In this article, I'll be covering the Perfect Offseason for the NFC East! If you haven't checked out the previous installments of our Perfect Offseason series, we've already done the entire AFC, and you can catch up with these links:
This series is dependent on every other team, so you won't see the same player be signed to multiple teams.
However, as we are a fantasy based page, our focus is very heavily on offense. We will include defense as well, but no hardcore cap breakdowns or defensive analysis.
The NFC East is coming off of a strong season of exceeding expectations and winning a ton of football games, but there is bound to be turnover around the league, including here! The Eagles had both coordinators leave after a Super Bowl push, multiple teams are in QB or other free agency trouble, and the Cowboys parted ways with Kellen Moore. We'll look into next year right now!
Dallas Cowboys
Last Year's Record: 12-5
2023 Estimated Cap Space: $-7,008,743
2023 Draft Picks: 1st (1), 2nd (1), 3rd (1), 4th (1), 5th (3), 6th (1), 7th (1)
Notable Free Agents; Dalton Schultz (TE), Tony Pollard (RB), Connor McGovern (C), Anthony Brown (CB), Noah Brown (WR), Cooper Rush (QB)
Dallas got their offseason off to an interesting start by firing offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who I always thought has been over hated in Dallas. I could be proven wrong, but as of now my opinion is that this offense is going to need to recover from his loss, not that it's going to be a seamless transition. With a few big parts of their offense also free agents, this could get dicey quickly.
Coaching; I for one am not inspired by Mike McCarthy calling plays, and haven't been for what feels like ten years now. At least they retained Dan Quinn, who has done a nice job with this defense during his time in Dallas.
Trades; There aren't too many big names on the trade market, and I think the Cowboys will be able to make a splash elsewhere to avoid the need for a trade...
Free Agency;
+ Tony Pollard (Franchise Tag) (RB)
+ Odell Beckham Jr. (WR)
+ Dalton Schultz (TE)
- Connor McGovern (C)
- Anthony Brown (CB)
- Noah Brown (WR)
- Cooper Rush (QB)
Odell has been rumored to be heading to the Cowboys for a while, and the fit makes sense. He could team with Dak and Ceedee Lamb to make a pretty scary trio. Pollard returns on the franchise tag for another year with a heavy workload as Zeke's playing time continues to decrease.
NFL Draft; We have the Cowboys drafting DE Isaiah Foskey near the end of the first round, who at the very least could bolster a very thin defensive line.
Altogether, the Cowboys starting offense would look like this:
QB - Dak Prescott
RB - Tony Pollard
WR - CeeDee Lamb
WR - Odell Beckham Jr.
WR - Michael Gallup
TE - Dalton Schultz
How we feeling' about #DemBoyz ??
New York Giants
Last Year's Record: 9-7-1
2023 Estimated Cap Space: $46,993,739
2023 Draft Picks: 1st (1), 2nd (1), 3rd (2), 4th (1), 5th (1), 6th (2), 7th (3)
Notable Free Agents; Daniel Jones (QB), Saquon Barkley (RB), Sterling Shepard (WR), Jon Feliciano (C), Matt Breida (RB), Richie James (WR), Darius Slayton (WR), Julian Love (FS)
The Giants built on a surprisingly great season by maintaining consistency in their coaching staff heading into year two of the Brian Daboll era. This could bode well for Daniel Jones, as it would be his first experience with such continuity, if the Giants resign him.
Trades; No trades here as this regime looks to build in-house and will likely be putting most of their money towards extending their own guys.
Free Agency;
+ Daniel Jones (Franchise Tag) (QB)
+ Saquon Barkley (RB)
+ Keenan Allen (WR)
+ Matt Breida (RB)
+ Richie James (WR)
+ Julian Love (FS)
- Sterling Shepard (WR)
- Jon Feliciano (C)
- Darius Slayton (WR)
The big surprise here is Keenan Allen, who we have the Giants landing after he's cut by the Chargers in favor of some youth. He would immediately bring some legitimacy to a WR group that currently consists of Richie James, Isaiah Hodgins, and Wan'Dale Robinson. Bringing Jones back - even if it's just on the tag - is something the Giants have been adamant is in the cards for a while now. As for Barkley, he's one of the best in the game, and a rare instance in which paying a runningback may be worth it.
NFL Draft; After signing Allen, the Giants have a stop gap at receiver, and can pivot to other positional needs in the draft while they wait for a stronger receiver class to pop up in the future. This year, we have them taking linebacker Trenton Simpson in the first round, and likely looking for some interior offensive line help later on.
Overall, the Giants offense would look like this:
QB - Daniel Jones
RB - Saquon Barkley
WR - Keenan Allen
WR - Wan'Dale Robinson
WR - Isaiah Hodgins
TE - Daniel Bellinger
Is Keenan Allen enough to improve the Giants to playoff contender?
Philadelphia Eagles
Last Year's Record: 14-3
2023 Estimated Cap Space: $6,375,070
2023 Draft Picks: 1st (2), 2nd (1), 3rd (1), 7th (2)
Notable Free Agents; Miles Sanders (RB), Jason Kelce (C), Isaac Seumalo (G), James Bradberry (CB), Chaucney Gardner-Johnson (SS), Fletcher Cox(DT), Robert Quinn (DE), Javon Hargrave (DT), TJ Edwards (LB) Gardner Minshew (QB)
This is going to be an extremely trying offseason for Howie Roseman's Eagles, who lost both coordinators and have tons of pending free agents who could be on their way out. This doesn't even mention the looming Jalen Hurts extension, and already tough salary cap situation.
Coaching; It feels like the Eagles will likely replace Shane Steichen as OC internally, and they are looking into longtime candidate Jim Leonhard for their vacated DC spot. They'll likely see some regression as coaches and players leave, but I don't necessarily see the lost coaches costing them significant firepower.
Trades; The Eagles are in no position to make offseason trades with their lack of true cap room.
Free Agency;
+ Jason Kelce (C)
+ Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (SS)
+ Fletcher Cox (DT)
+ TJ Edwards (LB)
- Miles Sanders (RB)
- Isaac Seumalo (G)
- James Bradberry (CB)
- Robert Quinn (DE)
- Javon Hargrave (DT)
- Gardner Minshew (QB)
The Eagles have limited cap room, but I think they'll get deals done with some of their guys, locking down Gardner-Johnson and Edwards to deals. Cox and Kelce can come back on veteran one year deals, and you've got some of your core back. Losing Hargrave will be a blow, but they drafted Jordan Davis last year for a reason!
NFL Draft; In the NFL Draft, we have the Eagles drafting CB Joey Porter and RB Bijan Robinson. This will not only fill some gaps left by the departing players, but bring in two players widely regarded as amongst the best at their positions.
That would leave the Eagles offense like this:
QB - Jalen Hurts
RB - Bijan Robinson
WR - AJ Brown
WR - Devonta Smith
WR - Quez Watkins
TE - Dallas Goedert
Would be a great off-season for the Eagles!
Washington Commanders
Last Year's Record: 8-8-1
2023 Estimated Cap Space: $8,352,246
2023 Draft Picks: 1st (1), 2nd (1), 3rd (1), 4th (1), 5th (1), 6th (2), 7th (1)
Notable Free Agents; Taylor Heinicke (QB), Da'Ron Payne (DT), Wes Schweitzer (G), Trai Turner (G), Cam Sims (WR)
Washington is in an interesting position, with a really nicely put together roster lacking in the QB department. What else is new. It feels like they're putting their trust in Sam Howell to go out there as their starter next year, which isn't a terrible idea, but they should at least have insurance. The other big development is the hiring of Eric Bieniemy as OC, which should bring a different look to the offense.
Coaching; Ron Rivera should certainly be on the hot seat at this point. It feels like his work is done as he brought this team out of cultural hell. They now have an identity and it's probably close to time to move on in my opinion. We'll see how the year plays out.
Trades; This is a spot where I could see a QB trade happening, but as I said, they seem to like Sam Howell. Aaron Rodgers probably wouldn't want to go play in Washington anyway.
Free Agency;
+ Wes Schweitzer (G)
+ Sam Darnold (QB)
+ Dalvin Tomlinson (DT)
- Talyor Heinicke (QB)
- Da'Ron Payne (DT)
- Trai Turner (G)
- Cam Sims (WR)
This class stabilizes the situation here, bringing in replacements for important lost pieces and having at least a semi-established name in the QB room. Losing Payne may be a tough pill to swallow, but Dalvin Tomlinson is a more than capable replacement at a likely cheaper cost.
NFL Draft; In the NFL Draft, we have Washington taking CB Cam Smith, which will give them a young prospect to develop in that CB2 spot where they've struggled for so long.
The Commanders would be running this offense out there:
QB - Sam Howell/Sam Darnold
RB - Brian Robinson
WR - Terry McLaurin
WR - Jahan Dotson
WR - Curtis Samuel
TE - Logan Thomas
How we feel about the Commanders?