Exemplary Executive Action (AFC)

Organizations doing everything in their power to create the spark their franchises need

Patriots:

What this organization did in the offseason could be made into a documentary at one point in time. Maybe with a hypothetical title of “The Bradyless Bunch.” Drake Maye showed so many unmissable signs of being a franchise quarterback while being in the gulag his rookie season. He may have had the worst cast ever deployed on an NFL field for a rookie. No blocking, an inconsistent injury riddled Rhamondre Stevenson with no one to accompany him in the backfield, and the worst receiving room in the NFL. He made no excuses. Just took it in stride and made some magical highlights along the way. With that being said Maye’s sights were set on who the organization would begin to surround him with. He truly had no threat who could generate a home run play with his best guy probably being Demario Douglas. In the 2025 NFL Draft the Pats needed to go all in and use as many picks as they possibly could to fill all the voids in their depth chart and boy did they do it well.

Their first pick was Will Campbell out of LSU, the best offensive lineman prospect in the draft. His only issue was that his arms were short, but if you throw on the tape he obliterated nearly every defensive lineman he went up against. Then in the subsequent rounds New England selected Treveyeon Henderson, Kyle Williams, and Jared Wilson to address their offensive woes. In all honesty Henderson was a guy I had tagged as not being up to snuff as an early second round guy in large part due to his injury history. Grouping him in the backfield with Stevenson may have been a masterful move. Stevenson seemed to be overworked in 2024 in large part due to the fact that Antonio Gibson wasn’t a good enough player to be an RB2. Stevenson often had the box stacked with defenders and couldn’t get any space to make plays. So picking Henderson should be ideal for their running back room considering Henderson can generate gashing gains at any moment while Stevenson can thud inside the tackles to protect TreVeyon from injury. Henderson also is marvelous in pass protection which could be crucial for a struggling offensive line. A key addition that helps both running backs out was selecting Jared Wilson at Center. He could work wonders in the run game for the Patriots. Coming out of Georgia he was the best guy in the draft at the position and has a freakish athletic profile. 

The hope is the team can finally get a semblance of balance in their offense. To make that happen they had to acquire some receivers. In free agency they got a staple in the intermediate passing game with Stefon Diggs. Despite coming off an injury he should easily be able to get open in an instant and provide Maye with an option to consistently move the chains. Then with their early third round selection of Kyle Williams, Maye finally gets a guy who feasts on the deep ball. Williams is adept at using leverage and change of pace to effortlessly separate from defensive backs. Maye having pass catchers is going to lead to a meteoric rise from his rookie campaign. With the draft and free agency the organization improved at every level on offense. What the Patriots did on the other side of the ball though might push them towards playoff contention.

Bringing in Mike Vrabel to be their head coach was the best thing they could’ve done to aid the defense and give the team a jolt. Vrabel was scapegoated before his firing in Tennessee despite having an egregious case of front office ineptitude during his tenure. Whether it was moving AJ Brown to replace him with Treylon Burks or insisting on riding with Ryan Tannehill at QB, the Titans essentially threw in the towel for Vrabel. Now he’s set to lead a team with real promise. Christian Barmore will be back as a premier defensive tackle in the league next to newly acquired Milton Williams, Christian Gonzalez will remain a shutdown corner next to Carleton Davis in the secondary, and Robert Spillane is set to be the frenetic force the Pats needed at middle linebacker next to a hopefully healthy Sione TakiTaki. Before the draft this defense was set to be a top tier one in 2025, but after the draft there’s a real shot it will be a cemented top five unit in the league.

  The Pats used two middle round picks to take swings at needs in the defense. The first of which, Craig Woodson out of Cal, had three straight seasons of steady production at safety. A hard hitting, ball hawk safety that covers a lot of field. His disruption as a DB in the box was particularly of interest when watching him play. Clogging passing lanes, tipping throws, and denying a quarterback’s reads over the middle of the field. His versatility could be his most notable trait. Then they got another supreme value in the fifth round by taking Bradyn Swinson out of LSU. An edge rusher who is building upon his game. His tools include: an elite frame, long arms, and speed at his size that could cause real havoc if he gets coached up a bit. From a production standpoint Swinson as an edge rusher has largely been a facade. Although on paper Swinson had 8.5 sacks this last season, he is far from being a polished pass rusher. Much like Shemar Stewart who was the 17TH OVERALL PICK, Swinson is a guy who has traits an organization can develop. In contrast to the Bengals taking Stewart at 17, Swinson was actually worth the pick considering he unnecessarily fell far into the fifth round. With all these chess moves this organization has played a patient game with building their foundational future.

New England laid down last year so that the organization would be in this position. Lots of key off season additions made by savvy spending and drafting. What’s crazy is that the organization is set to have the best financial future of any organization in the league. The Patriots have $24.5 million more in cap space than the 49ers who are sitting with $43.2 million in cap space. The Niners are the team with the second most cap space in the NFL. Just let that sink in. A team who may have taken the best quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft improving at every level on both sides of the ball that has more money than any other team does to help out their franchise QB. The team as it sits right now has a formidable chance of flirting with a wild card berth. Aside from MAYBE Milton Williams the Patriots just had an A+ offseason. There’s a real pulse in Foxborough now. An excitement, a belief, an identity. All words that were foreign to the team in 2024. 

Oakland Raiders:

The Raiders weren’t really a team with much of anything last season. Now their front office has just given the team a fighting chance. Immediately grabbing a proven Head Coach with Pete Carroll along with his head honcho Geno Smith to start out the offseason. This year Vegas is desperately in need for a full season of Christian Wilkins dominance to have a fighting chance in the AFC West. They paid him to form a godly duo on the defensive line with Maxx Crosby, but sadly injury kept Wilkins off the field for the whole season. In all truth no one expects the team to go out and win the division. They might not even come close. But at least they’re giving it all they got. The first two picks gave their new quarterback much needed weaponry on offense. A workhorse running back in Ashton Jeanty who obliterated his competition all year in college football to command the Raiders backfield and Jack Bech who might be a reliable target for Geno in the late second round. Bech has such a unique path to being a second rounder off of just one year of production, but boy it was impressive. He can fight through contact at the catch point, has excellent body control, and is hard to defend over the middle of the field. His skill set should be a nice compliment to Brock Bowers. Bech also had the privilege of being in the same receiving room as Brian Thomas Jr, Malik Nabers, and Kyren Lacy. It largely affected his production before TCU, but in the spotlight he finished as a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff trophy. The award given to the nation’s best wide receiver. These first two picks significantly elevated both positional groups to take the load off of Bowers.

The team would then select two offensive lineman for positional depth. It’s clear that Carroll has taken the reins for the organization’s draft picks. The solid selections he made with their first two picks alongside their rookie frontline selections allowed the Raiders to roll the dice on two potential game changers. The first of which, Darrien Porter out of Iowa State, is just too intriguing to pass up on. A 6 foot 4 inch corner at 200 pounds who originally played wideout, but then converted to DB. Porter excels in man coverage with his previous experience of being a receiver working wonders for his ability to shadow playmakers one on one. His blazing 4.3 speed definitely elevates his ceiling. Carroll did it before with Richard Sherman so why not try it again? He’s also sound in run support. A truly underrated quality of a defensive back. Much like Porter was a gamble for their defense, so was their fourth round selection at receiver. Dont’e Thornton Jr. out of Tennessee could be one of the better picks of Vegas’ class. He has an athletic profile that mirrors Porter’s. A 4.3 second forty yard dash with a 6 foot 5 inch frame at 214 pounds. Thornton’s production simply wasn’t there in college, but this last season it was nearly impossible for him to do better than he did. Surpassing 600 yards with Nico Iamaleava as his distributor. He honestly could get ample opportunity as the team’s main deep threat if Geno gets going in Vegas. Thornton’s speed is just jaw dropping. If he gets space in the open field, good luck catching him. This approach the Raiders have taken to load up on the offensive side of the ball while picking up a DB that could blossom into the team’s best one on one corner looks incredibly wise on paper.

Looking at every other team in the AFC West each one has a top tier defense aside from maybe the San Diego Chargers, but they are no slouch. So Vegas needed to fortify their offense to even compete. They built up the line so that Jeanty can immediately flourish in the NFL which gives Geno much needed balance in their offensive attack. It was also key to acquire two new weapons in the passing game so Geno could hit the ground running with his new home. Knowing Jeanty doesn’t have the injury risk like most do with his usage must be such a comfort for the organization. Geno Smith didn’t have that with K9 in Seattle because he’d always go down. Even though Charbonnet filled in as one of league’s best backup running backs he doesn’t hold a torch to Jeanty’s electric play or K9’s heroic highlights. It’s going to be box office or bust with Geno now that he has an offensive line, a running back drawing comparisons to beast mode, and a crew of young receivers next to one of the best tight ends the league has ever seen. I don’t think anyone can tell you how the Raiders will fare next season, but at the very least they are looking to make significant strides towards a brighter future. Man can the 2025 NFL Season just start already?!