NFL Trade Rumors
Training camps are in full padded swing now, and the Hall of Fame game is tomorrow. Before we fully dive into the preseason, let’s take a crack at ranking all 32 NFL GMs.
To formulate this list, I focused on three criteria. First, on-field success. How good has the team been under this GM’s watch? Have they won a Super Bowl? Is their success consistent, or a few great years scattered among mediocre ones?
Second, I looked at draft history and roster construction. Have they consistently drafted better than average? Are they hitting on their premium picks, and also finding value in the later rounds? Do they make contract mistakes too often, or seem to have a weakness they just can’t shake? Lastly, I considered how well-respected they are in the industry. Do their peers speak highly of them? Are extensions regularly made without issue, or do contract disputes drag out and cause complications? That sort of thing.
The four new GMs this season all rank near the bottom, but that could change quickly. This is a fickle industry, and it doesn’t take long to shake things up. One good year and you could find yourself rocketing past colleagues who are now on the hot seat. Let’s dive right into the rankings:
He doesn’t grab as many headlines as the man directly below him on this list, but there isn’t a savvier GM in the league than Veach. An internal hire in 2017, he orchestrated the trade up for QB Patrick Mahomes, a move that has already delivered three Super Bowls to his city. The high-profile stardom of players like Mahomes and TE Travis Kelce, as well as the success of HC Andy Reid, means that many of Veach’s best moves fly under the radar. He’s one of the top drafters in the league, with a consistent influx of plus contributors on rookie contracts that allow the Chiefs to keep a healthy, young, cheaper roster around their expensive stars.
“How does he keep getting away with this?” is the common refrain after seemingly every draft Roseman conducts. He manages to walk away with steals in every round of the draft, pouncing on players others passed up, and they usually work out. With one of the strongest and most sustainable rosters in the NFL, Roseman is a master of solving problems before they develop, drafting replacements at key positions to take over when players retire or depart in free agency. He’s not afraid to replace good players with better ones, nor to provide insurance plans, such as drafting QB Jalen Hurts with QB Carson Wentz seemingly still in his prime.
Perhaps the most underrated GM in the league, Snead isn’t often mentioned as one of the elites, but he’s managed to execute multiple different strategies in quick succession to keep a narrow contention window open longer. Most famous for his “F***...
