NFC East Offseason Outlook (2021 Fantasy Football)

As we wrap our heads around a potential landmark year in offseason moves, The Undroppables will be breaking down each division team by team, highlighting the key players at each skill position for their offense, how they performed in 2020, and what could change for them in 2021.

We are kicking off this series of posts with coverage on the NFC East from one of the newest Undroppables, Michael Duncan. As a die hard Eagles fan, Michael is one of the best on our team to give us a pulse on the division.

Washington Football Team

2020 Fantasy Results

• QB: Alex Smith, QB37 (9.95 PPG)
• RB: Antonio Gibson, RB12 (13.2 PPG)
• WR: Terry McLaurin, WR21 (12.0 PPG)
• TE: Logan Thomas, TE6 (8.8 PPG)

Projected Starters for 2021

• QB: Alex Smith
• RB: Antonio Gibson
• WR: Terry McLaurin, Kelvin Harmon, Cam Sims
• TE: Logan Thomas

Potential Offseason Changes

Like any franchise, this team’s offseason plan will start with the question surrounding the quarterback position. Alex Smith will, deservedly, be the Comeback Player of the Year, even after ending the season sitting out their playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Smith sitting out opened America’s eyes to the surprisingly impressive quarterback play of a guy who wasn’t on an NFL roster a couple months ago, Taylor Heinicke. While Smith is currently under contract next season, Heinicke is not. Heinicke will be a restricted free agent come March, and I’d be surprised if Washington doesn’t do everything in their power to keep him, especially with the news of Alex Smith contemplating retirement.

Other than the quarterback position, the biggest possible loss for Washington is that of 30-year old All-Pro Guard Brandon Scherff. He played on the franchise tag in 2020, and there have been reports that Washington would like to work out a long-term deal. Scherff is most definitely the anchor from an otherwise unimpressive offensive line. Also a free agent (an exclusive rights free agent that is) is breakout wide receiver Cam Sims. Given the nature of the exclusive rights free agent designation, it would be a surprise to see him playing anywhere other than Washington next season.

Free Agency and the Draft

Estimated at around $32 million in cap space this offseason, Washington will have more money than most to play with in free agency. Of the teams with money to spend, they also find themselves in a spot where they could possibly see themselves in the market for a major offensive overhaul, more so than some of the other teams with cap space to spare.

With so many QBs on the move this offseason, it would be a surprise to see Washington not make an move for one of the veterans that could be possibly be available, even with Stafford heading to L.A. While I believe Logan Thomas is legitimately good at football and Terry McLaurin is going to be a great wide receiver in this league, I would not be shocked to see someone from this crop of free agent wide receivers choose to play for a team coached by Ron Rivera. Can you imagine Kenny Golladay in Washington with McLaurin as Golladay’s speedy counterpart? Count me in.

As for the draft, the Football Team has eight picks, starting with #19 overall. I lean toward the expectation of seeing offensive line help come for them early in the draft, along with possible help at linebacker or safety. They already have impressive defense led by their defensive line, but they will be losing some of their depth this offseason.

Offensively, bolstering their line would only help their standout rookie Antonio Gibson, along with whomever will be throwing the ball for them next season. Washington has little proven talent outside of Terry McLaurin in the WR room, so in another draft that’s extremely deep at the position, I expect to see one added to the team on day one or day two who could contribute immediately. If they were picking earlier in the first round, I would consider the possibility of a quarterback, but given the options I expect to be on the board at pick 19, I think they’re better suited for a veteran passer.

New York Giants

2020 Fantasy Results

• QB: Daniel Jones, QB24 (13.57 PPG)
• RB: Wayne Gallman, RB32 (8.4 PPG)
• WR: Sterling Shepard, WR46 (10.8 PPG)
• TE: Evan Engram, TE16 (6.8 PPG)

Projected Starters for 2021

• QB: Daniel Jones
• RB: Saquon Barkley
• WR: Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton
• TE: Evan Engram

Potential Offseason Changes

As of right now, most big names on the Giants offense are under contract for the 2021 season. Only one starter, right tackle Cameron Fleming, has an expiring contract. The offensive line has been an issue for the Giants over the past few years, and last year was no exception. The Giants finished as the 31st ranked offensive line in the NFL last year according to PFF’s offensive line rankings. Their first rounder Andrew Thomas struggled, and it’s hard to think that simply a new O-line coach will fix that.

Saquon Barkley is currently rehabbing a torn ACL, and all of his backups in Alfred Morris, Dion Lewis, and Wayne Gallman are all set to be free agents. It’ll be interesting to see if any of them come back, particularly Wayne Gallman, to back up Barkley. Golden Tate, who will be 33 this upcoming season, is still under contract, but could be cut for a dead cap hit of only $4M, while saving $6M against the cap for the Giants. Evan Engram will be playing on an unguaranteed fifth-year option this season. Both have dealt with injuries, especially Engram, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see the team move on from either of them this offseason.

Free Agency and the Draft

It’s been difficult to tell this offseason where teams currently are in terms of the 2021 cap, as it hasn’t been set yet due to the coronavirus pandemic. It seems as though the Giants are hovering around the projected cap and could even be a bit over the current estimate. This will not give them a ton of flexibility this offseason to add a lot of outside help, especially if they hope to retain their free agents on the defensive side of the ball. I expect it to be a rather quiet free agency period for the Giants, even if they rid themselves of some of their more expensive contracts.

The draft has a chance to be fantasy relevant this season, with another loaded class of WRs in the pipeline. If they do choose to move on from Golden Tate, there should be a decent amount of targets to go around in this offense, and at the 11th overall pick, it’s not outside the realm of possibility for the Giants to draft one of the top wideouts available. They may also choose to bolster the offensive line for the second year in a row and possibly address pass catchers in later rounds. At the 11th pick, they might just find themselves out of the race for one of the draft’s premier quarterback talents. I expect Lawrence, Fields, Lance, and Wilson to all go top 10, so unless the Giants brass find themselves enamored with Mac Jones or Kyle Trask, they will probably take another season of going all in on Daniel Jones and hopefully surround him with talent.

Dallas Cowboys

2020 Fantasy Results

• QB: Andy Dalton, QB31 (13.08 PPG)
• RB: Ezekiel Elliott, RB11 (13.2 PPG)
• WR: Amari Cooper, WR16 (11.9 PPG)
• TE: Dalton Schultz, TE14 (7.2 PPG)

Projected Starters for 2021

• QB: Dak Prescott
• RB: Ezekiel Elliott
• WR: Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup
• TE: Blake Jarwin

Potential Offseason Changes

As of right now, the Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback for the 2021 season is…Garrett Gilbert? Ben DiNucci? The point is, as of my writing this Dak Prescott and Andy Dalton are both pending free agents. That being said, I fully expect Dak Prescott to be back with the Cowboys next season. Given that he is coming off of a torn ACL, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Andy Dalton back with the team as well, with another offseason full of QB options being available on the horizon. The only other offensive starter set to be a free agent is center Joe Looney, but this comes a year after drafting a center in the 4th round of the NFL draft who looks to move into that starting role. Along with Prescott, the Cowboys also hope to get 2020 breakout candidate Blake Jarwin back in 2021 after a lost season.

One thing to consider on the other side of the ball is the dismissal of defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, whose unit struggled mightily last season. He was replaced with former Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn. This is notable, as Dak Prescott lit up opposing defenses the first few weeks of the season, in part due to the Cowboys defense’s inability to stop…anybody. If the defense improves, we could see the offense lean a bit more on the running game and not have to throw the ball all four quarters just to keep up.

Free Agency and the Draft

The biggest additions the Cowboys should expect to see this offseason will most likely come in the form getting injured players back. If any large additions happen in free agency, they will most likely be on the defensive side of the ball, where new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn might want to reshape his personnel. On offense, the top three wide receiver spots are locked in, as are Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard in the backfield.

The one major question mark on offense is the tight end position, with Dalton Schultz filling in admirably, but not being a true difference-maker. While I do believe the draft, like free agency, will focus heavily on the defensive side of the ball a year after drafting CeeDee Lamb in the first round, the Cowboys do have a decent amount of draft capital and could very well be looking to get younger at the offensive line as well.

Philadelphia Eagles

2020 Fantasy Results

• QB: Carson Wentz, QB22 (17.78 PPG)
• RB: Miles Sanders, RB23 (13.0 PPG)
• WR: Greg Ward, WR59 (6.7 PPG)
• TE: Dallas Goedert, TE20 (8.5 PPG)

Projected Starters for 2021

• QB: Carson Wentz
• RB: Miles Sanders
• WR: Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward
• TE: Dallas Goedert

Potential Offseason Changes

First and foremost, about a week after the conclusion of their 4-11-1 season, Doug Pederson was relieved of his head coaching duties. While boasting a top offense in 2017 with his QB playing at an MVP level, the Eagles offense since has been slow, stale, and a tad painful to watch. This can be attributed to the loss of different coaches or injuries, but in 2020 it revolved mainly around the incredible regression of that same quarterback Carson Wentz. This led to the firing of the head coach in charge of that offense, and the hiring of Nick Sirianni, previously the offensive coordinator of the Colts.

While there haven’t been any other major changes yet this offseason, the biggest questions most likely revolve around the futures of Carson Wentz and tight end Zach Ertz. While solid in 2018 and 2019, the drafting of Jalen Hurts in the second round and more turnovers last season have led many to believe Carson Wentz could be on the trade block heading into the 2021 season. The same can be said for Zach Ertz, who after five straight years of at least 800 yards and 70 receptions, posted career lows in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. Last offseason saw tension between Ertz and the Eagles front office. Ertz hoped for a new contract, while the front office was wary of extending their aging veteran with an extension looming for rising star Dallas Goedert.

Free Agency and the Draft

Right now, the only starter currently without a contract on the Eagles offense is 39 year-old LT/RG Jason Peters, who missed the end of last season with injury. Other notable names that are set to be free agents for the Eagles are third-string TE Richard “Dick Rod” Rodgers, backup RB Boston Scott (restricted FA), and slot receiver Greg Ward (exclusive rights FA).

I expect both Scott and Ward to return to similar roles to 2020, as they should be fairly inexpensive, and the Eagles are extremely cap strapped heading into this offseason. It’s because of the cap that I don’t expect the Eagles to be in a position to spend in free agency, even with a talented and deep wide receiver group available.

More exciting, however, is the Eagles owning the #6 overall pick in the NFL Draft, which puts them in prime position to draft an offensive playmaker. This is a huge need for a team as cap-strapped as the Eagles. After spending a first round pick on Jalen Reagor last season, who I believe fits best as the starting Z receiver, spending the 6th overall pick on a guy like Ja’Marr Chase to be your starting X receiver day one could be huge in rebuilding the offense and getting Carson Wentz back on track.

Past that, the Eagles are currently projected to have nine other picks in the 2021 draft. Even after a year that saw them draft three WRs, we could see them walking away with another two at a position, as it still feels devoid of talent there. While I don’t expect them to draft a running back to greatly compete with Miles Sanders for touches, I think there will be options later in the draft to compete with Boston Scott for the backup role.

That’s it! Be sure to follow Michael on Twitter, and stay tuned to our site for upcoming divisional offseason previews.