things on the defensive line was a big reason why.
5. Giants sign CB James Bradberry.
Yes, the Giants went 6-10. But everything's relative. That was their highest win total since 2016 and the season offered plenty of indications that the franchise might finally be headed in the right direction. Part of that was a defense that ranked eighth in defensive efficiency and a big part of that was the work the Giants did in free agency.
Bradberry signed a three-year, $43.5 million contract with $29.8 million guaranteed, which made him a bargain compared to top-of-the-market CB Byron Jones, who signed with Miami. Bradberry played like a shutdown corner and, along with fellow free-agent signee LB Blake Martinez, helped fuel a defense that played hard every week and performed better than we've seen a Giants defense perform since Ben McAdoo's first year in 2016.
Most disappointing moves of the 2020 offseason
1. Texans trade WR DeAndre Hopkins to Cardinals for RB David Johnson and a second-round pick.
Everybody hated this move for Houston at the time. And while the Texans tried to mitigate the loss of Hopkins -- who was shipped out because he and coach/GM Bill O'Brien didn't see eye-to-eye on his contract situation -- by trading for Brandin Cooks and signing Randall Cobb, the fallout has backed up the initial reviews. O'Brien was fired before midseason, the team just found a coach to replace him, and quarterback Deshaun Watson is so fed up with the organization that he doesn't want to play for them anymore.
The Hopkins trade wasn't the sole reason for all of this, of course, but it looks as bad in retrospect as it did at the time.
2. Titans sign pass-rushers Vic Beasley and Jadeveon Clowney.
Tennessee hoped Beasley, the former Falcons first-round pick, would be a steal for its pass rush on a one-year, $9.5 million contract. He showed up 10 days late for training camp, incurring $500,000 in fines, and failed to register a sack in five games with the team before it released him in November. On Clowney, they waited out the market and got him for one year and $11.5 million guaranteed, but he played eight games and didn't register a sack before a knee injury ended his season early.
As a team, the Titans had one of the worst pass rushes in the league, finishing the season with just 19 total sacks. And four of them came in their final game.
3. Bears sign DE Robert Quinn.
Coming off an 11.5-sack season in Dallas, Quinn signed a five-year, $70 million contract with Chicago that included $30 million fully guaranteed in the first two years. The Bears signed him to replace disappointing former first-round pick Leonard Floyd, who left as a free agent and signed with the Rams.
It's fair to assume the Bears thought Quinn would have more than two sacks in 2020. Meanwhile, Floyd, who signed for one year and $10 million, had 10.5 sacks for L.A.
4. Panthers sign QB Teddy Bridgewater.
It wasn't a signing that broke the bank, but the Panthers paid Bridgewater $24 million in 2020 and $10 million of his $17 million 2021 salary is fully guaranteed. He finished 17th in Total QBR, 17th in yards, 24th in passing touchdowns and 12th in yards per attempt. Those are numbers to fall asleep to.
Carolina might already be looking to replace him with the No. 8 pick in the draft. And by the way, the signing likely resulted in division rival New Orleans, for whom he'd played the previous two years, receiving a third-round compensatory pick in this year's draft. The Panthers could have kept Cam Newton for $19.1 million, probably not done a whole lot worse than they did, and also not be on the hook for another $10 million in 2021.
5. Bengals sign CB Trae Waynes and DT D.J. Reader.
Sometimes, the mistakes aren't a team's fault. Guys get hurt in football and that's what happened here. Waynes signed a three-year, $42 million contract of which $20 million was paid in the first year, tore a pectoral muscle in training camp and didn't play a single game. Reader signed a four-year, $53 million contract that paid him $22.25 million in the first year. He played pretty well for the first five games, but he injured his quadriceps in the fifth and had to miss the rest of the season.
That's not much return on investment in Year 1 for either of Cincinnati's big free-agent signings.
Best bargain moves of the 2020 offseason
1. 49ers trade a 2020 fifth-round pick and a 2021 third-round pick to Washington for OT Trent Williams.
Everyone knew Williams wanted out of Washington, but it was the 49ers who swooped in and got him for a bargain price. On draft weekend, in the wake of the Joe Staley retirement news, San Francisco reunited Williams with former Washington offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Williams performed like his old Pro Bowl self at left tackle before the injury wave that devastated the 49ers' roster caught up with him toward the end of the season. Williams is a free agent and has set himself up for another payday at age 32.
2. Bills sign OT Daryl Williams.
We talked earlier about Cleveland paying a premium to shore up right tackle with Jack Conklin, but Buffalo did the same thing a lot more economically. It signed Williams to a one-year, $2.25 million contract of which only the $250,000 signing bonus was guaranteed. Williams started all 19 games at right tackle for one of the best offenses in the league and should be in line for a much more lucrative free-agent payday this time around.
The Diggs move is the splashy one that deservedly gets the headlines, but moves like this are where general managers really earn their money. Brandon Beane deserves a pat on the back here.
3. Dolphins sign DE Emmanuel Ogbah.
Miami got Ogbah on a two-year, $15 million contract with $7.5 million guaranteed. He played in 16 games, started 12 and recorded nine sacks. Not only is anything under $1 million per sack a bargain price for a pass-rusher, the fact that it's a two-year deal is extremely beneficial to the team, which has him for $7.5 million in 2021 if they want him. Had it been a one-year deal, he'd be in position to cash in as a free agent. Had it been a three-year deal, he'd be in a position where his 2022 money would be a lot more likely to come in.
The Dolphins surely could throw him a raise or an extension and they might well do that. But they got a bargain that continues to be a bargain if they want to see him do it again before committing beyond this year.
4. Colts sign CB Xavier Rhodes.
Cut by the Vikings after a disappointing 2019 season, Rhodes signed with Indianapolis for one year, $3 million. He experienced something of a career renaissance in Matt Eberflus' defense, as he had two interceptions and his completion percentage allowed when targeted was 51.9% -- good for 11th best among qualified cornerbacks.
5. Raiders sign WR Nelson Agholor.
Wide receiver has been a thorny problem for the Raiders the past couple of years. Tyrell Williams was a disappointing free-agent signing in 2019. Trading for Antonio Brown was a complete disaster. They drafted Hunter Renfrow in the fifth round in 2019 and Henry Ruggs (Round 1) and Bryan Edwards (Round 3) in 2020. Edwards got hurt. Renfrow and Ruggs have been good.
But Agholor, the former Eagles first-rounder the Raiders signed for a little more than $1 million last offseason, had an eye-opening 2020 season. He had 48 catches and 896 yards to go with eight touchdowns and averaged 18.7 yards per reception.