2022 NFL front office rankings
17) San Francisco 49ers
General manager: John Lynch
Kyle Shanahan wields a lot of roster authority in San Francisco. And the 49ers have made enough errors that it’s fair to say he’s a better offensive play-caller than personnel executive. Lynch and Shanahan made Jerick McKinnon one of the league’s highest-paid running backs before the 2018 season. They’ve continued to invest early draft picks in the position despite ample evidence that RBs can be found later in the draft (see: Elijah Mitchell).
In the same vein, it may not have been the wisest decision to reset the linebacker market with Fred Warner, especially given how volatile LBs can be in coverage. Ultimately, San Francisco’s decision to trade three first-round picks for Trey Lance will define Lynch and Shanahan’s tenure. They’ve made two NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl over the past three seasons, but they’re just 39-42 over five years in the regular season.
18) New York Jets
General manager: Joe Douglas
Douglas’ work over the last three offseasons has represented a master class in how to build up a team to support a young quarterback. He’s overhauled New York’s offensive line while adding talent at key position groups. With three first-round picks in 2022, Douglas drafted CB Ahmad Gardner, WR Garrett Wilson, and EDGE Jermaine Johnson II, bolstering three of the five most important positions on the field.
Now, it all comes down to Zach Wilson’s progression. Douglas will have to hope he’s pinpointed the right quarterback and hired the correct coaches — namely offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur — to get the best out of the BYU product. Even if Wilson doesn’t work out, Douglas may have shown enough promise elsewhere on the Jets’ roster to get a second chance at selecting a QB.
19) Detroit Lions
General manager: Brad Holmes
Like Douglas and the Jets, Holmes and the Lions don’t yet have any on-field results they can point to. But Detroit’s front office has quietly formed a foundation into which they can drop a new quarterback — when they decide the time is right. Holmes is building a tough team in the mold of head coach Dan Campbell. Five of the new regime’s first six top-75 draft picks have been offensive or defensive linemen.
20) Miami Dolphins
General manager: Chris Grier
The Dolphins seemingly made all the right moves during their rebuild, trading away veterans and acquiring more future draft capital while looking ahead to tomorrow. Grier’s process was sound, but he hasn’t been able to hit his draft selections. Miami’s decision to take Tua Tagovailoa over Justin Herbert looks like an all-time mistake. The team also whiffed on its other two 2020 first-rounders (Austin Jackson and Noah Igbinoghene).
Thankfully, the early returns on Grier’s 2021 draft class, which included Jaylen Waddle, Jaelan Phillips, and Jevon Holland, are incredibly strong. With Tyreek Hill now in Miami, this is a make-or-break year for Tua — and it could be for Grier as well.
21) Seattle Seahawks
General manager: John Schneider
The Seahawks front office was considered among the NFL’s best for a decade, but the shine is beginning to wear off. Seattle didn’t get enough in exchange for a franchise icon in Russell Wilson. Schematically, they’ve fallen behind the rest of the league. They’re still overly committed to the run game, and Schneider traded two first-round picks for Jamal Adams, a safety whose strong suit is not coverage.
Seattle’s 2022 draft class earned rave reviews, but this is still a team without a franchise quarterback. They’re tied to Pete Carroll, the oldest head coach in the league. What’s the long-term plan? Until the Seahawks show a clear direction, they’ll be relatively low in our NFL front office rankings.
22) Houston Texans
General manager: Nick Caserio
Caserio hasn’t gotten a fair shake since moving from New England to Houston in Jan. 2021. He’s been too hamstrung, both by Bill O’Brien’s reckless roster moves and the Deshaun Watson legal situation, to implement his own vision.
If the Texans stumbled onto a starter in quarterback Davis Mills, Caserio can get to work building the roster around him. If not, the GM’s most important assignment will be finding a new signal-caller in next year’s draft.
23) Washington Commanders
General manager: Martin Mayhew
In 2020, Ron Rivera took the Commanders to a 7-9 record in his first season as head coach. Yet, the club has now stalled. Washington still hasn’t found a long-term option under center, and the team got taken to the cleaners in the Carson Wentz trade. If the Commanders don’t take a step forward in 2022, they could be a team that gets entirely blown up next offseason.
24) Arizona Cardinals
General manager: Steve Keim
Both Keim and head coach Kliff Kingsbury recently received extensions through 2027, so they should be safe for the immediate future despite a lack of results. Credit to Keim for avoiding the sunk cost fallacy and moving on from Josh Rosen in favor of Kyler Murray. And the DeAndre Hopkins trade was a heist for the ages.
However, Keim has done a poor job of surrounding Murray with complementary talent. He’s continually shown a preference for over-the-hill veterans, and it’s no surprise when those players end up injured. Arizona will start three age-30+ offensive linemen in 2022, and their cornerback depth chart is a wasteland.
25) Atlanta Falcons
General manager: Terry Fontenot
Former Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff left his successor in a rough spot, but Fontenot hasn’t done himself any favors. Fontenot has mentioned the Bills as a template for the Falcons, but Buffalo bit the bullet and absorbed $70 million in dead money in 2019.
Atlanta should have done that last season, then charted a fresh course this year. Instead, they waited to rip off the Band-Aid. The Falcons opted to restructure Matt Ryan’s contract in 2021, pushing money into the future, only to end up trading him in 2022. Deion Jones is still on the roster, while Atlanta just gave 29-year-old DT Grady Jarrett an extension for cap relief purposes.
26) Jacksonville Jaguars
General manager: Trent Baalke
Having somehow retained his job in Jacksonville, Baalke set about lighting money on fire in free agency. The Jaguars gave Christian Kirk an absurd $18 million per year, but deals for Brandon Scherff ($16.5 million), Foyesade Oluokun ($15 million), Folorunso Fatukasi ($10 million), and Zay Jones ($8 million) were nearly as egregious. Trevor Lawerence and Doug Pederson will have to pull this franchise out of the abyss.
27) Carolina Panthers
General manager: Scott Fitterer
While Fitterer is Carolina’s GM, head coach Matt Rhule is undoubtedly the team’s lead decision-maker. Rhule is firmly on the hot seat, and he’s there because of his own choices. Sending second- and fourth-round picks for Sam Darnold looked like an obvious mistake, and the decision to use every 2020 draft pick on defensive players was similarly head-scratching. The Panthers are the most directionless organization in the NFL.
2022 NFL front office rankings: First-year GMs
Though most of these front offices and general managers have gone through at least one free agent and draft cycle, it’s not fair to project their performances, given that they were all hired this calendar year. We’ll rank them separately here.
28) Pittsburgh Steelers
General manager: Omar Khan
Because Kevin Colbert didn’t retire as the Steelers GM until after the 2022 draft, Khan is technically the least experienced first-year general manager. However, he’s been with Pittsburgh for more than two decades. He should know the ins and outs of one of the most respected franchises in the NFL.
29) New York Giants
General manager: Joe Schoen
Perhaps we’re just optimistic that Schoen and Brian Daboll can implement the Bills’ way of doing things with the Giants. Big Blue didn’t have the cap space to be active in free agency, but they hired a fantastic coaching staff, used their two top-10 picks on positions of importance, and declined Daniel Jones’ fifth-year option. It’s a solid start for the ex-Buffalo crew.
30) Minnesota Vikings
General manager: Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
Given his analytical background, Adofo-Mensah seemed primed to take the Vikings in an entirely new direction this offseason. But his transactions didn’t appear all that different from what the Rick Spielman/Mike Zimmer regime would have done. Still, in a weak NFC, Adofo-Mensah likely sees that Minnesota is in a position to compete for a Wild Card spot in 2022.
31) Las Vegas Raiders
General manager: Dave Ziegler
Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels shockingly acquired Davante Adams from the Packers, giving Derek Carr one of the best sets of pass-catching weapons in the NFL. However, their offensive line is still atrocious outside of left tackle Kolton Miller. Las Vegas should be able to get pressure with Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones, but their back seven is uninspiring.
32) Chicago Bears
General manager: Ryan Poles
This isn’t fair to Poles. That really should be former Bears GM Ryan Pace’s name up there. It was Pace who left Poles arguably the worst roster in the NFL. Poles wisely traded Khalil Mack to the Chargers, and he didn’t bother adding veterans that won’t be part of Chicago’s next contending roster. He’s looking toward the Bears’ future, and he’ll spend 2022 determining if Justin Fields will be a part of it.