There is a very good case to be made that the Dallas Cowboys are the best team in the NFC and the prohibitive favorite to win the conference in 2017.
Dallas has Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, the best young quarterback-running back combo in the entire league, heading for a second year. The offensive line in Dallas is second to none and the best players aren’t even in their prime yet (Tyron Smith has already been to four Pro Bowls and won’t turn 27 until December).
But there is a reason to be concerned if you’re a Cowboys fan, and it involves the lack of D in Dallas. While the biggest offseason storyline in Dallas involved backup quarterback Tony Romo, who walked away from football to join CBS Sports as a broadcaster, don’t sleep on the departures on defense.
Dallas lost two cornerbacks in Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne, a pair of safeties in Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox and two defensive linemen in Jack Crawford and Terrell McClain.
While Jerry Jones and the front office have been lights out landing offensive linemen in the draft over the past half decade, the same can’t be said for pass rushers. DeMarcus Lawrence is the top guy left on the depth chart, although his inability to stay on the field allowed Benson Mayowa to lead the team in sacks with six last year. Maliek Collins was second with five sacks.
The Cowboys were better than what the talent level would imply on defense last year. Part of that is the offense helping to make life easier, but it’s primarily defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli being a heck of a coach, a guy capable of taking a questionable personnel group and maximizing its abilities. So from those perspectives, the Cowboys shouldn’t be panicking about the defense.
Additionally, there is talent on this side of the ball. Sean Lee is a borderline superstar at linebacker when he’s healthy. Byron Jones is an emerging defensive back. Tyrone Crawford had a nice year last season. Jaylon Smith is lingering as a fascinating question mark at linebacker. The Cowboys almost certainly will add another defensive player or two early in this draft.
But perhaps the biggest concern for the Cowboys isn’t what’s on their roster, but the rest of the division. The NFC East was pretty strong last year and it should be difficult to navigate again, particularly with the other three teams rapidly improving on offense this offseason.
Let’s examine how these teams might be causing some problems for Dallas.
Philadelphia Eagles
It’s not hard to fall in love with what Philadelphia did during the offseason in order to facilitate the growth of Carson Wentz as the face of the franchise.
Underrated when it comes to Wentz season last year is the difference that losing Lane Johnson made for the Eagles throughout the season.
Carson Wentz’s numbers with and without Lane Johnson on the field are pretty staggering pic.twitter.com/E5EoS2i6ub
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) February 22, 2017
So let’s assume that Johnson will be back and not facing a 10-game suspension. Immediately Wentz should see a huge boost in protection.
The work Howie Roseman did in order to improve the weapons around him can’t be understated. Alshon Jeffery is the ultimate jumpball receiver and comes on a surprisingly cheap price tag, with Philadelphia getting him on a prove-it deal for a single season worth $14 million. His old offensive coordinator Adam Gase, now with the Dolphins, pointed out during the owners meetings just what a difference Jeffery can make for a quarterback, particularly one who might like to risk throwing into heavier coverage.
Alshon might be the only player that I’ve ever coached when I called the play to the quarterback,” Gase said recently. “I don’t care what the coverage is, throw it up. You don’t have to think, you can just throw it up.
“Like, you can just legitimately throw it up with two guys on him and he’ll go get the ball.”
Wentz did not have that guy last year. He also didn’t have a true burner, and the Eagles added one in free agency by nabbing Torrey Smith on a cheap deal. Smith as a No. 1 is sub-optimal. Smith as one of four options with Jeffery, Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz? He could be a really dangerous threat in that role.
Running back isn’t quite as flashy -- Ryan Matthews and Darren Sproles return -- but it’s entirely possible the Eagles upgrade during the draft. Christian McCaffery makes a ton of sense for them in the first round if they’re willing to pull the trigger that early.
There’s legitimate reason to think this offense could take a massive leap forward in 2017.
New York Giants
The last year was a weird one for the Giants. The strength of the team, the wide receiver depth chart, was very good but somehow disappointing. Odell Beckham was once again outstanding, but his catch rate dipped for the third straight season and he didn’t do himself any favors with the way he spent the week before the Giants’ playoff loss in Green Bay. The unit should be stronger this year thanks to the addition of Brandon Marshall.
Expecting the long-time veteran to produce a 1,000-yard season when there’s Beckham and Sterling Shepard looking for targets as well is asking a bit much, but if there are too many really good wide receivers to go around, well, that’s a pretty fantastic problem. Marshall fits nicely with the combo of Beckham and Shepard too; he’s a perfect complement to the shifty athleticism of Beckham and the potential slot domination of Shepard. The Giants run three-wideout sets as much as anyone in the league and they should be lethal from them this year.
Running back is curious for the Giants, because it appears they’re cool with Paul Perkins as the erstwhile feature back. Nothing wrong with that, as long as they’ll commit to him and his pass protection can sufficiently protect Eli Manning. He was the team’s best weapon as a running back this year and could flourish in the starting roll with his big-play and pass-catching ability.
The offensive line is a red flag here, with the Giants doing limited work to improve the protection for Eli this offseason after a rough year in 2016. They do have three high picks on the line -- Ereck Flowers (2015) and Justin Pugh (2013) were first-round picks, while Weston Richburg (2014) was a second -- so it’s not like they haven’t invested. They jus need to get better play out of their picks. Do that and this offense should bounce back to pre-2016 form.
Washington Redskins
The departure of Desean Jackson (who signed with Tampa Bay) and Pierre Garcon (who left for San Francisco) was inevitable this offseason because of their age and contract status. Other teams were willing to pay more for their services. But it’s still concerning for what 2017 will hold for Kirk Cousins.
Fortunately, the GM-less Redskins managed to do a decent job of revamping the offense amid a tumultuous offseason, or at least ensuring there would be a quality unit for newly extended coach Jay Gruden to work with.
The wideouts are the biggest problem, but it’s not hard to imagine this group having a huge year. Terrelle Pryor on a single-year contract for $8 million has upside built in; his development as a top-level wide receiver was the most underrated storyline of the entire 2016 season. Josh Doctson was a disappointment last year but he has the potential to be a dominant receiver. Jamison Crowder just will not garner the respect he deserves as a dangerous weapon out of the slot. And oh yes, there’s Jordan Reed, one of the five best tight ends in the league. Cousins lost some weapons, but he’ll survive with his $24 million guaranteed and impressive group of pass catchers.
No one’s talking about the Redskins as a team that could draft a running back in the first round, but maybe we should. Dalvin Cook would be an interesting fit here along with Rob Kelley and Chris Thompson (don’t forget that there will be a different guy pulling the trigger on draft picks this year). Washington isn’t great out of the backfield, but they’re not bad either.
Scot McCloughan’s investment in Brandon Scherff gives the Redskins a pair of blue chippers along with Trent Williams. Morgan Moses might well end up being a really nice option at right tackle as well.
Which is to say that the Redskins, even though it seems like they’re losing a lot offensively, might be suited to light up the scoreboard again, especially if Cousins is motivated to hit free agency and really get paid. Nothing like a third straight contract year to get a guy fired up about producing.
So, yeah, the NFC East could be absolutely loaded on offense. We can pump up these three teams but it’s easy to forget that the Cowboys had the third-most efficient offense in football last year, behind only the Falcons and Patriots. There’s no real reason to expect a huge dropoff, not with that offensive line and the talent at the skill positions.
But the defense could come back to the pack. If there’s any reason not to really trust Dallas as a contender, it’s the D. And if the Cowboys struggle to limit division opponents from putting up huge numbers, think back to free agency and how this offseason featured the Cowboys hemorrhaging players on defense while everyone else in the division loaded up on offense.
