America's Team, as some call them anyway-- the Dallas Cowboys come into the 2022-2023 season looking to repeat their divisional title. Unfortunately for them, they lost a few key pieces this offseason. After trading Amari Cooper to Cleveland and losing defensive end Randy Gregory to Denver due to some questionable contractual wording, it's hard to say Dallas is better on either side of the ball compared to last year.
At +135, the Cowboys are currently slight favorites to win the NFC East again. Led by 7th year quarterback Dak Prescott, the offense is banking on Ceedee Lamb, Dalton Schultz and rookie Jalen Tolbert being able to handle the extra targets and step up to overcome the loss of Cooper and Cedrick Wilson. Michael Gallup, a personal favorite of mine, will help when he is cleared on his return from an ACL injury.
I haven't been high on their first round selection of OT Tyler Smith since his name was announced. If he steps in at guard, he may be able to significantly contribute this year, but it seems like he'll be more destined to be a swing tackle, in the short term anyway. The offensive line should be better as a whole though, which will help Zeke and Tony Pollard to have some room to run. It wouldn't shock me to see Pollard overtake Elliott for the #1 role by the season's end, or at least a full on committee.
Dante Fowler should fill the departed Gregory's shoes adequately, and Dallas retaining Leighton Vander Esch and Demarcus Lawrence will help also. But Trevon Diggs is likely to regress statistically from his 11 interceptions from '21-'22, and there can't be a ton of confidence in Anthony Brown and Jourdan Lewis opposite of him. This defense has some pretty apparent holes, which I think limits their ceiling as a team.
Coming off of an ass-kicking in the wildcard round at the hands of Tom Terrific, the Philadelphia Eagles (+165) are poised to piggyback on their success from the year before. Aggressive during the draft, Howie Roseman traded the later of Philly's two first round picks for Titans star receiver AJ Brown, promptly signing him to a four year- $100 million dollar extension. Brown and breakout rookie Devonta Smith should become a formidable tandem for any defense to deal with.
This is a big year for quarterback Jalen Hurts to prove he belongs as a starter in this league. While the third year player showed improvements in all statistical passing categories, there were plenty of times when the offense was completely stagnant through the air. With a major upgrade on the outside from the likes of Jalen Reagor, it would be a bad indictment on the signal caller if he's unable to make marked improvements in the passing game. His dual-threat ability will always make him dangerous though, especially in fantasy.
Philadelphia also had three major upgrades on the defensive side of the ball. Drafting the mountain of a man known as Jordan Davis from Georgia with the 13th pick of the draft will provide a ton of interior support for at least the next four seasons. Signing Haason Reddick was a really underrated move across the league in my opinion, bringing the explosive Temple alumni back home to get after the opposing QB. And their most recent addition of James Bradberry to pair with Darius Slay gives the Eagles their strongest set of cornerbacks in recent memory. They have potential to be a top ten defense in the league.
New kids on the block, the Washington Commanders (+500) had themselves an interesting offseason. The name change was a big, drawn out media ploy, ultimately spoiled a day before the announcement with a leak anyway. Then the choice they made... cringy at best. I felt like the Football Team had been gaining some steam among fans around the league and should've 100% been kept as the name, compared to the Commanders which just radiates as a lame geographic play. It's a team I'd expect to see playing in "All-American" rather than the NFL.
Owner Dan Snyder continues to find himself in the headlines and subpoenas as more and more continues to come out about a workplace environment riddled with toxic masculinity and coverups. It's actually incredible to me that he still has maintained control of the organization-- akin to a cockroach refusing to die during a nuclear fallout. We'll see how much longer that lasts.
But hey, if you're still a fan of this Washington team through all that, then kudos- you've got some resilience too. You'll need it to endure a season with newly acquired Carson Wentz under center. The former #2 pick was decent for the Colts overall last year, but really came up short in big moments. He must've rubbed some in the organization the wrong way in the process, with owner Jim Irsay not exactly speaking highly of him after shipping him to the Commanders. It should be an upgrade in quarterback play over Taylor Heinicke however, so expect some modest fantasy gains for Terry McLaurin, Logan Thomas and Antonio Gibson.
I thought drafting Jahan Dotson 16th overall was a bit of a reach, but with receivers going on four of the eight picks before theirs, GM Martin Mayhew definitely felt the pressure to get their guy. We'll see how the rookie from Penn State does, but unreliable quarterback play won't do him any favors. This gives many vibes of Josh Doctson 2.0.
Free agent addition Bobby McCain will help at safety with Landon Collins being released after an unproductive and expensive stint with the team. Outside of that though, Washington didn't add much to help on the defensive side of the ball, opting to run it back with a young lineup that still has a ton of upside. A defensive front featuring former first rounders Daron Payne, Chase Young, Montez Sweat and Jonathan Allen should wreak havoc for opposing offensive lines. Jamin Davis and Kamren Curl should also show improvements going into their second and third years, respectively.
But this defense underachieved last season, giving up the 8th most yards in the league. Ron Rivera is known for his defensive coaching ability, which makes it concerning and confusing why it hasn't really gelled yet for him in Washington, especially given some of the high end talent at his disposal.
To the Meadowlands we go to look at the New York Giants and wrap things up. Currently valued at +700 to win the division, the G-Men do boast a solid arsenal of weapons offensively. Many believe Saquon Barkley will finally have his bounce back season in the backfield. While I think he's more than talented enough to do so, I'll believe it when I see it (as far as fantasy goes at least).
Kadarius Toney had some breakout performances last year and has been insane so far in training camp. If he, Kenny Golladay and Sterling Shepherd can stay healthy, then there's a solid core of receivers to work with here. We'll see how their speedy second round pick Wan'Dale Robinson progresses through the preseason as well.
The Giants will only go as far as Daniel Jones takes them. After declining the quarterback's 5th year rookie option, it was clear to everyone that this is a make or break year for the former first round pick. New York brought in some depth to compete at guard and drafted offensive tackle Evan Neal with the seventh pick. This should be the best offensive line and skill players the Giants have had in a long time. No more excuses Daniel, time to put up or become a back up.
Unfortunately for New York fans, the defense projects to be a concern again this year. Adding Kayvon Thibodeaux to a front line featuring Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence should be somewhat imposing, but that's about it as far as exciting defenders go with this team. There is some good veteran leadership with Blake Martinez and Adoree Jackson, so they won't be the worst in the league, but I don't foresee this unit getting the big stops when needed. Losing James Bradberry to Philly couldn't have felt good either.
So, with all of that said, my pick to win the NFC East is going to be the Philadelphia Eagles. I think the roster moves they've made have poised them to progress on both sides of the ball, where I see the Cowboys regressing, at least defensively. This should be a scrappy division however, where an argument can really be made for any of the teams to win it. Perhaps no longer the NFC Least.
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@Choppinglines
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