NFC East Positional Rankings

NFC EAST POSITIONAL RANKINGS

This is not only based off of personnel, but how coaching comes into play, and performance from the past two years. I did not get as analytical as I would have liked to. Took me long enough to write this master piece as it is, and no one is going to read it anyway.

1. Eagles’ Offense
To me this was the biggest no brainer. This is the only legitimate top 5 unit in the division. They have all the tools to succeed. They have a franchise QB in place, deepest Oline ever, best combo at TE, and have very versatile WR group. The Eagles lead the league in Redzone offense, and were 2nd in the third down conversion % in 2017, but dipped to 16th in 2018. If Wentz, and the Eagles can bounce back or even get close to the 2017 numbers this unit will bounce back.

Most impactful thing

QB Carson Wentz. They do have a franchise QB, but he tends to not be on the field for a whole season, but when he is he can be an MVP candidate. He does have his flaws as well. He’s a top notch intermediate passer, but his deep ball leaves a lot to be desired. He gets one of the best deep WR of our time in DeSean, but his rankings in downfield passing are as follows; 17th accuracy, while ranking 24th in INT percentage, and 28th in TD passes.

2. Cowboys Defense
This was the toughest decision I had to make. Not because Cowboys Sux, but I thought the next three units are very close, defense fluctuates from year to year, and also have potential big issues ahead of them going into the season. The tiebreaker was DVOA from last year, which is something I’m not a fan of. To go back to my point of fluctuating from year to year, and why I’m not fan of going back off of last years’ numbers. Cowboys defense 25th in DVOA in 2017, and in 2018 they were 9th. Eagles went from 5th to 15th, much had to do with injuries (not an excuse). Redskins went from 11th to 20th, and they had the second healthiest defense in the league. Back to why I think the Cowboys defense is good. Kris Richard had their pass defense overachieving last year, and with another year under his belt with the young core I can see them improving. Although I can see their main guy Byron Jones continuing the trend of decreasing like he was towards the end of the year. Their Redzone defense was 7th in the league, and their LBs were doing a good job of flying around the ball, and limiting big plays. Their main fault on the defense is Takeaways. They were 21st last year, and 15th the year before.

Impactful Thing

CB Byron Jones. I wanted to go with the growth of that wolf guy, but I went with the more premium position. I think he started off really well, and held his own as a first time CB in the NFL (get it?). But I think he regressed towards the end and was getting roasted in big plays. In order for the defense to improve I think he needs to go back to his first half performance.

3. Eagles Defense
This is a true bend but don’t break unit, unless you’re the DBs, then you just break. The team was first in Redzone defense, and 8th in 3rd down defense. Injuries played a big part of their season, as they had the 4th highest Average Games Lost recorded by Footballoutsiders.com since they started tracking back in 2004. They ended the season strong by giving up 11.7 points per game the last three games of the season. Their young DBs gained a lot of experience. The problem with the unit is how healthy will the DBs be next year when they come back, and do they have enough DEs for their WAVES!. I personally believe GM Howie Roseman will go out a get another veteran DE by the trade deadline once they see what they have. Overall with the fortifying of the DT position, and the DBs coming back I see a top 10 unit, but the amount of question marks they have I couldn’t put them above the more stable Dallas unit.

Most Impactful Thing

DE Derek Barnett. With the DE rotation being thinner than normal, Barnett will have to step up, and stay healthy. He was on pace for 10 sacks, and played well against the run. He needs to continue that momentum if he wants to take this unit to another level.

4. Redskins Defense
The Redskins have been doing a good job of using FA, and draft capital to build this unit into a good unit. The only problem is that it hasn’t been one. Producing mediocre results in PPG, 15th, being ranked 20th in DVOA, and 16th in yards per game. They were the 31st in adjusted games lost, which is a good thing, so you would expect better numbers from a team that has an underrated, and consistent pass rusher in Kerrigan, ample 1st round picks on the DLine, and the money they spend on Josh Norman. They used big money on an LB in Collins who will help their run defense potentially be better than average, but they don’t have safeties to cover TEs. I was never really a fan of their first round pick so we’ll see if he can provide enough juice to spark this defense out of purgatory.

Most impactful thing

LB Landon Collins. The Giants had a good year when their Dline did most of the work, and Collins cleaned up the mess underneath. Collins is set up to potentially have the same luxury again this year. If their young guys up front improve, and Sweat provides enough pass rush he might be able to help this unit be productive for the team.

5. Cowboys Offense
You’d think a team that has the greatest Oline in the history of Olines, with a HOF RB, a $30mil QB, and a coach who can clap his way to 9(?) magically underwhelming seasons would be a top unit in the game. However this team regressed from the 14th highest scoring unit to the 21st from one year to the next. The main reason is the reason that is keeping this team from being just a division contending team to a Super Bowl contending team, and that is Redzone offense. They were the 26th ranked team in the league in the Redzone, and it didn’t get better when they acquired Cooper. They were ranked 31st in success plays within the ten yard line before they acquired, and then they dropped all the way to last after trading for him. There is great article on The Athletic about the numbers behind their struggles, but long story short in order to get this team to the next level that is where the fix needs to be in.

Most Impactful Thing

OC Kellen Moore. Cowboys did their annual tradition during the FA period Stevie Jones goes to the bottom of the barrel of players their teams no longer wanted, gets them for Trident Layers, and convinces their fan base that this unimaginative coaching staff can turn their careers around. This year’s nominees are the Undertaker aka Jason Witten, and Randall Cobb. I still don’t understand the thought process of not loading up as many weapons for Dak as they possible can. Did they not learn from last year? Who are they getting at the trade deadline this time with their first round pick? Anyway, it’s basically up to Kellen Moore to figure out how to get things going in the Redzone, because it won’t be those guys.

6. Giants offense
Remember that time the Giants GM turned they potential HOF WR into a NT, and a box safety in 2019? Or the time the Giants took a second round QB with the 6th overall pick because he saw three drives in the Senior Bowl? Or the time he spent a lot of money on a slot receiver after he already had two good ones on the roster? I could go on. The only thing propping this unit from last is the two woeful units to follow plus their RB. They do have good slot WRs, and with Shurmur’s conservative offense, and bad Oline Eli will be able to make do to hold this unit above the bottom quarter in the league. Their DVOA did go from 23th to 13rd from 2017 to 2018. I do expect a reverse of that again this time next year. They were 28th in Redzone offense, but did boast the 16th highest scoring team.

Most Impactful Thing

 RB Saquan Barkley- You know you it’s not going to be a good year when the best thing you have going for you is your RB. Barkley was fantastic last year, and their rushing DVOA was still only 16th. I don’t see him propelling them much further than he did last year, and will get a similar workload.

7. Giants Defense
Uhhhh…… who’s left on their defense? They did a good thing of shipping out or not retaining any of their expensive underperforming players, but they brought in virtually the same unimportant, but cheaper versions. They were 24th the last two years in DVOA. They improved from 28th to 23rd in PPG, and were 24th in YPG after being 31st. So yeah it’s a bad unit that really hasn’t gotten the players to get better.

Most Impactful Thing

 DC Bettcher. I couldn’t think of a player on their defense besides Peppers, and Lawrence, but there was no way I was going to highlight a RB, AND an NT/Box safety. Good luck.

8. Redskins Offense
This really shouldn’t be a shock at all. Gruden isn’t a bad offensive coach, but he has been dealt a bad hand. The offensive line when healthy is talented. The rest of the offense is not good when healthy or injured. They just might have the worst WRs in the league, their TEs are broken, and they tried to rush Colt McCoy back to save their season last year. They have new hope in Dwayne Haskins, and he needs to start immediately. There is no reason not to start him. The rankings from last year don’t matter because they are diluted with injuries even though it was a bad group when healthy.

Most Impactful Thing

 QB Dwayne Haskins. Again this guy should start. It’s not to see what he can do, but just to get his feet wet in the NFL until Redskins surround him with legit talent at the WR position. This unit’s ceiling is still only bottom third, but it’d be good to see him grow from one year to the next.

Recap
1. Eagles O
2. Cowboys D
3. Eagles D
4. Redskins D
5. Cowboys O
6. Giants O
7. Giants D
8. Redskins O