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Carson Palmer was in focus when ESPN's Tim Hasselbeck set expectations for the Arizona Cardinals' new quarterback at the 1:11 mark of the NFL32 video above.

Hasselbeck is predicting more than 4,000 yards and 20 touchdown passes for Palmer. However, he also thinks the team's emphasis on deeper passes will expose Palmer to considerable punishment, a concession he thinks the Cardinals are willing to make as they push the ball downfield.

"Carson doesn't play with the best anticipation in terms of quarterbacks in the National Football League," Hasselbeck said. "He waits for things to develop, holds onto the ball. You get hit when that happens. You get sacked when that happens."

Palmer ranked 10th last season among qualifying quarterbacks in average time before the pass, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He was at 3.37 seconds. Tom Brady was first at 3.03 seconds. The average was 3.46 seconds for 32 qualifying quarterbacks. Palmer ranked eighth in lowest sack rate, taking sacks on 4.4 percent of drop-backs.

The figures for Palmer suggest he does a pretty good job getting rid of the football and avoiding sacks. However, that is not the full story. Andrew Luck ranked first and Palmer third last season in number of times hit while throwing, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The figure was 46 for Luck, 30 for Brady and 28 for Palmer. So, even though Brady and Palmer got rid of the ball more quickly than most, they also took more hits on pass plays when they did not take sacks.

ESPN's quarterback hit numbers reflect only those plays when the QB was hit while throwing, not plays when he was hit after throwing.

Palmer played for the Oakland Raiders last season. His new head coach in Arizona, Bruce Arians, was running the Indianapolis Colts' offense with Luck behind center. Luck ranked 27th in time before the pass (3.76 seconds on average). Luck took sacks on 5.9 percent of drop-backs, right around the 5.7 percent average for the 32 qualifying quarterbacks. Luck also took lots of hits.

Bottom line: Palmer could take quite a few hits even if he does a good job avoiding sacks.

Tim Hasselbeck breaks down Tom Brady's statement that he is throwing better than ever. The NFL32 crew discuss how the Cardinals offense will protect Carson Palmer.

John Clayton breaks down how Manti Te'o will fit with the Chargers defense, and the NFL32 crew discusses whether Carson Palmer will have a career revival with Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona.

The NFC West has learned in spectacular fashion just how much life can improve when a dynamic quarterback steps into the lineup.

The Arizona Cardinals saw it several years ago when they suddenly reached the Super Bowl with a rejuvenated Kurt Warner. The St. Louis Rams improved six games in the standings during their first season with Sam Bradford. Colin Kaepernick took the San Francisco 49ers within five yards of winning the Lombardi Trophy last season. The Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson wasn't far behind him as a rookie starter.

"One guy can change your whole outlook," new Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said earlier this offseason, before one guy changed his team's whole outlook.

The Cardinals' move to acquire Carson Palmer was the most significant player acquisition any NFC West team made this offseason -- not because Palmer is a great player at this stage, but because quarterbacks make all the difference and Palmer is so much better than the ones Arizona played with extensively last season.

Going from terrible to average or above average at quarterback means more than making similar improvements at positions of less importance. How much more does it mean? That is a question we addressed recently with regard to the effect Palmer could have in Arizona. It's one we'll consider in greater detail here regarding all the NFC West quarterbacks.

We have in recent seasons used Total QBR to measure quarterbacks' contributions to winning. The chart lays out won-loss records since 2008 in relation to scores on the 100-point QBR scale. Scores correlate closely with winning percentage. A team with a QBR score of 50 in a game has close to a 50-50 chance of winning, and so on.

From this, we can project how many added victories a quarterback provides his team in relation to predecessors, opponents, average quarterbacks and replacement-level ones.

The very best quarterbacks are easily identified. Teams can justify paying them almost whatever they can afford from cash and salary-cap standpoints. But as we seek to separate hype from real value, it's helpful to know what the metrics say about specific players' contributions.

If evidence gathered over time suggests with some reliability that a quarterback adds two victories over average during a 16-game season, why pay him as though he adds four or five victories over average? These are issues teams should consider when deciding how much to pay their quarterbacks. NFC West teams specifically must decide over the next few years how much to pay Kaepernick, Wilson and Bradford.

With that, we take a look at what the evidence suggests for NFC West starters.

Carson Palmer

The level at which Palmer played for the Oakland Raiders last season should add about 2.8 victories relative to how the Cardinals' quarterbacks played last season. ESPN Stats & Information revised that figure down from 3.8 based on more accurate QBR scores for Kevin Kolb, John Skelton, Ryan Lindley and Brian Hoyer.

The methodology is pretty simple. We first average the 2012 single-game QBR scores for Palmer (44.2) and for the Cardinals' team as a whole (26.9). We then convert the difference between those figures (17.3) into percentage points and multiply by the number of games in an NFL regular season (16). The resulting figure approximates the number of added victories Arizona might realize if Palmer were to play at a similar level in 2013. For Palmer, it is 17.3 percent of 16 games, or about 2.8 games.

So, while QBR said Palmer was below average last season, it said the Cardinals were much worse than that. That is why Palmer can make such a big difference for Arizona even if he is once again slightly below average. And if Palmer were to pump up his play to a Pro Bowl level -- say, the 65.0 range on average -- the Cardinals could expect 6.1 additional victories over last season from the quarterback position alone.

Russell Wilson

Wilson's value to the Seahawks became increasingly pronounced as the 2012 season progressed. The difference between his average QBR score for the regular season (63.9) and the Seahawks' average score for 2011 (38.3) gave him credit for an additional 4.1 victories over 16 games.

Seattle improved from 7-9 in 2011 to 11-5 last season. Factors beyond quarterback play differentiated the Seahawks from one year to the next, of course. None of them came close to the impact Wilson made.

The impact Wilson made grows considerably if we focus more on how Wilson was playing later in the season, counting playoffs. His QBR averaged 75.2 over his final 11 games. That works out to 5.9 added victories for Seattle relative to 2011 when projected over the course of a 16-game season.

Colin Kaepernick

The 49ers were already a very good team when Kaepernick took over as the starting quarterback during last season. Former starter Alex Smith was playing at a high level, so the 49ers had less room for improvement.

Still, the numbers say Kaepernick (73.3 average QBR) provided an upgrade amounting to an additional 1.6 victories over a full regular season relative to what the team could have expected with Smith (63.0 average). The figure would grow to 2.9 additional victories with Kaepernick (vs. 1.2 with the improved 2012 version of Smith) relative to the quarterback play San Francisco received in 2011.

Those numbers take into account how Kaepernick played during the regular season, when he started the final seven games. Factoring his performance in the playoffs would change the figures upward very slightly.

Sam Bradford

Bradford enters his fourth season with much at stake. He has yet to deliver on expectations, but there have been quite a few mitigating factors. Bradford has been injured at times. His supporting cast has been weak. What has he meant to the team?

There is no question Bradford improved last season. His average QBR score (50.1) was just that -- average. But it was substantially better than the Rams' 25.4 average from 2011, when Bradford was injured and sometimes unavailable. QBR says the improvement was worth an additional 4.0 victories for a team that improved from 2-14 to 7-8-1.

We can also see that Bradford's rookie average (42.1) was a substantial upgrade from where the Rams stood without him in 2009 (23.2). The difference then was 3.0 victories, providing some perspective for the role Bradford played in the Rams' improvement from 1-15 in 2009 to 7-9 in 2010. He was important, but he wasn't everything.

The Rams could expect to add another 2.4 victories from 2012 to 2013 if Bradford were to improve his 50.1 average QBR score from last season to 65.0, which ESPN considers near Pro Bowl level.

Now that the NFL draft has wrapped, the rosters are essentially set for each AFC West team heading into the 2013 season. Sure, each team will make some tweaks, but the heavy lifting has been done.

Let’s take a look at the offseason and where each AFC West team stands:

Denver Broncos

What was good about the offseason? Denver went 13-3 in 2012 and followed up by adding several terrific pieces in free agency and the draft. There aren’t a ton of glaring holes on this team. The Broncos are strong in all phases of the game. And they upgraded in some big ways. Of course, the big prize was slot-receiving star Wes Welker in free agency. He makes Denver’s passing offense even more dangerous. But Denver also upgraded the roster by adding cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, guard Louis Vasquez and pass-rusher Shaun Phillips in free agency and defensive tackle Sylvester Williams and running back Montee Ball via the draft.

What was bad about the offseason? The lone blemish on Denver’s offseason was the bizarre departure of pass-rusher Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil was set to return before the infamous fax-machine gaffe paved the way for him to go to Baltimore. Denver signed Phillips and drafted Quanterus Smith in the fifth round. Phillips will probably be a situational player and Robert Ayers will probably start in Dumervil’s old spot. Smith was leading the nation in sacks last season for Western Kentucky when he tore an anterior cruciate ligament. He is expected to be ready for training camp. The Broncos will miss Dumervil, but they think they got enough help for Von Miller.

How should they feel moving forward? The Broncos should believe they are ready to make a Super Bowl run. Is Denver flawless? Certainly not, but no NFL team is these days. Denver did enough in the offseason to be considered one of the better teams in the league.

Kansas City Chiefs

What was good about the offseason? A horrible 2-14 mark in 2012 seems like a long time ago. The Chiefs upgraded with the hiring of Andy Reid as coach and John Dorsey as general manager. Then they added quarterback Alex Smith -- the best quarterback available in the offseason, including the draft -- and several other pieces on both sides of the ball. The Chiefs' roster was already solid and it got better; what the Chiefs lacked was coaching and quarterback play. Meanwhile, the signing of cornerbacks Dunta Robinson and Sean Smith could, in combination with holdover Brandon Flowers, give Kansas City the best cornerback group in the NFL.

What was bad about the offseason? The situation with left tackle Branden Albert should be resolved by now. He will probably stay with the team and No. 1 overall pick Eric Fisher will play right tackle. The Chiefs tried to trade Albert, who was given and has signed the franchise tag, but a deal fell through with the Dolphins. A swap could still happen but more likely, Albert comes back for a year and then leaves as a free agent. In a clean offseason, this has been the one sticky situation.

How should they feel moving forward? The Chiefs should feel great. There are few holes on this team. How many squads coming off a 2-14 season can say that? I’m not sure the Chiefs are playoff contenders. It depends on how Smith fits with the offense and how quickly the defense comes together. But this team should be much improved. Reid’s program is on the right track.

Oakland Raiders

What was good about the offseason? The Raiders had a good draft. General manager Reggie McKenzie worked the process well, turning seven picks into 10. Because this outfit is being totally rebuilt, I would not be shocked if all 10 draft picks made the 53-man roster. Oakland's first-round pick, cornerback D.J. Hayden, and its third-round pick, linebacker Sio Moore, have a chance to start right away and make an impact. Adding Hayden to free-agent signees Tracy Porter and Mike Jenkins is a big upgrade at the cornerback spot. The linebacking crew has a chance to be better too.

What was bad about the offseason? Salary-cap problems made it very difficult for Oakland. It had to cut several players, including defensive back Michael Huff and receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey; it traded quarterback Carson Palmer; and it saw solid free agents like Philip Wheeler, Brandon Myers, Shane Lechler and Desmond Bryant go elsewhere. The Raiders did the best they could under the circumstances, but a lot of talent left the team.

How should they feel moving forward? The Raiders should feel like a work in progress. The NFL has become a quick-turnaround league. That is not, however, likely to happen in Oakland this year -- the Raiders are probably a three-year project. McKenzie tore it down and is starting to build it up. The Raiders have made their salary-cap situation right for the future and have some promising players. But if the Raiders made a playoff push this year, it would be a major surprise.

San Diego Chargers

What was good about the offseason? The Chargers had a great draft -- arguably the best in the league. They drafted right tackle D.J. Fluker in the first round, inside linebacker Manti Te'o in the second round and receiver Keenan Allen in the third. All three were considered first-round talents and should start this fall. The franchise is headed in a new direction, and these players will have paved the way. The Chargers also added some nice pieces in free agency in the form of cornerback Derek Cox, running back Danny Woodhead and guard Chad Rinehart.

What was bad about the offseason? Yes, the Chargers did have some success in free agency, but because of salary-cap worries, they didn’t do too much. The Chargers need an infusion of talent, and free agency didn’t solve all the problems. The offensive line in particular is still a work in progress.

How should they feel moving forward? The solid draft gives the Chargers some good vibes heading into the summer. But this is not a complete roster. The offensive line is not great, and there are some concerns in the secondary. Yes, the Chargers are improving. But as with Oakland, the promise may be more long term than immediate.

The St. Louis Rams signed Jake Long and had two first-round NFL draft choices this year. The Seattle Seahawks added Percy Harvin, Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett. The San Francisco 49ers added Anquan Boldin and three of the first 55 players selected in the draft.



None of those moves is likely to affect the won-lost column as much as a trade costing a conditional 2014 seventh-round pick and a swap of 2013 late-round choices.

The Arizona Cardinals' deal for Carson Palmer should equate to nearly four additional victories in 2013 if Palmer plays near the same level he played with the Oakland Raiders last season. And if Palmer enjoys a career revival playing with Larry Fitzgerald, the expected total would increase.

There is no way to know for certain how many games a team will win, of course. But the brains behind ESPN's Total QBR metric do know that a quarterback with, say, a 65.0 QBR score in a single game will have close to a 65 percent chance of winning. That has been established over the past five seasons.

To calculate the difference in expected victories for Arizona with and without Palmer, we first must know the average single-game 2012 QBR scores for Palmer and for the Cardinals' quarterbacks. The average was 44.2 for Palmer and 20.5 for the Cardinals.

The difference in expected winning percentage is 23.7 points (44.2 minus 20.5). That works out to 3.8 victories over a 16-game schedule.

Arizona has made many changes this offseason, so it's not like we can simply add 3.8 victories to their total from last season. The team will play a different schedule. The team will have new schemes with new personnel.

In the end, though, we might expect the Cardinals to win about four more games with Palmer than they would have won with a repeat of the 2012 season at quarterback -- whatever their final victory total might be.

It's tough to envision any other NFC West newcomer having a similar impact. Such is the nature of the quarterback position, and such is the gap between what the Cardinals got from their quarterbacks last season and what they're likely to get from Palmer.

Note: The chart shows cumulative season QBR scores. Those are usually the most useful ones, but we needed per-game averages to calculate a victory differential. Thanks to Jason Vida and Alok Pattani of ESPN Stats & Information for their help with this item.

Roster change can be good for teams looking to dramatically upgrade.

The Arizona Cardinals, for instance, have parted with players who logged 8,842 offensive and defensive snaps last season, or 39.1 percent of the total, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The figures are 36.3 percent for the St. Louis Rams, 15 percent for the San Francisco 49ers and 10.6 percent for the Seattle Seahawks.

Those changes, displayed in the first chart, can help us frame in our minds how much these teams expect to change for the upcoming season.

Not all snaps carry the same value, of course. The Cardinals can reasonably expect the new snaps they get from quarterback Carson Palmer to help them more than, say, the new snaps they get from veteran safety Yeremiah Bell.



The 49ers and Seahawks were very good on both sides of the ball when last season finished. They were further along in their development than the Cardinals or Rams. They're hoping to stay the course, for the most part. And so it's natural they would return a higher number of key contributors from last season.

The second and third charts break down the numbers specifically for offense and defense.

We see the Rams in particular will be looking for change on offense. Robert Turner, Barry Richardson, Brandon Gibson, Steven Jackson, Danny Amendola, Matthew Mulligan, Wayne Hunter and Quinn Ojinnaka are among the players no longer on the St. Louis roster after playing at least 300 offensive snaps last season.

Newcomers Jake Long, Jared Cook, Barrett Jones, Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Brian Quick, Chris Givens and Zac Stacy will be getting some of their snaps in 2013.

The Cardinals have also turned over quite a bit of their offense. Adam Snyder, D'Anthony Batiste, Early Doucet, Kevin Kolb, LaRod Stephens-Howling, John Skelton, Rich Ohrnberger, Beanie Wells, Pat McQuistan and Todd Heap are among the regular contributors (or projected contributors) from 2012 no longer with the team.


The final chart shows Arizona turning over a somewhat surprising 44.6 percent of its snaps on defense after a mostly successful season on that side of the ball.

Kerry Rhodes, Paris Lenon, William Gay and Adrian Wilson are all gone after playing at least 800 snaps last season. Quentin Groves, Greg Toler, Nick Eason, Vonnie Holliday and James Sanders are gone after playing smaller roles.

Some of these players were ones the Cardinals thought they could replace without declining. They'll be looking for upgrades in some cases.

Third-round choice Tyrann Mathieu will fill some of the void in the secondary. Second-round pick Kevin Minter steps in at middle linebacker, where Lenon had been a regular.

Note: I updated this item to reflect Ryan Lindley's status on the Cardinals' roster. Thanks, @cblack315.

The Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals had the most successful drafts in the NFL. This isn't me saying it. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. gave three teams an 'A', and two of them were last season's playoff teams from this division. Take a bow, Ravens and Bengals.

You'll need a subscription to read all about Kiper's 2013 draft grades , but I'll give you a portion of what Kiper had to say about the Ravens, Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, along with my take on each one:

BALTIMORE RAVENS

Kiper Jr.'s grade: A-minus

Kiper Jr.'s comment: "The Ravens had another excellent draft because they needed starters at some key spots and pulled it off. That's not easy to do when you're slotted in at No. 32."

Jamison Hensley's take: What stands out about the Ravens' draft is they might have found three immediate starters despite selecting at the bottom of the round for two of them. The player I like the most is Kansas State inside linebacker Arthur Brown. The Ravens aggressively traded up for him, and he should supplant Rolando McClain. Matt Elam should replace James Ihedigbo at safety, although his size is a concern. Missouri Southern State's Brandon Williams has a chance to beat out underachieving Terrence Cody at nose tackle. I would give the Ravens a grade slightly lower, because they were unable to address wide receiver and offensive tackle earlier. By just a few picks, Baltimore saw West Virginia receiver Stedman Bailey get taken before them in the third round and watched Louisiana Tech's Quinton Patton go in the fourth. Excellent draft for defense, a below-average one on offense.

CINCINNATI BENGALS

Kiper Jr.'s grade: A-minus

Kiper Jr.'s comment: "The Bengals somehow didn't address a pretty big need early (and they don't have many) and still really impressed me. The Bengals seem to be a groove with the draft, the only downside being the picks that came via the Carson Palmer deal are now spent. It was fun while it lasted."

Hensley's take: The Bengals raised expectations because of productive drafts the past couple of years, and they might have surpassed them with this group of players. Using the 21st overall pick on Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert, a player some draft experts had going as high as No. 6, is one of the best values in the first round even though this position wasn't a need for Cincinnati. It's true North Carolina's Giovani Bernard wasn't the top-rated running back of this draft, but his ability to break big plays and catch the ball is exactly what the Bengals coveted. Plus, it's a bonus pick from the Palmer trade. Southern Methodist defensive end Margus Hunt, an athletic freak, intrigues me more than any other pick in this division. The biggest knock is the Bengals didn't address their biggest need (safety) until the third round. Georgia's Shawn Williams isn't on the same level as an Elam or Johnathan Cyprien, both of whom were available in the first round, but he'll get a chance to start.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Kiper Jr.'s grade: B

Kiper Jr.'s comment: "The Steelers got a little bit of their bite back. I love the selection of Jarvis Jones in Round 1. I just thought Le'Veon Bell was a bit of a reach. I'll say this for him, however: Bell played behind some pretty awful blocking last year and still managed to be productive."

Hensley's take: If you read my post-draft analysis, you already know that I think taking Jones was the best move when looking at the drafts for every AFC North team. The Steelers needed a pass-rusher after cutting James Harrison, and they got the best one coming out of college this year at No. 17. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the pick I'm most skeptical about is the Michigan State running back Bell. He's a finesse back who could turn out to be another Rashard Mendenhall in terms of running style. I'm not enamored by Oregon State wide receiver Markus Wheaton or Illinois cornerback Terry Hawthorne, but it's hard to criticize given the Steelers' history with wide receivers in the third round and cornerbacks in the middle of the draft. The second-best player in Pittsburgh's draft class could turn out to be Syracuse safety Shamarko Thomas, a fourth-round selection.

CLEVELAND BROWNS

Kiper Jr.'s grade: C-plus

Kiper Jr.'s comment: "I don't know if it's a good thing, per se, but the guy who will impact the Browns most in 2013 might not be the player they took at No. 6 overall. The hope is (LSU linebacker Barkevious) Mingo becomes a star, and (San Diego State cornerback Leon) McFadden can perform early. The good news is, both could happen."

Hensley's take: When looking at the players the Browns drafted over these three days, I would give the Browns a C-minus. When you look at the big picture, the Browns deserve a solid B. I like the fact that the Browns took a pass-rusher with the upside of Mingo in the first round over Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner. I like how the Browns traded two picks in the middle rounds of this mediocre draft for higher ones next year. And, even though it was a move made by the old regime, I like the decision to draft wide receiver Josh Gordon in the second round of last year's supplemental draft even more when looking at the wide receivers that were available in the second round Friday night. You also have to add veteran wide receiver Davone Bess to this class after the Browns picked him up for basically nothing during this draft. My biggest criticism, and I brought it up in the post-draft analysis, was failing to sign a veteran cornerback in free agency. That would have strengthened the reason to pass on Milliner in the first round and would have taken pressure off McFadden, the 11th cornerback taken in the draft, to start right away.

The Arizona Cardinals have drafted for defense with three of their first four selections in the 2013 NFL draft after ranking 31st last season with 25 offensive touchdowns.

Misplaced priorities? Not necessarily.

The team upgraded at quarterback by adding Carson Palmer by trade. The offensive line will be healthier and more talented with first-round pick Jonathan Cooper in the lineup. The line was already improving late last season.

That is how the Cardinals can feel good about leaning toward defense to this point in the draft despite fielding one of the NFL's best units on that side of the ball in 2012.

Texas defensive end Alex Okafor was the choice for Arizona with the 103rd overall pick (fourth round) Saturday. The team previously selected Cooper in the first round, linebacker Kevin Minter in the second and LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu in the third round.

Reggie McKenzie is finally on the clock.

Welcome to the world of NFL decision-making, sir.

No man in the NFL has been more handcuffed in recent league history than McKenzie has been the past the 15 months.

McKenzie, a career lifer in the front office in Green Bay, got the daunting opportunity to be in charge of the post-Al Davis Oakland Raiders in January 2012, three months after the legendary Oakland owner died at the age of 82. Hand-picked by several of Davis’ former lieutenants, McKenzie, a former Raiders linebacker, has vowed to bring the struggling franchise back to relevancy.

Thursday, McKenzie was finally able to put his general manager's hat on and start the rebuilding process in earnest. Until Thursday night, McKenzie’s job has consisted mostly of cutting players, signing inexperienced players to inexpensive, short contracts and hoping for a better future.

Last year, McKenzie didn’t make his first NFL draft pick until the end of the third round when he had a compensatory pick. The Raiders, who went 4-12 in McKenzie’s first season in charge, didn’t have a first-round pick in the past two years because of trades for Richard Seymour and Carson Palmer, two players who are no longer with the team.

McKenzie delayed his first first-round pick Thursday when he dealt the No. 3 pick to Miami for the No. 12 pick and the No. 42 pick. The Raiders used the No. 12 selection on Houston cornerback D.J. Hayden.

The Hayden pick has its risks (he nearly died after suffering a major heart injury in practice last season), but he can become a good player, and the Raiders have a big need at cornerback. Most teams had Hayden ranked in the bottom half of the first round. I’m fine with the Raiders making the pick; if they think he can be special, take him.

But I am disappointed with the trade McKenzie made. The decision to trade down made it clear he wanted to scramble out of the No. 3 selection and load up on more picks. The Raiders entered the draft without a second-round pick (as part of the terrible Palmer trade made by the previous regime) and without a fifth-round pick. With so many holes on the roster, the Raiders need an influx of talent on both sides of the ball. McKenzie signed several players this year, but most of them were on short, show-me deals, and the Raiders cut and saw several free agents leave.

Talent is needed.

I thought the deal with Miami left too much on the table. It's great Oakland received a solid second-round pick, and another solid player will be added to the team on Friday.

But, overall, I think Oakland needed to get more. Consider what Buffalo got from St. Louis later in the draft. The Bills sent No. 8 and No. 71 for No. 16, No, 46, No. 78 and No. 222. Plus, New England got No. 52, No. 83, No. 102 and No. 229 from Minnesota for No. 29.

Compare those caches to the Oakland deal, and you have to wonder if the Raiders didn’t simply settle just to get a second-round pick. The No. 3 overall pick holds more power than that.

The trade could stem from the fact McKenzie has been so hamstrung. He had to find a way to get more, and he probably figured No. 42 was better than nothing.

Things will get better for McKenzie. The Raiders, after years of being in salary-cap jail, will have a ton of salary cap room next year -- somewhere in the $70 million range (figures subject to change).

McKenzie has already said the extra room doesn’t mean he will revisit wild spending days of the past for the Silver and Black. McKenzie will stick to his Green Bay roots. He will build through the draft, and he will try to keep his best players with extensions. Free agency will be used as a complement and not a focal point.

Things will get better for Oakland. It will take awhile, and the Raiders probably won’t see a quick fix in a league that has been accustomed to microwave improvement.

But the process began Thursday with the addition of a potential dynamic cornerback and the acquisition of a second-round pick with which McKenzie will take the best player available.

Could McKenzie have done better Thursday night? Sure, but for a personnel man finally able to do his job, he has to be happy just to be able to finally act like an NFL general manager.

RENTON, Wash. -- With less than an hour til the 2013 NFL draft, I've put together a chart showing which picks NFC West teams hold and how they acquired those picks.
 

Seattle Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor recently became the fourth 2010 NFC West draft choice to sign a second contract with his original team.

The number of choices a team signs to second contracts can help evaluate overall draft success, especially over time. Bill Barnwell alluded to it during his recent piece suggesting teams have only a general idea what they're doing in the draft.

Teams should now be starting to think about re-signing some of those 2010 players, particularly those who signed four-year contracts. That generally includes players drafted after the first round.

I've broken down the choices into a few categories for easy analysis.

Already Re-Signed

First round: Anthony Davis, RT, San Francisco 49ers. Davis has started all 48 regular-season games and five playoff games in three seasons for the 49ers. He does not turn 24 years old until October. He is now under contract through 2019 on a deal featuring nearly $17 million in guarantees.

Second round: Daryl Washington, ILB, Arizona Cardinals. Washington has 47 starts and is coming off a nine-sack season. The Cardinals gave him $5 million guaranteed as part of a contract extension signed last season. The deal includes a $10 million option bonus due following the 2013 season. Washington must first serve a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's policy on substance abuse. His long-term future is bright if he avoids additional positive drug tests.

Third round: NaVorro Bowman, ILB, 49ers. Bowman became one of the best inside linebackers in the NFL after succeeding Takeo Spikes in the lineup. The 49ers gave him $25.5 million in guarantees on a deal running through 2018. Bowman appears in position to produce at a high level for a long time. The team felt as though he could remain productive even if the team changed its scheme.

Fifth round: Chancellor, SS, Seahawks. Chancellor signed a four-year extension through the 2017 season. The deal is expected to average $7 million per year over the final four years. The average would fall if we divided by the five years until Chancellor becomes a free agent. We'll revisit this one once the contract figures can be confirmed.

Awaiting Their Turns

First round: Russell Okung, LT, Seahawks. Signed through 2015. Earned Pro Bowl honors last season. Another injury-free season would put Okung in prime position.

First round: Earl Thomas, FS, Seahawks. Signed through 2014. Earned Pro Bowl honors last season. Chancellor re-signed before Thomas simply because his deal was expiring first. Thomas should be a priority to re-sign.

First round: Mike Iupati, LG, 49ers. Signed through 2014. Earned Pro Bowl honors last season. Davis re-signed before Iupati, but the 49ers want to keep both.

Pivotal 2013 Seasons

First round: Sam Bradford, QB, Rams. Bradford is signed through 2015, so there is time. Bradford still must play at a higher level to maximize his value, beginning this season.

First round: Dan Williams, NT, Cardinals. Williams is signed through 2014. He is on his third defensive coordinator in four seasons. Scheme matters for a player Arizona drafted as a 3-4 nose tackle.

Second round: Rodger Saffold, RT, Rams. Saffold is entering the final year of his deal. He is expected to move from left tackle to the right side following Jake Long's addition. He needs better luck with injuries to maximize his value.

Second round: Golden Tate, WR, Seahawks. Tate is entering the final year of his contract. He broke out with eight touchdown receptions last season. Seattle expects Percy Harvin to open up opportunities for Tate, but significant financial outlays at the position call into question Tate's future with the team beyond this season.

Third round: Andre Roberts, WR, Cardinals. Roberts is entering the final year of his contract. All the Cardinals' receivers, including Larry Fitzgerald, suffered from poor quarterback play last season. Roberts has an opportunity to bounce back with Carson Palmer throwing to him.

Gotta Stay Healthy

Fourth round: Walter Thurmond, CB, Seahawks. Signed through 2013, Thurmond has played in eight games over the past two seasons. Time could be running out.

Fourth round: O'Brien Schofield, OLB, Cardinals. Schofield is signed through 2013. He appears to have largely overcome the knee trouble that hurt his draft stock. The injury he suffered last season was freak in nature. Still, missing seven games prevented Schofield from enhancing his value.

The NFL does not crown division champs in April. Matt Williamson and I kept that in mind when breaking down his pre-draft positional rankings for NFC West teams.

Williamson, who scouts the NFL for ESPN.com, wraps up the series with thoughts on where NFC West teams stand overall.

Williamson: I think Seattle is the best team in the league right now.

Sando: Spoiler alert.

Williamson: The 49ers are the second-best team. The Rams are maybe 12th or in that neighborhood and a very legitimate playoff contender, particularly if they were in another division. But it wouldn't shock me if three teams from this division made the postseason.

Sando: Arizona sends its regards.

Williamson: I think Arizona is underrated, definitely better than most people probably realize. Carson Palmer will help. Bruce Arians will help. Everyone talks about Palmer getting crushed behind that Arizona line, but Arians can scheme that up.

Sando: Andrew Luck was under duress or hit while throwing more than any quarterback in the NFL last season, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Arians was running that Colts offense. At the same time, Palmer has done a good job over his career getting rid of the football. He takes relatively few sacks.

Williamson: Ben Roethlisberger took hits when Arians was coordinating the Steelers' offense, but they still had a great offense throwing the deep ball with a bad offensive line. That was even more true with Indy. It's not like this coach [Arians] has never played with a bad offensive line.

Sando: Palmer will certainly benefit from playing with Larry Fitzgerald and a strong group of wide receivers.

Williamson: Last year, if you watched Raiders, Palmer had extreme knuckleheads playing receiver, running the wrong routes, dropping the ball. He’ll throw too many picks, but his circumstances will be better in Arizona.

Sando: It's only fitting we go on at some length about Arizona. We've spent quite a bit of time anointing Seattle and Arizona while pointing to what should be a bright future in St. Louis with all those draft choices.

Williamson: It just dawned on me that I ranked Seattle first or second on my list at every position but tight end. San Franciso actually has a couple fours. Some of these are pretty debatable, of course.

Sando: No question. The gap between first and fourth on the defensive line is miniscule. It's laughable in some ways to rank the 49ers fourth at more than one position on defense until you realize fourth in this division can still be really good. Back to the Cardinals, though. What do you think of their additions at running back?

Williamson: Rashard Mendenhall and Ryan Williams, one can be very legit. The offensive line has to be better. It wasn't as bad in the second half of last season. They got an awful player off the field when they moved on from D'Anthony Batiste. Now you throw in Levi Brown and you are, say, the 25th-best line.

Sando: Sounds like the Cardinals think they'll be better than that. They could address the position in the draft, too. They will.

Williamson: Levi Brown is much better than a guy off the street, which is what Batiste was. I feel bad for Ken Whisenhunt. He had no chance.

Sando: We're out of time. Thanks for doing this, Matt. We'll revisit the rankings down the line.

The new contracts for Darrelle Revis in Tampa Bay and Kam Chancellor in Seattle will be interesting to analyze once the figures can be confirmed.

Initial reports tend to focus on maximum payouts, which can be misleading. Sometimes the new money available through an extension produces a misleading new average per year.

For context, John Parolin of ESPN Stats & Information recently put together charts showing how much money players received after signing deals reportedly worth at least $100 million. The answer was less than 50 percent in most cases.

The first chart examines the numbers for contracts that are no longer active.

The second chart shows how much money players have received on active contracts with maximum values of at least $100 million. It counts the $29 million signing bonus associated with Joe Flacco's deal as money already paid.

» NFC Eight in the Box: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

What’s the ideal first-round scenario for each team?

Denver

The Broncos are in a decent position sitting at No. 28. Yes, all of the elite players will be long gone. But the Broncos can get better at this spot. Denver doesn’t have many pressing needs, but it can surely upgrade at a few positions. Among the spots Denver could use some help at are on the defensive line, running back, cornerback and middle linebacker. This is a deep class on the defensive line and at cornerback, and the better running backs and inside linebackers may be available late in the first round. Denver would love to see these players available at No. 28: Alabama running back Eddie Lacy, Florida State pass-rushers Bjoern Werner and Tank Carradine, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o, Washington cornerback Desmond Trufant and Houston cornerback D.J. Hayden. I think, at least, one of these players will be available. Thus, Denver should get a player it covets.

Kansas City

Since the Chiefs will start the draft with the No. 1 pick, they dictate the show. But we’ve long talked about this being a bad year for the Chiefs to have the top pick. After a tremendous quarterback class last year, this year’s crop is devoid of top talent. The Chiefs could still find talent at the top of the draft, but they would prefer to trade out of the top spot to collect more picks and get out of paying the highest rookie contract. For that to happen, some team will have to come out of the woodwork. Thus far, there aren’t many indications there will be a market for the top pick. But if some team falls in love with a specific player, the Chiefs would accommodate them.

Oakland

The Raiders are in a similar spot as the Chiefs -- they want to trade down. In fact, Oakland likely wants to deal the No. 3 pick more than the Chiefs want to get rid of the No. 1 pick. Oakland badly needs to stock its roster. Trading the No. 3 pick may be easier than dealing the No. 1 pick. The price will be less and teams may be intrigued by the way the first two picks fall. So, I could see Oakland getting a suitable trade offer while on the clock. Oakland would love to still get a top-15 pick to get a top defensive talent and recoup its second-round pick lost in the Carson Palmer debacle. Now, if the Raiders don’t make a trade, they will be in good shape at No. 3. The Raiders badly need defensive talent. Among the top defensive prospects are Oregon pass-rusher Dion Jordan, Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, Florida defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd and Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner. At least two of those players will be available at No. 3, so Oakland will be sitting pretty.

San Diego

This is pretty simple: The Chargers want to see Oklahoma left tackle Lane Johnson still on the board at No. 11. But it may be iffy. The Chargers have a lot of needs, but no need is greater than at left tackle. The Chargers do not have a blindside protector for quarterback Philip Rivers. That’s scary. But there is no sure thing San Diego will find its left tackle in the draft. Top prospects Luke Joeckel and Eric Fisher will both be gone by the time the Chargers pick. Johnson has been a fast riser and there is a good chance he will be gone. Arizona at No. 7 is considered a strong landing spot for the super-athletic Johnson. The Chargers need quarterback Geno Smith to go in the top seven picks. If the Eagles take him at No. 4, it could push Fisher to No. 7 and Johnson to No. 11. If the Cardinals take Smith, Johnson could fall to the Chargers.