In what has been one of, if not the craziest NFL offseason to date, the New York Giants and NFC East remained relatively quiet, with the exception of a few significant transactions.
The NFC East has not seen a repeat division winner since 2004 when the Eagles claimed their 4th title in a row.
In the 17 seasons since, the Cowboys lead the way with six first-place finishes, the Eagles follow right behind them with five, while the New York Giants and Washington come up the rear with three apiece.
The Giants and Eagles were relatively quiet in their offseason approach, as both teams possess substantial draft capital and will likely improve upon their rosters when that rolls around.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys lost quite a few considerable players from their loaded roster and the Commanders added a former division foe to take over at quarterback.
These power rankings are fairly straightforward; what teams are currently best equipped for the 2022 season. These don’t reflect which teams may have a better overarching future for years to come, as several more factors would have to come into play, including future draft picks, salary cap situations, and so on.
How do New York Giants stack up to their NFC East rivals post-free agency?
1) Dallas Cowboys
Additions: DE Dante Fowler Jr., WR James Washington
Subtractions: DE Randy Gregory, WR Amari Cooper, OT La’el Collins, G Connor Williams, WR Cedrick Wilson Jr.
FA: TE Blake Jarwin
This offseason has been one to forget for Jerry Jones and company.
After losing in the Wild Card round to the 49ers in what was ultimately a disappointing season for a team that had Super Bowl aspirations, the Cowboys found themselves in a brutal cap predicament heading into the league year.
As a result, Dallas had to cut La’el Collins, their 28-year-old starting right tackle for the better part of six seasons. They had to let Connor Williams, their 24-year-old starting left guard for the better part of four seasons, walk in free agency. Additionally, they dealt Amari Cooper, their 27-year-old leading wide receiver for the past 3.5 seasons, to the Browns for a 5th round pick and a 6th round pick swap.
In all, three quality starters from their offense are gone, not to mention breakout wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. heading to the Dolphins in free agency. Perhaps the worst loss they suffered was Randy Gregory, who they seemingly had a five-year contract in place with before he spurned them for the Broncos.
With all of that being said, this is decisively the best team in the division. They have the best quarterback in Dak Prescott, the best assortment of weapons in Ezekiel Elliott, CeeDee Lamb, and Dalton Schultz, and are returning two All-Pro defenders in Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs.
The gap between them and the rest of the division has surely shrunk, but no other team has made enough improvements to close the gap enough to put into question which roster is the best to this point in the offseason. The Cowboys likely won’t finish as the best offense in the league like they did last year, but this is still a team with enough talent to repeat in what is one of the weakest divisions in the league.
2. Philadelphia Eagles
Additions: OLB Haason Reddick, WR Zach Pascal, OLB Kyzir White
Subtractions: LB Alex Singleton, DE Genard Avery, DT Hassan Ridgeway
FA: CB Steven Nelson, S Rodney McLeod, DE Ryan Kerrigan
The Eagles had a nightmare 2020 season, going 4-11-1 due to disastrous play from Carson Wentz and overall dysfunction within the organization, which ultimately led to the firing of Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson.
After a strange opening press conference, first-year head coach Nick Sirianni led the Eagles to a surprising playoff berth at 9-8 after starting just 2-5 through the team’s first seven weeks. Although they haven’t had the splashiest offseason, they’re in a good position to replicate and potentially build off last year’s success as they head into 2022.
With Jason Kelce opting to come back for another year, the Eagles will roll out their entire offensive line from last year, sporting one of the best units in the NFL. The signing of Zach Pascal should help a very shallow wide receiver group behind DeVonta Smith and Quez Watkins.
On the defensive side of the ball, the team did lose leading tackler Alex Singleton in free agency, but they replaced him with the Chargers’ leading tackler, Kyzir White, and added a much-needed pass rusher in Haason Reddick.
What could be the most intriguing part of the Eagles’ offseason is the NFL draft, as general manager Howie Roseman has the 15th, 16th, and 19th overall picks.
Wide receiver and cornerback are two of the main weaknesses of the team, with the defensive line being another area the team could look to improve as well.
Potentially holding this team back from seriously threatening the Cowboys is the quarterback position. While Jalen Hurts is a fantastic threat with his legs, contributing greatly to the league’s number one rushing offense in 2021, his consistency as a passer leaves a lot to be desired. With possibly another wide receiver taken early and some more experience under his belt, there’s no reason Hurts can’t improve, but until then, they’re firmly behind Dallas as the division’s best team.
3. Washington Commanders
Additions: QB Carson Wentz, G Andrew Norwell, DE Efe Obada
Subtractions: G Brandon Scherff, DL Matthew Ioannidis, TE Ricky Seals-Jones
FA: S Landon Collins, G Ereck Flowers, ILB Jon Bostic
The Commanders’ 2021 season was derailed quickly after a Week 1 injury to newly-signed quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, thrusting QB Taylor Heinicke back into the fire after showcasing his abilities late in 2020. To make matters worse, the defense got off to a horrendous start despite lofty expectations coming into the year.
Through eight weeks, head coach Ron Rivera’s team sat at just 2-6. They came out hot following the bye week, rattling off four straight wins to climb back into playoff contention before a crucial stretch of five games against divisional opponents to end the season. Those hopes wound up being short-lived, as they dropped four straight games against the Cowboys and Eagles before beating the Giants, fishing the year at 7-10, winning the same amount of games in 2020.
Enter Carson Wentz, who’s coming off a disastrous end to his short-lived Colts tenure following a late-season collapse, forcing Indianapolis to miss the playoffs at 9-8. With that being said, Wentz had a quality year on paper, amassing 27 TD to only 7 INT, although it felt like most of those picks came at an extremely costly time. Nevertheless, Wentz is a clear upgrade over Heinicke however you slice it.
As far as the rest of this roster, the defense is what needs to be consistent for this team to have any shot at making the playoffs. Hardly any moves were made on that side of the ball that possesses any significance. Chase Young has to anchor that defensive line after a disappointing sophomore season and the secondary must improve to keep this team afloat.
A change at quarterback will help this team, but without any improvements to the rest of the roster, it’s doubtful Wentz elevates this team to the level of the Eagles and Cowboys. With a young roster, there’s room to improve, but it’s more of a wait-and-see situation in regards to how this team’s ceiling has changed heading into 2022.
4. New York Giants
Additions: G Mark Glowinski, C Jon Feliciano, RB Matt Breida, G Max Garcia, QB Tyrod Taylor, TE Ricky Seals-Jones
Subtractions: DB Logan Ryan, OLB Lorenzo Carter, S Jabrill Peppers, G Will Hernandez, DT Austin Johnson, TE Evan Engram
FA: RB Devontae Booker, C Billy Price, TE Kyle Rudoplh, OT Nate Solder, ILB Reggie Ragland
A miserable multi-year stretch for the New York Giants continued in 2021 with several injuries to key players, awful coaching decisions, and a lack of depth. With former general manager Dave Gettleman and former head coach Joe Judge out the door, it’s up to Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll to turn it around.
If this offseason showed us anything, it’s that the rebuild is going to be a slow burn. I know that’s not what fans want to hear, as Judge used to emphasize patience when it came to results.
However, Schoen’s flurry of minor moves displays that this team can only get incrementally better on the surface with the financial restraints that were put in place by Gettleman’s influx of large contracts and restructures.
The offensive line should stabilize with the additions of Glowinski, Garcia, and Feliciano, and with the 5th and 7th overall picks in the draft, the Giants will likely add a right tackle to the mix. Daboll might be able to keep this team competitive in most games at the very least, and potentially utilize Daniel Jones’ tools far better than his predecessor.
Put simply, there’s still not nearly enough high-end talent at key positions such as QB, OL, and DL on the roster to scare anyone. Health remains an issue with a plethora of players still on the team, too. It’s hard to envision the Giants winning more than a few games, although crazier things have happened over the years in the NFC East.
The Giants’ level of competence will increase, and they shouldn’t get embarrassed as often as last season. However, it’s clear their sights are set on the future, unlike the rest of the division, leading them to a probable last-place finish.