By Sean Gannon

March 15, 2020

The purpose of this article is to highlight where one offensive and defensive free agent from the AFC/NFC should land this offseason.

Offense:

AFC: Robby Anderson (52 receptions, 779 yards, 5 td, 1 fumble)

Robby Anderson has had a productive career in New York, getting 924 yards in just his second season with them and over the last two years have been averaging over 725 yards. He is a big lengthy target (6’3” 190) that can stretch the field and is evident in his young four-year career by averaging 14.8 yards per reception. As of today, Anderson wants to remain with the Jets, but I think the Packers and Eagles are looking to bolster their receiving core and Anderson can be there guy. Between the two teams, I think the Eagles are the ones who are going to be putting more of an emphasis of getting a young (26 years old) proven wideout. Last season with injuries across the board but specifically at the wide receiver position, the Eagles had no one. Once Jackson and then Jeffry went down, the young guys on the Eagles roster, which featured Greg Ward Jr (former quarterback from the University of Houston) as the number one wide out and J.J Arcega-Whitside as the number two, the passing offense of the Eagles was rendered ineffective. After the injury to Jeffry it was almost impossible for the passing game to really get started, as the young wide receivers struggled to get away from cornerbacks and create space for Wentz to make a play. Last year I had them winning the NFC East and making a deep playoff run, they won the East but couldn’t get out of the first round of the playoffs. Adding depth, proven talent, and youth to the wide receiver core, makes this Eagles passing offense far more formidable then what we saw in 2019.

NFC: Austin Hooper (75 receptions, 787 yards, 6 td)

            Austin Hooper had his best season in the NFL in 2019 and established himself as one of the best tight ends in the league. His ideal frame (6’4, 254 pounds) and young age (25) makes him a great fit for any team as a do it all tight end and centerpiece on an offense for years to come. Hooper will be looking to cash in big and be one of the top paid at his position and assuming he doesn’t resign with the Falcons (3^rd least amount of cap space) there are a handful of teams that could use a top tight end, Colts and Cardinals to name a few, however none more so than the New England Patriots. After the departure of Rob Gronkowski last offseason their offense struggled to find a rhythm in the passing game throughout the season and no tight end on the roster eclipsed 175 yards total on the season. The offense of the Patriots relied heavily on Gronk, and the tight end position not only to catch but to help set up an extra blocker on the outside for run and pass protection in the past, but inconsistency in blocking and lack of play catching ability from Watson, LaCosse, or Izzo left a giant gap in the offensive play.Tom Brady is set to hit the market as a free agent for the first time in his career, and with limited pass catchers in New England they need to find a creative way to bring back Tom, it starts with getting a top tier player at the position he loved to throw to for the last seven years.

Defense:

AFC: Bud Dupree (68 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 3 pass defense, 4 forced fumbles)

            Bud Dupree had a YEAR in 2019. The former first round pick in 2015 struggled to find production in the previous four years but finally came into his own this year in one of the NFL’s best defenses of 2019. Thanks to this season he should be able to garner a decent amount of interest and demand a decent sized contract, however I think it would be in his best interest, and the best interest of the Steelers to keep him in Pittsburg going forward. As I said a second ago, the Steelers had one of the best defenses in the NFL in 2019, and it’s what kept them in playoff contention pretty much until the last week of the season. With Ben Roethlisberger just beginning to throw again following his elbow injury in week 2, and his age beginning to get into the area of decline for a quarterback (38) the best thing the Steelers can do is to keep this defense together as much as possible moving forward. If they aren’t able to work out a long-term deal (somewhere around a 4 year-60 million-dollar deal) I think the Steelers place a franchise tag on him this year (costing them 17 million) to make sure Dupree stays in town for the 2020 season.

NFC: Markus Golden (72 total tackles, 10 sacks)

            Signing essentially a one year “prove it” deal with the New York Giants, he proved it, getting into the double-digit sack total, and being a bright spot on an underwhelming Giants defense. Golden should have some suitors but I think Jacksonville will be the place for him to go. Jacksonville just traded edge rusher Calais Campbell, and although Yannick Ngakoue was given the franchise tag, he has been outspoken about his desire to no longer be a Jaguar next season, which means they need a proven pass rusher immediately in Jacksonville. Josh Allen was a stud of a rookie last season and I expect a big season out of him in year two, but getting a complimentary edge rusher, in a position that is dangerous slim and hard to come by, is a must by Jacksonville. Hovering around 30 million in cap space, Goldens contract (short or long term) shouldn’t put in too much of a dent and allow them to make another move or two in the offseason. Looking at the Jaguars now, a team that was in the AFC championship game just two years ago, they are missing pillars of that once great defense, and seem to be in a rebuilding mode with massive question marks surrounding their quarterback situation for another offseason.