With the Position Breakdown series in full swing, the next division under the microscope is the NFC East. Here’s a defensive position-by-position breakdown of the NFC East, with “the best” at each position followed by “the rest” in descending order.
Just to be clear, the Giants and Cowboys run a 4-3 defensive scheme while the Redskins and Eagles run a 3-4 defensive scheme. Naturally, the Giants and Cowboys have an advantage under the defensive line category while the Redskins and Eagles have an advantage under the linebackers category. That being said, let’s jump into the rankings.
Check out the offensive breakdown here.
NFC East Breakdown by Position: The Defense
Defensive Line
The Best: NYG The Rest: WAS, PHI, DAL
The scheme advantage boosts the Giants above the Redskins and Eagles here, assuming that Jason Pierre-Paul will be healthy enough to play as an above average defensive end this year. Johnathan Hankins is also a very good defensive tackle, stuffing the run while recording seven sacks last season. The other starting defensive tackle spot is still up for grabs, with veteran Cullen Jenkins as the frontrunner, but 2014 third-round pick Jay Bromley looked very good in the first preseason game and Kenrick Ellis will be in the mix as a run stuffer. At defensive end, the Giants have a few intriguing talents other than Jason Pierre-Paul. Robert Ayers was arguably the best pass rusher on the team in limited snaps last season, and he’s a frontrunner to hold one of the starting end spots. However, 2013 third-round pick Damontre Moore and Kerry Wynn (undrafted free agent signed last year) also played well in the first preseason game and they will be competing for snaps while George Selvie will help against the run and rookie Owa Odighizuwa will be developed for the future. Clearly, the Giants have a good amount of depth across the defensive line and if Jason Pierre-Paul returns, the unit will be dangerous.
The Redskins and Eagles both run 3-4 schemes with talented defensive linemen, but I’m giving the edge to the Redskins. Washington revamped their defensive line in free agency, acquiring Terrance Knighton, Stephen Paea, and Ricky Jean-Francois. Jason Hatcher is the best defensive lineman returning from last season while Chris Baker will be a solid backup nose tackle. Knighton will be the starter at nose tackle, and he will thrive in a system that asks him to stuff the run, take on double teams, and allow the linebackers to finish plays. He isn’t much of a pass rusher, but the Redskins don’t need him to be. Paea sent out some angry tweets about how he was a Pro Bowl snub last year, and he might have a case. He played on a miserable Chicago Bears defense, so his contributions may have been overlooked. With a better supporting cast in Washington, he may have a chance to reach his first Pro Bowl. Washington will definitely have an above average defensive line with the new additions.
The Eagles might not quite be on the level of the Redskins, but their defensive line is definitely solid too. Fletcher Cox, Bennie Logan, and Cedric Thornton will all return as starters while Vinny Curry and Beau Allen will be the main contributors off the bench. Fletcher Cox is one of the best 3-4 defensive ends in the game and he can do it all. Like Stephen Paea, Cox also felt that he was a Pro Bowl snub. One reason neither of these players made the Pro Bowl is that they are considered defensive ends while they are actually interior defensive linemen but happen to play in a 3-4 scheme. Either way, it’s clear that Cox can play. Bennie Logan and Cedric Thornton don’t get as much recognition, but they are solid linemen and they get their jobs done. Neither of them will get many sacks, but they both stuff the run well and occupy space.
Despite the advantage as a 4-3 team, the Cowboys still have the worst defensive line in the NFC East right now. However, this unit has some sneaky potential. Greg Hardy was obviously the big name acquired in the offseason, and if he can play like he did in 2013, he will be a big boost after his suspension. However, Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory are the main reasons this unit could become very solid. They are both unproven, but they have very high ceilings. Cowboys fans are counting on Lawrence in particular to step up in his second year. Jeremy Mincey will be the other contributing defensive end, and he proved that he is a solid contributor after posting six sacks last season. At defensive tackle, Tyrone Crawford is another player with potential that the Cowboys expect will step up this season. Nick Hayden will start next to him, but he is probably better suited in a backup role. If the young players can develop into impactful players this season, Dallas could have a very good defensive line. If they don’t, the unit will be mediocre like last season, but the future is bright either way.
Linebacker
The Best: PHI The Rest: WAS, DAL, NYG
Once again, the Eagles and Redskins are very close, but I’m giving the edge to the Eagles this time. In fact, the Eagles have five starting caliber linebackers for only four starting positions. DeMeco Ryans, Mychal Kendricks, and Kiko Alonso will be fighting for time at inside linebacker, and all three deserve to be starters. At outside linebacker, Connor Barwin is one of the best pass rushers in the division and Brandon Graham is a promising edge rusher who the Eagles were able to retain this offseason. Youngsters Marcus Smith and Jordan Hicks won’t see much playing time this year, but they have talented veterans to learn from.
With the addition of Junior Galette, the Redskins have a dominant group of linebackers as well. He will join Ryan Kerrigan to form a dominant pass rushing duo from the outside. Trent Murphy and rookie Preston Smith will also be looking for some snaps at the edge rushing position. On the inside, last year’s starters Keenan Robinson and Perry Riley will both return. However, if either of them suffers an injury, the Redskins might be in trouble. Keenan Robinson has not played a full season yet during his young career.
Rolando McClain’s suspension and injury will keep him out for at least the first four games of the season, but this group will be very solid when he returns. Sean Lee has moved to the weak side after missing last season, but he is still an impact player when he is healthy. Anthony Hitchens stepped up last season and proved that he can be relied upon. Additionally, the Cowboys added Jasper Brinkley to fill in for McClain until he is back. The unit doesn’t have much depth, but if everybody stays healthy they will be fine.
The Giants attempted to fix the weak side linebacker situation this offseason by adding J.T. Thomas and Jonathan Casillas, but the first preseason game was not encouraging for the unit. The Bengals ran the ball with ease and nobody seemed to step up. When healthy, Jon Beason is an above average middle linebacker, but he is rarely healthy. Devon Kennard is an exciting starter on the strong side, and he showed some flashes last year, but he is still unproven. Steve Spagnuolo will probably blitz him frequently though, so he could turn into a special edge rusher. Jameel McClain filled in for Beason last year and did a solid job, so he is a nice player to have as a backup.
Cornerback
The Best: NYG The Rest: WAS, DAL, PHI
The Giants possess one of the best cornerback duos in the league when Prince Amukamara and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are healthy. The depth after the starters is pretty weak, but the NFC East is pretty weak at the cornerback position as a whole so it doesn’t impact these rankings. Trumaine McBride and Jayron Hosley are the leading candidates for the slot corner position, but both suffered minor injuries in the first preseason game.
The Redskins are firmly locked into the second slot here, as the Cowboys and Eagles are not even close. The addition of Chris Culliver bolstered the unit and he will start next to veteran Deangelo Hall. Additionally, Bashaud Breeland had a solid rookie season last year and he will definitely be in the mix. The one-game suspension and the MCL injury won’t help his case though.
I’m giving the Cowboys a slight advantage over the Eagles because Orlando Scandrick has proven that he can have success in the NFC East. With the selection of Byron Jones, Scandrick will probably return to his slot corner position though. Brandon Carr is an underwhelming starter and Morris Claiborne has been a bust so far, so the unit definitely needs improvement.
Byron Maxwell was a solid free agent acquisition because he can’t possibly be any worse than what the Eagles had at cornerback last season. That being said, he is moving to a different scheme and he won’t have the type of talent surrounding him in the secondary that he had in Seattle. Eric Rowe is an unproven rookie like Byron Jones and Nolan Carroll is an average starter at best. To make matters worse, rookie JaCorey Shepherd was a strong candidate for the slot corner position before tearing his ACL in practice.
Safety
The Best: WAS The Rest: PHI, DAL, NYG
Safety is the weakest positional group in the division by far. That being said, the Redskins take the top ranking with the trio of Dashon Goldson, Duke Ihenacho, and Jeron Johnson. Goldson is locked in to start at free safety and the battle for the strong safety position should be an interesting one. Johnson will probably end up being a big contributor on special teams if he doesn’t win the starting job.
Malcolm Jenkins is easily the best safety in the division, but the Eagles dropped to the second slot in these rankings because he has nobody to play next to him. Walter Thurmond, who has been a slot corner his entire career and converted to safety this offseason, is the leading candidate and that is very dangerous considering how frequently he gets injured. If Thurmond can’t make the successful transition, the defense will have a noticeable hole in the secondary.
J.J. Wilcox and Barry Church are both average starters, but they still beat out the Giants because the safety situation in New York is probably the worst in the league. The Cowboys did nothing to address the safety position in the offseason, so the unit will remain average.
It’s amazing how quickly teams can change in football. A couple years ago, the Giants had a dominant group of safeties featuring Antrel Rolle, Will Hill, and Stevie Brown. Today, the team is left with rookie Landon Collins at strong safety, who suffered a minor injury in the first preseason game, and a gaping hole at free safety. Rookie Mykkele Thompson is out for the season and the Giants added veteran Brandon Meriweather to replace him. He will compete with Bennett Jackson, Cooper Taylor, Nat Berhe, and Jeromy Miles for the other starting safety position. Fascinating options, right?
Special Teams
The Best: PHI The Rest: NYG, WAS, DAL
Putting anybody but the Eagles in first place would be disrespectful after the performance of their special teams unit last season. Darren Sproles is one of the most dynamic returners in the game and the entire unit wreaked havoc all season. Cody Parkey had an amazing rookie season and earned a Pro Bowl appearance, making 32 field goals out of 36 attempts. The only negative aspect of this unit is that veteran Donnie Jones is only an average punter at this point in his career.
The Giants added Dwayne Harris in the offseason, giving them an exciting returner for the first time in many years. Veteran Josh Brown is still a reliable kicker, making 24 of 26 field goal attempts. That was good enough for the third-highest field goal percentage in the league last year. Punter Steve Weatherford had an average season last year, but he was battling an injury and he should perform better this season.
Rookie Jamison Crowder is the most exciting candidate for the returner position for the Redskins. He probably won’t get as many plays at receiver as he would like, but he could make a difference on special teams. Kicker Kai Forbath is the reason the Redskins dropped to third in these rankings. He is an accurate kicker, but he did not make a single field goal of 50 or more yards last season. In fact, he only attempted one because the team does not trust his leg strength. Punter Tress Way is the brightest spot on this special teams unit. He averaged 47.5 yards per punt last season, which was the best in the league.
The Cowboys need a replacement for returner Dwayne Harris, and they may have found one in undrafted free agent Lucky Whitehead. If he can prove his worth on special teams, he will have a much better shot of making the team. Kicker Dan Bailey had a poor season by his standards last year, making only 25 of 29 field goal attempts, which was the worst field goal percentage in the NFC East. Mr. Automatic needs to redeem himself in 2015. Chris Jones was an average punter last year, averaging 45.4 yards per punt.
Coaching
The Best: NYG The Rest: DAL, PHI, WAS
This one is a no-brainer. Tom Coughlin might have had a few difficult seasons after a record-breaking number of injuries, but he still has two Super Bowl championships with the Giants and he led an expansion team to an AFC Championship Game back when he was the head coach of the Jaguars. Every NFC East fan can agree on this one.
Jason Garrett and Chip Kelly are very close, but I’m going to give Jason Garrett the slight edge because he has more experience and the most recent success. Garrett finally got over the hump last season and recorded his first playoff win. That season also boosted his winning percentage to .569 as a head coach.
Chip Kelly has a slightly higher winning percentage than Garrett at .625, but the Eagles failed to make the playoffs last year. He does have one playoff appearance from his rookie season under his belt, but after the moves he orchestrated this offseason, I want to see proof that he made the team better.
Jay Gruden did not have a good first season in Washington and he is going to need to do a lot better to climb these rankings. If the Redskins don’t make progress, he might not even be here to rank next year.
