Pre Free Agency Washington Football Team Mock Offseason

With free agency just a few weeks away, and the window to tag prospects opening last week, I wanted to provide our readers with version two of my 2021 offseason plan.

You will see some familiar faces, and some significant changes, in my second mock offseason for the Washington Football Team.

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Salary Cap:

The reports of just where the 2021 salary cap will finally land have been all over the place, but I am sticking to my guns in saying I still believe it lands in the 190’s. For this scenario, I will go with 190M.

Current Washington Cap Space(with a projected $190M cap) - $48M

Cuts:

Alex Smith: Cap Savings $14M

*62M in 2021 cap space

Franchise Tag:

Brandon Scherff: $18M

Re-signing/New Deals:

Jonathan Allen - 4 years, 70M(8M cap hit for 2021)

*2M savings for 2021

Ronald Darby - 3 years, 27M(5M cap hit for 2021)

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2021 Free Agency:

Based on my projections, Washington will head into the open free agent market with $41M in cap space, and could add more if a long-term deal is worked out with Brandon Scherff before the July deadline.

Key Signings(these won’t be the only ones, but the major ones):

- Marcus Mariota QB LV - 2 years, 16M(with built in escalators that can take his annual salary to 12M/year).

*There have been trade talks centered around Mariota, but with built in escalators to his contract, that could make moving him hard. I ultimately think he ends up getting released, saving the Raiders 10M.

2021 cap hit of 8M

- Corey Davis WR TENN - 4 years, 44M

2021 cap hit of 6M

- Jayon Brown OLB TENN - 4 years, 42M

2021 cap hit of 5M

- Malik Hooker FS INDY - 2 years, 10M

2021 cap hit of 3M

*I expect a few more smaller free agent signings, leaving Washington with roughly 12-15M heading into the 2021 NFL Draft.

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2021 NFL Draft:

For my mock draft, I used The Draft Network’s mock draft simulator. You can see the draft results below.

https://thedraftnetwork.com/mockDraft/view

RD1(pick 19) - Zaven Collins LB Tulsa

* Collins is a do-everything off-the-ball linebacker with a non-stop motor. Against the run, Collins can stack blocks, shed and get to the ball carrier. If the play goes away from him, he will chase it down. In the passing game, he can carry a tight end vertically, drop high-hole, sink hook-to-curl...buzz flats and blitz off the edge. He’s about as complete as they come at his position in this draft class. He’s also a monster at 6’4” 260 pounds.

RD2(pick 51) - Rondale Moore WR Purdue

* Moore is a dynamic slot receiver with explosive short-area quickness, who excels in the open field with the ball in his hands. He’s also dangerous on jet sweeps and quick screens.

RD3(pick 74) - James Hudson OT Cinn

* Hudson is a developmental offensive tackle prospect with enormous upside. He’s long, athletic and shows a mean streak on tape. He can play the right or left side. It wouldn’t shock me to see him immediately take over as our swing tackle as a rookie.

RD3(pick 82) - Hunter Long TE Boston College

* Long is a versatile tight end who can line up in-line, or split out as a JOKER. He’s not a player who’s going to run away from defenders, but he’s savvy, and understands how to manipulate zone coverage and use his body against smaller defenders. He’s a very willing and able blocker in the run game. He should be a starter opposite Logan Thomas in two-tight sets.

RD4(pick 124) - Damar Hamlin S PITT

* Hamlin is a versatile defender who can play deep as a single high, or as a slot defender in sub packages. He adds special teams value out of the gate.

RD5(pick 164) - Jamie Newman QB Georgia

* The projections on Newman are all over the place, but most see him a developmental prospect who will need a year or two learning an NFL offense before he’s expected to contribute. I think round five is a bit late for him(I see him possibly going at the end of the third through mid fourth), but he sat out of the 2020 season, and looked very rusty at the Senior Bowl - so who knows.

RD7(pick 239) - Marco Wilson CB Florida

* Wilson bring some versatility as either an outside defender or slot CB to the defense. He should be able to stick on the 53 as a special teams guy out of the gate.

RD7(pick 241) - Malcolm Koonce EDGE Buffalo

* With Ryan Kerrigan and Ryan Anderson both projected to leave as free agents, Koonce can have a chance to stick in a reserve/special teams role for this team. He’s a high-motor guy with some intriguing physical skills.

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