Free Agency Review - NFC East

After a bit of a break it’s time to continue with the NFC East. I will catch up any new news from the AFC during my draft coverage. The NFC East obviously contains the current Superbowl Champion Eagles and while the other three teams will be looking to catch them up, the Eagles have not rested on their laurels and have tried to keep moving and stay ahead of the field.

-Dallas Cowboys-

Key Additions:

Deonte Thompson	WR	1yr	$1.8m
Allen Hurns	WR	2yrs	$12m

With no Zeke suspension drama to cause chaos this season the Cowboys will still see a lot of attention as the draft comes and goes. The future of Dez Bryant makes predicting the teams fantasy relevance and prospects very difficult and assessing their 2 new signings, something of an impossibility. Allen Hurns signed on a 2yr deal after being released by the Jaguars and could offer the outside role with reasonable speed when he is healthy. With Dez, Hurns is a decent option opposite and is a big uptick compared to Terrance Williams. Without Dez he could be seen as the main focal point in what would become a very spread out passing game where Elliott may still get the bulk of the catches. Deonte Thompson meanwhile just adds to the middle of the road depth in Williams and Cole Beasley as well as 2^nd year receiver Ryan Switzer.

Their main action on defense was to franchise tag DeMarcus Lawrence which keeps their main defensive star on the books for another year. He is going to need some more help around him if they are to be a relevant DST in fantasy although not losing many pieces will allow them to have better chemistry.

The Dez news, whichever way it goes, will be the talking point this season and I (like many) anticipate that Zeke will have a big year now his suspension is out of the way. Without Dez, Dak Prescott is going to need some receivers to take his targets, either by stepping up or coming via the draft.

EDIT: After writing this but before publishing the Cowboys did indeed release Bryant. To me it was the right decision but they are going to need to get some help for Dak in the draft.

-Philadelphia Eagles-

Key Additions:

Mike Wallace	WR	1yr	$4m
Richard Rodgers	TE	1yr	$tbc

The Eagles may not have added a lot when it comes to fantasy relevance, but there have been some big moves, which may well keep them ahead of the rest. Their DST is quickly becoming a top five option now they have added Michael Bennett (although that may be voided if the Eagles can't live with his felony charge from the 2017 Superbowl) and Haloti Ngata. They have had to be clever with their cap space, moves and contracts, but this team is clearly in full win now mode.

Looking at the offence Nick Foles stays as the backup to Wentz, which seems like the right decision considering the depth at QB in this year’s draft. Trey Burton left for the Bears and so Richard Rodgers comes in from Green Bay to assist on the front line. You should still expect Zach Ertz to be the predominant pass catcher. At receiver they have managed to replace Torrey Smith with Mike Wallace so there will not feel like too much disruption in the receiving corps. LeGarrette Blount left for Detroit leaving Jay Ajayi to have a bigger role alongside Corey Clement. It would hardly be a surprise if the Eagles brought in another running back since this draft class is stacked with great options.

Either way this team is built ready for the repeat and with an even stronger defense the player who may hold the key to how well their title defense will go is Jay Ajayi. Can he do the legwork required to wind down the clock and can his knee hold together? If the answer to both questions is yes, then he could be a sneakily good option to have.

-New York Giants-

Key Additions:

Jonathan Stewart

RB

2yrs

$6.9m

The Giants will argue that last year was a product of losing Odell Beckham Jnr for a long period of time and that his return will signal their return. I’m not sure if even they believe that narrative though. Their O-Line is down there with Seattle as the worst in the NFL, while their running back options are limited and Eli Manning is not getting any younger. Jonathan Stewart has been brought in as a running option and with Wayne Gallman offering the only real alternative option on the current roster. You would hope they have plans to draft a running back at some point this April. They should also be looking for Eli’s long term replacement since Davis Webb is not the answer. Their other major off season acquisition has been Nate Solder coming from the Patriots. He’s certainly an upgrade but it’s going to take more than Solder to fix that O-Line before those rookies will have a chance at succeeding.

On defense they have added Alec Ogletree from the Rams and shipped out Jason Pierre-Paul to the Buccaneers. It’ll be interesting to see how good Ogletree really is without Aaron Donald around him and with JPP out of the picture can that defense live up to the hype they created two years ago. They still need a lot of work if they’re going to be the team I think they want to be though. It just seems like no matter where you look the team has a glaring need (apart from the receiving positions).

Again we have an off-season narrative more determined around a returning player than any new additions and where the draft is going to be the main focus. Having the 2^nd overall pick gives the Giants so many options. Do they keep it and take a high calibre player at a position of need, or do they trade back while the price is exceptional and take multiple pieces?

-Washington Redskins-

Key Additions:

Alex Smith	QB	Trade
Paul Richardson	WR	5yrs	$40m

The Redskins made their big move early trading for Alex Smith and finally letting Kirk Cousins walk. Even now I still find it an odd move to make but clearly somewhere in the hierarchy Smith holds more value than Cousins to Washington. With the rest of their squad mostly in-tact it’s really been the only story.

Smith will have Jameison Crowder, Josh Doctson and now Paul Richardson to work with along with Jordan Reed (when healthy) and probably Vernon Davis (the rest of the time). Richardson managed to get a long term deal and decent money to say he wasn’t spectacular in Seattle but the Redskins needed to do something after showing Terrell Pryor the door and Ryan Grant eventually ending up in Indianapolis. The Smith trade saw them give up a 3^rd round pick and CB Kendall Fuller. Fuller was a decent prospect but they appear to have replaced him with Orlando Scandrick for now at least. Also on defense they had got Mason Foster and Zach brown to re-sign do very few changes really happened but they will likely need more help if they are to compete with the other teams in the division.

Really, apart from the name of the signal caller, not a lot has changed. They’re still remarkably short of quality running back options with Samaje Perine their only real option as it stands. Alex Smith I can’t see being the same as he was last season and even if he is, with his receiving options and a different set of coaches will he have the chance to show it?