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    NFL.com's Lance Zierlein on Possible Draft Trends

    NFL Network Analyst Projects Wins Totals for Giants, Cowboys, Eagles, and Commanders

    Plus this is the team that is being projected to win the division.

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    New York Giants
    New York Giants

    The last time the NFC East had the same division winner in back-to-back seasons was in 2001-2004 when the Philadelphia Eagles went on a string of four straight seasons as the top dog in the division.

    If NFL Network analyst David Carr’s projections are on point, the division is about to have a new champion in 2023, and it’s not the defending champion Eagles.

    Carr, appearing on NFL Total Access, predicted that the Dallas Cowboys would win the NFC East by logging 13 wins, one more than the 12 projected for the Eagles and Giants and six more than what was projected for the Commanders.

    Of course, those projections are based on where each team’s roster stands ahead of the NFL Draft. But while one can appreciate Carr’s optimism for the Giants to top last year’s nine-win season, to suggest that New York would equal the number of wins logged by the defending NFC conference champions would suggest that the Giants have dramatically closed the talent gap between themselves and the Eagles and Cowboys.

    Such is not the case, at least not as of right now. While Giants general manager Joe Schoen poured a lot of resources into upgrading the run defense with additions such as defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches and linebacker Bobby Okereke and making over the passing game with guys like tight end Darren Waller, and receivers Parris Campbell, Jamison Crowder, and Jeff Smith, there are two very glaring issues that Schoen hasn’t yet addressed, but which he is likely to do so in the draft.

    The first is the interior offensive line. The Giants lost centers Jon Feliciano and Nick Gates in free agency. While they did agree to terms with former Steelers center J.C. Hassenaufer, the thinking is the team will look to draft their center of the future, possibly as soon as Day 2 of the draft.

    Regardless, the Giants interior offensive line needs reinforcement. Last season, New York tied for 26th (with Minnesota and Las Vegas) in pass-blocking efficiency (82.8), with Washington (81.6) only finishing worse among the four teams in the division. And along that same line, the Giants also allowed the third-most pressures in pass protection (212) in the league.

    On the other side of the ball, the Giants must upgrade their coverage on the back end, specifically at cornerback. Adoree Jackson is set to return after missing a large chunk of playing time last year because of a knee injury, but he is entering the final year of his contract.

    On the other side, the Giants currently have Nick McCloud, Aaron Robinson, and Cor’Dale Flott set to compete for the starting role—that is, unless the Giants dip into the historic cornerbacks class early, as is anticipated, for their future starter.

    Adding cornerback help is vital if the Giants are hoping to match last year’s win total, let alone exceed it. Among the top ten regular-season receiving yardage leaders, four players—A.J. Brown of the Eagles, CeeDee Lamb of the Cowboys, Devonta Smith of the Eagles, and Terry McLaurin of the Commanders—finished fourth, sixth, ninth, and tenth, respectively.

    Three of those four—Brown, Smith, and McLaurin—all finished at least one game with at least 95 yards receiving against the Giants last year.

    There is one other factor worth noting. The Giants are tied with the Patriots and Cowboys for the third-hardest schedule in the league this coming season. That’s not to say that the Giants can’t hit their first double-digit win regular-season total since 2016, when they won 11 games. But just as the Giants intend to get better via the draft, so will those teams they’re due to face this coming year.

    While we love Carr’s optimism that the Giants can stand toe-to-toe with the top competition in the division, we think the projected win total is probably a little too aggressive at this point in the roster-building season.
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