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detroit1811
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So not that it means much of anything, but here's what I would look to do entering the off-season to make steps to improving this team for this year and into the future. I know we will not be big spenders in free agency this year, and that's understandable considering the state of this team. With that said with the salary cap likely to be less then last year, and potentially a lot less, I think you will be able to sign guys to cheaper deals then a normal year. With that said making a small splash or two is definitely worth considering.
2021 Cap Cuts
So for the start of this, with numbers being all over the place, I am setting the cap in this hypothetical scenario at 190 million. In that scenario that puts us at about 4 million in cap space where things stand today
Cut Justin Coleman (save 5mil)
Cut Danny Shelton (save 4mil)
Cut Nick Williams (save 4.7mil)
Cut Desmond Trufant (save 6.2mil)
Cut Joe Dahl (save2.9mil)
Cut Jesse James (save 2.2mil)
Cut Chase Daniels (2.3mil)
Cut Christian Jones (save 2.6mil)
Trade Trey Flowers (we save 3.2mil) and Jamie Collins (we save 6.7mil) to Miami for a 2nd rounder this year. Brian Flores coached both in New England and they have big needs at pass rusher and ILB this year. They have two 1st's and two 2nd's, plus could even trade down from #3 to get more picks. They could easily part with a 2nd. They get good veteran players who are still in their prime. They have the cap space to take it on and they need to push themselves over the top to get into the playoffs as they were close last year. Their deals are actually reasonable for Miami with us taking on the dead money from the signing bonus.
All that would save us about 40mil against the cap and give us 44mil in cap space going into free agency.
Re-Signings
Franchise Golladay (16mil)
Romeo Okwara (3 years 27mil, year one cap hit 5mil)
Jamal Agnew (2 years 6mil, year one cap hit 2.5mil)
Jarad Davis (1 year 2.5mil)
Don Mulbach (1 year 1 mil)
That would take up 27mil in cap space leaving us with 18mil. You can either flip Golladay for a day 2 pick to a team like the Giants, or try to re-sign him long term and lower that cap hit. In this scenario we trade him because we are building for the future and don't wanna tie up that much cap space on a WR that will be 30 by the time we are ready to compete.
Flip Golladay to the Giants for a future (2022) 2nd rounder and a 4th this year . The Giants are desperate for a big bodied WR for Daniel Jones, and they tried trading for Golladay last year at the deadline, so you know they really like him. I really don't think it is that far out there. That give us back the 16mil against the cap and we are sitting at 33mil.
Free Agent Signings
Trey Hendrickson (4 years 40mil 1st year cap hit 6mil)
Desmond King III (1 year 4mil)
Malik Hooker (1 year 2mil)
Keelan Cole (2 years 10mil cap hit 3.5mil year one)
Rashad Higgins (3 years 18mil cap hit 4mil year one)
Haasan Reddick (1 year 5.5mil)
Dan Campbell knows Hendrickson from his time in New Orleans so he would be very familiar with him. He was a little slow to develop, but played well in 2019 as a rotational piece. He got the full time job this year and broke out. I think there is gonna be value in that because he won't command top dollar, but if he continues to develop we would have a pretty damn good player. Desmond King put a lot of good tape out there early in his career, but he's been on a tail spin for a couple years now. He was one of the best nickel corner in the NFL at one point and is still very young. Hooker has been killed by injuries his entire career, but when he plays he plays well. He is gonna go somewhere where he can start and rehab his value. I think he's worth a shot, low risk high reward. Keelan Cole was constantly overlooked in Jacksonville, but always seemed to make plays when he was out there. He would make for a great #3, IMO and if it works out here could stick around after thee re-build. Higgins is a guy in Cleveland who was constantly overlooked. He is not flashy by any means, but he is very reliable. We have to put something on the field at WR and him and Cole with Cephus is at least a starting point heading into the draft. Hasaan Reddick is another guy with potential. He was a horrible players for most of his time in Arizona, but something flipped in the 2nd half of this season and he turned it around. Now those guys can be sketchy, but if he is willing to sign a 1 year deal to prove his value he is another one who could become a part of the future if has success.
This leaves us with 8mil in cap space heading into the draft.
2021 NFL Draft
#7 ***TRADE*** New England needs a QB and they are going to be desperate. They leapfrog Carolina and Denver to go get their guy and give up a 15, 46, and a 3rd in 2022
#15 Micah Parsons, OLB -- We need a game changing LB'er and Parson can be just that. I also like Penn States history of churning out really good LB'ers. I know this might be a little bit of a reach, but with 5 QB's potentially going before here, 3 WR's and Kyle Pitts, that is gonna push a lot of talent down the board.
#33 Kadarius Toney, WR -- We need a playmaker at WR. This guy might slip to the top of the 2nd, and he would add an element to this offense that we currently lack. This is from Daniel Jerimiah
Toney is a versatile, explosive playmaker. He lines up in the slot and does a lot of damage on fly sweeps and seam routes. His combination of play strength, burst and wiggle makes him difficult to get on the ground once the ball is in his hands. He doesn't run a wide variety of routes, but he has the skill set to develop in that area. He's dangerous in the return game because of his athleticism and lack of fear. Overall, Toney isn't quite as big as Deebo Samuel, but I envision him playing the same role at the next level.
#34 ***TRADE*** Nick Bolton, ILB -- We need LB'ers on this team. I know back-to-back trades in unlikely, but hey this is hypothetical. I really love what I see from Bolton. Adding him and Parsons can go a long way in turning this defense around. From Daniel Jerimiah below
Bolton is a slightly undersized linebacker with excellent speed and explosiveness. He has the lateral quicks to avoid blocks, fill and chest up running backs. He has stopping power as a tackler. He improved his take-on skills as the 2020 season progressed. He has big-time lateral range because of his burst/speed. He needs to improve as a zone dropper in coverage, though. He is late to anticipate and fill throwing windows. He's much more instinctive in the run game. However, he does have the athleticism to match up and mirror tight ends. He is a dynamic blitzer. Overall, I love Bolton's speed and energy, but he does need to improve in zone coverage. If he polishes that aspect of his game, he could emerge as a top-tier starter at the next level.
#41 ***TRADE*** to Jacksonville for #33
#46 ***TRADE*** to Jets for #34
#50 Daviyon Nixon, DT-- I'll be the first to admit, I don't know a whole lot about the incoming 2021 class. I start to dive into it a little more around this time, but this is a guy who I see keeps popping up. We can really use some interior help and the DT class is a weak class. Nixon seems like a guy with a lot of upside who can be that pass rushing presence on the inside for us.
#72 Paris Ford, S -- Most teams use three safety packages quite a bit. We also need some playmakers in the back end. Here is a quick write up I found on him.
Ford has proven he can work as a deep safety and in multiple coverage schemes. His new 2020 tape that proves he can work better in these zones with his athleticism and ball skills is a huge part of why his stock has improved. He is no longer just viewed as a box safety that can come downhill and make big tackles. On the contrary, Ford has shown he is capable in that role, in the slot, and as a deep safety in both Cover 1 and Cover 2 schemes. That versatility will be viewed as a huge plus among NFL teams.
#88 Deonte Brown, OG -- We need some interior help and I'd rather get another young guy in the mix. This guy is massive at 6'4" 350. Even with that size he still has some good mobility, and profiles to excel in a power run scheme. Obviously we are gonna want to run the ball and Swift running behind him Ragnow and Decker on off the left side could be a solid start. This is from the draft network
Starting in 24 of 46 career games, Brown possesses a beefy and wide-bodied frame with a well above average amount of strength at the point of attack. Physically, he is an effective run blocker with lots of attractive skills. Aggressive in the running game, he shows high strength levels and awareness. In Alabama?s downhill run scheme, he?s allowed to stay on track and road grade any target that?s directly in front of him. Easily able to move defenders and dislodging them out of gaps, he?s best suited in a man/power-based blocking scheme. As a pass protector, he?s comfortable with playing within his parameters and is effective in slide or man protections. When in single block situations, he has the foot quickness in order to match and mirror the movements of interior defenders. Having an anchor that?s nearly impossible to knock over, his wide frame also enables him to engulf and cover up rushers. Brown is able to negate interior pressure effectively.
#102 ***TRADE*** to Jets
#106 ***TRADE*** to Jacksonville
Its way too early for me to early for me to go into more detail then this. Fill out the draft and UDFA with maybe some more depth at WR, and CB, and maybe even think about grabbing a kicker.
2021 NFL Depth Chart
Offense
QB - Jared Goff, David Blough
RB - DeAndre Swift, Kerryon Johnson
FB - Nick Bawden
WR - Kadarius Toney, Rashad Higgins, Keelan Cole, Quintez Cephus, Jamal Agnew
TE T.J. Hockenson, Hunter Bryant
LT - Taylor Decker, Tyrell Crosby
LG - Deonte Brown, Logan Stenburg
C - Frank Ragnow
RG - Jonah Jackson
RT - Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Matt Nelson
Defense
DE - Trey Hendrickson, Romeo Okwara, Julian Okwara, Austin Bryant
DT - Dashawn Hand, Daviyon Nixon, John Penisini, Jashon Cornell
OLB - Hasaan Reddick, Micah Parsons
ILB - Nick Bolton, Jarad Davis, Jahlani Tavai
CB - Jeff Okudah, Amani Oruwariye, Desmond King,
S - Tracy Walker, Malik Hooker, Paris Ford, Will Harris, C.J. Moore
Special Teams
K - Draft Pick/UDFA
P - Jack Fox
LS Don Mulbach
KR - Jamal Agnew
PR - Jamal Agnew
Obviously there is more pieces needed to fill out the roster. Those pieces can be had off waivers/UDFA/FA's. We could potentially need a little more cap space to fill out the roster and sign draft picks as I had 8mil left after Free Agency. If need you can restructure someone. Convert some of Goff's base salary to a bonus if needed and spread if out over future years. Obviously that's not ideal because if we do cut him down the lineit leaves more money behind, but we can if needed.
Honestly I don't think this would be a horrible roster. Obviously this isn't a playoff roster by any means, but there is a lot of youth and upside and we would be going into the 2022 draft with 2 picks in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rounds.
2021 Cap Cuts
So for the start of this, with numbers being all over the place, I am setting the cap in this hypothetical scenario at 190 million. In that scenario that puts us at about 4 million in cap space where things stand today
Cut Justin Coleman (save 5mil)
Cut Danny Shelton (save 4mil)
Cut Nick Williams (save 4.7mil)
Cut Desmond Trufant (save 6.2mil)
Cut Joe Dahl (save2.9mil)
Cut Jesse James (save 2.2mil)
Cut Chase Daniels (2.3mil)
Cut Christian Jones (save 2.6mil)
Trade Trey Flowers (we save 3.2mil) and Jamie Collins (we save 6.7mil) to Miami for a 2nd rounder this year. Brian Flores coached both in New England and they have big needs at pass rusher and ILB this year. They have two 1st's and two 2nd's, plus could even trade down from #3 to get more picks. They could easily part with a 2nd. They get good veteran players who are still in their prime. They have the cap space to take it on and they need to push themselves over the top to get into the playoffs as they were close last year. Their deals are actually reasonable for Miami with us taking on the dead money from the signing bonus.
All that would save us about 40mil against the cap and give us 44mil in cap space going into free agency.
Re-Signings
Franchise Golladay (16mil)
Romeo Okwara (3 years 27mil, year one cap hit 5mil)
Jamal Agnew (2 years 6mil, year one cap hit 2.5mil)
Jarad Davis (1 year 2.5mil)
Don Mulbach (1 year 1 mil)
That would take up 27mil in cap space leaving us with 18mil. You can either flip Golladay for a day 2 pick to a team like the Giants, or try to re-sign him long term and lower that cap hit. In this scenario we trade him because we are building for the future and don't wanna tie up that much cap space on a WR that will be 30 by the time we are ready to compete.
Flip Golladay to the Giants for a future (2022) 2nd rounder and a 4th this year . The Giants are desperate for a big bodied WR for Daniel Jones, and they tried trading for Golladay last year at the deadline, so you know they really like him. I really don't think it is that far out there. That give us back the 16mil against the cap and we are sitting at 33mil.
Free Agent Signings
Trey Hendrickson (4 years 40mil 1st year cap hit 6mil)
Desmond King III (1 year 4mil)
Malik Hooker (1 year 2mil)
Keelan Cole (2 years 10mil cap hit 3.5mil year one)
Rashad Higgins (3 years 18mil cap hit 4mil year one)
Haasan Reddick (1 year 5.5mil)
Dan Campbell knows Hendrickson from his time in New Orleans so he would be very familiar with him. He was a little slow to develop, but played well in 2019 as a rotational piece. He got the full time job this year and broke out. I think there is gonna be value in that because he won't command top dollar, but if he continues to develop we would have a pretty damn good player. Desmond King put a lot of good tape out there early in his career, but he's been on a tail spin for a couple years now. He was one of the best nickel corner in the NFL at one point and is still very young. Hooker has been killed by injuries his entire career, but when he plays he plays well. He is gonna go somewhere where he can start and rehab his value. I think he's worth a shot, low risk high reward. Keelan Cole was constantly overlooked in Jacksonville, but always seemed to make plays when he was out there. He would make for a great #3, IMO and if it works out here could stick around after thee re-build. Higgins is a guy in Cleveland who was constantly overlooked. He is not flashy by any means, but he is very reliable. We have to put something on the field at WR and him and Cole with Cephus is at least a starting point heading into the draft. Hasaan Reddick is another guy with potential. He was a horrible players for most of his time in Arizona, but something flipped in the 2nd half of this season and he turned it around. Now those guys can be sketchy, but if he is willing to sign a 1 year deal to prove his value he is another one who could become a part of the future if has success.
This leaves us with 8mil in cap space heading into the draft.
2021 NFL Draft
#7 ***TRADE*** New England needs a QB and they are going to be desperate. They leapfrog Carolina and Denver to go get their guy and give up a 15, 46, and a 3rd in 2022
#15 Micah Parsons, OLB -- We need a game changing LB'er and Parson can be just that. I also like Penn States history of churning out really good LB'ers. I know this might be a little bit of a reach, but with 5 QB's potentially going before here, 3 WR's and Kyle Pitts, that is gonna push a lot of talent down the board.
#33 Kadarius Toney, WR -- We need a playmaker at WR. This guy might slip to the top of the 2nd, and he would add an element to this offense that we currently lack. This is from Daniel Jerimiah
Toney is a versatile, explosive playmaker. He lines up in the slot and does a lot of damage on fly sweeps and seam routes. His combination of play strength, burst and wiggle makes him difficult to get on the ground once the ball is in his hands. He doesn't run a wide variety of routes, but he has the skill set to develop in that area. He's dangerous in the return game because of his athleticism and lack of fear. Overall, Toney isn't quite as big as Deebo Samuel, but I envision him playing the same role at the next level.
#34 ***TRADE*** Nick Bolton, ILB -- We need LB'ers on this team. I know back-to-back trades in unlikely, but hey this is hypothetical. I really love what I see from Bolton. Adding him and Parsons can go a long way in turning this defense around. From Daniel Jerimiah below
Bolton is a slightly undersized linebacker with excellent speed and explosiveness. He has the lateral quicks to avoid blocks, fill and chest up running backs. He has stopping power as a tackler. He improved his take-on skills as the 2020 season progressed. He has big-time lateral range because of his burst/speed. He needs to improve as a zone dropper in coverage, though. He is late to anticipate and fill throwing windows. He's much more instinctive in the run game. However, he does have the athleticism to match up and mirror tight ends. He is a dynamic blitzer. Overall, I love Bolton's speed and energy, but he does need to improve in zone coverage. If he polishes that aspect of his game, he could emerge as a top-tier starter at the next level.
#41 ***TRADE*** to Jacksonville for #33
#46 ***TRADE*** to Jets for #34
#50 Daviyon Nixon, DT-- I'll be the first to admit, I don't know a whole lot about the incoming 2021 class. I start to dive into it a little more around this time, but this is a guy who I see keeps popping up. We can really use some interior help and the DT class is a weak class. Nixon seems like a guy with a lot of upside who can be that pass rushing presence on the inside for us.
#72 Paris Ford, S -- Most teams use three safety packages quite a bit. We also need some playmakers in the back end. Here is a quick write up I found on him.
Ford has proven he can work as a deep safety and in multiple coverage schemes. His new 2020 tape that proves he can work better in these zones with his athleticism and ball skills is a huge part of why his stock has improved. He is no longer just viewed as a box safety that can come downhill and make big tackles. On the contrary, Ford has shown he is capable in that role, in the slot, and as a deep safety in both Cover 1 and Cover 2 schemes. That versatility will be viewed as a huge plus among NFL teams.
#88 Deonte Brown, OG -- We need some interior help and I'd rather get another young guy in the mix. This guy is massive at 6'4" 350. Even with that size he still has some good mobility, and profiles to excel in a power run scheme. Obviously we are gonna want to run the ball and Swift running behind him Ragnow and Decker on off the left side could be a solid start. This is from the draft network
Starting in 24 of 46 career games, Brown possesses a beefy and wide-bodied frame with a well above average amount of strength at the point of attack. Physically, he is an effective run blocker with lots of attractive skills. Aggressive in the running game, he shows high strength levels and awareness. In Alabama?s downhill run scheme, he?s allowed to stay on track and road grade any target that?s directly in front of him. Easily able to move defenders and dislodging them out of gaps, he?s best suited in a man/power-based blocking scheme. As a pass protector, he?s comfortable with playing within his parameters and is effective in slide or man protections. When in single block situations, he has the foot quickness in order to match and mirror the movements of interior defenders. Having an anchor that?s nearly impossible to knock over, his wide frame also enables him to engulf and cover up rushers. Brown is able to negate interior pressure effectively.
#102 ***TRADE*** to Jets
#106 ***TRADE*** to Jacksonville
Its way too early for me to early for me to go into more detail then this. Fill out the draft and UDFA with maybe some more depth at WR, and CB, and maybe even think about grabbing a kicker.
2021 NFL Depth Chart
Offense
QB - Jared Goff, David Blough
RB - DeAndre Swift, Kerryon Johnson
FB - Nick Bawden
WR - Kadarius Toney, Rashad Higgins, Keelan Cole, Quintez Cephus, Jamal Agnew
TE T.J. Hockenson, Hunter Bryant
LT - Taylor Decker, Tyrell Crosby
LG - Deonte Brown, Logan Stenburg
C - Frank Ragnow
RG - Jonah Jackson
RT - Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Matt Nelson
Defense
DE - Trey Hendrickson, Romeo Okwara, Julian Okwara, Austin Bryant
DT - Dashawn Hand, Daviyon Nixon, John Penisini, Jashon Cornell
OLB - Hasaan Reddick, Micah Parsons
ILB - Nick Bolton, Jarad Davis, Jahlani Tavai
CB - Jeff Okudah, Amani Oruwariye, Desmond King,
S - Tracy Walker, Malik Hooker, Paris Ford, Will Harris, C.J. Moore
Special Teams
K - Draft Pick/UDFA
P - Jack Fox
LS Don Mulbach
KR - Jamal Agnew
PR - Jamal Agnew
Obviously there is more pieces needed to fill out the roster. Those pieces can be had off waivers/UDFA/FA's. We could potentially need a little more cap space to fill out the roster and sign draft picks as I had 8mil left after Free Agency. If need you can restructure someone. Convert some of Goff's base salary to a bonus if needed and spread if out over future years. Obviously that's not ideal because if we do cut him down the lineit leaves more money behind, but we can if needed.
Honestly I don't think this would be a horrible roster. Obviously this isn't a playoff roster by any means, but there is a lot of youth and upside and we would be going into the 2022 draft with 2 picks in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rounds.
