2016 NFL Free Agency Recap

With a majority of the big names off the market, it's time to reflect on who came out on top and who faltered in free agency this season. Here are my picks for the best and worst moves of the 2016 NFL free agency period.

Biggest Winners: Oakland Raiders
The Raiders have suddenly become one of the most intriguing up-and-coming teams in the league after their impressive 2015 campaign and that newfound relevance allowed them to bring in a number of the best free agents on the market this offseason. Not only did the Raiders bring in a lot of top-end talent without getting themselves into cap hell, each player they signed either bolstered one of their established strengths (Kelechi Osemele, Bruce Irvin) or fixed a major weakness (Sean Smith) that existed on their roster.
Runners-Up: Chicago Bears, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles

Biggest Losers: Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins may have just brought in a new general manager, but the horrid personnel decisions that have plagued then for much of the past decade appear to have reared their ugly head once again in 2016. The Dolphins made a series of baffling decisions (choosing to acquire the aging and rapidly deteriorating Mario Williams over re-signing the younger and far more productive Oliver Vernon at defensive end, trading back in the draft to acquire oft-injured inside linebacker Kiko Alonso and the bloated contract of underperforming cornerback Byron Maxwell from the Eagles, cutting top corner Brent Grimes with no viable backup plan in place, letting top offensive contributors Lamar Miller and Rishard Matthews walk without giving them legitimate contract offers) that made zero sense for a team that desperately needed stability and additional talent after a highly disappointing 2015 season. 
Runners-Up: Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Denver Broncos

Best Individual Signing: Sean Smith to the Raiders (4 years/$40 mil/$20 mil guaranteed)
When you look how insane the deal that only other big-name corner (Janoris Jenkins) that hit the open market got (5 years/$62 mil/$27 mil guaranteed), you get an excellent idea of just how much of a value signing this is for the Raiders. Smith is a legitimate shutdown corner that's still in the middle of his prime at 28 going on 29 and with the Raiders ferocious front seven in front of him, he should continue to be every bit as good as he was during his time with the Chiefs.
Runners-Up: Danny Trevathan to the Bears, Kelechi Osemele to the Raiders, Lamar Miller to the Texans

Worst Individual Signing: Brock Osweiler to the Texans (4 years/$72 mil/$37 mil guaranteed)
After the horrific play of Brian Hoyer led to them getting bounced from the playoffs last season, it's hardly surprising that the Texans felt the need to make a change at quarterback going into 2016. However, giving top dollar to a quarterback in Osweiler who has less than 10 career starts and highly benefited from having one of the greatest defenses of all-time hold opponents to an average of less than 14 points per game is a move that reeks of desperation. This is the type of signing that causes mass regime changes if it backfires and I wouldn't be surprised if this rash decision leads to both general manager Rick Smith and head coach Bill O'Brien getting ousted from the Texans by the end of the 2017 season.
Runners-Up: Chris Ivory to the Jaguars, Mario Williams to the Dolphins, Coby Fleener to the Saints 

Best Player Still on the Market: Ryan Fitzpatrick (quarterback)
There is a handful of teams that are still in the market for a starting quarterback and the only one available right now that doesn't have a considerable amount of red flags attached to them is Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick isn't exactly a superstar, but as he proved with the Jets in 2015, he can be a viable starter when put into the right system.
Runners-Up: Donald Penn (tackle), Evan Mathis (guard), Russell Okung (tackle)