Well he does have the Giants at 8th... so... Rest of the NFCE:
8. New York Giants
2018 rank: No. 2 |
2017: No. 20
It's strangely impressive that the Giants managed to be so uninspiring on offense a year ago with one of the best arsenals in football. Obviously, trading away
Odell Beckham Jr. is going to make any team's weaponry worse, but the Giants at least have a short-term solution in
Golden Tate, who should help soften the blow of willingly trading away a franchise wideout for ... reasons. Both Tate and
Sterling Shepard rank in the top eight for receiving yards out of the slot over the past three years, so Pat Shurmur will need to find a way to get both of his starting wideouts time on the inside.
Evan Engram struggled to stay healthy last season but averaged 9.0 yards per target, which was just ahead of guys like
Travis Kelce and
Jared Cook. And though
Saquon Barkley's rookie season was
less impressive under a microscope, it's fair to say that the offense was almost entirely dependent upon Barkley for stretches in 2018. With a better offensive line, Barkley could be the most productive back in football in 2019.
4. Philadelphia Eagles
2018 rank: No. 7 |
2017: No. 17
I don't think anybody is deeper at the skill positions across the board than Doug Pederson's team. If you took away their best player at each position, you could still roll out a starting five of
Miles Sanders,
Nelson Agholor,
DeSean Jackson,
JJ Arcega-Whiteside and
Dallas Goedert. You would probably prefer that to the Jags' starters. Down the stretch last season, the Eagles started
Josh Adams and then
Wendell Smallwood at running back; it's not clear whether either back will make the active roster. No team has this sort of depth.
Zach Ertz, though, it's fair to wonder whether there's the sort of top-level talent we're seeing from the other teams in this top 10.
Alshon Jeffery hasn't been healthy for a full season since 2014, though he did make it through the full 16-game season in 2017 with a torn labrum. Jeffery is unquestionably tough and has been a brutally tough out in the playoffs -- aside from the
drop against the Saints -- but he also hasn't hit 850 receiving yards in a season in four years. The running back rotation has plenty of interesting options, but there's no guarantee that Miles Sanders steps in and hits the ground running as a rookie back. The sum adds up to more than the individual parts here.
28. Washington
2018 rank: No. 18 |
2017: No. 19
The investments Washington has made at wide receiver haven't worked out. Former Seahawks wideout
Paul Richardson, signed to a five-year, $40 million deal, wasn't healthy in Seattle and caught just 20 passes in seven games last season. Former first-rounder
Josh Doctson hasn't developed, and Washington just declined his fifth-year option.
Jamison Crowder left for the Jets and is in line to be replaced by Mr. Irrelevant
Trey Quinn. Jay Gruden & Co. drafted
Terry McLaurin in the third round, but is there any reason to think Washington is going to start developing wideouts effectively? This is likely the league's worst group of starting wide receivers.
Jordan Reed and now 34-year-old running back
Adrian Peterson.
Derrius Guice, a second-round pick in 2018, is coming off a torn ACL, while
Chris Thompson was banged up all season and saw his efficiency metrics crater after returning from a broken leg. An impressive debut season from Guice would give Washington a building block for 2020.
