Ranking the Giants against every NFC East roster in 7 key categories

Just because the New York Giants hired a future Hall of Fame coach and have found their franchise quarterback doesn't mean things will be easy in 2026.

Their schedule --as usual -- looks rough, and they play in the ever-frisky NFC East. The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys might be the betting favorites to come out of the division, but there's a lot more happening under the hood that could have a big impact on how things shake out.

So how do the G-Men stack up against their division rivals?

We have ranked all four NFC East teams in seven categories: Quarterback rooms, running backs, pass-catchers, offensive lines, front sevens, secondaries, and schedules.

The scoring is simple. The team that ranks No. 1 in a category gets one point, the team that ranks No. 2 gets two points, and so on. The fewer points, the better. At the end, we'll tally them up and see where Big Blue stands against its rivals. Let's dive in.

Ranking the Giants against their NFC East rivals ahead of the 2026 season

Quarterback rooms

There shouldn’t be much surprise here... even though it’ll be awesome when we do this exercise again next year, and the Giants claim the top spot because of Jaxson Dart’s 2026 breakout. But I’ll begrudgingly stick to present day for now.

Dak Prescott is the best QB in the NFC East by a considerable amount, with the rest of the division playing catch-up. Jalen Hurts, Andy Dalton, and Tanner McKee arguably make up the deepest room, but Hurts’ struggles are well documented, which brings us right back to the point made above.

Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota had a chance to claim the second spot over Hurts and Co., but Daniels’ 2025 season just didn’t sell me on him. Yes, he battled injuries, but he still started seven games, going 2-5 while completing 60.6 percent of his passes for 1,262 yards and eight touchdowns to three interceptions.

Not exactly the follow-up season Washington fans were hoping for after a 12-5 rookie campaign that ended with an NFC Championship Game appearance and an Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.

New York rounds out the group with Dart and Jameis Winston. It’s a little too early to move them up any further, even after a promising rookie season from JD6, although Famous Jameis might be the best backup in the entire division. So take that, NFC East.

Running back rooms

Do the Giants get partial credit for Saquon Barkley leading Philly’s rushing attack, and does that factor into New York’s running back room? The answer to both questions is an emphatic “No.” But it was still fun to ask.

Barkley leads Philadelphia’s potent rushing attack, ahead of Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley. It’s a strong group. The 29-year-old didn’t follow up his historic 2024 campaign with another Offensive Player of the Year-worthy season in 2025, but it’s still enough for the Iggles to occupy the top spot.

As for the rest of the bunch, it’s about as tangled as the anonymous cords bin you haven’t touched since you last moved.

I gave the G-Men silver here in large part due to this being a “room” exercise. Cam Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Najee Harris, and Devin Singletary would all crack a 53-man roster on any team, so while they don’t have a Barkley (R.I.P.), they’ve got more across the board than the Cowboys and Commanders.

Dallas ekes out bronze because Javonte Williams is the best RB out of the seven from both teams. Malik Davis is fine, and Emari Demercado’s per-carry averages are enticing enough to believe there’s more there with additional touches.

They beat out a Washington room that’s headlined by former seventh-round pick and second-year back Jacory Croskey-Merritt and I-can-get-you-three-yards Rachaad White. Rookie Kaytron Allen could be interesting, but he’s a question mark at this point that won’t move the needle just yet.

Pass-catchers

Two words: star power.

That’s definitely what the Cowboys are bringing, claiming the top spot with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. The rest of the group isn’t necessarily giving “Spooky SZN,” but those two might just be the best WR duo in the league, hence the top spot. Tight end Jake Ferguson helps.

It was tempting to put the Giants ahead of the Eagles with Malik Nabers back healthy, tight end Isaiah Likely ready for a breakout, and Odell Beckham Jr. back in Giants blue. There were just too many what-ifs surrounding the group to put them ahead of proven guys like DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert.

The rest of Philly’s group leaves a lot to be desired, although Makai Lemon is a super-interesting rookie receiver, as is rookie tight end Eli Stowers.

Commanders fans are going to be upset coming in fourth here, but I’m just not sold on a 32-year-old Stefon Diggs, tight end Chig Okonkwo, and rookie wideout Antonio Williams being ahead of Odell, Likely, Darnell Mooney, Theo Johnson, and Malachi Fields. I just think Big Blue’s pass catchers are a bit deeper. I'd also take Leek over Terry McLaurin as the alphas.

Offensive lines

There’s no need to get too cute here. Philadelphia has Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson bookending an offensive line that’s been among the NFL’s best for what feels like the last 300 years. Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens aren’t too shabby themselves.

Dallas comes in second, mostly because that interior is bonkers. Tyler Smith is a three-time Pro Bowler, Cooper Beebe has developed into one of the better young centers in football, and Tyler Booker is coming off an impressive rookie season. The tackles give me a little more pause, especially Tyler Guyton, but there’s too much talent here to drop the Cowboys any further.

But Big Blue is nipping at their heels.

Andrew Thomas is arguably the best left tackle in football, and Jermaine Eluemunor has been rock solid on the other side. The biggest reason for optimism is first-round pick Francis "Sisi" Mauigoa, who’ll start his career at right guard after New York took him 10th overall in April. Jon Runyan and John Michael Schmitz are where I start to get the panic sweats, but this unit overall might be the most comfortable I’ve felt about a Giants offensive line in... honestly, I don’t even remember.

Washington rounds us out... again. Sam Cosmi is a stud, but things get considerably shakier from there, especially with Laremy Tunsil’s injury throwing a wrench into things. That’s probably not ideal when your franchise quarterback spent a good chunk of last season getting the you-know-what kicked out of him.

Front sevens

I’m running out of flowers to throw at the Eagles. It’s honestly incredibly annoying. Their pass rush might not be as daunting as some of the others in the division, but the combination of Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nolan Smith Jr., Zack Baun, and Jihaad Campbell is good enough to once again take the top spot.

Jonathan Greenard, Jalyx Hunt, and AJ Epenesa are no slouches, either. Seriously, enough already.

If the Giants still had Dexter Lawrence feasting in the middle, this would be a different conversation. But with Big Dex off to Cincinnati, Big Blue will nestle in nicely at second place. No, their defensive line isn’t exactly the most intimidating, but DJ Reader, Shelby Harris, and Chauncey Golston are intriguing enough not to waste the talents of Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Tremaine Edmunds, and Arvell Reese. Not to mention, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Micah McFadden might be the best backups at their positions in the NFL.

They get the nod over Quinnen Williams and the Cowboys.

Dallas has a lot of “could-be-good” players, but not enough established talent to move them up any further. Kenny Clark and Williams give them a solid interior presence, while the pass rush will be relying heavily on youth with Donovan Ezeiruaku, Jaishawn Barham, and Malachi Lawrence.

Future Hall of Famer Von Miller has returned home to Texas, but that’s giving me more OBJ now vibes than “he’s about to turn the Cowboys’ pass rush into one of the league’s most feared.” DeMarvion Overshown has star potential, but availability is the best ability, and he unfortunately hasn’t been available nearly enough.

And then there’s Washington. Daron Payne is still a monster, and adding Odafe Oweh gives them some much-needed juice off the edge. Javon Kinlaw, K’Lavon Chaisson, Charles Omenihu, and Frankie Luvu aren’t exactly a group I’d be thrilled to see across the line of scrimmage, either.

Unfortunately for the Commies, somebody has to finish fourth.

There’s enough talent here for Washington to make this ranking look foolish by November, especially if Oweh builds on a strong 2025. For now, there’s just a little too much projection involved to put them ahead of the other three fronts.

Secondaries

Much like the pass-catching group, the Eagles claiming the top spot had a lot to do with star power. That’s what happens when Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Riq Woolen headline the secondary.

As for second place, I can already hear the relentless whining coming from Cowboys fans: (in your best whiny voice) "But we drafted Caleb Downs.” Cool. And the beach has sand. It’s not moving them up any higher on the list.

I might be biased -- shocker -- but Deonte Banks, Greg Newsome II, Paulson Adebo, Tyler Nubin, Jevón Holland, Colton Hood, and Dru Phillips give the Giants a pretty ridiculous collection of talent in the secondary. Whether they all play like it is another conversation entirely.

This was by far the toughest decision to make, and if you wanted to flip Dallas and New York, I honestly wouldn’t put up much of a fight. At the end of the day, as long as it’s obvious the Eagles are first and the Commies are last, that’s all that really matters.

Washington has Mike Sainristil, Rasul Douglas, Amik Robertson, Jeremy Reaves, and Nick Cross starting the season, which just feels like too inconsistent a group to place any higher right now.

Schedule

All four teams are going to be playing the AFC South and NFC West this year, along with six games against the NFC East. That leaves three opponents on each team’s schedule that aren’t shared across the division.

Here’s how each team shook out with their respective three:

• Giants: Saints, Browns, Lions
• Eagles: Bears, Panthers, Steelers
• Cowboys: Ravens, Buccaneers, Packers
• Commanders: Bengals, Falcons, Vikings

All things considered, the NFC East isn’t necessarily a cakewalk for anyone, but Dallas got screwed by the scheduling gods with three teams that should be in the playoff picture come January.

The G-Men should have an easier go with the Saints and Browns both being very winnable games, while the Lions are looking to bounce back from an underwhelming 2025 season.

Philly will be taking on three “we’re not sure what they are” teams as they enter 2026. All three have a path to the playoffs, but I wouldn’t argue that any of them are playoff locks.

Washington just can’t catch a break in this exercise, but at least they have it a little better than the Cowboys. The Falcons and Vikings are total unknowns entering the season, while the Bengals are legitimate AFC North contenders with Joe Burrow under center and former Giants legend Dexter “Sexy Dexy” Lawrence now manning the middle of their front.

Final standings

Remember, this is all about scoring as few points as possible. A first-place finish gets one point, a second-place finish gets two points, and so on. With that in mind, here's how the NFC East shook out after counting up the points:

As expected, it wasn't so close at the top. The Eagles lead the way with a staggering 9 points, beating second place by eight(!) points. They ranked in first place for running backs, offensive line, front sevens, secondary, and schedules. They never finished worse than second in any category.

Pretty unsurprisingly, the Cowboys finish second with 17 points. That's what happens when you have the best QB (Dak Prescott) and the best receiving room (CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Jake Ferguson) in the division. It's fitting that they aren't exactly known for their defense; it explains them finishing third in front sevens and secondaries.

Finishing right behind 'America's Team' are your New York Football Giants, coming in with 18 points. The G-Men didn’t win any category, and unfortunately, finished last in arguably the most important one – quarterback. And while that might be cause for concern, the reality is that the division is loaded with elite arm talent. It's more of an admission of that rather than a lack of confidence in Dart.

The defense carried Big Blue in a big way, sneaking into second place in secondaries and front sevens. They also stole a second-place finish in the RB room category, as well as in their schedule.

Last, and deservedly least, we have the Commanders, finishing with an I might have to check the math again 26 points. It's honestly no surprise that the Commies didn't even get a first- or second-place honor. There are some good individual players scattered throughout the roster, but compared to the rest of the division, there just isn’t enough here -- as these rankings pretty clearly showed.

Their roster leaves a lot to be desired, and the scheduling gods did them no favors this season, giving them an absolute gauntlet to navigate.

Of course, these rankings are purely subjective -- one man's opinion, if you will. Even with the Eagles running away in the rankings, it feels like the NFC East hasn't been this open for the taking in a minute. Out of all the takeaways from this exercise, the biggest one is: This division is going to be extremely competitive and fun to watch in 2026.

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