NFL: How all of the championship contenders were built

How were all of this year’s top four championship contenders in the NFL built? What does it take to win in today’s NFL?

How do you build a contender in today’s NFL?

If there’s anything we can learn from all four of the finalists in the 2018-19 season, it’s that there’s really no specific formula that works for everybody.

Each team in this year’s final four has a significantly different DNA. They all operate in unique ways from a front office perspective and each team has unique coaching philosophies, priorities, strengths, weaknesses, and financial commitments.

Let’s take a look at how each team is constructed, how much money their spending, and who the brain trust is behind each championship contender.

New England Patriots

Head coach/GM: Bill Belichick (2000)

25 and under: 19
FA: 15
Trade: 7
NFL Draft: 24
CFA: 7
Active cap: $155.94M (2nd highest among final four)
Players on IR: 10

It takes a village in New England, certainly, but Bill Belichick is the mastermind behind it all and he has been since he took the team over in 2000.

Since he was initially hired, Belichick’s power and role within the organization have grown along with his legend status, as he’s built the most potent contender arguably in NFL history. Belichick’s Patriots are not unlike Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide.

The modern-day Patriots dynasty is headlined by quarterback Tom Brady, who is the team’s highest paid player and the face of the franchise.

Brady, even in a seemingly down year, has the Patriots on the cusp of a sixth championship since 2000. The Patriots have made it to eight straight AFC Championship games, and they’ve done so with one of the more intriguing roster-building strategies you will see.

Belichick is virtually bullet-proof when it comes to roster building because Brady makes everyone around him better. The Patriots utilize trades (both for veterans and draft picks) more than any team left in the postseason, but they have the second-most draft picks represented (24) for the teams left.

This certainly varies year-to-year, but the Patriots have the least amount of college free agents on their roster compared to other teams still fighting. They also have the most players on IR including one of their two first-round draft picks Isaiah Wynn, a projected starter on the offensive line.

The Patriots may not have drafted as well in the last five years as they did for a long stretch before that, but with the oldest roster in the NFL, this team full of veterans knows how to get the job done because they have drafted players who have stayed with the franchise (Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Devin McCourty, Dont’a Hightower among others) through the years and played at a high level through multiple contracts. That’s rare in today’s NFL but it speaks to the Patriots’ ability to develop talent and get players to buy in to their system.