2025 NFC East Division Preview

The NFC East has been largely been a battle between 2 teams over the last decade: The Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. However, the Washington Commanders seem like they’re poised to be in the mix for the foreseeable future behind the play of QB Jayden Daniels. The New York Giants, a storied franchise, have mainly struggled ever since the 2nd of 2 improbable Super Bowl victories vs the New England Patriots dynasty. In 2025, Philly is seen as the NFC favorite following their 2nd Super Bowl victory in the last decade, Washington looks to build on a very surprising season created by the stellar play of their QB, Dallas is looking to bounce back after a very disappointing 2024, and the New York Giants have a head coach and general manager desperately looking to hold onto their jobs. Will things change or will they mostly stay the same?

1. Philadelphia Eagles

Head Coach, Coordinator Changes: OC Kevin Patullo
Free Agency Signings, Retentions: LB Zack Baun, CB Adoree Jackson, EDGE Josh Uche, EDGE Azeez Ojulari, G Matt Pryor, RB AJ Dillon, QB Sam Howell (trade), TE Kylen Granson
Notable Draft Selections: LB Jihaad Campbell, S Andrew Mukuba, DT Ty Robinson

The Eagles are coming off of a Super Bowl year that consisted of a dominant ground game and defense. Like most Super Bowl teams though, Philly lost a coordinator and some key players on both sides of the ball. Even after accounting for those losses, you can still look at this team and envision them representing the NFC in the Super Bowl once again. The Eagles are simply the most talented roster in the division, and it’s not really close either.

The offense didn’t have too many changes from a personnel perspective. Mekhi Becton got a new contract from the Chargers, but this offensive line is still one of the best, if not the best, in the NFL. The most significant change on the offense is OC Kevin Patullo, who has to fill the shoes of Kellen Moore after he left for a head coaching opportunity with the New Orleans Saints. Patullo has been the pass game coordinator for Philadelphia since Nick Sirianni took over as head coach, but now it’s time for him to run the entire offense. There is a floor with the run game as long as the offensive line stays healthy, but Philly is going to need to improve their passing game if they want to fulfill their desire for a Super Bowl repeat. Having the Monstars should make it easier for Patullo, and the same can be said for his years of continuity with QB Jalen Hurts.

On the defense, there were some important personnel changes. Josh Sweat and Milton Williams both left for bigger deals in free agency, which accumulates to a big blow overall to the defensive line. Now there is significantly less depth for the Eagles’ front 4. Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Nolan Smith should keep this defensive line alive and well, but if any of those guys go down, suddenly their identity is under a crisis. Maybe Philly can get some solid production out of free agency additions Josh Uche and Azeez Ojulari, and/or rookie Ty Robinson, but there’s no denying losing Sweat and Williams is going to affect the Eagles this season. The real question is “To what extent?”

For the secondary, Philly has brought in some younger talent to supplement the losses for some veterans that they got rid of during the offseason. Darius Slay, James Bradberry and CJ Gardner-Johnson were all either cut or traded by the Eagles earlier this offseason. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean both had magnificent rookie campaigns, and were big reasons why the Eagles felt comfortable cutting ties with the aforementioned veterans. The other outside cornerback spot opposite of Mitchell is worth monitoring since there doesn’t seem to be a clear answer between Adoree Jackson, Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks. Cooper DeJean isn’t a real answer for this considering he is best suited to play safety and slot cornerback. Rookie safety Andew Mukuba theoretically should help out the overall coverage with his great zone coverage and ballhawking skills, but he is a rookie in a difficult role at the end of the day.

On the 2nd level, Philly was able to bring back All-Pro LB Zack Baun and add 1st round LB Jihaad Campbell. This duo has a chance to be the best pass coverage linebacker duo right out of the gate. Baun had a breakout year last season doing just about everything you can think of for a linebacker and earned himself a huge payday after being a huge reason for this defense’s transformation. Campbell was considered one of the best overall prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft, but made his way down the board after teams were concerned about his availability early in the season. Campbell’s athleticism, coverage skills, tackling, and ability to provide some reps off the edge as a pass rusher should make him impactful right away. There were concerns about how he played the run in college, but he got better as his college career went on and showed the capability to become a good run defender as he continues to mature.

Record Prediction: 12-5

2. Washington Commanders

Head Coach, Coordinator Changes: n/a
Free Agency Signings, Retentions: LT Laremy Tunsil (trade), WR Deebo Samuel (trade), LB Bobby Wagner, TE Zach Ertz, EDGE Von Miller, EDGE Deatrich Wise Jr., S Will Harris, DT Javon Kinlaw, DT Eddie Goldman, QB Marcus Mariota, WR Noah Brown, P Tress Way, RB Jeremy McNichols, CB Noah Igbinoghene, TE John Bates
Notable Draft Selections: OT Josh Conerly Jr., CB Trey Amos, WR Jaylin Lane

Washington was the most surprising team last season, and they were a pleasant surprise. Jayden Daniels had arguably the greatest rookie season a QB has ever seen, and the defense overachieved relative to expectations. The overhaul of the front office and coaching staff set up a real infrastructure for this team to improve. The new regime brought in a lot of veteran leadership and hit on some overlooked free agent signings, which were a massive part of their success. Now, the Commanders are looking to build on an unexpected NFC Championship appearance, but their schedule gets much harder.

Offensively, there were some substantial changes. Washington decided to invest heavily in the offensive line, particularly at the tackle spots. Laremy Tunsil is coming off of a down year where he simply had way too many penalties and cost a lot of draft picks, but he historically has been a high-end pass protector even though there is a bit left to be desired in the run game. Their 1st round pick was Josh Conerly Jr., a young tackle out of Oregon who started to see the lightbulb in the middle of his final season in college. Even though Jayden Daniels is a good scrambler and can make plays out of structure on his own, it always make sense to put as much protection around your franchise QB as possible.

The other major addition was trading for former 49ers WR Deebo Samuel. While McLaurin (who’s up for a new contract) creates a vertical element for this offense, Samuel can make the Commanders more dangerous in the short passing game, and Samuel can even be an extension of the running game with his RAC ability. Deebo, like the aforementioned Laremy Tunsil, is coming off of a down year of his own, but there’s reason to believe that he can still contribute a lot to this Commanders offense. This offense has a nice floor with Daniels at the helm, so this unit should be expected to still put up points, though they may see regression on 4th down.

The defense has a decent amount to worry about. First off, this defensive line simply feels devoid of real difference-making talent. The amount of money committed to Javon Kinlaw and Daron Payne this season simply does not match the level of play they’ve shown in their careers. Von Miller, who is far away from his prime, and Dorance Armstrong are fine on the edge, but there’s no one on this defensive line who feels like a big threat in run or pass defense. Frankie Luvu, one of the best linebackers in the NFL, and Bobby Wagner are going to be busy this season with the amount of blitzing they may have to do since this defensive line shouldn’t be relied upon to bring pressure consistently.

Any optimism for this defense should come from the upside of this secondary. Washington traded for CB Marshon Lattimore last season and he struggled, but he was playing through an injury. Mike Sainristil had a promising rookie season and can be extremely impactful in the slot in his sophomore season. The Commanders also added veteran Jonathan Jones and 2nd round rookie Trey Amos. Amos is seen as a plug-and-play rookie, but Jones is a solid option if Amos struggles during his transition to the NFL. If Lattimore gets healthy and bounces back, Sainristil takes a leap, and either Amos or Jones give Washington some good play on the side opposite of Lattimore, that may be enough to get Washington back in the playoffs if the offense holds up like they are expected to.

Record Prediction: 10-7

3. Dallas Cowboys

Head Coach, Coordinator Changes: HC Brian Schottenheimer, OC Klayton Adams, DC Matt Eberflus
Free Agency Signings, Retentions: WR George Pickens (trade), DT Osa Odighizuwa, DT Kenny Clark (trade), EDGE Dante Fowler Jr., WR KaVontae Turpin, RB Javonte Williams, QB Joe Milton III (trade), CB Kaair Elam (trade), LB Kenneth Murray Jr. (trade), LB Jack Sanborn, RB Miles Sanders, DT Solomon Thomas, EDGE Payton Turner
Notable Draft Selections: G Tyler Booker, EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku, CB Shavon Revel, RB Jaydon Blue

The Cowboys are definitely the soap opera that Jerry Jones wants it to be. After almost 18 months of being eligible for an extension, Micah Parsons was traded to the Green Bay Packers after an ugly offseason. An offseason that began with the splash trade that was acquiring WR George Pickens, and ended with the Micah Parsons trade being the one to drain the pool. During what is/was seen as a win-now timeline with Dak Prescott’s huge contract containing a no-trade clause on the books, Jerry Jones’ Dallas Cowboys are seemingly punting the season and building towards the 2026 season and those beyond.

The first big splash came on offense, where the Cowboys decided to give All-Pro WR CeeDee Lamb a new running mate: George Pickens. Pickens is a very talented player. He’s your traditional X WR with a combination of size, athleticism and contested catch ability that makes him a big time deep threat. With complementary skill sets, Lamb and Pickens have a real chance to become one of the premier WR duos in the NFL this season. With QB Dak Prescott throwing them the football and this offensive line projecting to be pretty good, this passing attack has a real opportunity to be elite.

With that being said, the Cowboys didn’t address what were arguably their biggest needs heading into the offseason, which were solutions for running the football and stopping the run. In fact, Dallas decided to trade away their best defensive player, who happened to be the one constant in the pass defense, for an aging Kenny Clark. Clark has been on the decline for years in the pass game, can still defend the run well, but won’t make this run defense good by himself. Dallas seemingly has no hope to get any stops now. With an inability to run the football or get stops on defense after the Micah Parsons trade, the only pathway for the Cowboys to win football games this season is to put up an absurd amount of points through the pass game. Prescott, Lamb and Pickens are capable of lighting teams up, but this team doesn’t have any real substance even though they’ll be headlining morning shows all season long. Hopefully one of those late 1st-rounders the Cowboys acquired in the trade can be the next Micah Parsons. Tough year for the people of the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Record Prediction: 5-12

4. New York Giants

Head Coach, Coordinator Changes: N/A
Free Agency Signings, Retentions: S Jevon Holland, QB Russell Wilson, CB Paulson Adebo, WR Darius Slayton, DL Roy Robertson-Harris, QB Jameis Winston, EDGE Chauncey Golston, OT James Hudson III, LB Chris Board, WR Beaux Collins
Notable Draft Selections: EDGE Abdul Carter, QB Jaxson Dart, DT Darius Alexander, RB Cam Skattebo, OL Marcus Mbow

The New York Giants have been on a bumpy road for a while, to say the least. After a successful first season for Brian Daboll, it has been downhill ever since, and it was very surprising when Daboll and GM Joe Schoen were notified that they’d stick around for the 2025 season. Lack of consistent quarterback and offensive line play have doomed the Giants for a while, and it was no different last season. Daboll and Schoen, after fortifying their defense and making changes at QB, now are on a mission to save their jobs. Whether or not the mission will be successful is to be determined, although one outcome looks much more likely than the other.

To start with the positive, this defense has potential to be a great unit. This defensive line is easily one of the best in the NFL. Dexter Lawrence is the best defensive tackle in football, Brian Burns is a guaranteed 8+ sacks when healthy, rookie Abdul Carter is one of the best EDGE prospects of the 2020s, Kayvon Thibodeaux can be a nice 3rd EDGE, and there is a lot of depth to go along with these guys. With this defensive talent up front, the Giants are well equipped to play the run and take pressure off of their secondary by speeding quarterbacks up in the passing game.

Speaking of the secondary, the Giants added a couple quality players on that level of the defense. Paulson Adebo was a good man-coverage corner in New Orleans and safety Jevon Holland was a strong player in coverage with the Dolphins. Tyler Nubin and Dru Phillips also had solid rookie seasons for the Giants, and Deonte Banks is a former 1st round pick. If the two big free agent additions maintain their level of play and the Giants get some internal improvement from their young players, this defense may be one that dominates.

On the other side of the ball, there’s still not much to get excited about outside of superstar WR Malik Nabers. The underwhelming offensive line is still expected to relatively stay the same with Andrew Thomas soon returning from a foot surgery. Arizona State star RB Cam Skattebo was added to the room and can be a nice complement to Tyrone Tracy. At quarterback, the Giants pretty much overhauled the room by adding veterans Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, and rookie Jaxson Dart, with Wilson looking like the planned starter for week 1. Wilson looked good in his first few games with the Steelers, but quickly plateaued, eventually flaming out. It’s in the cards that both Wilson and Dart start games this year, but neither QB is really equipped to elevate this offense to the heights they would need to reach for Daboll and Schoen to save their jobs at the moment. More than likely, this offense will hold the team back and may even affect the play of the defense, then resulting in another lost season for Big Blue.

Record Prediction: 5-12