Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys were bound to lose several key contributors from their NFC East winning squad last season as many top players were set to hit free agency. Dallas ultimately had to pick and choose which players to retain and who to let walk and it was a mistake to let go of Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson.
Amari Cooper is one of the best route-runners in football and has elevated Dak Prescott’s on-field performance. Dallas gave Cooper to the Browns in exchange for a 5th round pick along with a swap of 6th rounders. Yes, Cooper was expensive, however he was a vital part of the Cowboys’ offense and Dak is not the same quarterback when Cooper isn’t on the field. Jerry Jones should have let Ezekiel Elliott walk who isn’t even the best back on the Cowboys many Sundays.
Dallas also let rising star Cedrick Wilson walk and opted instead to sign Michael Gallup to a five-year deal worth $57.5 million. Wilson would have been significantly cheaper than Gallup and showed last season he could put up similar production. Gallup is also recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 17 vs Arizona.
It also doesn’t help that Dallas is losing two starting offensive linemen in Connor Williams and La’el Collins. Losing two key weapons and two solid lineman is a tough blow for any team so I wouldn’t be shocked if Dallas is dethroned in the NFC East. Randy Gregory is also gone which means teams can shift their focus to doubling Demarcus Lawrence in pass protection.
The Cowboys have drafted as well as any team in the league over the past several years, the downside to that is eventually all your good draft picks are due for contracts and want to be paid top dollar. The division is also getting tougher and Mike McCarthy’s clock management hasn’t gotten any better. Their early playoff loss to the 49ers hurts even more because that may have been their best shot at making a deep playoff run.
New England Patriots
I would argue that no team won big in free agency last year more than New England however the same cannot be said this time around. The Patriots returned to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus as Mac Jones showed he can be the long term successor to Tom Brady. Jones benefited from a strong supporting cast as a rookie, however things may get more difficult come year two.
For starters, Jones is losing his offensive coordinator with Josh McDaniels leaving to take the head coaching position in Las Vegas. Jones will also be losing two of his starting offensive linemen in Ted Karras and Shaq Mason. Karras signed with the Bengals to help fix their dreadful offensive line while Mason was traded to Tampa Bay where he will be reunited with his former QB. Jones isn’t particularly mobile so offensive line play is that much more important to Jones’s development and the Patriots offense.
As mentioned earlier, New England let star CB J.C. Jackson walk after Jackson has proven to be one of the best corners in football. This move surprised me because cornerback is the one position that Bill Belichick has always been willing to pay real money for. Whether it’s Darrelle Revis, Aqib Talib or Stephon Gilmore, Belichick has always been willing to do whatever it takes to have elite talent at the position.
If there’s anyone, I trust to make the right decision for an NFL franchise, it’s Bill Belichick. With that being said, the AFC is getting better than ever, and other teams are loading up on talent while the Pats are letting key players walk. I still expect the Patriots to be playoff contenders, however the division is only getting further out of reach with Buffalo becoming a juggernaut.
Atlanta Falcons
I could have the Falcons here solely for trading Matt Ryan for a 3rd round pick and taking on a record $40.5 million in dead money however I already stated that I would not include QB transactions for this list. With that being said, the rest of the Falcons offseason hasn’t been much better. Atlanta.
Things started off poorly when star WR Calvin Ridley received a full season suspension for gambling on NFL games. Ridley was probably gone anyways but this hurts Ridley’s trade value and it’s not like the Falcons have gotten good value in return for other stars that have been traded in the past 12 months. The Falcons also lost an underrated weapon in Russell Gage to division rival Tampa Bay leaving the Falcons with the worst WR room in the NFL by far.
Atlanta also lost arguably the most underrated player in football in Foye Oluokun who led the league in tackles last season. Oluokun is a reliable presence in the middle of the defense that Atlanta won’t be able to replace.
The only upside for Atlanta is that they have a clear sense of direction after spending the past couple of seasons towing the line of trying to be competitive and rebuilding. I’m hoping Atlanta isn’t planning on drafting a QB this year because this roster is abysmal and there is a good chance Marcus Mariota eventually gets hurt which would force the Falcons to throw their rookie QB into a bad situation and set him up to fail. This offseason blow up could end up with Atlanta landing a top QB prospect next year and a return to relevance but rebuilding a team is a lot easier said than done.