The power in the NFC East seems to shift every single year. This year there’s a good chance it’ll be that way again. There has been so much movement this offseason that one of the teams will need a team meet and greet so all the new players can get to know each other. Here are the power rankings for the offseasons in the NFC East:
4. New York Giants
Not only did the Giants not add much in the way of talent, but the talent they did add came with some bad contracts. The contracts of wide receiver Dwayne Harris and outside linebacker J.T. Thomas were two of the worst contracts in all of free agency. They both signed for money that should be reserved for players that have produced much more than either of them have. I realize you shouldn’t pay players for what they’ve done in the NFL but for what they’re projected to do instead, but they added Harris to a wide receiver group of Odell Beckham, Victor Cruz, and Rueben Randle. While Harris might be able to contribute as the fourth wide receiver, without someone in front of him getting injured he won’t even get the chance to earn the money the Giants decided to give him.
Something else that diminishes the Giants’ offseason is the fact that they so desperately need safeties. The safety class in the upcoming draft isn’t the strongest we’ve seen recently, so free agency was their chance to get a stop gap safety so they weren’t forced to take one in this draft class. They failed to do that and have now made their draft a little more difficult.
3. Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles seemed to be signing anyone and everyone that was willing to come in for a visit once free agency started. However, they seemed to be so eager to sign everyone they could that they signed a lot of them to less than optimal contracts. Byron Maxwell is certainly a good cornerback, however, the Eagles gave him more guaranteed money than Richard Sherman, Joe Haden, or Patrick Peterson got on their latest contracts. They shipped out running back LeSean McCoy for linebacker Kiko Alonso and cited McCoy’s contract for being one of the main reasons. The Eagles then turned around and signed DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews for the same amount as McCoy ended up restructuring for in Buffalo (it’s worth noting that both Mathews and Murray also have major injury concerns).
The Eagles did upgrade at the quarterback position, as far as talent goes. They were able to trade Nick Foles, a 2015 fourth-round pick, and a 2016 second-round pick for Sam Bradford. The biggest downside to this trade, besides Bradford’s terrible contract, is that if the Eagles are as interested in trading up in the draft for former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota as is being reported, they traded away some fire power they could’ve used to help them move up.
2. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys were in danger of losing both Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray this offseason. But before free agency even started the Cowboys placed the franchise tag on Bryant, leaving Murray without a contract to keep him in Dallas. What makes losing Murray even harder for the Cowboys is that he went to their division rival Philadelphia Eagles. They didn’t waste much time replacing him though, signing Darren McFadden shortly after Murray signed with Philadelphia. They also made sure to keep their true strength together by giving Doug Free a new contract. With the offensive line they have in place there’s a better chance than usual that McFadden will be able to stay healthy. They did lose a decent amount of players on defense but the actual players weren’t what made the defense a success this past season. It was the offense’s ability to stay on the field so their defense played less. This formula has stayed in place going into 2015.
1. Washington Redskins
Looking at the Redskins’ activity you can tell pretty easily where they felt their weakness was. Washington didn’t re-sign a single defensive free agent this offseason. They let them all walk. And the free agents they brought in were all defensive players. They brought in cornerback Chris Culliver, safety Jeron Johnson, defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, and defensive tackle Stephen Paea.
Not only are all four of these players very talented but they were able to sign each of them to fair contracts. New General Manager Scot McCloughan has made their defense a point of emphasis this season, just like he did when he built the foundations of the successful 49ers and Seahawks we’ve seen recently. What is something neither of those two teams have had to do recently? Neither team has had to get out from under terrible contracts. McCloughan is looking to do the same thing in Washington and he’s certainly off to a good start.