Long gone are the memories of last season’s historic collapse when the Eagles lost six of their final seven games and went one-and-done in the playoffs after a 10-1 start.
General manager Howie Roseman’s offseason made sure of that. Perhaps this list sums it up best.
The Eagles have five award finalists this year, all in their first year with the team. In case you’re not satisfied, here’s more info.
Saquon Barkley is one of the greatest free-agent signings in NFL history and is having one of the best seasons by a running back ever.
Zack Baun was unheralded before signing a one-year deal with Philadelphia this offseason. Now he’s a first-team All-Pro and the first player since 2013 NaVorro Bowman with 150-plus tackles and at least six forced fumbles in a season, including playoffs.
The Eagles top two draft picks, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, have helped turn around a pass defense that went from 31st to first in the NFL. They rank one-two among NFC players in yards per attempt allowed in coverage this year, among 74 players targeted 50-plus times.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has overseen an incredible defensive transformation, the first team to go from 22nd or worse to first in total defense in NFL history. They are also the first team to enter a Super Bowl with the top scoring and total defense since the 2014 Seahawks.
Philadelphia also added safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (six interceptions in 2024), guard Mekhi Becton (15 starts) and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
Even the Eagles’ biggest loss, Jason Kelce, was minimized by the emergence of Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens. Plus, they clearly dodged a bullet in the Haason Reddick Bryce Huff trade, even though Huff hasn’t made a big impact.
It’s no wonder some are saying this is the best offseason in NFL history. After all, it’s a complete 180 from last year’s meltdown to being on the doorstep of a Super Bowl title.
But exactly how good was this offseason? Was it simply the best this year, the best by a Super Bowl team or truly the best by any team ever? To answer that question, I looked at Pro Football Reference’s approximate value (AV) metric, which places a single value on each player’s season. AV is by no means as sophisticated as wins above replacement (WAR) for baseball, but it’s a better single value metric than say games played or Pro Bowls.
To get a sense of the best offseasons ever, I looked at the highest AV seasons for teams by their core of newcomers. In this case, the 2024 Eagles had a top-five season in the salary cap era (since 1994) in terms of AV by a team’s top six new players.
Highest approximate value among top-six new players in last 30 years
| Additions | ||
|---|---|---|
|
2024 WSH |
73 |
Jayden Daniels, Bobby Wagner, Frankie Luvu, Nick Allegretti, Tyler Biadasz, Brandon Coleman |
|
2024 MIN |
68 |
Sam Darnold, Aaron Jones, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, Blake Cashman, Cam Robinson |
|
1998 NYJ |
68 |
Curtis Martin, Vinny Testaverde, Kevin Mawae, Jason Fabini, Anthony Pleasant, Todd Burger |
| 2024 PHI | 62 | Saquon Barkley, Zack Baun, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Mekhi Becton |
|
1994 SF |
62 |
Deion Sanders, Bryant Young, Ken Norton Jr., Bart Oates, Derrick Deese, Gary Plummer |
|
2006 NO |
62 |
Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Marques Colston, Jahri Evans, Jeff Faine, Scott Fujita |
|
2015 NYJ |
61 |
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brandon Marshall, Darrelle Revis, James Carpenter, Leonard Williams, Marcus Gilchrist |
|
2021 NE |
60 |
Mac Jones, Matt Judon, Ted Karras, Kyle Van Noy, Kendrick Bourne, Davon Godchaux |
|
2018 IND |
60 |
Quenton Nelson, Shaquille Leonard, Braden Smith, Eric Ebron, Denico Autry, Matthew Adams |
|
2004 WSH |
59 |
Clinton Portis, Sean Taylor, Shawn Springs, Ryan Clark, Marcus Washington, Cornelius Griffin |
Now, this certainly doesn’t mean the Eagles did or did not have the best offseason ever. The depth of offseason moves is the most important ingredient in determining best offseasons ever — at least in my rankings. However, factors like immediate impact, big splashes, coaches and offseason losses need to be factored in as well. Incorporating those methods was far less scientific, but that’s the beauty of these lists. There’s a foundation of metrics backed by the age-old eye test.
So, here are my top 10 offseasons in the salary cap era (since 1994). I stuck to the past 30 years because there was little free agent movement before the salary cap was a thing.
Top 10 offseasons in salary cap era
10. 2014 Broncos
The 2014 Broncos went on a free-agent spending spree after losing to the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, cashing in on Aqib Talib, DeMarcus Ware and T.J. Ward. Sure, the 2012 Peyton Manning signing was one of the greatest ever, but it was this trio of moves that gave Denver the best defense in the league come 2015, one responsible for the Broncos’ most recent Super Bowl title.
9. 1998 Jets
Curtis Martin was one of the greatest free-agent signings ever, rushing for 1,000 yards in each of his first seven seasons with the Jets. Vinny Testaverde went from journeyman to posting one of the best quarterback seasons in Jets history. Plus, they got Hall of Fame center Kevin Mawae from the Seahawks. The trio of moves helped Bill Parcells’ Jets reach the AFC Championship Game just two years after going 1-15. I also looked at the 2015 Jets here (traded for Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brandon Marshall while signing cornerback Darrelle Revis), but they failed to make the playoffs.
8. 1994 49ers
This list would be incomplete without “Primetime.” The 49ers’ last Super Bowl win came in 1994 when they signed Deion Sanders, who would win NFL Defensive Player of the Year in his only season in San Francisco (six interceptions including three returned for touchdowns). San Francisco also bolstered its defense by drafting Hall of Famer Bryant Young and signing linebacker Ken Norton Jr.
7. 1999 Rams
The 1999 Rams traded for Marshall Faulk, drafted Torry Holt, signed Pro Bowl guard Adam Timmerman and hired offensive coordinator Mike Martz. They also brought in Trent Green, whose training camp injury paved the way for Kurt Warner (1998 free agent signing) and the birth of the “Greatest Show on Turf.” This would probably be the best offseason ever had Warner signed in 1999 instead of 1998. Still, they brought in two future Hall of Famers (Faulk and Holt) and immediately won a Super Bowl.
6. 2012 Seahawks
Draft classes were also a big part factor in this list. It’s hard to ignore the Seahawks drafting future Hall of Famers (probably) Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner in 2012. I also considered draft classes like the 1995 Buccaneers (Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp), 1996 Ravens (Ray Lewis, Jonathan Ogden) and 2016 Cowboys (Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott), but the Seahawks’ moves offered a trifecta. It paid immediate dividends (Super Bowl title in 2013), included the added value of a quarterback (Wilson) and had long-term benefits.
5. 2024 Eagles
This Eagles class falls short of the best ever, but there’s opportunity to move up the board with a win in the Super Bowl. You can certainly make a case it’s the best offseason ever in terms of depth and diversity of additions. So far it lacks a championship and did not involve the most important position in sports, quarterback. Plus, unlike the teams at the top of the list, this was already a talented roster that made the Super Bowl two years ago.
4. 2020 Buccaneers
Tampa Bay had not won a playoff game since the 2002 Super Bowl season by the time they signed Tom Brady in 2020. The thought of a super team winning a title was commonplace in the NBA but hadn’t really happened in the NFL until Brady took over “Tompa Bay,” who also signed Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette and Antonio Brown. Don’t forget, the Buccaneers also drafted All-Pros with their first two draft picks in Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr., who continue to impact today’s team. Ultimately, I picked this team over the Eagles because they won a Super Bowl against Patrick Mahomes AND I’ll take Brady’s impact over the course of four seasons vs. what Barkley can bring to Philadelphia over a similar length of time. Let’s not forget, Tampa’s offseason success was not easy to replicate by the Jets and Aaron Rodgers.
3. 2024 Commanders
The Eagles may not have even had the best offseason this year! That’s because the Commanders franchise went from one of the league’s biggest dumpster fires to Super Bowl contenders in one year by drafting Jayden Daniels; getting a new general manager (Adam Peters), head coach (Dan Quinn) and offensive coordinator (Kliff Kingsbury) and bolstering the offensive line (Nick Allegretti and Tyler Biadasz) and the defense (Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu). (Zach Ertz and Austin Ekeler were also nice additions!) Whether you are talking about the top five, six, seven, eight, nine or 10 newcomers, this core produced the most AV of any team’s new players in the salary cap era. They may have gotten blown out by the Eagles in the NFC title game, but the depth, turnaround and long-term outlook of this offseason (mainly because of Daniels) trumps the Eagles in my book.
2. 2006 Saints
It’s hard to believe this is not the top offseason on the list, but here we are. The 2006 Saints hired Sean Payton and signed Drew Brees, paving the way for an incredible 15 years of football in New Orleans on the heels of Hurricane Katrina. If that wasn’t enough, this was a solid draft class that included Reggie Bush, Marques Colton and Jahri Evans. It all paid immediate dividends, too, as they went from 3-13 in 2005 to an NFC title game in 2006. Props to the Saints 2017 draft class, which was one of the best of the last few decades (Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk, Marcus Williams, Alvin Kamara, Alex Anzalone and Trey Hendrickson), but you’re not sniffing the impact of the Saints overall offseason moves from 2006.
1. 2000 Patriots
The 2000 Patriots didn’t have a deep draft or free agent class, but c’mon, they brought in the best head coach (Bill Belichick) and quarterback (Tom Brady) in NFL history in the same offseason. One GOAT (2017 Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes) isn’t enough to crack this list, but two is enough to top it. Kudos to the Patriots 2007 offseason, too, when they traded for Randy Moss and signed Wes Welker ahead of their 16-0 season.
Another team that didn’t quite crack the list was the 2024 Vikings. They had a 14-win season but didn’t quite get the payoff from a great offseason that included bringing in Sam Darnold, Aaron Jones, Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, Jonathan Greenard, Stephon Gilmore and J.J. McCarthy.
This is my list, so you may or may not agree with it, and the beauty of it is you can make your own with your criteria (and maybe a mad scientist formula, too).
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