The Beasts of the East

With the 2020 NFL draft only a few days away, NFL teams are breaking down major needs as well as inspecting the talent that they already have. The NFL East consists of the Philadelphia Eagles, the Washington Redskins, the New York Giants, and the Dallas Cowboys. Some teams have already made fantasy-relevant roster acquisitions in free agency, but most still have spots to be filled by the upcoming draft class. We will be looking at the team’s free agencies as well as what should be addressed from a fantasy perspective when the clock starts this Thursday. Let’s check out “ The Beasts in the East”. 

Philadelphia Eagles

Free Agency

• The Eagles made a decent amount of moves defensively which should help this team improve on that side of the ball. The only offensive move they made was resigning their backup QB, which is not necessarily relevant at this time. Fantasy wise their defense may prove to be a streamable defense this upcoming year. 

Draft Needs

• This is where the fantasy implications come into play. The Eagles need Wide Receivers. It is their top offensive need, as they had barely any depth as we could see last year. I believe the Eagles will either stay put at 21 and draft a receiver or move up to grab one of the top 3 at the position. It would not surprise me if they took their chance on more than one receiver in this draft class. Other offensive needs will be a Running Back, Offensive Line help, a backup tight end and possibly another QB late in the draft. If they do secure a Wide Receiver in the first round, I believe he will make a solid impact in his first year due to the state of their receiver corps. 

Washington Redskins

Free Agency

• The Redskins made plenty of moves during this year’s Free Agency. Definitely, nothing that would blow your socks off. The following are the main names you might recognize fantasy-wise: Richard Rogers, Peyton Barber, and J.D. McKissic. None of these players will make or break your team. The most important decision for the team was using the Franchise Tag on Brandon Scherff which will keep the line as strong as possible for at least this year. 

Draft Needs

• The Redskins are positioned to have a solid draft, but not necessarily from a fantasy perspective. Team needs are mainly defensive and their first-round pick will almost certainly be from that side of the ball. But eventually they will need to address the offense as well. They do need to add depth at Wide Receiver, Tight End and the Offensive Line. Nobody expected Terry Mclaurin to be what he turned into, so we can’t write off later draft picks. We have also seen that the Tight End position has had value in the past( Jordan Reed), so depending on who they pick that player may have future value. Offensive Line depth is underrated and will almost certainly help all Offensive players as long as the picks pan out on a Pro level. The Redskins pick is definitely something to keep an eye on and see how they progress through this year’s offseason( if it happens). 

New York Giants

Free Agency

• Like most of the NFC East, the Giants free agency was not all that exciting from a fantasy perspective. Notable names would include Dion Lewis, Colt McCoy, and Levine Toilolo.  Dion Lewis has been a solid fantasy asset in the past, but I think that time has passed. He could prove to be a solid backup for Saquon, but that’s mainly where his value stays. Toilolo offers value as a blocker, and he has never been reliable on a fantasy spectrum especially with Evan Engram being the top Tight End. I believe the Giants top fantasy assets are already on the team. 

Draft Needs

• The Giants top need is to help fortify the Offensive Line. That will almost certainly be their first-round pick, as well as drafting a center in the middle rounds of the draft. This may not look great from a fantasy perspective but it really is. It will add value to Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones right off the bat. From there the Receivers and Tight Ends will be helped because Jones will have extra time to make better decisions( hopefully). The other main position they will address is Wide Receiver. Not necessarily because it is a bad situation, but mainly because added depth can’t hurt. They already have Shepard, Slayton, and Tate. So it will be kind of difficult for the possible player to make an immediate impact. The Giants draft will bring value, just maybe not in a direct sense right away. 

Dallas Cowboys

Free Agency

• The Cowboys were the most active from a fantasy perspective this offseason. Resigning Amari Cooper, Dak Prescott, and Blake Jarwin all proved to be solid moves. Amari will continue to be the WR1. Dak will remain a QB1 with the talent he has on the team and Jarwin will now be the team’s TE1 as long as they don’t add a big name later this year. All is good for the Dallas Cowboys offensively speaking. 

Draft Needs

• Unlike most of the teams in the conference, Dallas doesn’t need all that much on the offensive side of the ball.  Their team needs consist of mostly defensive needs. Of course, there will be offensive acquisitions, but I believe they will not be in the early rounds of the draft. Like in any situation, we will need to evaluate those players after the draft. The WR3 role is up for grabs, which means it could very well be a rookie who grabs it. We will just have to wait and see. 

We hope you all have a great time watching the Draft. We also hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy. We will get through this together.

Looking for some draft help? Make sure to check out AverageJoeNation.com and Pre-Order our 2020 Draft Loadout! Also check out the podcast via Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, Spotify, and iHeartRadio.