After having arguably one of the best NFL offseasons, there has been chatter around the Philadelphia Eagles being crowned already as the NFC East Champs.
While it’s still way-too-early to crown them, NBC Sportswriter Peter King added more “fuel to the fire” on Sunday after releasing his annual NFL Power Rankings, which had the Eagles at No.9 and the Cowboys at No.15.
King said, “I picked the Eagles ahead of Dallas because the Eagles got significantly better this offseason and Dallas worse, with the subtraction of two key contributors (Amari Cooper and Randy Gregory) and the addition of none.”
While King is right about the Eagles getting significantly better (given they added Pro Bowl WR A.J. Brown and made other moves through the Draft and free agency), the one thing he got wrong is about the Cowboys not adding anyone.
Despite losing Cooper and Gregory, the Cowboys were able to land two WRs (James Washington & Jalen Tolbert) and two DEs (Dante Fowler Jr. & Sam “De” Williams), who can arguably replace their production.
Starting with wideout, I understand that the loss of an elite WR like Cooper would hurt any team, but because of the upside of WR CeeDee Lamb, he can seamlessly fill Cooper’s voided role. Additionally, when Gallup comes back, he and Lamb will form a dangerous duo that will have fans slowly forget about Coop.
Factor in Washington and Tolbert, who bring speed to the group- we could be having a lot of fun this season.
Shifting to DEs, while Gregory did make splash plays and put up solid production during his time in Dallas- his void is replaceable. As good as he was, losing Gregory doesn’t signal to me that you lost one of the top DEs in the league.
With Fowler Jr., Williams, and Dorance Amstrong in the fold, expect the trio to double or triple his production combined. (Watch out for an Armstrong breakout this season.)
Oh, and for the die-hard Eagles fans who keep pointing out because they added Brown, DT Jordan Davis, LBs Haason Reddick & Nakobe Dean, and CB James Bradberry that Dallas should be scared. My message: nothing is guaranteed to pan out.
Brown is a talented WR, but you have to be concerned with his durability given he’s racked up six injuries already in his first three years. Does he spend time in and out of your lineup?
Both Davis and Dean are rookies, and relying on them right away could backfire. Do you trust them over Javon Hargrave, Fletcher Cox, and T.J. Edwards?
Reddick, who’s played three career games versus the Cowboys, has averaged 2.3 tackles and 0.7 sacks. What changes? Does he even scare Dak and the Guys?
And lastly, for the Bradberry hype, here you go:
Furthermore, I admit the gap was closed a bit between the Eagles and Cowboys talent-wise, but fans and King forget that the Cowboys have the best QB in the division. Given it’s a QB-driven league, I don’t see the Cowboys relinquishing their NFC East crown this year, and I’m SELLING on them being worried.
Expect some exciting games between the two, but Dallas will still remain on top.
