NFC East starting lineup Grades

Lets take a look at the NFL NFC East starting lineup grades. Get the grades before you make your trades.

Dallas Cowboys
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Cowboys
QB Dak Prescott is a capable leader who had an outstanding rookie campaign but regressed notably in his sophomore effort. Jury’s still out on whether the problem was him or his offensive teammates. C+
RB Zeke Elliott – Assuming he stays out of trouble and off the suspended list, he’s among the best in the NFL. A-
WR Allen Hurns was a good pickup. Terrance Williams is a perpetual underachiever. Cole Beasley is yet to develop into the Julian Edelman type he’s been touted as. Pain in the butt though he may be, this wasn’t the right time to cut Dez. C
TE Witten’s abrupt retirement put the team in a bad spot at TE. Geoff Swaim and Rico Gathers don’t look up to the task. D
OL LT Tyron Smith LG Connor Williams C Travis Frederick RG Zack Martin RG La’el Collins. Smith is having a great camp, but there are no standouts here and the whole group badly underachieved last season. C-
DL DE Demarcus Lawrence DT Datone Jones DT Jihad Ward DE Tyrone Crawford A decent group whose stats are handicapped by poor coaching. Will Taco Charlton ever improve enough to contribute more? C
LB SLB Damien Wilson MLB Jaylon Smith WLB Sean Lee Layton Vander Esch was the first round pick. Where does he fit? Lee is productive but cant stay healthy. C+
DB CBs Byron Jones, Chidobe Awuzie FS Xavier Woods SS Jeff Heath. Underwhelming as a group, with the CBs grading out slightly better than the safeties. C-
New York Giants
QB Eli Manning We’ll see both Good Eli and Bad Eli this season, as we do every year. The question is which one shows up more frequently, and can Good Eli do enough to help a Giants team coming off an incredibly embarrassing season? B
RB Saquon Barkley’s skill set is legit, but can he carry the brutal load of an NFL RB1? B
WR OBJ is good but vastly overrated and has health concerns. Sterling Shepard also has health issues. The rest are just guys. C
TE Evan Engram, Rhett Ellison. Engram had an impressive rookie campaign. Can he continue in that vein? Ellison is a solid workhorse blocker. B
OL LT Nate Solder LG Will Hernandez C Jon Halapio RG Patrick Omameh RT Ereck Flowers. Hugely improved with the acquisition of Solder and the Hernandez pick, but carries concerns about L-R balance. C+
DL DE BJ Hill NT Damon Harrison DE Dalvin Tomlinson. The scheme change may help, but the entire defense lacks depth and talent, no more so than in the DL group. Where will the pass rush come from? D-
LB SLB Kareem Martin MLB Alec Ogletree MLB BJ Goodson WLB Olivier Vernon A tick better on paper than the DL unit, but will likely suffer at their hands. D
DB CBs Eli Apple, Janoris Jenkins FS Curtis Riley SS Landon Collins Collins gets the job done. Jenkins was a disastrous underachiever last season. Apple is a problem on multiple levels. D
Philadelphia Eagles
QB Nick Foles/Carson Wentz Can Foles keep it together long enough to allow Wentz to safely get back to 100% before taking the field? Wentz has a ton of talent and Foles really stepped up in the playoffs, but Foles’ luck is probably running out and we don’t know how Wentz will look when he returns. B
RB Jay Ajayi, Darren Sproles. I like both of these guys better than most do, especially Sproles. If Tiny Beast can stay healthy, they have a lot of creative options in the run game. B
WR Alshon Jeffrey, Mike Wallace, Nelson Agholor. If Mike Wallace actually behaves in the best interest of his team, it will be the first time ever. Jeffrey has health issues, but the talent here is good. B
TE Zach Ertz. Among the best in the league and somehow still often undervalued. A
OL LT Jason Peters LG Stefen Wisniewski C Jason Kelce RG Brandon Brooks RT Lane Johnson A lot hinges on whether Peters plays or if Johnson has to move to LT. Among the best OLs in the NFL regardless. A-
DL DE Derrick Barnett DT Tim Jernigan DT Fletcher Cox DE Brandon Graham. Solid group with depth that also has Michael Bennett, Chris Long, and Haloti Ngata in the mix. A
LB SLB Nathan Gerry MLB Jordan Hicks WLB Nigel Bradham. The Eagles have almost unmatched depth across the entire front 7. A
DB CBs Jalen Mills, Ronald Darby S Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod. This is the defensive unit for the Eagles that I have the least confidence in, but they’re still better than 90% of the league. A-
Washington Redskins
QB Alex Smith is one of the league’s smartest at the position, but lacks the physical skills to mesh well with Washington’s other offensive weapons. B
RB Already lost rookie Derrius Guice for the season to an ACL tear, who many believed was the ‘Skins answer here. Chris Thompson is a capable pass catcher, but not an every down guy. Rob Kelley isn’t going to be anyone’s hero. C-
WR Josh Doctson, Jamison Crowder, Paul Richardson.  Not a bad group but a poor match with Smith. Doctson is solid but has had injury issues. Richardson’s signing hurt Seattle more than it helped Washington. B-
TE Jordan Reed has injury issues and a highly contentious relationship with the coaching staff. Vernon Davis is too old to be much use. C
OL LT Trent Williams LG Shaun Lauvao C Chase Roullier RG Brandon Scherff RT Morgan Moses. Williams is among the league’s best. Scherff is top 10 at his position. Roullier and Moses are learning but still have work to do. LG is a huge problem and the internal options aren’t good. B-
DL DE Jonathan Allen NT D’Ron Payne DE Matt Ioannidis. Allen is solid. Payne was a decent pick, he’s smart and has potential. Ioannidis, a 5th round pick in his third season, has a lot to prove. C+
LB SLB Preston Smith MLB Mason Foster MLB Zach Brown WLB Ryan Kerrigan. Brown played well last season and earned a new contract. Foster missed most of last season with a torn labrum but appears to be healthy now. Kerrigan has been incredibly steady and consistent throughout an 8-year career. C
DB CBs Quinton Dunbar, Josh Norman, SS Montae Nicholson FS DJ Swearinger. Norman’s play can’t keep up with his mouth. Swearing er is ok. The rest are unremarkable and the unit depth is not good. D
Rating: 5.0/5. From 1 vote.
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