National Football League

Ranking NFC East positional groups: Can anyone match Eagles' talent?

Published May. 24, 2023 4:07 p.m. ET

The Philadelphia Eagles were the best team in the NFC East last season and should be again. The Dallas Cowboys are a dangerous contender, and the New York Giants are up and coming, but there's still a gap between the Eagles and the rest.

Break it down by position, and it's clear why. The Eagles have the best talent in the division at almost every position — hardly a shocking fact since they had the second-ranked defense and third-ranked offense in the entire NFL. They are loaded, and they didn't get worse this offseason either. They might be more talented and deeper than they were before.

So they dominated this inside look at the best position groups in the NFC East — finishing on top in six of the nine groups:

QUARTERBACKS

The best: Eagles
Runner-up: Cowboys

Jalen Hurts was the runner-up for NFL MVP, so any quarterback room with him in it is at the top of the charts. He's probably the best two-way quarterback (passing and running) in the NFL. It also doesn't hurt that Philly has a strong, experienced backup in Marcus Mariota, who replaced Gardner Minshew.

But Dak Prescott and the Cowboys aren't far behind. Prescott would've topped 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns last season if he hadn't missed five games with an injury. He's an elite talent, just like Hurts, with maybe the best arm in the division. But his 15 interceptions in 12 games last season —and two more in the Cowboys' divisional playoff loss in San Francisco — are certainly alarming.

Daniel Jones remains a notch behind, but with plenty of potential to rise with a better cast now around him. As for Washington and young Sam Howell, even the Commanders don't know what they have yet.

RUNNING BACKS

The best: Giants
Runner-up: Cowboys

Saquon Barkley, when healthy, is easily the most talented, versatile back in the division, which he proved by staying in tact for most of last season while rushing for 1,312 yards, catching 57 passes and scoring 10 times. There isn't a lot of depth behind him. Matt Breida is fine for a few carries a game and rookie Eric Gray is still an unproven, fifth-round pick. But Barkley is so good, if he's healthy it doesn't matter.

The only NFC East running back who can come close is Tony Pollard, which is why the Cowboys franchised him and let Ezekiel Elliott go. There isn't much behind him either, unless their 5-5, 179-pound sixth-rounder, Deuce Vaughn, can carry his college electricity into a bigger, faster league. Also, Pollard broke his leg and tore ligaments in his ankle during the playoffs and had ankle surgery in late January. It's anyone's guess just how ready he'll be when the season starts.

Oddly, the Commanders would be next thanks to powerful, young Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson behind him. The Eagles have potential with the veteran (and cheap) duo of Rashaad Penny and D'Andre Swift. But they are two of the biggest injury risks in the division.

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RECEIVERS

The best: Eagles
Runner-up: Cowboys

This is a tough category to judge because the Eagles' 1-2 punch of A.J. Brown (88-1,498-11 last season) and DeVonta Smith (95-1,196-7) is the best in the division, by far. But they don't go three-deep at the position. Their third receiver last season, Quez Watkins, caught just 33 passes for 354 yards. The third option was really tight end Dallas Goedert, but he doesn't count as a receiver.

Two other teams do go three-deep. The Dallas Cowboys traded for the speedy Brandin Cooks this offseason to finally give CeeDee Lamb (107-1,359-9) some help. And Michael Gallup, if he's healthy is a fine third option, who was miscast last season as a No. 2. The addition of Cooks puts them ahead of Washington's dangerous trio of Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel and Jahan Dotson. Maybe with some better quarterback play, they'd have the numbers to move up.

As for the Giants … well, adding Parris Campbell and drafting Jalin Hyatt will definitely help. And really, after last season, could their receiving corps be any worse?

TIGHT ENDS

The best: Eagles
Runner-up: Giants

Maybe the only better receiving tight end in the entire NFL than Philly's Dallas Goedert (55-702-3 in 12 games) is Travis Kelce, and that's saying something. Nobody in the division can compare to him, especially after the Cowboys let Dalton Schultz get away.

There's potential in New York, though, where the Giants' big offseason acquisition was getting Darren Waller from Las Vegas. He's a true receiving threat with 90-catch, 1,000-yard potential if he can stay healthy. That's a big if at age 30 and after two injury-plagued years, but that's the only reason he's ranked below Goedert right now.

The Commanders, meanwhile, blew it this offseason by not seeking an upgrade for the declining, 31-year-old Logan Thomas.

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OFFENSIVE LINE

The best: Eagles
Runner-up: Cowboys

The Cowboys may have one of the five best offensive lines in the NFL, and this still wasn't particularly close. The Eagles' line — with Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata at tackle, Jason Kelce in the middle, and Landon Dickerson and now Cam Jurgens at guard — is so deep and powerful, few around the league can match it. They're just as good pass blocking as they are at run blocking. Anything up the middle over Kelce — especially a Hurts sneak — feels just about automatic.

The Cowboys are still better than most, though. Not quite what they were a few years ago, they still have two potential Hall of Famers in left tackle Tyron Smith and right guard Zack Martin, and left guard Tyler Smith had a heck of a rookie season.

The Giants and Commanders are improved and have restocked the talent on their lines, but they still both rank solidly in the bottom third of the league.

DEFENSIVE LINE

The best: Eagles
Runner-up: Washington Commanders

The Eagles had 70 sacks last season, one of the highest totals in NFL history, and more than 60 percent of that production came from their front four. Yes, they lost defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and his 11 sacks in the offseason. But they'll replace him with Jordan Davis, last year's first-round pick, and Jalen Carter, this year's first-rounder. So don't expect them to miss a beat.

There's plenty of competition in this division, though, which is really stacked up front. The Commanders got the nod for the second spot because the interior duo of Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne is the division's best. Montez Sweat is a strong defensive end who had eight sacks last season. They could really be a force if Chase Young is finally healthy and can rediscover his old form.

The Giants have a pretty good front, too, with Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams, and the Cowboys could have a strong one of rookie defensive tackle Mazi Smith can help out DeMarcus Lawrence. Both of them have D-lines that rank in the top half of the league, but the bottom half of their own division.

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LINEBACKERS

The best: Eagles
Runner-up: Giants

This is not the strength of the NFC East. It's a relatively thin position for all four teams. Even the Eagles are banking more on potential than anything else. They have a dominant edge rusher in Haason Reddick (16 sacks), but they're just hopeful that second-year pro Nakobe Dean and their other first-rounder this year, Nolan Smith, can turn out to be the players they were in college.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, have arguably the best defensive player in the division in Micah Parsons, but not a lot else with him other than Leighton Vander Esch, who is a nice player (90 tackles in 14 games) but not an impact player. That's why the Giants were able to jump them in this category. New York has a promising pass-rushing duo in Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the edges and get a big boost in the middle with the free-agent signing of Bobby Okereke.

None of them are in Parsons' class, but all three are better than anyone behind him.

SECONDARY

The best: Cowboys
Runner-up: Eagles

A bit of a surprise here considering the Eagles had one of the NFL's best secondaries last season. But it's a good bet they're going to feel the loss of safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson who had an NFL-best six interceptions in just 11 games. They will still be carried by the NFL's best cornerback duo in Darius Slay and James Bradberry, and should get decent safety play from imported veterans Terrell Edmunds and Justin Evans.

But their slight dropoff is an opening for a Cowboys team that traded for 5-time Pro Bowl corner Stephon Gilmore this offseason. He'll join interception-happy corners Trevon Diggs (three last season) and DaRon Bland (five). They also have a strong safety duo in Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson.

As for the Giants and Commanders, they both drafted cornerbacks in the first round (Washington took Emmanuel Forbes 16th and New York took Deonte Banks 24th). That will improve secondaries that weren't bad last season, but the choices say a lot about where those teams thought they needed improvement the most.

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SPECIALISTS

The best: Giants
Runner-up: Commanders

Graham Gano puts the Giants over the top because he's simply the most reliable kicker in the division and one of the best in the NFL. He hit 90.6 percent of his kicks last season. And it's a shock to know that two of his three misses (29 of 32) came from less than 50 yards. It's the first time he missed multiple kicks under 50 since 2016.

His consistency makes up for their inconsistent punter, Jamie Gillan ("The Scottish Hammer") who bounced a few too many kicks into the end zone and didn't always get enough length when there was room. No one doubts the strength of his leg, though. He just needs to control it better.

The Commanders, meanwhile, have an inconsistent kicker in Joey Slye (25 of 30, 83.3 percent, three misses under 50) but their punter, Tress Way, went to the Pro Bowl. Way was seventh in the league with a net average of 43 yards and second with 37 punts that landed inside the 20.

The Cowboys have a strong punter too (Bryan Anger), but they're searching for a new kicker after Brett Maher's extra point yips in the playoffs. The Eagles have the reliable Jake Elliott at kicker, but are searching for a new punter.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.

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