Why the NFC East Will be Better in 2020

This year's winner will still likely be the Eagles or Cowboys, but they will be pushed by improvements made in New York and Washington

The NFC East’s champion last year was close to being 8-8 and heading into the final weekend of the season it was a distinct possibility.

It would have happened had the Eagles lost in the season finale against the New York Giants, which would have made Dallas the champs at 8-8. It didn’t happen, as the Eagles rallied to beat New York, 34-17 to finish at 9-7 and win its second division title in three years.

Still, the East's mediocre play at the top and abysmal performance at the bottom made it a laughingstock around the league.

It is expected that the Eagles and Cowboys will vie for the division title once again, something they have volleyed back and forth for most of the last decade, but the Giants and Redskins should be better.

It's difficult to be much worse if you are those two clubs after Washington went 3-13 and New York 4-12 to both end up in the top five of the 2020 NFL Draft.

That won’t happen again, will it?

Here’s why it won’t.

COWBOYS

Oh, that draft: Dallas got just about everything they needed, two potential starting cornerbacks (Trevon Diggs and Reggie Robinson), a starting center (Tyler Biadasz), and a sturdy defensive tackle (Neville Gallimore). On top of that they got arguably the best receiver in the class in CeeDee Lamb.

Here's a breakdown of Dallas' schedule:

/nfl/eagles/news/breaking-down-the-dallas-cowboys-schedule-RjNkph68WUW5i7u8rbAw1Q

Free-agent success: They may be older but signing defensive tackles Dontari Poe and Gerald McCoy should make it challenging to run on the Cowboys.

New coach: It’s no longer Jason Garrett, and that figures to help. While some might argue that Mike McCarthy could do no better than win one Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers, he took Green Bay to the playoffs nine times in 13 seasons. So what if he was 1-3 in NFC championship games? He will try to become the seventh NFL coach to lead two different teams to the Big Game, one of whom is former Eagles coach Dick Vermeil, who did it with the St. Louis Rams as well.

GIANTS
Andrew Thomas. New York GM Dave Gettleman did the right thing and went offensive tackle with the fourth overall pick. Whether or not Thomas will be the best tackle taken in a tackle-rich class remains to be seen. He’ll be good enough to help give QB Daniel Jones the protection he needs (and maybe fumbles less) and RB Saquon Barkley more space to operate.

Here's a breakdown of New York's schedule:

/nfl/eagles/news/breaking-down-the-new-york-giants-schedule-YIdeedz60k6CEAl8scydgw

Defensive upgrades: Linebacker Blake Martinez and cornerback James Bradberry were two important free-agent additions as was drafting safety Xavier McKinney and corner Darnay Holmes. They should help the Giants improve from their 25th ranking in total defense last year, including 28th against the pass.

Daniel Jones. OK, this could be a liability, too, but Jones was taken sixth overall in 2019, and players are supposed to take big jumps between Year 1 and Year 2. It always doesn’t happen, and Chicago’s Mitchell Trubisky is an example that first comes to mind, and it may not happen for Jones, though he did have 24 TD passes last year. If it does happen, New York could be pesky.

REDSKINS

Jack Del Rio. The new Redskins defensive coordinator for new head coach Ron Rivera has a new piece up front in edge rusher Chase Young, taken second overall in last month’s draft. That’s not all, Del Rio has a defensive line loaded with former first-round picks, including edge rusher Montez Sweat and defensive tackles Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen. That’s a pretty scary bunch coached by a DC who knows what he is doing.

Here's a breakdown of Washington's schedule:

/nfl/eagles/news/breaking-down-the-washington-redskins-schedule-MkVuvdunlESRSvehfajFLw

The two Antonio’s. That would be Antonio Gibson, the team’s third-round draft pick, and Antonio Gandy-Golden, the team’s second of two fourth-round draft picks. These were two highly regarded offensive players going into the draft, especially Gibson who is big, fast, and versatile. There is a chance he will be in the conversation for rookie of the year.

The big-bodied Gandy-Golden has a chance to be the starting receiver opposite Terry McLaurin sooner rather than later.

Kyle Allen. Many would put Dwayne Haskins in this spot, and he could prove to be worthy of a mention here should the second-year QB build on last year’s late success, but he must figure out a new system without the benefit of much on-field work. If he gets off to a slow start, he could find an early seat on the bench with Allen taking over. Allen spent the past two seasons in Carolina with Rivera as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M. Scott Turner, now Rivera’s offensive coordinator, was Allen’s QB coach with the Panthers the past two years.