There's no such thing as "perfect", but in this scenario I get to play GM for a day and pretend the offseason are perfect!
This series is dependent on every other team, so you won't see the same player be signed to multiple teams.
BUT, this won't be insanely detailed, and it will be mainly offense based. So, I will mention the salary cap and draft pick implications, but I'm not going to include an entire salary cap breakdown.
I'm always making changes to the past articles based on edits to the new ones, so if you want to check out the old ones the links are below!
That being said, let's breakdown the NFC East and what moves I think each team should be making in the 2022 Offseason!
New York Giants
Last Year's Record: 4-13
2022 Estimated Cap Space: -$12,019,020
2022 Draft Picks: 1st (2), 2nd (1), 3rd (2), 4th (1), 5th (2), 6th (1)
Notable Free Agents; Nate Solder (OT), Evan Engram (TE), Jabrill Peppers (S), and Will Hernandez (OL).
The Giants could likely do away with not signing any of their big free agents, and given the awful cap situation it might be best to do so. Plus, with them being stacked with draft picks, they need to be able to pay these players.
Now let's breakdown the offseason in it's main pillars, coaching changes, free agency, and the draft.
Coaching; The Giants have hired former Bills (OC) Brian Daboll as their new head coach! My full breakdown on Daboll can be found here!
Free Agency; With the Giants in a bad cap situation, they will much more so be letting people go rather than be buyers. So, if I'm the Giants, here are some moves I'm making on offense.
+ Mitchell Trubisky (QB)
+ Dante Pettis (WR)
- Mike Glennon (QB)
- Evan Engram (TE)
Trubisky is familiar with Daboll and his offense, which can help Daniel Jones excel and put some pressure on him as well. If Jones fails to impress they could always use Trubisky in his place.
Engram has had his moments with the Giants (mostly bad ones), and it's probably best for both parties if they part ways. I'm expecting the Giants to draft another TE in his place..
As for the rest of the team, letting Nate Solder walk is an absolute must and will save over $15.5 Million, and by letting Glennon and Engram walk it will only add more to their pockets. I would like to see Peppers and Hernandez stay in NY, and ultimately that will be the end of their free agent adventures.
They do have the option to make cuts to guys like Sterling Shepard, but I think he would be willing to take a pay cut instead (or at least hoping).
2022 NFL Draft; The Giants have quite a bit of picks to make in the NFL draft, so let go through it! In the 1st Round I have the Giants selecting (OL) Ikem Ekwonu and (DE) George Karlaftis. In the 2nd Round the Giants would take (CB) Kyler Gordon, and in the 3rd Round I have them taking (DT) Phidarian Mathis and (TE) Jalen Wydermyer!
So altogether, here's what the Giants' starting offense would look like in 2022...
QB - Daniel Jones
RB - Saquon Barkley
WR - Kadarius Toney
WR - Sterling Shepard
WR - Kenny Golladay
TE - Jalen Wydermyer/Kyle Rudolph
How does the rest of #BigBlue feel about this team?
Dallas Cowboys
Last Year's Record: 12-5
2022 Estimated Cap Space: -$21,449,855
2022 Draft Picks: 1st (1), 2nd (1), 3rd (1), 4th (1), 5th (2), 6th (1)
Notable Free Agents; Keanu Neal (LB/S), Leighton Vander-Esch (LB), Cedrick Wilson (WR), Connor Williams (OL), Jayron Kearse (S), Randy Gregory (DE), Michael Gallup (WR), and Dalton Schultz (TE).
The Cowboys got into the playoffs, but they are in a really tight spot as far as cap space goes. The Picks can help them recover but they are going to have to let some names walk..
Now let's breakdown the offseason in it's main pillars, coaching changes, free agency, and the draft.
Coaching; For a moment it was looking like the Cowboys could have lost both Kellen Moore and Dan Quinn, but both ended up staying with the team.
Free Agency; The Cowboys are going to have make some brutal cuts. So, if I'm the Cowboys, here are some moves I'm making on offense.
+ Cedrick Wilson (WR)
+ Albert Wilson (WR)
+ Malik Turner (WR)
+ Dalton Schultz (TE)
- Michael Gallup (WR)
Cedrick Wilson proved to be a valuable asset for them when multiple receivers were injured, allow him to move into the WR3 position and let Gallup walk. Albert Wilson is a versatile free agent WR that make good depth behind him.
It's going to take a lot, but I think the Cowboys need to make extending Dalton Schultz a priority here. It might cost $10-$12 Million but he was arguably their best weapon.
As for the other free agents, I would let Vander-Esch, Keanu Neal, Connor Williams, Jayron Kearse, and Randy Gregory walk. Along with other cuts this would save about $15 Million. I would also approach Demarcus Lawrence and Ezekiel Elliot about taking pay cuts, and assuming they do hope to save an extra $15-20 Million on top of maybe adjusting the salary of others as well.
2022 NFL Draft; In the 2022 NFL Draft I have the Dallas Cowboys selecting (OL) Kenyon Green in the 1st Round. In the 2nd and 3rd Rounds I have them picking (CB) Coby Bryant and (DE) Arnold Ebiketie!
So altogether, here's what the Cowboys' starting offense would look like in 2022...
QB - Dak Prescott
RB - Ezekiel Elliot/Tony Pollard
WR - CeeDee Lamb
WR - Amari Cooper
WR - Cedrick Wilson
TE - Dalton Schultz
How 'bout them #Cowboys?!
Washington Commanders
Last Year's Record: 7-10
2022 Estimated Cap Space: $31,899,730
2022 Draft Picks: 1st (1), 2nd (1), 3rd (1), 4th (1), 6th (1), 7th (1)
Notable Free Agents; Brandon Scherff (OL), Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB), and J.D. McKissic (RB).
Ron Rivera says the Commanders (going to take some getting used too) are in a much better spot to make a splash, and I agree! They have decent cap space as well as a handful of draft picks to use!
TRADE; I have the Washington Commanders trading a '22 1st Rounder, a '22 3rd Rounder, a '23 1st Rounder, and a '23 2nd Rounder for (QB) Russell Wilson!
The Commanders want to make a splash, and the rumors of Wilson being traded can come full circle with him landing in Washington!
Now let's breakdown the offseason in it's main pillars, coaching changes, free agency, and the draft.
Coaching; Currently there aren't any changes being made to the Washington Commanders staff..
Free Agency; The Commanders are now in win-now mode with Russell Wilson. So, if I'm the Commanders, here are some moves I'm making on offense.
+ J.D. McKissic (RB)
+ D.J. Chark (WR)
+ Adam Humphries (WR)
+ Cam Sims (WR)
- Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB)
- DeAndre Carter (WR)
- Ricky Seals-Jones (TE)
With Russ now in Washington there isn't a reason to keep Fitzpatrick around, and letting him walk saves $10 Million towards the cap!
McKissic is a valuable piece for them and won't break the bank for them to keep him around. Plus he's a familiar face to Wilson, it's kind of a no brainer.
Adding D.J. Chark to the mix as a deep threat next to Terry would be great! It's not quite DK and Lockett but it gets the job done. Sims and Humphries have been great depth and will undoubtably be cheaper than their current contracts.
RSJ was a good investment last season, but his price has likely risen and with the young depth they have at TE there's no reason to pay him.
Outside of these moves, I want to see the Commanders retain Brandon Scherff. His current market value is estimated at $12 Mil, which is $6 Mil less than his current deal. Give Wilson the protection he deserves! On top of that, maybe adding a cheap OT and some secondary help can't hurt.
2022 NFL Draft; With the Commanders trading away their 2022 1st Rounder, here's what else I have them doing in the draft. In the 2nd Round, I have them selecting (OT) Nicholas Petit-Frere, and in the 3rd Round I have them picking (DB) Jalen Pitre!
So altogether, here's what the Commanders' starting offense would look like in 2022...
QB - Russell Wilson
RB - Antonio Gibson/J.D. McKissic
WR - Terry McLaurin
WR - D.J. Chark
TE - Logan Thomas
Let's #TakeCommand in 2022!
Philadelphia Eagles
Last Year's Record: 9-8
2022 Estimated Cap Space: $21,533,860
2022 Draft Picks: 1st (3), 2nd (1), 3rd (1), 4th (1), 5th (3), 6th (2)
Notable Free Agents; Rodney McLeod (S), Derek Barnett (DE), Anthony Harris (S), and Alex Singleton (LB).
Now let's breakdown the offseason in it's main pillars, coaching changes, free agency, and the draft.
Coaching; No coaching changes are expected to the Philadelphia Eagles staff...
Free Agency; The Eagles should definitely be buyers given all of their draft capitol and cap space! So, if I'm the Eagles, here are some moves I'm making on offense.
+ Boston Scott (RB)
+ Mike Williams (WR)
+ Greg Ward Jr. (WR)
+ Anthony Firkser (TE)
- Jordan Howard (RB)
- J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (WR)
If I'm the Eagles, I'm keeping Gardner Minshew as a high upside backup to Jalen Hurts. One who can take over as the starter if Hurts begins to slip.
Keep Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott as the primary backups for Miles Sanders, in his second year Gainwell should be able to provide more help in the passing game and truly play the "Nyheim Hines role".
Mike Williams' market value right now is sitting around $16.7 Million, and with the Eagles current cap space they should be able to make it work. In doing so it will provide fantastic depth a valuable weapon.
With Ertz gone, the Eagles will want a decent enough backup to Goedert who can also make plays when need. Firkser can be that guy if called on.
As for the rest of the team, I would be letting guys like Singleton, Harris, and Barnett walk. Use the draft to inherit some big players on defense.
2022 NFL Draft; In the 1st Round of the NFL draft, I have the Eagles selecting (LB) Devin Lloyd, (CB) Andrew Booth, and (DT) DeMarvin Leal. In the 2nd Round I have the Eagles selecting (DE) Myjai Sanders, and finally in the 3rd Round I'd like them to select (WR) John Metchie III! A super heavy focus on defense to compliment the good offense they already have.
So altogether, here's what the Eagles' starting offense would look like in 2022...
QB - Jalen Hurts
RB - Miles Sanders
WR - Mike Williams
WR - DeVonta Smith
TE - Dallas Goedert
How we feel about this #Eagles squad for 2022?