25 most important faces in new NFL places

Baker Mayfield's strong rookie season had pundits predicting another improvement for Cleveland in 2019, but the Browns' blockbuster trade for Beckham, one that also brought Olivier Vernon to Cleveland, threw Browns hype into overdrive. Mayfield had Jarvis Landry last year, but Landry is more of a possession receiver than a gamebreaker, and the Browns did not have a reliable, dynamic downfield threat for Mayfield. Only a handful of receivers belong in the discussion for the title of best in the NFL, and Beckham is one of them. Excluding his injury-shortened 2017 campaign, Beckham’s average stats when he plays at least 12 games are staggering: 97 catches, 1,369 yards and 11 touchdowns. Beckham is also the rare talent without a weakness. He’s great at high-pointing the football, has incredible hands and is dynamic after the catch. With Mayfield — not an end-of-the-line Eli Manning — throwing him the ball, Beckham has a chance to post incredible numbers and push the Browns to an AFC North title, and beyond.

The latest Air Raid coach to hit the NFL, Kingsbury is also the least-accomplished in terms of wins and losses as a head coach. He went 35-40 in six seasons at Texas Tech, but that wasn’t what attracted NFL teams to him. His work with Baker Mayfield, Davis Webb and Patrick Mahomes was his calling card, and the Red Raiders ranked in the top-20 in scoring offense in three of Kingsbury’s six years and the top 25 in five of six. The pressure to succeed in Arizona will be intense, as the Cardinals fired Steve Wilks after one season and was willing to trade Josh Rosen to Miami for pennies on the dollar to draft Kyler Murray, Kingsbury’s preferred choice to run his offense. Kingsbury’s philosophies are decidedly new school, and if the offense puts up big point totals right from the start, he’ll have at least delivered in his area of expertise. However, he won’t get six years in Arizona if the Cardinals are, on average, a 7-9 or 8-8 team, which is equivalent to what he did most years in Lubbock.

Bell shocked most observers when he made good on his threat to sit out the entire 2018 season after he and the Steelers were unable to agree on a long-term contract, and the team chose to franchise him again. He didn’t get the big payday he planned for in free agency, with the Jets his only seriously interested suitor. Now that his contractual dramas are in the past, Bell must silence his doubters, one of whom may or may not be his new head coach, Adam Gase. It will be incumbent on Bell to prove that a year off not only didn’t hurt him but also helped him and that the Jets were wise to spend money on him as the primary weapon for second-year quarterback Sam Darnold. New York was bereft of big-name offensive talent last year, and it stunted Darnold’s development. Bell’s versatility and ability to turn safety valve passes into big plays will be a huge factor for the Jets this season. Gang Green hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2010 and has only one winning season in the interim. If Bell leads the Jets back to the postseason, he’ll have been worth every penny.

LaFleur and quarterback Aaron Rodgers got off to an inauspicious beginning, with the two having a public back-and-forth about the degree of freedom Rodgers would be afforded in LaFleur’s system. That's probably not a great start, considering Mike McCarthy got fired for being unable to maintain a productive, healthy working relationship with the future Hall of Fame quarterback. That mini-controversy aside, the new Packers head coach has arguably the best situation of any first-year boss, simply by virtue of the fact that Rodgers is his quarterback. LaFleur’s task is simple: get the most out of Rodgers, and get the Packers back atop the NFC North. He flopped last year with Tennessee but has the Sean McVay pedigree from his time as Rams offensive coordinator in 2017 (though McVay retained control of the play-calling). Green Bay’s expectations are Super Bowl or bust, and Rodgers is talented enough for that to be valid regardless of the supporting cast he has around him. McCarthy’s schemes were rudimentary and relied on receivers to get themselves open. LaFleur is known for his ability to do the exact opposite. If he can scheme in several easy throws for Rodgers every week, opponents could be in big trouble.

"Mr. Big Chest" had one of the ugliest breakups in NFL history when he burned every bridge in Pittsburgh (and there are many of them) and forced a trade to Oakland. Things have gotten off on the wrong foot in the Bay Area, literally and figuratively, as Brown has missed most of training camp with a foot injury. The ailment is not believed to be anything too serious, and when he returns Brown will be counted on not only to be his usual transcendent self on the field but also to help generate major buzz for Oakland’s move to Las Vegas. Brown’s presence should also help determine whether Derek Carr is really the guy who went 12-3 as a starter in 2016 or the guy whose career record otherwise is 20-43. Brown will be under the microscope, not only with "Hard Knocks" cameras around but also with NFL fans and analysts everywhere watching and waiting for the first sign of trouble. If he keeps the drama to a minimum and produces at his typical level, the Raiders might improve by several wins as a result. Goodness knows the defense won’t save them.

It seems like ancient history at this point, but it was only five years ago that Arians was in the desert as Cardinals head coach, about to lead the team to consecutive playoff appearances, posting 11-5 and 13-3 marks in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The magic ran out after that, though, and Arians announced his “retirement” after going a combined 15-16-1 in 2016 and 2017. Evidently, one season away was enough for Arians, as he left the broadcast booth and went back to coaching, this time for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians’ reputation as a quarterback whisperer will be put to the test, as Jameis Winston has never found consistent form as a top-tier NFL starter despite being the No. 1 overall pick in 2015. As with so many coaches, especially ones more recently hired, Arians’ main charge is simple: Get the most out of the quarterback. The NFC South figures to be a brutal division, with the Saints still looking strong, Cam Newton appearing healthy early in training camp and the Falcons poised to rebound from a disappointing 2018. Can the Buccaneers crash the party? If Arians can work some magic a la 2014 and 2015, they just might.

The 49ers are a trendy pick to make a major leap in the standings this season, and while the main reason for that is the assumed health of Jimmy Garoppolo, the presence of Bosa, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, might be next on the list. DeForest Buckner led the Niners with 12 sacks in 2018, but no other defender had more than 5.5. That lack of pressure is one big reason San Francisco finished dead last in turnovers forced, and 28 ^th in points allowed despite ranking 13^th in yards allowed. Bosa will be counted on to provide an immediate, major impact as a pass rusher, and the expectation is that he can become the 49ers’ franchise player on defense. Bosa has plenty to live up to, as his older brother, Joey, notched 10.5 sacks in his rookie year with the Chargers, putting up those numbers in only 12 games. No defensive player in this year’s draft class will be expected to make a more immediate positive impact than Bosa.

Nick Bosa might be the most scrutinized defensive player in this year’s draft class, but the pressure he’ll be under is nothing compared to what Murray will face in Arizona. The Cardinals took a significant loss in the Josh Rosen trade, specifically because they believed that Murray was the right man to run Kliff Kingsbury’s Air Raid offense and take them to the Promised Land. There have been and will continue to be questions about Murray’s size and durability, but there is no arguing that his raw physical talents are spectacular. Old concerns about short quarterbacks have dissipated somewhat because of the success of Baker Mayfield and Russell Wilson and the continued excellence of Drew Brees, but Murray is smaller than all three and slighter of frame. If Arizona picked the wrong quarterback, that means it picked the wrong head coach, and that means that the franchise will be back to the drawing board yet again. It’s one thing to be a franchise savior. It’s another thing altogether to be that savior after the team just kicked last year’s first-round pick out the door to make way for you.

Many felt that Williams should have gotten the Browns head coaching job full time after he led the team to a 5-3 record as the interim boss. However, Cleveland seemed to never seriously consider him for the post, reasoning that it was more important to find a coach who melded well with Baker Mayfield. Fair enough. That left Williams looking for work, and he found it as the Jets' new defensive coordinator. New York made a big splash offensively with Le’Veon Bell, but it also gave Williams a foundational piece when it brought in C.J. Mosley from Baltimore. Williams has guided four different defenses to top-10 rankings in points allowed, and a half-dozen more to top-15 rankings. The Jets were 29 ^th in points allowed and 25^th in yards allowed in 2018 and were just about equally inept against the run and the pass. In addition to Mosley, Williams also has No. 3 overall pick Quinnen Williams on hand, and there is an expectation that the Jets will be vastly improved on that side of the ball. A major defensive turnaround in New York might make the Jets a dark horse playoff contender in the AFC.

You may have heard that the Patriots lost Rob Gronkowski, and while no one can replace the threat he represented, Harry, the final pick of the first round out of Arizona State, has the size and speed on the outside to give the Pats a matchup problem at wide receiver. Tom Brady still has Julian Edelman available to work underneath routes as well as a bevy of running backs with different skill sets. But he needs a man to both stretch the field and win contested catches in the red zone. Harry is still a project in some ways, but if he can give the Patriots help in particular areas, they’ll again have the kind of offensive versatility that makes Brady so unstoppable come playoff time. For as great as New England has been, one thing it has not been good at is drafting wide receivers. Only Edelman, a seven ^th- round pick in 2009, represents a major win at the position. Most everyone else in recent memory has come in from outside the organization, like Wes Welker and Randy Moss. If Harry can buck that trend, it will make Brady’s life considerably easier and lessen the sting of Gronkowski’s retirement.

The Dolphins have been the definition of mediocrity for most of this century, 10 times finishing between 6-10 and 8-8 since 2006. Miami has one division crown in that same span, in 2008, when Tom Brady was out for the season, and the Dolphins have only one other playoff appearance since. Flores is the latest coach from the Bill Belichick tree to get a head coaching shot, and the 38-year-old is one of the few new head coaches whose background is defense. Despite Miami’s perpetual also-ran status, there is legitimate intrigue surrounding this team, as it fleeced Arizona in the Josh Rosen trade, and in so doing got to immediately try again with a new potential franchise quarterback after Ryan Tannehill’s tenure ended with a whimper. Flores takes over a team that went 7-9 but was worse than its record indicated, ranking 26 ^th in points scored and 27^th in points allowed. Clemson’s Christian Wilkins should give the defense an immediate shot in the arm, but Flores’ first year, and really his whole tenure, will be defined by whether Rosen flourishes. If he does, Miami’s timetable for contending will accelerate dramatically.

Le’Veon Bell was the splashier acquisition by the Jets, but Mosley came with a much heftier price tag — $43 million guaranteed, to be exact — and will be counted on to have much the same impact on the defense that New York is hoping for from Bell on offense. Mosley was a fixture in the middle of Baltimore’s defense, but there are some questions about the degree of positive impact he can have on the Jets. One thing that is known for sure is that new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams loves to play an attacking 4-3 defense, so a steady presence at middle linebacker is a must. Mosley, at least on paper, should provide that, though he was only slightly above average last season, according to Pro Football Focus’ grading, and was mediocre in pass coverage, according to PFF. Still, he represents a definite improvement over what New York had, and fans will probably be happy if he gives the team two to three high-level seasons out of his five-year contract.

Only one thing kept the Chiefs from the Super Bowl last year, and it was their porous defense. Actually, porous is being too kind. Kansas City couldn’t stop anyone, and it cost the Chiefs dearly. They were 24^th in scoring defense and 31^st in yards given up. That was enough to offset their league-best offense and did them in specifically in their AFC championship Ggme classic against the Patriots. Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton lost his job as a result, and it will be up to Spagnuolo to improve a defense that led the league in sacks and quarterback hurries but was powerless to stop just about anything else. Kansas City needs serious work against both the quick passing game and against the run, where it gave up 5.0 yards per carry, good for second-worst in the league. Spagnuolo is three years removed from having the second-best scoring defense in the league with the Giants, though the team plummeted to 27^th in scoring defense the following season. Chiefs fans know they’ve got the offense to succeed, but it will be on Spagnuolo to bring together the other side of the ball enough to lift Kansas City to the top of the AFC heap.

Flowers was a skilled pass rusher whether he played inside or on the edge for the Patriots, and now that he’s been reunited with his former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia in Detroit, the hope for Lions fans is that his versatility further elevates a defense that was 16 ^th in points allowed but 10^th in yards allowed. Detroit was second-worst in the league at forcing turnovers, but Flowers’ disruptive presence should be the kind of element that harries quarterbacks more often and causes more frequent bad decisions. Detroit’s offense was not good last year, as it committed to a more run-heavy attack with negative results. Patricia is clearly going old-school across the board with his approach, and after one year the results have been negative. Adding Flowers should help, particularly if Patricia and the rest of the Lions’ brain trust continue with their attempt to mold the team into a more physical outfit. No Lions player registered more than 7.5 sacks last year, and while that number matches Flowers’ career high, he has a pedigree that no one on the team can match now that Ziggy Ansah is gone. The Lions need Flowers to be nothing less than great if they’re to have any chance in the NFC North.

Mayock’s situation is fascinating insofar as not many people feel he has real authority in Oakland. They figure, instead, that Jon Gruden calls most of the shots and has Mayock around more for his scouting expertise than anything. One wonders, for example, if Mayock would have wanted to acquire Antonio Brown, were the decision his alone. In any event, Mayock’s name is on Oakland’s draft, and the Raiders were panned for taking Clelin Ferrell with the fourth-overall pick, when most felt he would go in the latter half of the first round. Josh Jacobs was viewed favorably, and there are some intriguing prospects throughout Oakland’s draft class. Notably, three of the nine players Mayock and the Raiders drafted were from Clemson. It’s fair to wonder whether that is a conscious strategy, picking players from a powerhouse school with a reputation for winning big every year. The Ferrell pick suggests that it is no coincidence, and if he isn’t a star, Mayock will get crushed for passing on, among others, Kentucky’s Josh Allen.

Haskins could have been the Giants’ guy with the sixth pick, but they were enamored with Duke’s Daniel Jones despite Haskins having had more success in a much more pressure-packed environment at Ohio State. Haskins is local to the D.C. metro area, having moved to Potomac, Maryland, as a ninth-grader. Washington used the 15 ^th- overall pick on him, and a franchise that thought it had its quarterback of the future in Robert Griffin III several years ago will get a chance to try again. Haskins is a pure pocket passer, without the running ability that Alex Smith possessed, but he has the arm to make all the throws. Pro Football Focus charting gave Haskins 24 “big-time throws” in his final year at Ohio State, which tied for best in the Big Ten. Washington fans haven’t had a true franchise quarterback to cheer for since Joe Theismann, but Haskins gives them real hope and the kind of high-ceiling talent under center that is essential to victory in today’s NFL.

Ingram’s four-game suspension to start last season played a big role in him not recording his third straight 1,000-yard season in New Orleans, but he was still a reliable between-the-tackles runner when he came back, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Baltimore has rebuilt its offense from scratch to best take advantage of Lamar Jackson’s skills, and most pundits feel that said offense will be run-heavy. That makes Ingram a valuable asset, as he will be required to take much of the load off Jackson’s shoulders to help keep the quarterback healthy. Ingram was part of a dynamic two-headed backfield monster with Alvin Kamara in New Orleans and proved himself a capable pass-catcher during that period as well. He will be counted on to do much the same in Baltimore alongside Gus Edwards. Whether or not a run-focused attack will work in today’s pass-happy NFL is up for debate, but if it does, Ingram will have a big hand in making it so.

Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles experiment finally came to a formal end, as the Jags and Bortles mercifully parted ways after a miserable 2018. Bortles was so bad that he obscured what was still a  capable, dynamic defense — one that ranked in the top five in both points and yards allowed. What the Jaguars needed was a legitimate passing game, and they hope Foles provides that and more. Jacksonville made a big bet on Foles, signing him to a four-year, $88 million deal with just over $50 million guaranteed. What makes that all the more intriguing is the fact that for all of Foles’ heroics in Philadelphia the past two seasons, he’s played in only 12 regular-season games and started only eight. What will he be like outside of Doug Pederson’s system, and what will he be like when defenses have a chance to game plan for him regularly? If he’s “Playoff Nick Foles” all the time, the Jaguars might vault right back to the top of the AFC South and would immediately make it one of the most interesting divisions in football.

Wilks got a raw deal in Arizona, with the team choosing to fire him and retain GM Steve Keim despite Keim seemingly being the source of most of the Cardinals’ troubles. Wilks’ reputation as a respected defensive mind meant he wouldn’t be out of a job too long, as the Browns swooped in and hired him to run their defense a mere two weeks after Arizona let him go. Wilks was the Panthers’ defensive coordinator for one season, and the team ranked seven ^th in yards allowed and 11^th in points allowed. He’ll be counted on to improve a Browns defense that hemorrhaged yards last season, ranking 30^th in the league, and was only saved by its propensity for forcing turnovers. Cleveland was 21^st in the league in points allowed and had problems with tackling. Before Wilks became a defensive coordinator in Carolina, he was a defensive backs coach and nurtured Josh Norman into one of the league’s best corners. He’ll be counted on to have the same impact on Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams, as the Browns have pinned many of their defensive hopes on those young defensive backs. Most everyone expects Cleveland’s offense to make more progress this season; if Wilks can do the same for the defense, the Browns will be a force to be reckoned with.

The most recent image of Thomas on a football field during a regular-season game saw him make an obscene gesture at his head coach, Pete Carroll, while being carted off the field after breaking his leg in Week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals. Thomas never got the new contract he wanted from the Seahawks, but the injury did not affect his value in free agency. The Ravens ponied up the cash, inking Thomas to a four-year, $55 million contract, including $32 million guaranteed. If Thomas is healthy, Baltimore will have gotten a deal on one of the league’s best safeties and a man who represents an upgrade over the departed Eric Weddle. Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor made many of the headlines in the heyday of Seattle’s Legion of Boom defense, but Thomas was its engine and most important piece. Despite not practicing last year because of his contract situation, Thomas still notched three interceptions in four games and physically appeared as good as ever. Baltimore may have lost major defensive pieces this offseason, but an as-advertised Thomas would go a long way toward easing the sting of those departures and would probably plant some seeds of concern in the minds of Baker Mayfield, Ben Roethlisberger and Andy Dalton.

Much was made of the Steelers’ defensive collapse after Ryan Shazier’s horrific injury in late 2017. Pittsburgh was completely hamstrung by his absence, never finding a suitable replacement in the middle of its 3-4 defense. That’s why the Steelers traded up to get Bush, a Michigan product who will be counted on to start immediately, and play at a high level, particularly against the pass. The Steelers defense ranked six ^th in the league in yards allowed but only 16^th in points, a disparity largely attributable to their inability to force turnovers. Only three teams were worse in that department in 2018, but the belief in Pittsburgh is that Bush’s dynamic abilities and athleticism will have a ripple effect on the rest of the defense and make it easier to flip fields and take the ball away. The last time the Steelers made a bold trade to move up in the first round for a defensive player was 2003. You may have heard of the man they selected with the 16^th pick that year. His name is Troy Polamalu.

Roman stands as one exception here, as he is technically not in a new place. He does, however, inhabit a new position with the Ravens, that of offensive coordinator. No coordinator in the league might be as scrutinized this season, as Baltimore has spent the offseason rebuilding its offensive scheme from scratch to better fit the abilities of Lamar Jackson. Roman has experience structuring an offense around a dual-threat QB, as he was the 49ers’ offensive coordinator in 2012 when Colin Kaepernick took them to the brink of a Super Bowl. What will the new offense look like? Will Roman be able to keep Jackson mostly out of harm’s way while still making appropriate use of his spectacular running ability? Perhaps most interesting will be finding out whether Roman is able to devise pass schemes that put Jackson, a good deep ball thrower but a hit-or-miss short and intermediate passer, in the best position to succeed through the air. The Ravens traded away Joe Flacco and pushed all their chips in behind Jackson, and much of the pressure to make that gamble pay off rests with Roman.

Rosen got blown out of Arizona by the same winds that sent Steve Wilks packing. Once Kliff Kingsbury was hired as head coach, rumors swirled that Rosen was not suited to run his Air Raid style. Those rumors proved true, as the Cardinals selected Kyler Murray first overall, then promptly, if clumsily, traded Rosen to the Dolphins. The new regime in Miami has a distinctly New England feel to it, as new head coach Brian Flores was Bill Belichick’s linebackers coach, and new offensive coordinator Chad O'Shea was the Patriots’ wide receivers coach for a decade. Rosen’s rookie year was doomed almost from the start, but there are many who feel that he can and will thrive in a more stable environment. Like Arizona, Miami doesn’t have much of an offensive line, but Rosen won’t be thrust into the mix right away if he isn’t ready, as veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick is currently ahead of him on Miami’s depth chart. This year is a mulligan for Rosen, and if he ends up making the most of it, the Dolphins will have set themselves up at the most important position on the field for years to come.

Gase was a failure in Miami, where he could not build momentum after a 10-6 record and playoff appearance in 2016, his first season as head coach. An injury to Ryan Tannehill that robbed him of his 2017 season didn’t help, but Gase did himself no favors by getting mediocre performance out of Jay Cutler, a man with whom he had some professional history. Gase also called the personnel shots in South Florida, and that didn’t yield much fruit either, with Miami a thoroughly underwhelming team in terms of overall talent — something that was borne out in the overall rankings. Now he takes over as Jets head coach, having landed on his feet, and immediately he made waves for essentially saying he wasn’t thrilled with the team’s decision to sign Le’Veon Bell to a big contract, even though the length of the deal isn’t onerous and New York desperately needed offensive star power. Gase’s time in New York will be judged by wins and losses, but how those shake out is intimately connected to how much he can help Sam Darnold improve. Many felt Darnold was the front-runner to go first overall last year, until Baker Mayfield charged up draft boards, and if Gase brings out that level of performance, his failures with the Dolphins will be quickly forgotten.

The NFL world waited with bated breath to see which team would sign Kareem Hunt after the Chiefs let him go following the release of video that showed him pushing and kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel lobby in February of 2018. It was not an altogether shocking development that the Browns snatched him up despite his NFL future being uncertain, as Cleveland GM John Dorsey was the man who drafted Hunt in Kansas City. Hunt will be suspended for the first eight games of the season, but when he returns he would give the Browns arguably the best cast of skill talent in the entire NFL. Hunt serves as both a wild card and an insurance policy, should Nick Chubb get hurt. Browns fans might be uncomfortable rooting for him, even though he’s a native of suburban Cleveland, but adding the league’s leading rusher in 2017 is a coup from a personnel standpoint. On the flip side, Hunt is yet another talented but potentially combustible element on a team already chock full of them.