Another year has passed, another Tom Brady Super Bowl win as well, just like almost every sports betting platform predicted their NFL odds and now, well now it’s time to look forward to what the upcoming 2021 NFL season will bring. While the true hard-hitting action is still a few months away, team’s offices are already playing their own game. One that involves stacking up with the best available talent and cutting loose the player’s that don’t seem fit for the future. So what should we expect from the upcoming free agency market, especially since the franchise tag process has already begun and given some input into what to expect? Let’s dive into it.

DeShaun Watson vs. Houston vs. The World

Everybody is well aware that DeShaun Watson wants out of Houston. Whoever still doesn’t know about this probably lives under a rock far far away. The thing about moving Watson out of Houston is how much it will cost any team that is willing to pick him up. Yes, the man has enough talent to prove his worth anywhere and automatically make any team that much better and even a contender, but at what price should he be taken at? Getting Watson will not be a thing of money per se, but of players and draft picks.

Everyone knows that a team’s strength in the off season usually relies on two things, their cap space and their draft capital. By adding Watson, any team interested will surely have to be comfortable with taking a strong cap hit and maybe even seeing some of their best talent and premier draft picks go to Houston. Chicago, Miami and the Jets all standout as the top teams for Watson to go to, but with some great QB talents in this year’s draft, there are more chances we see Watson suit up or sit out the season with the Texans than moving away.

The New York Jets Will Actually Do Some Good

Being the second worst team in the league last season actually ended up paying big dividends for the green and white gang. While they missed out on Trevor Lawrence by giving the 1st pick of the draft to the Jaguars, because the Jets will be the Jets, they sit comfortably with the 2nd pick of the draft, a lot more draft capital and the second biggest cap space in the league. The Jets already did great by kicking Adam Gase to the curve and replacing him with powerhouse rookie coach Robert Saleh. Now it’s time for GM Joe Douglas and Saleh to get to work with stacking this team up.

While the draft is usually a place where teams go to look for future talents that can be worked on and groomed for glory, the Jets are in a spot where they can both look for those talents and also hit the free agency market hard to fill in whatever gaps they have. And yes, the Jets look like a pasta strainer at certain areas.

So what to do first? How about juicing up the OL with Joe Thuney? After that why not go for the best receivers still available in the market, especially after Allen Robinson was given the franchise tag by the Bears to keep him off the market? Kenny Golladay, Will Fuller and even Juju Smith-Schuster are still out there. To cap it all off, why not bring in one of Saleh’s main players in SF, Richard Sherman to take the role of the veteran who helps the newcomers succeed? The Jets have everything to succeed this season, the only thing that can stop them, is themselves basically.

The Covid-19 Pandemic Will Make This Market A Short Deal One

Just like with everything else in the world, the Coronavirus pandemic hit the NFL in many different and hard ways. With many teams being dealt hard hits to their cap space given the lack of real money coming in like usual, and while there will be big deals being handed out, like Dak Prescott’s with Dallas for example, expect short term contracts to be in hand this offseason. Teams will be looking to offer one or two year make it or break it deals before really diving into actual big money talks. This will help to make the 2022 free agent class that much juicier and with a hope of normality coming soon, also a time where real big money will be dealt.