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Philadelphia Eagles (15-2 NFC East and NFC Champions)-QB Jalen Hurts is back as is aging back Saquon Barkley. WRs Davanta Smith and A.J Brown are now joined with Utah State rookie Jalen Royals to form a rough trio of targets. TE Dallas Goedert is aging, so Philly added Georgia rookie TE Ben Yurosek via the draft. Tackles Jordan Mailata and Trent Brown are still very good, but the Eagles still added Missouri rookie Armand Membou and Georgia rookie RT Earnest Greene III to the tackle spots. LG Landon Dickerson is solid, but the club will look to Minnesota rookie Jimbo Skaggs to man the RG slot. C Cam Jurgens is back. Overall, if Philadelphia can get production from Barkley and the Oline performs well again, the offense should purr right along.
The defense has some question marks. LE could become a TC battle between rookie Rayshaun Benny and Milton Williams. Benny is the typical player the Eagles want up front. At 296 Lbs, he is a much larger type DE who can hold up against the run. DT might feature yet another rookie in Clemson's DeMonte Capehart. Capehart should work well, playing more of the penetrator role, opposite the mammoth Jordan Davis . All-world Jalen Carter will gobble up the right side. The Linebacking unit is one of the team's weakspots so to speak. MLB Nakobe Dean is fast and can tackle, but he is prone to being impact blocked. Utah rookie Karene Reid is smallish (226 Lbs) and is also vulnerable to being impact blocked and is also lacking elite speed. ROLB Josh Sweat is geared more as an edge rusher with his 265 Lbs frame, but has little in the way of coverage skills with LOLB Bryce Huff also more of an edge rusher as opposed to a coverage backer. The corners are very good led by veteran Darius Slay. Fellow CBs Cooper Dejean and Quinyon Mitchell can cover. FS Reed Blankenship had a terrific campaign last season. Strong safety will have C.J. Gardner-Johnson back and the club drafted USC grad Kamari Ramsey who should allow for the team to play Big Nickel effectively.
Prediction: The Eagles begin their season with three tough games against Miami, Seattle, and the rival Giants. Still, they look like they should be able to roll to at least 12 wins if not more.
New York Giants (11-6 Lost Divisional Game to Eagles)-The G-Men leaned on a powerful running game and terrific defense a season ago and had a successful campaign. However, they were manhandled by Philadelphia in the playoffs as the running game was shut down and the offense really had no answers. The main characters are all back at the skill positions. QB Daniel Jones will have his Backfield-by-Committee to hand the ball to once again. Tailbacks Devin Singletary, Tyrone Tracy, and Roschon Johnson are all returning. The receiving corps is also intact and the team took a flier on super speedy Arizona State rookie Silas Foster in the draft. His electric 97 speed could be utilized in a number of creative ways if teams focus too much on stopping the ground game. New York has two good tight ends in second year man Theo Johnson and rookie Brent Kuithe. Kuithe, from Utah, is a very good short route runner, but there is some concern about his ability to separate quickly as he does not accelerate well and is not known to have the ability to get off press coverages. He can also get caught up inside if he is playing as an in-line tight end. The offensive line is full of powerful blockers that open holes. Tackles Andrew Thomas and Jermaine Eluemunor are joined with guards Jon Runyan and beastly Mekhi Becton (6'7" 367!). Center could be a soft spot with John Michael-Schmitz.
The Giants have been one the league's better defensive units over the past few seasons. They got great production last year out of DEs Elijah Chatman (12 sacks 23 TFLs) and Boogie Basham (11.5 sacks 27 TFLs) and the team drafted Mississippi DE Princely Umanmielen to beef up the edge unit. The interior of the D-Line could become a solid blue wall! 6'4" 342 Lbs Dexter Lawrence (15 sacks, 23 TFL, 4 Forced Fumbles) could line up alongside 6'6' 345 Lbs Kentucky rookie Deone Walker to form an immoveable duo. Both are very strong with Lawrence bringing 96 strength and the young Walker strutting into the PFL with 94 strength! If a team does find some way to get past the line, it will have to contend with a punishing linebacking unit. Kayvon Thibideaux and Brian Burns are physical OLBs while veteran Bobby Okereke patrols the inside. The secondary could be exploited, but the group benefits from the pressure exerted from the front 7 and opposing teams' inability to run the ball effectively. Michigan rooke Will Johnson should step right in as the top CB and pair with ball hawking corner Deonte Banks (11 deflections and 1 Int). Another rookie, Georgia's Malaki Starks should start at FS with Tyler Nubin and diverse veteran Isiah Simmons manning the SS slots. Simmons can be used in various roles and is a true asset in Big Nickel formations.
Prediction: The Giants will be favored in eight of their first nine games and will be underdogs in just three of their regular season contests! They can win the division and should be serious contenders to get to the super bowl this season. The defense, particularly up front, can force teams to the air and be stifling against the run. 12+ wins is a near certainty. However, if teams figure out how to slow down the running game, things could get interesting real fast.
Washington Commanders (3-14)-Washington did not have a good season in terms of wins and losses last year, but they had a year full of promise. The team went out and got some help for 2nd year signal caller Jayden Daniels. They drafted Arizona super possession WR Tetairoa McMillan and Clemson speedster Antonio Williams to work with #1 wideout Terry McLaurin. This should give the DC bunch a nice 1-2 threat on the outisde and a tremendous target underneath for Daniels to throw to. They also brought in bruising Iowa back Kaleb Johnson who is a bit faster and quicker than returning Brian Robinson. Johnson has an amazing first step (97 acceleration) that should allow him to get into holes and pick up yardage before the defense can react. The tight end top role could be decided during pre-season. Ex-Houston Texan Brevin Jordan could challenge veteran Zach Ertz as Jordan possesses speed to burn. The offensive line could be a worry spot. RG Sam Cosmi is the best player they have, but no projected starter possesses a strength rating above Cosmi's 87.
The Commanders hit the jackpot when they were able to snag East Carolina's Shavon Revel and Iowa's Jermari Harris to fill their cornerback holes! Both are very good in man coverage and were major upgrades at a position that needed help. The defensive line saw DT Jonathan Allen hit free agency leaving a gaping hole next to De'Ron Payne and the defensive ends look a bit like reclamation projects more than stars of the future. Stanford rookie David Bailey will start at LOLB and the rest of the linebacking unit is pretty solid with ROLB Frankie Luvu (19.5 sacks 1 Int) and MLBs Bobby Wagner and Jerome Baker playing inside. FS Justin Simmons and SS Jeremy Chinn are very good and, with the addition of the rookies at the corners, should help form a top notch secondary.
Prediction: Washington should continue to improve and have quite a few winnable games on their schedule. If the defense can hold up, 10+ wins is possible! That may be a bit ambitious though.
Dallas Cowboys (7-10)-Dallas had one tough time running the ball last season. QB Dak Prescott would end up throwing the ball some 642 times, was picked off 14 times, got sacked 65 times, and finished the season with an abysmal 86.1 QBR. The team drafted Tennessee scat-back Dylan Sampson hoping to cure the running woes. Sampson, though, weighs just 190 Lbs and lacks any ability to break tackles or truck anyone. The offensive line did not see any upgrades nor did the receiving corps. Guards Tyler Smith and ancient Zach Martin are a very good tandem. Cee Dee Lamb is a top tier wideout, but how Brandin Cooks and Jaylen Tolbert perform could determine alot this season.
The defensive line also remained mostly untouched. DEs Demarcus Lawrence, Sam Williams, and Marshawn Kneeland will supply the edge heat with DTs Maz Smith and Osa Odighizuwa (21.5 sacks 39 TFLs) on the interior. Stud Micah Parsons is back along with Damone Clark and Mississippi State rookie Justin Kennedy at the OLB slots. The club is high on Clemson rookie MLB Barrett Carter who should see time inside along with Dervion Overshown. The big news, of course, was in the secondary where Colorado CB Travis Hunter can be found. The super talented shut-down corner will be joined by Deron Bland and Trevon Diggs to give the Pokes one of the best corner trios in the league. FS Malik Hooker returns along with SS's Donovan Wilson and Marquese Bell.
Prediction: If the Cowboys can survive their first 12 games of their schedule, they have a shot at making a late season run to the playoffs. However, adding Sampson at tailback might not be enough to cure all the offensive problems of a season ago. The secondary is intriguing, for sure, but can the team stop the run consistently enough and then put enough pressure on to allow the unit to shine? The team put quite a bit of emphasis on bolstering the linebacking and secondary units and has to hope it pays off.
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