Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles won the division last year and given the history of the NFC East that means they are unlikely to win it again, but they still look like the best team in the division. Last year wasn’t great on offense with their offensive line going through injury issues and their OC seemingly in over his head. Nick Siranni replaced his friend Kevin Patulo at OC with Sean Manninon, a guy who’s barely into his coaching career after a long career as a backup QB. Mannion is an unknown commodity as a play caller, but he can’t be much worse than what they had.
It will be interesting to see Jalen Hurts fit into Sean Mannion’s offense given Mannion is coming from Green Bay and Hurts doesn’t feel like a great fit in that style. The team also traded AJ Brown away and the best they can do to replace him is hope either Dontayvion Wicks, rookie Mekai Lemon, or free agent Hollywood Brown step into a prominent role. DeVonta Smith is going to be the new WR1 in this offense and he’s definitely talented enough to be that guy. It’s the group behind him that comes with questions. Dallas Goedert returns at TE and they drafted Eli Stowers, a truly elite athlete who has been called “unplayable” at this point, that’s not good. The passing game needs players to step up; the bigger question is whether Jalen Hurts can evolve as a QB and become the passer they need to make the offense work.
The offensive line was MASH unit last season, and it started with RT Lane Johnson and LG Landon Dickerson. When healthy those two are two of the best at their positions in the league and the dropoff to their backups is severe. LT Jordan Mailata had his worst year since he became a starter, and they are hoping he bounces back. C Cam Juergens is good, but the jury is still out on RG Tyler Steen. The biggest loss was offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. He left because they are moving to a new system and he was having to take a backseat to the new offensive staff. If the line has injury issues like last year or really misses Stoutland, things will go south quickly in Philly.
RB Saquon Barkley did his best behind a bad offensive line and in an offense that wasn’t exactly hitting on all cylinders. He had over 1100 yards but after his 2000-yard season a year earlier, it was a disappointing outcome. He’s still one of the most talented runners in football and Sean Mannion should be focused on getting the most out of him. Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley are solid backups.
The defensive front for the Eagles has some of the best talent in the league. DT Jordan Davis stepped up last season when Jalen Carter was banged up and he played exceptionally well. The Eagles gave Davis a new contract and now it’s Carter’s turn to come back from his injury and show how great he can be. They gave Carter a new contract just before training camp and now he needs to stay healthy and show why he deserved it. Moro Ojomo stepped in for Milton Williams last season and played pretty well. Those three up front can be a dominate group.
The LB group can be great. ILB Zack Baun has been fantastic in Vic Fangio’s defense being used in many different ways. Jihad Campbell joins him as a full-time starter in year two and he’s another versatile LB who can be used all over the formation by Fangio. The team traded for Jonathan Greenard after losing Jaelen Phillips in free agency. Greenard was banged up last year but he’s very good when healthy. Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith Jr. are two younger edge rushers the Eagles will be counting on opposite Greenard. Both are talented players who fill specific roles.
CB Quinyon Mitchell is emerging as one of the best in the game and they decided to get him some help, or at least they hope they got help. The other outside CB spot was a sore spot last year and they signed Riq Woolen to take the job. If he can hold it down, it allows Cooper DeJean to go back to being the nickel corner and this year the team plans on DeJean being a safety when they aren’t playing nickel. Marcus Epps and Andrew Makuba will be the other safeties the team uses. The team hopes with Mitchell, Woolen, and DeJean they can cover for any deficiencies they have at the other spots in the secondary.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys offense was fantastic last season under first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer and first-time offensive coordinator Klayton Adams. On the other hand, the defense was atrocious and that’s why the team’s record wasn’t very good. Schottenheimer brought in Christian Parker from the Eagles to fix the defense and they made some significant moves on that side of the ball.
The offense didn’t make any significant changes. They franchise tagged WR George Pickens to be sure he returned and re-signed RB Javonte Williams. Dak Prescott is the engine of the offense and passing game should be a top unit again this season. Prescott and Schottenheimer seem to be a good partnership, and OC Klayton Adams has done an excellent job.
Pickens was fantastic last season and was actually more productive than CeeDee Lamb. The team isn’t looking to invest long-term in Pickens given his history but having him back this year is essential. Lamb missed some time last year and didn’t quite seem himself but he’s being paid like a WR1 and they should feature him again as long as he has no lingering issues. The passing game sets up everything for this team. TE Jake Ferguson is also a good weapon for Prescott, and they should continue to thrive with these guys back together.
The offense line still has some issues to sort out with LT Tyler Guyton and C Cooper Beebe having some injury issues. However, LG Tyler Smith is excellent, RT Terrence Steele bounced back a bit last year, and RG Tyler Booker was solid as a rookie. If the team can get the offensive line all playing together, the offense can be even better. They did trade for OT Broderick Jones from Pittsburgh, a former first-round pick, and he’s going to compete with Steele for the RT job. They also signed OT Wayna Morris who was cut by Atlanta as insurance, clearly, they aren’t sold on their OTs.
Javonte Williams resurrected his career after it was left for dead when he was in Denver. He carried the load for the team, and he still doesn’t have much help behind him. Williams has always been a talented player; in Dallas he is getting to showcase it. Second-year man Jaydon Blue was supposed to be the backup, but they cut him after camp, it was a bit of a surprise. They picked up Emari Demarcado who was cut by Kansas City, he’s a solid player but this is Williams’ job all the way.
While the offense didn’t need any outside help, the defense needed new blood at every level. Christian Parker studied under Vic Fangio for the last few years, and he knew he needed better players than the Cowboys had. Up front, the team traded for DT Kenny Clark before last season (the Micah Parsons deal), then traded for DT Quinnen Williams during the season, and signed Otito Ogbonnia in free agency. Clark is getting older but he’s still better than they had. Williams is still one of the better DTs in the league and Ogbonnia is a young DT who is still developing. These guys are an upgrade overall for the Cowboys.
They also traded for Rashan Gary as a new edge rusher. He hasn’t been as effective the last few years but he’s better than some of the guys the Cowboys have been using. Donovan Ezeiruaku had a good rookie season, but he had off season hip surgery so there is some question as to what he’ll look like this year. He’s an undersized edge rusher and if his speed or flexibility are compromised by his hip issue it could hurt his play. Rookie Malachi Lawrence and an aging Von Miller are the depth so Gary and Ezeiruaku need to be good. At ILB the Cowboys traded for Dee Winters and are hoping DeMarvion Overshown will finally be healthy. The ILB spot is going to be an interesting one for this defense.
The secondary has had a major overhaul. At CB, Colbie Durant will be one of the starting CBs, and the Cowboys hope DaRon Bland is the other, he’s had some injury issues. At safety, they signed Jalen Thompson in free agency and drafted Caleb Downs in round one. Downs is penciled in as the nickel for now but he’s too good to take off the field meaning there should be some three safety sets for this defense. Thompson and Downs should join Malik Hooker on the field plenty. Bland needs to rebound from a down year and Durant needs to be better otherwise the pass defense is going to suffer. The depth comes from Shavon Revel Jr. who is a talented player without much playing time and probably rookie Devin Moore, once they bring him off IR.
Washington Commanders
Everything went off the rails for the Commanders last season after making the NFC Championship game the year before. It started with Jayden Daniels getting injured and the season went downhill from there. Dan Quinn saw the writing on the wall, and he replaced both his offensive and defensive coordinators. It was probably the right thing to do but he replaced them with two guys who have never called plays on either side of the ball. OC David Blough is young, and they hope he’s one of the smart ones. DC Daronte Jones comes from Brian Flores’ staff in Minnesota; they need him to have a Flores-like effect on the defense.
David Blough’s job will be a lot easier if he can keep Daniels on the field, that’s easier said than done. Daniels is a supreme athlete but he’s also way too skinny to be taking the type of hits he takes on a regular basis. Daniels has to look out for himself better and realize how important he is to the offense. This offense only goes as far as he takes them, he can’t take them anywhere from the sidelines.
The offensive line was actually pretty good but now they have Nick Allegretti replacing Tyler Biadasz at center and Allegretti is a 30-year-old guy who’s never started at center before. He also missed a lot of training camp with an injury. Biadasz wasn’t a superstar, but he is a good center. LT Laremy Tunsil was fantastic last season, but he tore his triceps and will miss most of the year. Former starter, Brandon Coleman, steps back into LT and there’s a reason they replaced him at that position. RT Josh Conerly Jr. had his growing pains as a rookie last season, but he should continue to develop. RG Sam Cosmi is solid, and LG Chris Paul was fine last year.
The skill positions leave something to be desired. WR Terry McLaurin was a shell of himself last year dealing with injuries and they need him healthy and playing his best or this gets ugly fast. Treylon Burks was going to be the other starter, but the team wisely signed Stefon Diggs and he should be an excellent WR2 as long as McLaurin can return to form. He wasn’t flashy for the Patriots last season, but he was reliable and he’s always been that for young QBs. Rookie Antonio Williams is the third WR and will play in the slot, but that’s also a spot Diggs plays well from. At TE they signed Chig Okonkwo from Tennessee, he’s probably their third-best pass catcher at this point.
At RB, Jacory Croskey-Merritt won the starting job out of camp, and they have high hopes for him. He’s not the most talented player but he gives them a nice skill set to use. Rachaad White is the backup, he’s a pass catching back who’s solid on third down. Rooke Kaytron Allen is a guy I would watch out for; he’s a lead back type of player. He can handle a heavy workload and at the very least, he’s the short yardage back for now.
The offense definitely has some holes and that’s because the Commanders spent most of the off season overhauling their defense, that was a good idea. They were awful last season, and they return very few starters and most of the ones they do will have competition. Up front they return Javon Kinlaw and Daron Payne, but Tim Settle will likely be the other starter. Johnny Newton starts the year on IR; he could be an important piece if he ever puts it all together.
They completely overhauled the LB corps and will play more of a 3-4 so there’s lots of new faces at this level. On the inside, they drafted Sonny Styles in round one and he’s an immediate starter and it’s going to be his defense to run. Leo Chenal was also signed, and he’ll give Frankie Luvu some competition. On the edge they gave Odafe Oweh a big contract and signed K’Lavon Chaisson, who played well in New England last year. They might actually have a rotation of pass rushers this year once Dorace Armstrong returns from his one-game suspension.
Rasul Douglas steps in at CB with Trey Amos starting the year on IR. Amos was injured last year too so they will make do. Mike Sanristil, who plays wherever they need him to and does fine, will be the other outside CB. They signed Amik Robertson to give them some depth, that’s a solid move. Nick Cross joins Jeremy Reeves and Quan Martin to form a fairly benign safety group. Benign would be an upgrade over being bad again. There is no way to know how this defense is going to be this season. A new coordinator with a whole host of new players means anything is possible.
New York Giants
The Giants were terrible last year and Brian Daboll tried desperately to save his job by running QB Jaxson Dart into the ground, it didn’t work. Enter John Harbaugh off his firing from Baltimore. Harbaugh is a long-time NFL coach with a lot of success, but he made his way up the ranks as a special team’s coach meaning he needs a great staff. On the defensive side he hired Dennard Wilson, who coached with him in Baltimore before becoming the Titans defensive coordinator. Hard to tell how good of a coordinator he was given the lack of talent in Tennessee, he should have more talent in New York. On offense it’s a mis-mash of underperforming former OCs. Matt Nagy wasn’t re-signed by Kansas City, he’s the new OC. Greg Roman was fired by Jim Harbaugh, so John Harbaugh hired him after he once fired him in Baltimore, he’s the Senior Offensive analyst. Brian Callahan was fired as the Titans head coach last season, he was once the OC in Cincinnati (although he never called plays), he’s the Passing Game Coordinator/QB coach. It’s a less than inspiring group on offense and there isn’t a clear-cut scheme fit between the three new minds. The offense should be an adventure.
Jaxson Dart showed plenty of promise last season when he wasn’t being run headfirst in a brick wall. The offensive scheme has to find a way to take advantage of his impressive physical skills, including his running, and yet, not get him killed. Dart isn’t the dynamic speed athlete that Jayden Daniels is but a 6’2 223 lbs. he’s definitely built to take hits better than Daniels is in Washington. That still shouldn’t be the primary way to use him, and teaching him how to avoid taking big hits, instead of seeking them out, should be priority #1 for QB coach Brian Callahan.
Dart has the arm to be a good passer but much of the success of the Giants’ passing game is going to rest on the rehabilitated knee of Malik Nabers. Nabers missed almost all of last season with a bad knee injury but when healthy, he’s one of the most electric playmakers in the league. This team needs him because the other starters are rookie Malachi Fields and veteran Darnell Mooney. Darius Slayton has been demoted to a backup role, and the fifth WR is Odell Beckham Jr. coming back from a couple of years out of football. The second-best pass catcher on this team should be Isaiah Likely, who followed Harbaugh from Baltimore. He’s a TE with incredible athleticism who never quite dominated in Baltimore like his physical abilities would lead you to believe. They need to unlock him in New York. Theo Johnson is another athletic TE they need to use better.
The offensive line was a problem for a long time, but it has gotten better the past few years. If LT Andrew Thomas can stay healthy, he’s one of the better LTs in football. RT Jermaine Eluemunor earned a new contract this off season, he’s a solid RT. They drafted Francis Mauigoa in the top ten of the draft and he’ll start at RG, he’s an upgrade. C John Michael Schmitz and Jon Runyan aren’t being named to Pro Bowls, but they are solid veteran starters.
The running game got to see flashes of Cam Skattebo before he broke his leg last year. I’m not sure if he’s a true difference maker at RB, his style may mean he gets banged up a lot. Tyrone Tracy is a solid rotational player and does just fine when he has to start. They also signed Najee Harris as Skattebo insurance, he’s fine but he’s coming off his own injury issues. The running game will be better with a healthy offensive line (Thomas) and an ass kicker at RG (Mauigoa).
The defense last season was an example of the whole being LESS than the sum of its parts. Any defensive line that had DT Dexter Lawrence, DE Brian Burns, along with Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter had no business being as bad as it was. It’s tough to imagine a team trading Lawrence and getting better up front but Dennard Wilson will institute a scheme change that should help the players they do have play better. They signed DJ Reader to be the NT, and they hope veteran Shelby Harris can be a stabilizer. They also are looking to get better play from second-year DT Darius Alexander who had a rough rookie season. Wilson comes from the Baltimore defensive system and should have some ideas to improve this unit.
The LB group gets an overhaul as the 3-4 Baltimore style takes over. Burns and Carter become the outside edge rushers with Thibodeaux as the third rusher, that doesn’t change personnel at all but the way they are asked to play will be different. The personnel changes come at ILB. Tremaine Edmunds was signed as a free agent after he was cut by Chicago for salary cap purposes. He’ll pair with rookie Arvell Reese to form a far more dynamic duo with athleticism, length, and speed that was missing from the LB group last year. Reese will likely be used as a blitzer at times too but he’s a serious upgrade at ILB, even as a rookie.
The secondary has a chance to be a real strength of this group with Wilson being a secondary coach by nature and the Baltimore system being one that uses defensive backs quite well. CB Paulson Adebo, S Tyler Nubin, S Jevon Holland, and nickelback Dru Phillips all return. These are all solid players who will benefit from a better scheme. Greg Newsome was signed to start as the other CB outside and he’s an upgrade over Deonte Banks who should be fighting for a spot on the roster, not starting. They signed Ar’Darius Washington, a former Baltimore safety who can play nickel, he’s a talent add. Rookie CB Colton Hood is a big, athletic CB who could push Adebo and Newsome if they faulter at all. Outside the talent at edge rusher, this secondary can be the strength of this team.
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