The NFC East is the home of the 2017 NFL champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. They didn’t stop there, and the rest of the division certainly followed suit in making a bevy of moves. The schedule is out, which means we can see that they will be literally every single game everywhere next season, so bone up on your NFC East moves going into the 2018 NFL Draft.
The Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys didn’t make the most moves in the NFC East this offseason, but they certainly made the Move Heard ‘Round the World (because Dez Stans wouldn’t shut up about it). They cut Dez Bryant, their over the hill wide receiver who hasn’t been good in several years, mostly because he relied on physicality and his lower body has broken down due to injuries. Without Bryant, their receiving corps is a mess and they’re a favorite for the services of D.J. Moore, Cortland Sutton or Calvin Ridley this weekend. They made other moves, namely signing Allen Hurns and Kony Ealy, but they are not difference makers. As a 49ers fan, I can tell you that Joe Looney and Marcus Martin, two OL signings, definitely make a difference. A real difference. A real bad difference. Their biggest “acquisition” could be the reinstatement of Noted Weed Boy Randy Gregory from suspension.
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The New York Giants
The Giants front office has some serious goodwill to rebuild after Bob McAdoo benched QB Iron Man Eli Manning for reasons related to, and this is a quote, “trying to protect his phony bologna job here.” The Giants were busy trying at a decent rebuild effort, inking William Gay, Nate Solder, Jonathon Stewart and Patrick Omameh and trading for Alec Ogletree. Their goal is to make one last playoff run with Eli Manning at the helm. They could backdoor their way into it, but it isn’t the type of effort that takes a team from the second overall pick to championship glory. They need to nail this draft to have a shot, and even then, they might have too many holes to fill for a half-hearted rebuild.
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The Philadelphia Eagles
There’s not a whole lot to do when you cruise through the NFC, cruise through the playoffs, and win the Super Bowl. However, the Eagles weren’t eager to rest on their laurels so far this offseason. They didn’t lose much of value (they cut Vinny Curry, traded someone named “Marcus Johnson” as well as Torrey Smith and let LeGarrette Blount abscond off to Detroit). They added quality replacements for guys they let go, trading for Michael Bennett and signing Mike Wallace. Their only blemish is the whole Daryl Worley fiasco, but the net was cutting Torrey Smith, which would have happened anyway. Oh, and they get Carson Wentz back next year, who wasn’t around for the late season & playoffs due to an ACL tear.
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Washington
Dan Snyder’s squad did enough this season to basically pretend like they didn’t screw Kirk Cousins around for several years by repeatedly franchise tagging him and offering him well-below-market deals. They paid the price of one of the best young CBs in the game, trading Kendall Fuller to the Chiefs for Alex Smith. They then gave him some weapons, signing Paul Richardson to go with an already-strong (if/when… okay, if… Jordan Reed is healthy this year) receiving corps. All-in-all, their moves could be worse and have all the trappings of an amazingly average football team.
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