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 South and what moves I think each team should be making in the 2022 off-season!
New Orleans Saints
Last Year's Record: 9-8
2022 Estimated Cap Space: -$42,245,453
2022 Draft Picks: 1st (1), 2nd (1), 3rd (1), 4th (2), 5th (1), 6th (1), 7th (1)
Notable Free Agents; Terron Armstead (OT), Marcus Williams (S), Jameis Winston (QB), Kwon Alexander (LB), Tre'Quan Smith (WR), and Deonte Harris (WR).
The Saints are loaded in draft capitol, but unfortunately are in cap space hell. They are going to have to make some tough decisions in the post Sean Payton era...
Now let's breakdown the offseason in it's main pillars, coaching changes, free agency, and the draft.
Coaching; With Sean Payton stepping away, Dennis Allen has taken over as the new head coach of the Saints. By keeping the same offensive coordinator, there really isn't much to talk about here.
Free Agency; As I mentioned before, this is going to be a rough offseason for the New Orleans Saints, and they will likely have to let a lot of players go. So, if I'm the Saints, here are some moves I'm making on offense.
+ Jameis Winston (QB)
+ Jamison Crowder (WR)
+ Deonte Harris (WR)
+ Juwan Johnson (TE)
- Trevor Siemian (QB)
- Ty Montgomery (RB)
- Tre'Quan Smith (WR)
I think Jameis deserved to come back, the fans love him and with MT back (hopefully), he can have a bigger impact.
Let Smith walk, he hasn't been as productive as they've hoped. In his place, bring in Crowder (who they were reportedly close to trading for), and bring back Deonte Harris!
I'm not sure that they have the cap to explore a free agent TE, and they likely won't need too with the young hopefuls they have.
Unfortunately, this likely means Armstead, Marcus Williams, and Kwon Alexander will not be back. This alone will save $23 Million in cap space. With some pay cuts and roster magic I'm sure they can alleviate another $10-15 Million. Assuming Cam Jordan takes a pay cut and David Onyematta is released, they will be back in the positives.
2022 NFL Draft; In the 1st Round of the NFL Draft, I have the Saints selecting (WR) Jameson Williams! Next, I have the Saints selecting (LB) Damone Clark in the 2nd Round, and (QB) Carson Strong in the 3rd Round!
So altogether, here's what the Saints' starting offense would look like in 2022...
QB - Jameis Winston
RB - Alvin Kamara
WR - Michael Thomas
WR - Jameson Williams
WR - Jamison Crowder
TE - Adam Trautman/Juwan Johnson
All gas and no breaks for #WhoDat Nation!!
Atlanta Falcons
Last Year's Record: 7-10
2022 Estimated Cap Space: -$7,316,883
2022 Draft Picks: 1st (1), 2nd (2), 3rd (1), 4th (1), 5th (1), 6th (2)
Notable Free Agents; Dante Fowler Jr. (DE), Matt Gono (OT), Cordarelle Patterson (RB/WR), Hayden Hurst (TE), Russell Gage (WR), and Younghoe Koo (K).
The Falcons aren't really in cap hell, and they do have a ton of picks, so this off-season may be not nearly as bad as it seems on the surface..
TRADE; I have the Atlanta Falcons trading Calvin Ridley and a '22 6th Round Pick for N'Keal Harry and a '22 2nd Round Pick from the New England Patriots!
Things between Ridley and the Falcons did not end well this off-season. After missing the rest of the season due to personal reasons, there seemed to be some tension created between him and the team. We still don't know why Ridley sat, but I'm sure he would benefit from a new home..
Now let's breakdown the offseason in it's main pillars, coaching changes, free agency, and the draft.
Coaching; No coaching changes are expected for the Atlanta Falcons in 2022...
Free Agency; There are going to be some tough decisions to make. So, if I'm the Falcons, here are some moves I'm making on offense.
+ Chad Henne (QB)
+ Cordarelle Patterson (RB/WR)
+ Russell Gage (WR)
+ Tyler Kroft (TE)
- Hayden Hurst (TE)
Henne can simply be added as a backup to Matt Ryan, as a capable guy.
My plan for Patterson is this, offer him $10 Million, higher than his asking price. Use him as the primary receiver and allow him to be used as a rusher. On top of that he can also produce as a kick returner. As a WR, he will make more money, and it will make more sense for the Falcons to pay him.
Russell Gage needs to be resigned, so they at least don't start from total zero as far as offensive weapons. Plus he has great chemistry with Ryan.
Tyler Kroft replaces Hayden Hurst as the backup and TE2 to Kyle Pitts..
Outside of these changes, if I'm the Falcons, I'm letting Dante Fowler Jr. walk and saving close to $15 Million. Matt Gono can also be released on an offensive line that performed much worse than it should have in 2022.
2022 NFL Draft; In the 1st Round of the 2022 NFL Draft, I have the Atlanta Falcons selecting (CB) Derek Stingley. In the 2nd Round of the NFL Draft I have them selecting (RB) Kenneth Walker II, (WR) David Bell, and (DE) Myjai Sanders! Finally in the 3rd Round, I have the Falcons selecting (S) Smoke Monday!
So altogether, here's what the Falcons' starting offense would look like in 2022...
QB - Matt Ryan
RB - Kenneth Walker II
RB/WR - Cordarelle Patterson
WR - Russell Gage
WR - David Bell
TE - Kyle Pitts
Let's #RiseUp for 2022!!
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last Year's Record: 13-4
2022 Estimated Cap Space: $2,370,110
2022 Draft Picks: 1st (1), 2nd (1), 3rd (1), 4th (1), 5th (1), 7th (2)
Notable Free Agents; Chris Godwin (WR), Jason Pierre-Paul (DE), Ryan Jenson (C), Ndamukong Suh (DT), Rob Gronkowski (TE), Leonard Fournette (RB), O.J. Howard (TE), Ronald Jones II (RB), and Richard Sherman (CB).
Obviously they have a TON of free agents, and a lot of tough choices are going to need to be made, and Tom Brady hitting retirement is the icing on the cake.
TRADE; I have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers trading a 2nd Round Pick to the San Fransisco 49ers for (QB) Jimmy Garoppolo!
This gives the Bucs a capable QB with playoff experience to lead their team to at the very least a respectable year.
Now let's breakdown the offseason in it's main pillars, coaching changes, free agency, and the draft.
Coaching; No coaching changes are expected for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022...
Free Agency; No matter what, this team is going to look a LOT different this year. So, if I'm the Bucs, here are some moves I'm making on offense.
+ Leonard Fournette (RB)
+ Ronald Jones II (RB)
+ Eric Ebron (TE)
- Blaine Gabbert (QB)
- Giovani Bernard (RB)
- Chris Godwin (WR)
- Breshad Perriman (WR)
- Rob Gronkowski (TE)
- O.J. Howard (TE)
Jimmy Garoppolo and Kyle Trask will be the teams QBs heading into 2022, let Jimmy G take the lead and if he slips or get s hurt, at least you get to see what you have in Trask..
Let Fournette be the heartbeat of this offense next to Mike Evans. Tampa is his home now and he's been very productive in his role. Rojo may not get too much interest around the league and stay with the team as their backup.
Man it's tough to see Godwin leave, but the cap space and situation is just not ideal for him. They likely won't tag him a 2nd year in a row, so they will just have to make due without him..
I'm expecting Gronkowski to follow Brady into retirement, and for Howard to want a change of scenery from Arians who says "Tight Ends are here to block". Ebron is a veteran piece who can fill that void and share the role with Brate.
Outside of that, Ryan Jenson, Jason Pierre-Paul, and William Gholson should stick around in Tampa Bay. While all the other big names will likely walk and help save the Bucs a ton of cap space to make some real moves in 2023!
2022 NFL Draft; In the 1st Round of the 2022 Draft, I have the Buccaneers selecting (WR) Jahan Dotson, and in the 3rd Round I have them selecting (CB) Akayleb Evans!
So altogether, here's what the Bucs' starting offense would look like in 2022...
QB - Jimmy Garoppolo
RB - Leonard Fournette
WR - Mike Evans
WR - Jahan Dotson
TE - Cameron Brate/Eric Ebron
#FiretheCannons for this transitional year and hope for the best in 2023!
Carolina Panthers
Last Year's Record: 5-12
2022 Estimated Cap Space: $12,360,499
2022 Draft Picks: 1st (1), 4th (1), 5th (6), 6th (1), 7th (1)
Notable Free Agents; Stephon Gilmore (CB), Matt Paradis (C), Cam Newton (QB), and Haason Reddick (OLB).
This is a do or die off-season for the Panthers, and if they make the right move at QB they could run that division..
TRADE; I have the Houston texans trading (QB) Deshaun Watson to the Carolina Panthers in return for a '22 1st Rounder, a '23 1st Rounder, and a '23 3rd Rounder.
With this move, I would say the Panthers are easily the #1 Team in the division. Watson gives them an elite edge at QB and assuming he is able to play can lead them to the playoffs.
Now let's breakdown the offseason in it's main pillars, coaching changes, free agency, and the draft.
Coaching; The only change the Panthers have made is to their offensive coordinator. Everything you need to know about Ben McAdoo can be found here!
Free Agency; The Panthers don't have a ton of cap space to work with, but they have enough to make some slight improvements to their offense. So, if I'm the Bucs, here are some moves I'm making on offense.
+ Brandon Zylstra (WR)
+ Evan Engram (TE)
- Cam Newton (QB)
- Ian Thomas (TE)
No brainer to dump Newton, and if Darnold wasn't guaranteed $18 Million he would be gone too. My hope would be that Darnold agrees to take a pay cut or at least move part of his salary around..
I know the Panthers already gave Ian Thomas a healthy extension, but my wish would be that they didn't do that. Sign a player familiar with McAdoo's offense instead (and thrived in it).
Other than that, I would like to see them retain Stephon Gilmore if possible, but I don't think they will have the cap space to keep Reddick as well, especially with Watson now in the picture..
2022 NFL Draft; With this trade, the Panthers have no draft picks inside the first 3 Rounds..
So altogether, here's what the Panthers' starting offense would look like in 2022...
QB - Deshaun Watson
RB - Christian McCaffrey
WR - D.J. Moore
WR - Robby Anderson
WR - Terrace Marshall
TE - Evan Engram
#KeepPounding into the 2022 Season and hope for the best!