It’s too early to grade teams’ free agency performances. But with many big names now off the board there are a couple clear winners and losers thus far.

Winners:
I’ve been especially impressed with the moves Cleveland has made. They had huge problems stopping the run last season so they went aggressively after two defensive tackles, picking up Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams from the NFC North in separate trades. Both of these guys have question marks. Williams is more of a pass rusher than a run stuffer. And Rogers sometimes plays as if he can’t wait to hit the post-game buffet table.

But both players are upgrades, and if the Browns can motivate Rogers, the defense should be much improved.

Mix in the addition of big-play receiver Donte Stallworth, who will complement Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards, and the Browns could have made themselves the team to beat in the AFC North. If Derek Anderson can duplicate his 2007 exploits this should be a fun team to watch this season.

I also like the aggressiveness with which the Minnesota Vikings attacked their needs. They didn’t get Justin Smith, who signed with San Francisco before visiting Winter Park. But they snagged visits with safety Madieu Williams and wide receiver Bernard Berrian and didn’t let them leave the premises without signing deals. They may have overpaid for both, but that’s today’s NFL and both deals bring young talent with upside to a team that isn’t far from being a playoff contender. They still need a defensive end and some quarterback competition, but they’ve definitely filled needs.

The New Orleans Saints also addressed a couple of need spots, adding cornerback Randall Gay and defensive end Bobby McCray through free agency. They also traded for linebacker Jonathan Vilma and retained running back Aaron Stecker, who was a solid contributor last season after veteran Deuce McAllister went down with an ACL tear.

Losers:
On the other hand, the Oakland Raiders continue to befuddle. This team has gone through four coaches since Jon Gruden left after the 2002 season and owner Al Davis continues to confuse, not only with his hands-on approach to working with coaches to personnel moves that make little sense.

The Raiders started free agency by retaining defensive lineman Tommy Kelly. In and of itself that’s not a bad move – Kelly has been a solid contributor through a down period. But he played in seven games in 2007 before tearing up his knee and has been injury-prone throughout his NFL career. He reportedly was rewarded with $18 million in guarantees and a total contract of seven years and $50.5 million.

The team followed that move by signing safety Gibril Wilson of the New York Giants to a six-year, $39 million deal, including $16 million in guarantees. Wilson is an okay player with some potential. But he too has been injury-prone, missing 12 games during his four years with the Giants.

I had been prepared to put both the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears on the early free agency losers list as well, as both teams lost a number of solid players. The jury is still out on both, however, as the Patriots are reportedly close to re-signing Randy Moss, which had been in some doubt. And the Bears re-upped with linebacker Lance Briggs, who may be a beneficiary of the team’s system, but has been productive nonetheless.

Free agency also has been a struggle so far for the Super Bowl champs. In addition to losing Wilson to the Raiders, the Giants have lost linebackers Kawika Mitchell and Reggie Torbor. Coupled with Michael Strahan’s potential retirement, General Manager Jerry Reese will have his hands full restocking his team’s cupboards in the months to come.