4th place- Eagles (2020 Record 4-11-1)
Key Additions: WR DaVonta Smith (drafted), LB Eric Wilson, DE Ryan Kerrigan
Key Departures: DT Malik Jackson, T Jason Peters, CB Jalen Mills
2020 Offense (334 points 26th in NFL, 334,6 yards per game 24th in NFL)
2020 Defense (418 points allowed 20th in NFL, 363.1 yards allowed per game 19th in NFL)
Offensive Synopsis: The Eagles in 2020 were a bad offensive football team. Carson Wentz regressed to one of the worst starters in all football. The Offensive line became one of the worst in the game and the receiving core was old and ineffective. 2021 has a new infusion with Jalen Hurts taking over full time and Heisman Trophy Winner DeVonta Smith being drafted 10th overall to assist in improving an abysmal passing game. Outside of Jason Kelce at center the offensive line is shaky or to be polite unproven. Until I see some progress up front and with Hurts, I have to put the Eagles near the bottom in offensive expectations in 2021.
Prediction (Bottom 3 Unit)
Defensive Synopsis: The Eagles defense was more of a middle of the pack unit in 2020. Under the circumstances the defense did a great job last season with their offense putting them in difficult situations throughout the season. Unfortunately, the Eagles have lost a ton of their starters, notably Vinny Curry and Jalen Mills who are still very productive players. Fletcher Cox and Darius Slay are still two of the best at their positions but overall the Eagles defense has regressed from last season and because of the poor offense keeping them on the field a lot I’m going to drop them to the bottom 10 in the league.
Prediction (Bottom 10 Unit)
Conclusion: I will not be allowed to eat a cheese steak for many years. The City of brotherly Love will not welcome me there for years because of how harsh I’m about to be on their team and it’s okay. With all of the news that came out about the treatment of Doug Pederson and the curious hiring of Nick Sirianni this is going to be as the great Colin Cowherd puts it a tire fire in 2021. There is a chance that Jalen Hurts will become a solid NFL Starter. There is a chance the defense could be decent when healthy. Truth of the matter is this a team that is devoid of talent and even in a weak division I have the Eagles as the worst team in all football in 2021. Eagles are on the clock.
Record Prediction: 2-15
3rd Place- Giants (2020 Record 6-10)
Key Additions: TE Kyle Rudolph, WR Kenny Golliday, CB A’dore Jackson
Key Departures: WR Golden Tate, RB Wayne Gallman, T Camron Flemming
2020 Offense: (280 Points 31st in NFL, 299.6 yards per game 31st in NFL)
2020 Defense: (357 points allowed 9th in NFL, 349.3 yards allowed per game 12th in NFL)
Offensive Synopsis: The Giants were dreadfully bad offensively in 2020. Only their sister team the Jets kept the Giants from the bottom of football in every major statistic. Daniel Jones regressed a bit from his rookie season but did limit his turnovers. The Giants brought in Kyle Rudolph and Kenny Golliday in the offseason to bolster up the offense. Saquon Barkley may not be ready for the season opener due to still recovering from his torn ACL. The biggest question for me is the offensive line. They were one of the worst in football last season and the Giants are holding status quo there, as they didn’t do anything to really improve their unit overall. I need to see improvement the line, see some better Daniel Jones pocket presence and improved health Saquon Barkley’s before i bump the Giants from the bottom rung.
Prediction (Bottom 3 Unit)
Defensive Synopsis: Giants up front had one of the best units in football last season. Between Dexter Lawrence, Austin Johnson and Leonard Williams I expect much of the same for the G Men in 2021. The Giants were in the top ten in points allowed and yards per play last season. This came from a unit that had to carry much of the load as the offense was one of the worst in the NFL and left them out to dry often. There is potential for the offense to be improve but regardless this is one of the better defensive units in football and will keep them in most games.
Prediction (Top 10 Unit)
Conclusion: The 2021 Giants look much like the 2020 Giants in my opinion. They could be improved overall but I still see a flawed football team that may be looking for a new Quarterback in the offseason. If Daniel Jones makes the leap to decent and the offensive line can keep Jones upright, and Saquon Barkley can stay healthy as the Giants don’t have much running back depth. If those things happen this could be a football team that is in the playoff hunt. But for now I have to have the Giants about where they were last season, a competitive yet mediocre football team.
Record Prediction: 6-11
2nd Place- Washington (2020 Record 7-9)
Key Additions: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, CB William Jackson, WR Curtis Samuel
Key Departures: QB Alex Smith, DE Ryan Kerrigan, CB Ronald Darby
2020 Offense: (334 Points Scored 25th in NFL, 317.3 yards per game 30th in NFL)
2020 Defense: (329 Points allowed 4th in NFL, 304.6 yards allowed per game 2nd in NFL)
Offensive Synopsis: The WFT (Washington Football Team) had one of the worst offensive units in football last season. They had the underwhelming Dwayne Haskins, Alex Smith, Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke behind center last season. WFT is looking to have more stability behind center with the addition of veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick. WFT does have talent outside with underrated Terry McLaurin and the addition of gadget guru Curtis Samuel. The offensive line isn’t bad either led by All-Pro Right Guard Brandon Scherff. Even with all this said I still don’t see massive improvement from this unit in 2021 because it’s Quarterbacks are Ryan Fitzpatrick and Taylor Heinicke, maybe most dire QB room in football.
Prediction (Bottom 5 Unit)
Defensive Synopsis: The WFT defense was elite in 2020. One of the certain can’t miss prospects in recent history Defensive End Chase Young predictably was immediately one of the best defensive players in all of football. The front seven is still vicious led by Young. Even with the departure of the ever underrated Ryan Kerrigan the WFT defense is still going to be one of the best units in football led by Young and an underrated yet excellent secondary. The WFT defense was in the top 5 in every meaningful stat in 2020 (namely sacks and QB pressures). Expect more of the same in 2021.
Prediction (Top 5 Unit)
Conclusion: The WFT won one of the worst divisions ever in 2020 with a losing 7-9 record. The WFT is about where they were last season by my prognosis. They will be very competitive and their defense will win them some football games this season. But even in a bad division I cannot in my right mind pick the WFT to repeat as division champs in 2021 with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Taylor Heinicke. The Cowboys have to be better than last year right? Maybe I’m crazy, well see.
Record Prediction: 8-9
1st place- Cowboys (2020 Record 6-10)
Key Additions: LB Micah Parsons (drafted), LB Keanu Neal, DT Brent Urban
Key Departures: DT Tyrone Crawford, LB Sean Lee, CB Chidobe Awuzie
2020 Offense: (395 points scored 17th in NFL, 371.6 yards per game 14th in NFL)
2020 Defense: (473 points allowed 28th in NFL, 386.4 23rd in NFL)
Offensive Synopsis: Here was the points and yardage output the Cowboys performed in Dak Prescott’s five starts last season, 17 points 380 yards, 40 points 570 yards, 31 points 522 yards, 38 points 566 yards, 37 points 402 yards (Dak broke his ankle in third Quarter of that game). That output equates to 32.6 points per game and 488 yards per game. Those would be historic offensive numbers throughout a whole season. I don’t think the Cowboys would be that prolific but let’s say the scoring offense is 90 percent and the yardage output is 80 percent of that sample size. It all depends on Dak’s elbow, if Dak’s healthy this will very likely will be the best passing offense in football.
Prediction (Top 3 Unit)
Defensive Synopsis: This is where you will look away if you root for the big star on the helmet. Let’s first start off with the fact that Dallas went 2-3 in those five Dak Starts and could have easily been 0-5. The defense in their final ten games were about league average as they started to giving up far fewer big plays. The linebacking core is deep and very solid (especially if Parsons pops) but the secondary lost their best two corners over the past two offseasons and is unproven to say the least. We are still waiting for a repeat of 2017 from DeMarcus Lawrence and probably will still be waiting after this year.
Prediction (Bottom 10 Unit)
Conclusion: I will be frank and say that I could see a world where the Giants or WFT wins this division. The NFC East was the second toughest division to pick a winner in this year for me (NFC West is the toughest). But in 2021 offense matters more than ever and I think the Cowboys offense is better than the Giants and WFT’s defense and the Cowboys defense is less awful then the Giants and WFT’s offense. If Dak Prescott’s elbow is right (which is a concern of mine) The Cowboys will still of annoy America, because their on TV all the time. However with that being said, the Cowboys will be worth watching every week as they will be one of the more entertaining teams to watch in all of football this season.
Record Prediction: 10-7 4th Seed in NFC