Free Agency Continues to Be Balancing Act of Old and New

The start of the new league year in the NFL gives teams the option to add, subtract and hopefully find proven, veteran upgrades to fill immediate needs. However, can anyone truly build a winning roster through free agency?

I experienced plenty of that—and was part of a free-agent class—with the Redskins and owner Daniel Snyder. The same drill, every offseason. Bring in players, try to fill too many needs and hope there is a balance of chemistry that can be met in the locker room.

We were the offseason “winners” every year, but that didn’t lead to playoff runs or Super Bowls on the field. As a result, the draft classes suffered due to picks that were mortgaged during free agency, and the process would start all over again the following season.

Bring in the vets, pay top dollar, hope to manufacture team chemistry and try to compete. Sell hopes and dreams in March. That was the plan. 

It was a bust.

In my opinion, signing young, ascending players entering the prime of their careers is the ideal way to spend cash in free agency. That’s when you pay for future production to land guys in their mid-20s. You get players who fit your system and can be expected to contribute for the next four years before they are thrown back in the mix yet again.

Take the Bears’ move to land outside linebacker Pernell McPhee, the Chiefs’ new money paid out to wide receiver Jeremy Maclin or the contract signed by tight end Julius Thomas to play for the Jaguars.

I like all three of these moves because the teams are paying for that future production and those prime years.

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Does it guarantee success? Of course not. That’s pretty much the case with any player who wasn’t drafted, developed and taught within your system.

There is risk involved that McPhee won’t be a dominant edge-rusher as a full-time starter outside of Baltimore or that Maclin’s numbers could drop working with Alex Smith. Perhaps Thomas leaves Denver (and Peyton Manning) to catch passes from an unproved QB in Blake Bortles and takes a step back.

However, all three players have productive pro tape and fill a need as these clubs continue to attend pro days, watch college film and prepare for the start of the NFL draft next month.

The Colts took a different approach when they filled some needs at running back and wide receiver with two older veterans in Frank Gore and Andre Johnson. Both have been very productive throughout their careers, and I do agree that they will play key roles this season with quarterback Andrew Luck.

But given their age, they can also be looked at as one- or two-year rentals. Gore and Johnson fill a need, but they aren’t players the Colts can build around at this stage of their careers. Instead, they provide opportunity in a short window before those needs have to be addressed again via free agency or the draft.

We could also look at Nick Fairley to the Rams—which gives defensive coordinator Gregg Williams a nasty unit up front—the Jets re-shaping almost the entire secondary to play blitz-man coverage under Todd Bowles, and who can forget about the trades that went down this week?

Jimmy Graham will now catch touchdowns from Russell Wilson, Kenny Stills is on his way to Miami, Mike Wallace will be wearing a Vikings uniform in 2015, and Chip Kelly has a new quarterback in Sam Bradford.

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Ideally, every team would follow the Packers blueprint. That team spends on its own talent, players it drafted under Mike McCarthy. Guys it knows in terms of football character and their specific fit on the roster.

Both wide receiver Randall Cobb and offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga took a step into the market and ended up staying in Green Bay with good, solid deals.

However, many teams are forced to overspend at the start of free agency due to poor drafts and unproductive veterans who had to be let go because of bad deals that put pressure on the salary cap.

The way I see it, the goal in free agency is to find some key parts or hold onto established vets who play major roles in your system (like the Patriots did with free safety Devin McCourty) while adding some lower-tier guys to bring more competition and depth to the back end of the roster.

Free agency provides opportunities to upgrade the roster and maybe land a difference-maker such as Darrelle Revis or Ndamukong Suh, but the majority of the top players in the league never make it to the open market.

As a result, there is no perfect plan in free agency. Fill a couple of needs, add some talent. But don’t expect to build a winner in March. That happens in late April during the draft. 

Seven-year NFL veteran Matt Bowen is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @MattBowen41