We are counting down the days until the start of the 2024 NFL Season as training camps start later this month. There were some major switch ups this offseason regarding big names moving to new teams and legendary coaches – Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll – being relieved of their duties. On top of that, tons of franchise players were taken in the draft. Let’s get caught up with our 2024 NFC East preview.
Last Year
The NFC East was great to watch in 2023 with both the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles making the playoffs and making it fun until the very end. The Cowboys were questioned at different points in the season thanks to a few blowouts, but they finished strong before getting blown out by the Green Bay Packers. It was a brutal way for Dallas to end the season, yet again. But for as bad as it was for Dallas, it was far worse for Philly. They lost five of their final six games in the regular season and then in tremendous fashion were crushed 32-9 by the Bucs, a team that no one was taking seriously heading into the postseason. New York isn’t allowed to laugh at Philly, they lost Daniel Jones early in the year, had a fun stretch with a backup QB and then it all went very south. Then you have the Washington Commanders, a team that seemed to have no identity which resulted in the firing of their coach and a high draft pick on a QB.
Favorite to win in 2024
Philadelphia made one of the best moves of the offseason by signing Saquon Barkley away from the Giants. Not only did they get the best offensive skill player in free agency but also devastated their rivals’ fan base through it all. Philly is the top team in the NFC East. They are seemingly loaded at every position and their one weakness was addressed in the draft when they loaded up on defensive backs. Of course, Dallas isn’t far behind, but their lack of free agent signings or meaningful trades puts them behind Philly by a bit of a margin. Washington and New York are going to be battling for third place and I don’t see any big surprises happening with those two teams.
Offensive Player to Watch: Saquon Barkley
For the reason we just laid out above, he is now one of the most exciting players in the league yet again. The calendar will be circled in red when the Eagles head to New York to take on the Giants. Barkley had Giants legend Tiki Barber on his case and now he has a chance to prove why he left. Everyone wants the Saquon of old and now is his chance.
Defensive Player to Watch: Brian Burns
Back to the Giants, the signing of free agent Brian Burns was the reason they couldn’t re-sign Saquon and it was for good reason. They acquired who I consider a top-four defensive edge rusher in all of football and now put him on a D-line with two other incredible talents that will make it a living nightmare for opposing QBs.
Prediction
I have Philly coming back big time in 2024. They want the terrible taste of last year out of their mouths and they did everything that they could to improve this offseason. Philly is a legit Super Bowl contender. Record (12-5)