1. Dallas Cowboys: I think we can all come together and say it was great to see Dak Prescott back on the field after suffering a gruesome ankle injury back in 2020. You see the difference he makes when he’s on the field. They pulled off six straight wins at one point in 2021 last season. For the first time since 2018, they were NFC East champs. The Cowboys need one thing. They need balance to be successful. I may sound like a broken record player saying this, but Ezekiel Elliott cannot have an impact by touching the football only 11 times. CeeDee Lamb becomes the number one receiver this year after the team traded away Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns. The defense was improved last year due to a rookie. Micah Parsons came in and had an immediate impact. I’ll be bold here. If things don’t pan out this year with Mike McCarthy, they will do all they can to get Sean Payton.
2. Philadelphia Eagles: I can admit I wasn’t expecting much from them in 2021. A then-rookie head coach in Nick Sirianni, they traded Carson Wentz and leaned on Jalen Hurts as the starting quarterback. In this league, winning streaks talk and they were one of the hotter teams in the NFC. The Eagles did make the playoffs last year and are looking to build off that. They had a great draft in the Spring when they took big Jordan Davis from Georgia. That same night, they made a move to acquire A.J. Brown from the Tennessee Titans. The moves have been made, now let’s see what they do with them. Jalen finally has that year of starting experience under his belt. The next step is what I’m looking to see from him.
3. Washington Commanders: They finally have a team name! Although I was used to the Washington Football Team. They regressed in 2021 after winning the NFC East back in 2020. It was too much inconsistency at quarterback. First, they lose Ryan Fitzpatrick to injury, and Taylor Heinicke wasn’t that great either. The team just couldn’t get into a rhythm at all. What hurt was the loss of Chase Young. He tore his ACL and everything fell apart after that. A familiar face returns to the NFC East this year. I believe Carson Wentz is on his final straw as a starting quarterback in this league. He can’t stay healthy at this point and it’s crazy to think he was an MVP candidate back in 2017.
4. New York Giants: It’s been a struggle for them the last few years. It’s going to take some time for them to get back to that level of success. Firing Joe Judge was the best thing they could do. It just wasn’t going to work with him. The Giants hired Brian Daboll from the Buffalo Bills. He’s been one of the best offensive-minded guys in the league and they’re hoping he brings that same magic with him to East Rutherford. I was surprised that they decided to stick with Daniel Jones for one more season. The Giants also had a nice draft. Kayvon Thibodeaux fell to them at five and two picks later, they drafted Evan Neal, an offensive lineman from Alabama. I have a feeling they will go in another direction if Daniel struggles once again.
2022 Predictions
1. Eagles (11-6)
2. Cowboys (10-7)
3. Commanders (7-10)
4. Giants (6-11)
I’m picking the Philadelphia Eagles to win the NFC East in 2022. A.J. Brown will help elevate this offense. He’s a playmaker and along with DeVonta Smith, they could form a nice duo for Jalen Hurts in the passing game. I’m excited to watch this Eagles defense. They signed James Bradberry to help bolster up the secondary and they drafted Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean, both out of Georgia. On paper, this is the best roster in the division. Can they put it all together live? That’s the question we need the answer to.
