We’re looking at all NFL team’s free agent moves (in and out) and their NFL Draft to see who got better and by how much -- setting the tone for analyzing them for the upcoming season for FF purposes and for betting evaluations on team over/unders, etc.
We had Grok list all the moves and we show them first and then Ross and I (RC) weigh in on what we see with all the roster moves -- how they affect 2025 only. And ultimately we pick a winner.
We’ll do two matchups per day, within each division seeded from the 2024 final standings, for 16 days...then we’ll take the 16 winners and accelerate the matchups after that and advance the best ‘offseason’ moves teams through to the ‘Super Bowl’, declaring a final winner.
Washington Commanders 2025 Free Agency Losses:
S Jeremy Chinn (Las Vegas Raiders)
CB Benjamin St-Juste (Free Agent)
WR K.J. Osborn (Free Agent)
OT Cornelius Lucas (Cleveland Browns)
LB Mykal Walker (Arizona Cardinals)
DE Clelin Ferrell (Free Agent)
Washington Commanders 2025 Free Agency Signings/Additions:
DT Javon Kinlaw (3 years, $45M, $30M guaranteed)
CB Jonathan Jones (2 years, $16M, $8M guaranteed)
DE Deatrich Wise Jr. (1 year, $5M, $2.5M guaranteed)
WR Michael Gallup (1 year, $6M, $2.5M guaranteed)
OL Laremy Tunsil (traded for)
OL Nate Herbig
DE Jacob Martin
WR Deebo Samuel (traded for)
Washington Commanders 2025 Rookie Draft Picks and Undrafted Free Agents:
OT Josh Conerly Jr. (1st Round, No. 29)
CB Trey Amos (2nd Round, No. 61)
WR Jaylin Lane (4th Round, No. 128)
LB Kain Medrano (6th Round, No. 205)
RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt (7th Round, No. 245)
OL Tim McKay (UDFA)
DT Ricky Barber (UDFA)
CB Fentrell Cypress (UDFA)
CB Car’lin Vigers (UDFA)
S Trey Rucker (UDFA)
S Robert McDaniel (UDFA)
LB Kam Arnold (UDFA)
WR Ja’Corey Brooks (UDFA)
LB Ale Kaho (UDFA)
RB Yoesph Carter (UDFA)
WR Keegan Jones (UDFA)
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Dallas Cowboys 2025 Free Agency Losses:
WR Brandin Cooks (New Orleans Saints)
DE DeMarcus Lawrence (Seattle Seahawks)
CB Jourdan Lewis (Jacksonville Jaguars)
QB Cooper Rush (Baltimore Ravens)
G Zack Martin (Retired)
OT Chuma Edoga (Free Agent)
LB Eric Kendricks (Free Agent)
RB Rico Dowdle (Free Agent)
Dallas Cowboys 2025 Free Agency Signings/Additions:
RB Javonte Williams (1 year, $3M, $1.5M guaranteed)
OL Robert Jones (1 year, $4.75M, $2M guaranteed)
DT Solomon Thomas (2 years, $8M, $4M guaranteed)
DE Payton Turner (1 year, $3M, $2M guaranteed)
LB Jack Sanborn (1 year, $2.5M, $1M guaranteed)
CB Kaiir Elam (Acquired via trade, contract not disclosed)
LB Kenneth Murray Jr. (Acquired via trade, contract not disclosed)
RB Miles Sanders (1 year, $2.5M, $1M guaranteed)
DE Dante Fowler Jr. (1 year, $8M, $4M guaranteed)
WR Parris Campbell (1 year, $2M, $0.5M guaranteed)
OT Hakeem Adeniji (1 year, $2M, $0.5M guaranteed)
OL Saahdiq Charles (1 year, $2M, $0.5M guaranteed)
QB Joe Milton III (Acquired via trade, contract not disclosed)
Dallas Cowboys 2025 Rookie Draft Picks and Undrafted Free Agents:
RG Tyler Booker (1st Round, No. 12)
DE Donovan Ezeiruaku (2nd Round, No. 43)
CB Shavon Revel Jr. (3rd Round, No. 75)
RB Jaydon Blue (5th Round, No. 147)
OL Ajani Cornelius (6th Round, No. 189)
RB Phil Mafah (7th Round, No. 222)
DT Tommy Akingbesote (7th Round, No. 238)
WR Traeshon Holden (UDFA)
CB Zion Childress (UDFA)
CB Bruce Harmon (UDFA)
TE Tyler Neville (UDFA)
TE Rivaldo Fairweather (UDFA)
LB Justin Barron (UDFA)
WR Josh Kelly (UDFA)
S Alijah Clark (UDFA)
S Mike Smith Jr. (UDFA)
Ross Jacobs’ analysis...
Washington Commanders Off-season Grade: C-
Washington's biggest loss was Chinn, but that's not a big deal. Their biggest "additions" were overpaying for Javon Kinlaw and trading for Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil...big names but the reality probably isn't as impactful. The draft brought them an OK tackle in Conerly and an OK corner in Amos.
I suppose the Commanders are better in theory, but these transactions leave a lot to be desired and I wouldn't be surprised if the toxicity of Deebo, Kinlaw, and Tunsil poisoned the locker room.
Dallas Cowboys Off-season Grade: C
The only real big loss for the Cowboys is Jourdan Lewis. He's become one of the better slot corners in the league, and the team was already low on corner depth. They weren't able to really add anyone of note in free agency, but they did make a lot of cheap depth signings particularly on the defensive line and at linebacker, two positions that were issues in 2024.
The draft brought Tyler Booker to reinforce the line and while I'm worried about his lack of athleticism, with the right scheme he might help turn Dallas into a monstrous run-blocking unit overnight. Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah weren't the flashy names at RB that fans wanted, but they should be effective if the line gels the way I think it might. Mafah in particular could be devastating on power runs up the middle. The team also snagged Ezeiruaku, a very solid, professional edge rusher, to replace Demarcus Lawrence and took a gamble on Shavon Revel's health. If he can recover he could be quite the steal at corner, arguably the Cowboy's biggest position of need long term.
Winner: Dallas Cowboys
I'm unimpressed by the big names Washington added, and while Dallas didn't do much in free agency, I like the potential of their draft class to make an immediate impact. I wouldn't be surprised if this group looks like a top 3-5 class by the end of 2025.
RC’s analysis...
Washington offseason comments:
The Commanders only real ‘loss’ this offseason was Jeremy Chinn at DB, but that wasn’t ‘the end of the world’ type of loss. All their other losses are all low/no impact names. They did sign some useful players back in Kinlaw, Jon Jones, and Wise...but none of them have been huge game changers, but they are useful/upgrades to the depth.
They did trade for Deebo and Laremy Tunsil to add to the depth. Not all my favorite names out there, but the additions in free agency or trade are way better to have for 2025 than what they had/lost.
Last year. Washington ‘killed it’ in the draft. This year, not so much. Conerly was a really good pick in the 1st-round...he’ll give ROI right away. Trey Amos at CB is fine, a help but not my favorite rookie CB. The rest of the draft has some hope but not likely 2025 impact players.
The names that came and went...a lot more body count of useful, better players coming in...just not my particular favorite players but they did lose almost nothing and gained 2-3-4 starters and 5-6-7+ useful players. So, Washington did get better this offseason.
Dallas offseason comments:
Dallas lost a lot of names from ‘the past’ but they weren’t really key/impact names in the current. I don’t see any real issues with what they let walk. but they did add several useful players back in free agency and trade -- no one real WOW signing/move, but it was a lot of small, smart bets. They got better in free agency, but more so for depth not frontline/impact players.
In the draft, they were again ‘economical’...taking good value, good/solid players. The more I look at their draft the more I like (not love) it.
An overall smart draft and wise players let go and savvy depth players brought in. Dallas may be trying to see what a roster of 50+ ‘C’ grade players can do in a season...does the depth matter if they don’t have the frontline impact guys enough to win?
RC’s WINNER: Dallas Cowboys
Both teams got better...got a lot of solid/depth/useful players, but I have to give it up to Dallas for the sheer volume of solid players added but also some smart gambles they took on some players to see if they could turn them around (Elam, Sanborn, Turner, Thomas, Murray)...and the Dallas really had a fine draft top-to-bottom, whereas Washington had a more spotty draft.
*Officially Moving on in the Tournament* Dallas moves on to the NFC East finals to face NYG.
