Welcome to the NFL Offseason. If you need to find me, I’ll be solemnly kicking pebbles down a dirt road, merely counting the seconds until football starts again. Luckily, I will be preparing for another great season of Fantasy Football, and I will be doing that when I’m not kicking pebbles.
By division, I will be breaking down the offseason moves from each team so far, as well as discuss anticipated moves.
New York Giants
The Giants have a number of issues all over the field in 2018. There were really only two positions that showed a higher quality of play on this team. Those positions were Running Back and Wide Receiver, which tells you what kind of talent this team has at those positions. In general, if the other pieces of the offense fail, it is hard to produce a stand out running back and wide receiver. Overall, the team ended the season with a 5-11 record. The differing parts of their team didn’t rank well either. Their offensive line ranked as the 21st in the league, their Defense ranked 20th against rushing yards and 23rd against receiving yards.
Recent Changes
The Giants chose not to use a franchise tag on their three-time Pro Bowl safety Landon Collins. Collins led this team in tackles last year, but will move onto the division-rival Redskins. Without Collins, this team is going to take a hit (referring to their 23rd ranking against receiving yards). The team also re-signed WR Corey Coleman for another season. Coleman has been a disappointing 1st round pick from Cleveland. He will more than likely remain buried on the depth chart.
Of course, the biggest news of the new NFL year has been trading Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns. To pick up some of the receiving void, the Giants made the move to bring in Golden Tate.
Anticipated Team AdjustmentsC
Defensive End: The Giants have three defensive ends hitting free agency this year. Kerry Wynn, John Jenkins, and Mario Edwards will either need to be replaced or re-signed. However, this is a team that struggled on defense. Getting a Defensive End will help them put pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Quarterback: It is clear that the reign of Eli Manning is nearing the end of his career. He had an average season in 2018 compared to his entire history as a quarterback. But it needs to be said that Eli has more seasons throwing under 4,000 yards than he does throwing over 4,000. Fortunately, he had a 66% completion percentage in 2018, which is his career high. He led the team to a 5-11 record in 2018. This is with weapons like Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham, and Evan Engram. A quarterback should be able to succeed with these weapons, in comparison Ryan Tannehill was able to earn a 7-9 record with far less impressive weapons.
Washington Redskins
At the beginning of the season, the Redskins took an early lead in the division. Only losing three of their first nine games, however, they lost their position as the season progressed due to structural issues and injuries. Ultimately the team had to piece together a roster who ended up losing their rookie running back Derrius Guice before the season started. They lost slot receiver Jamison Crowder and receiving running back Chris Thompson for a string of games in the middle of the season. Backup running back Robert Kelly was on IR for fifteen games. Both Alex Smith, backup quarterback Colt McCoy, and Tight End Jordan Reed ended the season on the IR as well. While every team needs to be prepared for injury losses at any point during the season it took a heavy toll on the team that finished at an extremely average position at nearly all positions.
Recent Changes
The Redskins promoted Kevin O’Connell from quarterbacks coach to their offensive coordinator. Promoting a quarterbacks coach to OC can only mean that the team will be looking to improve their situation at quarterback. They have also added depth at the position by trading with the Broncos for Case Keenum. For Keenum, the Redskins will only need to give up their 6th round pick in 2020. It still remains to be seen if Alex Smith will return to the team after breaking his leg. What makes it worse is that Smith developed an infection from the surgery, making more complications for recovery.
The team has also brought in safety Landon Collins, as well as re-signing Adrian Peterson.
Anticipated Team Adjustments
Offensive Lineman: According to Pro Football Focus, the offensive line finished the season ranked 19th. However, there were nine offensive linemen to play at least 200 plays. As I said injury was a nightmare situation in Washington this year. If the injuries to the linemen become an issue for recovery they will more than likely need to make additions to their line.
Quarterback: Alex Smith may not be ready for 2019, and even though the team will be adding Case Keenum, they may draft a rookie quarterback in April to invest in their future.
Wide Receiver: Much like the Miami Dolphins, Washington didn’t have a great options at the position. Not a single receiver topped 600 yards over the season. Fortunately there are several Wide Reveiver’s in Free Agency and in the Draft that are likely to get a shot at the number one receiver position.
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas started the season devoid of a dominant receiving option. Fortunately, Ezekiel Elliott was given a large workload, and showed he is exactly what Dallas needed when they drafted him. Dallas finished the season with a 10-6 record, first in the NFC East. The team lost in the playoffs to the Los Angeles Rams, but were able to eliminate the Seahawks in the Wild Card round. Their team’s success sprung up in week 10 shortly after they acquired Amari Cooper from Oakland. Cooper quickly became their primary receiving option.
Recent Changes
Jason Witten has decided to come out of retirement and return to the Cowboys. Witten spent 2018 apart of the the Monday Night Football broadcasting crew, Witten didn’t earn a good broadcasting reputation making me wonder if his decision to return to football was partially due to that reputation. The Cowboys also took the resignation from David Irving, one of their Defensive Tackles, after Irving posted a video of him smoking marijuana on social media.
Anticipated Team Changes
Overall the team had a great 2018, Dallas’ defense finished 5th against the rush, 13th against the pass, and produced the 14th best offensive line. I anticipate that team changes will be minor or merely providing depth at certain positions.
Defensive Lineman: The resignation of David Irving merely decreases the depth that Dallas has at the position. However, the team may also be surrendering some of their defensive ends to free agency. Dallas should add depth all across the defensive line this off-season.
Running Back: Ezekiel Elliott was the leading rusher in 2018 and I would put money on him becoming the league leader in 2019 again. However, Dallas’ best back-up running back is Rod Smith. Smith is a fair running back but if Dallas was without Elliott the team would be missing the most important part of their team. Smith wouldn’t come close to Elliott’s productivity, adding another running back to compete with Smith for backup increases their chances winning games without Elliott.
Philadelphia Eagles
The 2017 season champions had a difficult time getting things going in 2018, losing six of their first ten games. They ultimately finished the season with a 9-7 record, making it to the playoffs and beating the Bears in the Wild Card round, but lost to the Saints the next week. Their defense was able to stop the run, but had difficulties stopping the pass. Their offense had a lot of weapons, but couldn’t get on the same page. They struggled the entire season figuring out who their primary running back was, after Jay Ajayi went down with a torn ACL. Ajayi, while healthy, was not performing at a high level and none of his replacements provided a good rushing attack. Carson Wentz returned to the team in late September after recovering from a torn ACL in 2017. However, he ended the season with another injury, this time a stress fracture to his spine.
Recent Changes
The past two years brought injury to their franchise quarterback, Carson Wentz, however, Nick Foles was able to step in and perform at a high level. As an Eagle, Nick Foles got the Super Bowl MVP and was able to get the Eagles back into playoffs this year. However, the Eagles opted out of a renewed contract with Foles this offseason. The team will need to replace their backup quarterback.
The Eagles have also lost wide receiver Golden Tate and linebacker Jordan Hicks, but landed defensive lineman Malik Jackson.
Anticipated Team Changes
Running Back: This is a team that needs to gain some sort of rushing attack. The Eagles have a dominant passing and receiving attack, but that can be defended easily if you know that their rushing game is mediocre at best. I anticipate this team adding a running back during the draft. A good fit may be Devin Singletary or Benny Snell. I don’t see the team adding a running back in free agency because the team doesn’t have much cap space to work with.
Pass Rusher: The Eagles need to bring in another pass rusher besides Malik Jackson, and there are a few out there that could find their way to Philly for cheap.
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