Here's The Best NFL Team a Salary Cap Can Buy: Offense

It is the challenge of every NFL front office to draft and sign the best players and still remain under the salary cap.  A team can usually only sign one or two highly priced free agents every year.

I'm picking my ultimate fantasy team but with the restriction of staying within the salary cap. This year's cap is $127 million.

I value young players just entering their prime over older veterans who have one or two prime years left.  The younger players, unless they are recent top 10 picks, are cheaper than accomplished veterans in their early 30's.

I also try my best to avoid players who have had multiple off-field issues or who come across as me-first players.

When I build my offense, I allow myself to have a franchise quarterback, one dominant wide receiver, and a couple of well-above-average offensive linemen.

I focus my dollars on the passing game rather than a power running game because that is the trend in today's NFL. The last Hall of Fame-caliber running back to win the Super Bowl was Marshall Faulk in 1999 with the St. Louis Rams.

Also, elite wide receivers tend to have more prime years than elite running backs (ask people who play in fantasy keeper leagues).

Quarterbacks

Philip Rivers- estimated cap figure: $9 million. Age 27. 

Rivers passed for just over 4,000 yards and threw for 34 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions in 2008.

Rivers' youth, playoff experience, and prolific passing numbers make him my choice as the quarterback I would build my team around. 

His gutsy performance in the 2007 AFC championship game solidified his status as the unquestioned leader of his team.

Rivers will be looking for an extension this season and is worthy of the eight-year, $100 million contract he's seeking.

Backups: Troy Smith, Matt Flynn ($1 million estimated total cap figure).

Running Backs

Matt Forte- estimated cap figure: $773,533. Age 23.

Forte proved that he can handle the load as the lead back by gaining over 1,200 yards and leading the team in receptions and touchdowns.

His versatility allows him to be on the field in passing situations and is a much cheaper alternative to Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew, and Michael Turner.

Felix Jones-estimated cap figure: $1.5 million. Age 22.

In today's NFL, it helps to spread the running load to a change-of-pace back and Jones fits the bill nicely. 

In games as Dallas' change-of-pace back, he averaged almost nine yards per carry and scored three touchdowns.

He is also useful as a kick returner.

Backups: Shonn Greene, Jacob Hester ($1 million estimated total cap figure).

Fullback

Le'Ron McClain- estimated cap figure: $500,000. Age 24

McClain filled in for injured running backs Willis McGahee and Ray Rice and led the Ravens in rushing last season.

Wide Receivers

Andre Johnson- estimated cap figure: $6 million. Age 28 by the start of the season.

Johnson led the league in receptions and yards last season.  Let's see what he can do with a franchise quarterback tossing him the ball.

Dwayne Bowe- estimated cap figure: $1 million. Age 24.

Bowe had 1,000 yards with a bunch of second rate quarterbacks passing him the ball. He will improve each season with Rivers.

Backups: Wes Welker, Devery Henderson, Demetrius Byrd ($5.5 million estimated total cap figure)

Tight Ends

Chris Cooley- estimated cap figure: $2.6 million. Age 27 by the start of the season.

Cooley posted career highs in receptions and yards last year but only had one touchdown. 

The Washington Post reported the Cooley was double-teamed consistently over the team's final 12 games.  That should not be an issue in this offense.

Backups: Anthony Fasano, Zach Miller ($1 million estimated total cap figure).

Left Tackles

Ryan Clady- estimated cap figure: $2.1 million.  Age 23 one week before the season starts.

Clady is sometimes overlooked in favor of Joe Thomas and Jake Long but is just as good as those players and considerably cheaper.

Backup: Chris Williams ($500,000 estimated total cap figure).

Left Guards

Arron Sears- estimated cap figure: $500,000. Age 24.

Sears has started all 31 games in his career for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at left guard, and he's considered to be one of the best young guards in the league.

Backup: Carl Nicks ($400,000 total estimated cap figure).

Center

Nick Mangold- estimated cap figure: $1.6 million. Age 25.

He has started every single game from day one.  Some consider him to already be the best center in football.  Who wouldn't take a legitimate top five center for less than $2 million?

Backup: None

Right Guard

Jahri Evans- estimated cap figure: $2.792 million. Age 25.

Just like Mangold, Evans has started all 48 games in his career.  Evans is unique as a right guard in that he is an excellent pass protector.

Backup: Mark Setterstrom ($500,000 estimated total cap figure).

Right Tackle

Eric Winston- estimated cap figure: $3.2 million. Age 25.

There aren't a whole lot of really good right tackles in the NFL, but Winston is one of them.  He, along with Evans, help to provide Rivers an excellent pocket on the right side.

Backup: Ryan O'Callaghan ($510,000 total estimated cap figure).

So far, I have spent about $42 million on my offense. That's not bad at all since that leaves me about $85 million for my defense and specialists.

My frugal spending on this year's offense is indicative of the fact that I need to save money for the next couple of years.

Rivers' cap number will likely soar next season to anywhere between $11-16 million when I sign him to a Big Ben-type deal.

Most of my offensive players are still in their rookie contracts which means I am getting a bargain right now. 

Over the next couple of years, I'm going to want to lock up players such as Clady, Mangold, and possibly Forte to long, rich contracts.