Crystal Ball Predictions: NFC East

The NFC East is one of the most historic divisions in all of football. It’s where four of the most popular teams in the league reside. Rich with history, The NFC East is home to twelve Lombardi trophies. Once upon a time it was the best division in the NFL and ate up a lot of primetime games. Though the division has fallen on hard times it’s still home of some great rivalries. Two rookie head coaches now reside in the NFC East and the division is loaded with talent. Will the NFC East rise again? Is this Dallas’ crown to lose? Will all that money the Giants spent in the offseason pay off? Will Carson Wentz emerge?

Let’s stop asking and let the crystal ball speak.

Best Draft Class: Washington. Under the tutelage of new general manager Scott McCloughan Washington is pointing up. They grabbed TCU product Josh Doctson to create a receiving corp that yields DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garçon, and Jordan Reed. Su’a Cravens is known for his aptitude and will be a force roaming the middle of the field. Washington is shedding the label of being aloof and starting to look like a well run organization.   

Best Unit: Dallas’ Offensive Line. We all know this. Dallas has one of, if not the, best offensive line in the NFL. Tyron Smith and Zack Martin anchor a line that has no trouble plowing over opposing defensive units. They struggle a little in pass protection but overall this is a great unit. Just ask DeMarco Murray how valuable they are.

Best Free Agency Pickup: Rodney McLeod, Philadelphia Eagles. Josh Norman joined the NFC East this offseason but Rodney is the best pickup. The Eagles went from having an okay safety tandem last year to one of the best. Malcolm Jenkins was rated as the second best safety in the NFL last year and McLeod ranked eighth according to PFF. Eagles fans have been yearning for good safety play since Brian Dawkins left in 2008. Jim Schwartz’s defense is built around the lineman creating pressure which means Rodney will have a lot of opportunities to make plays in the secondary.

Best Player: Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys. I get it, Odell Beckham is a phenomenal athlete with skills we’ve never seen before. I also understand that he makes catches that Madden can’t even simulate. With all that Dez Bryant is still the best player in the division by a small margin. Bryant has done this longer and gets the nod over Odell due to his size. If the Cowboys are in the redzone you can bank that a fade is going Dez’s way and he’ll most likely bring it down. That skill alone is too valuable to put into words.

Breakout Player: Kerry Wynn, New York Giants. Wynn has flown under the radar during his first two years in the league but don’t be shocked to see a breakout season from the Richmond product. In 2015, Wynn played in fifteen games and started in seven of them. The Giants went back to their roots this offseason and loaded up on pass rushers which is great for Kerry. Wynn will have a lot of one-on-one opportunities this season so don’t be too surprised if his sack total starts to sky-rocket.  

Best Rookie: Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys. Over time Carson Wentz might be the best rookie in this draft class for for the 2016-2017 season Zeke is going to be the best rookie in the division. He’s going to start from the beginning and have the ball in his hand, a lot. Running behind that offensive line makes Elliott the frontrunner for rookie of the year and is making fantasy owners drool. He might even flirt with Eric Dickerson‘s monster rookie campaign from 1983. During that year Dickerson ran for 1,808 yards. That number will be hard to reach in a league where passing trumps all but Ezekiel might be the back to take that crown.  

Best Coach: Jay Gruden, Washington. This isn’t much of a ringing endorsement. The NFC East now houses two rookie coaches. Doug Pederson took over in Philadelphia and Bob McAdoo is running the show in New York. Jason Garrett is the longest tenured coach but he always seems to do something that makes fans scratch their head.

Interesting Storyline: The Eagles Quarterback Situation. On March 1 the Eagles signed Sam Bradford to a two year, $36 million deal. On March 9 they gave Chase Daniel a three year, $21 million deal. On April 20 the Eagles made a trade to collect the number 2 overall pick from the Browns. That pick turned into Carson Wentz, the North Dakota State QB that flew up draft boards. Shortly after that Bradford refused to talk to the Eagles, promised not to attend OTAs and demanded a trade. On May 9 he changed his mind and returned in a bizarre turn of events. That’s a lot of drama over the course of two months. It’s clear that Carson is the quarterback of the future and Bradford is just a one year substitute teacher. The question is, when will the Wentz era start? The Eagles are hinting that Carson will sit out his entire rookie year but once Sammy Sleeves starts playing at his usual mediocre level you can bet fans, and management, will be screaming for Wentz to get in.     

Biggest X-Factor: Kirk Cousins, Washington. Cousins is in a hard spot. After leading Washington to a division title last year he was in line for a huge payday. Washington, on the other hand, thought otherwise. The team slapped him with the franchise tag and it looks like a long term deal isn’t coming. Kirk didn’t beat a team with a winning record last year and will have to prove his worth. He’s going to have to elevate his play if he wants that big contract.

MVP Candidates: Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia Eagles. Jordan Reed, Washington. Odell Beckham, New York Giants. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys.  

Division Winner: New York Giants. No team has won this division back to back since the Eagles did it in ’03-’05 and that trend will continue. Washington got better but they don’t have the luxury of playing a fourth place schedule. They’ll get the cream of the crop and be tested week in and week out this year. Dallas has a prolific offense but the loss of Rolando McClain for ten games already hurts a defense that ranked 22 in 2015. The Eagles are on the rise but are a few pieces on offense away from contending. That leaves the Giants; a team that invested a lot of resources on the defensive side of the ball this offseason. Manning had a career year and looks to grow in McAdoo’s offense. If the Giants can get a decent return on their defense then this team will enter the playoffs as NFC East champs.

What do you think? Let me know @mattgarrett41

Check out the other divisions: AFC South, AFC West, AFC North, AFC East, NFC South, NFC West, NFC North

As always, thanks for reading.   

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