1. What was the most interesting or surprising decision of the offseason? (Tie, 4 votes each):
• The Cowboys’ signing quarterback Dak Prescott to a four-year, $160 million contract as he’s coming off a broken right ankle
• The Patriots spending $159 million
• The Rams acquiring Matthew Stafford in exchange for Jared Goff
• The Titans’ trade for Julio Jones
• (way down the list, 1 vote): Defensive end J.J. Watt joining the Cardinals
2. Which team had the best offseason?
• Buccaneers (11 votes), Browns (4), Chiefs (2), Patriots (2), Washington (2), ... Cardinals among 10 teams with 1 vote each.
3. Which team had the most disappointing offseason?
• Texans (11 votes)
--- “(Executive vice president) Jack Easterby is a trainwreck, and I know a lot of league folks think (CEO Cal McNair) is ‘Tommy Boy,’ which helps explain how Easterby happened. Then there’s Deshaun Watson. … Regardless, nobody trusts Easterby.”
--- “On paper, a wreck. Everything that seemingly could go wrong went wrong, starting with the quarterback.”
--- “Where do I start?”
• Packers (3), Raiders (3), Eagles (2), Falcons (2), 11 other teams with 1 vote; [Cardinals not listed]
...
7. Among GMs or front-office leaders, who is the best talent evaluator?
• Colts GM Chris Ballard (10.5 votes), Broncos GM George Paton (4), Seahawks GM John Schneider (2.5);
• Others: Browns GM Andrew Berry, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert, Ravens GM Eric DeCosta, Dolphins GM Chris Grier, Chiefs GM Brett Veach (2 votes); Bills GM Brandon Beane, Lions senior personnel executive John Dorsey, Panthers GM Scott Fitterer, Seahawks senior executive Alonzo Highsmith, former 49ers/Washington GM Scot McCloughan, 49ers vice president of player personnel Adam Peters. [No Keim]
8. Among GMs or front-office leaders, whom do you trust the most?
• Broncos GM George Paton (3.5 votes), Colts GM Chris Ballard (3), Browns GM Andrew Berry (3), Seahawks GM John Schneider (2.5), Patriots coach Bill Belichick (2), Ravens GM Eric DeCosta (2), Titans GM Jon Robinson (2), none (2)
• Others: Bills GM Brandon Beane, Panthers GM Scott Fitterer, Texans GM Nick Caserio, Dolphins GM Chris Grier, Saints GM Mickey Loomis, Raiders GM Mike Mayock, Bears GM Ryan Pace, 49ers director of pro personnel Ran Carthon, Saints VP of football administration Khai Harley, Washington executive VP Marty Hurney, Packers co-director of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan, Patriots consultant Eliot Wolf. [No Keim]
9. Among GMs or front-office leaders, whom do you trust the least?
• Eagles GM Howie Roseman (7 votes)
--- “He’s always playing both sides at all times. He’s not dishonest. He’s a hedger. Always makes sure he has a side deal.”
--- “Howie will do what Howie needs to do. I say that with tremendous reverence, but I don’t trust him.”
--- “This is easy. He tells you one thing and does the opposite. You can tell him something and say it stays with us and then three or four people are hitting me up about what we discussed. It doesn’t make him a bad guy, but there’s no transparency.”
--- “Why? Because he’s Howie. I would have said (former Washington team president) Bruce Allen, but he’s gone.”
• Patriots coach Bill Belichick (6)
--- “(He’s) not deceitful. We just haven’t had a good relationship. He fights hard for what he wants, and I do the same in the opposite direction.”
--- “They always have a plan in place, and they know how they plan to use it. From a communication standpoint, they’re not an organization where you can have a conversation about what’s happening with your clients.”
--- “It’s not that he’s done anything wrong, but he’s team-first always, so everything is slanted their way all the time. Like, he shops for dudes who take that approach. He always had the franchise QB to get away with that.”
• Jets GM Joe Douglas (3)
--- “The organization is so bad, it’s hard to trust anything that comes out of there.”
--- “Part of that is just his circumstances with ownership, but they’ve told multiple players things in the last couple of years that just haven’t been true.”
• Dolphins coach Brian Flores (2)
• Others: Bears GM Ryan Pace, Giants GM Dave Gettleman, Vikings GM Rick Spielman, Chargers GM Tom Telesco, former Lions GM Bob Quinn, Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, the front offices of the Bengals, Buccaneers, Cowboys, Jaguars, Raiders and Texans. [No Keim]
10. Who is the best GM and why?
• Colts GM Chris Ballard (10 votes), Bills GM Brandon Beane (4), Saints GM Mickey Loomis (3), Chiefs GM Brett Veach (3)
• Others: Patriots coach Bill Belichick, Browns GM Andrew Berry, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert, Buccaneers GM Jason Licht, Seahawks GM John Schneider (2 votes); Jets GM Joe Douglas, Broncos GM George Paton [No Keim]
11. Who is a future GM to watch?
• Saints VP of football administration Khai Harley (2 votes), 49ers vice president of player personnel Adam Peters (2), Patriots consultant Eliot Wolf (2), Chiefs director of football operations Mike Borgonzi (2), Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds (2), Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen (2)
• Others: Bengals scout Trey Brown, Browns vice president of player personnel Glenn Cook, Buccaneers vice president of football administration Mike Greenberg, Cardinals director of player personnel Dru Grigson, Jets assistant GM Rex Hogan, Dolphins co-director of player personnel Anthony Hunt, Raiders director of pro personnel Dwayne Joseph, Bears assistant director of player personnel Champ Kelly, Seahawks VP of player personnel Trent Kirchner, Lions director of scouting advancement Mike Martin, Buccaneers director of pro scouting Rob McCartney, Panthers assistant GM Dan Morgan, Ravens senior vice president of football operations Pat Moriarty, Jets director of pro personnel Greg Nejmeh, Athletes First senior executive Eric Schaffer, Panthers director of player negotiations Samir Suleiman, Packers co-director of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan, Seahawks director of pro personnel Nolan Teasley, Chiefs senior director of pro personnel Tim Terry, Browns national scout Charles Walls, Packers director of pro personnel Richmond Williams.
