Cowboys, Giants showed last year what smart offseason moves can do | Bob Brookover
Dallas great draft and New Yorks terrific free-agent additions from a year ago still have those teams ahead of the Eagles.
The first order of in-season business for every NFL team is to win its division, and a year ago the Dallas Cowboys did exactly that by crushing the rest of the NFC East during the draft.
Of course, they did not know at the time that they had hit the jackpot with the first-round selection of running back Ezekiel Elliott and the fourth-round pick of quarterback Dak Prescott, but by season's end it was clear that they had aced the annual selection test that weighs heaviest on the fate of every NFL franchise.
Getting a league MVP candidate with the first pick and a franchise quarterback in the fourth round has a chance to surpass the 1989 Herschel Walker trade as the greatest offseason move in franchise history. Add in the fact that they got a terrific defensive tackle in Maliek Collins in the third round and a first-round talent in the second round when they selected injured pass rusher Jaylon Smith and you could be talking about the greatest draft class in league history someday.
Walker, of course, was the gift that gave the Cowboys three Super Bowl titles. So far, the additions of Elliott, Prescott, and Collins have only given the Cowboys one division title. It is up to the rest of the NFC East to catch the Cowboys and by Sunday we'll have a little better idea of how close the Eagles, New York Giants, and Washington Redskins have come in that regard.
Actually we already have a little bit of an idea based on the offseason transactions to date.
As well as the Cowboys played in 2016, seven of their 13 wins were by seven points or fewer and they went 3-3 in the division, losing twice to the Giants, who also made the playoffs with an 11-5 record. No NFC East team has won back-to-back division titles since the Eagles won four in a row from 2001 through 2005, and so far it has not been a great offseason for the Cowboys.
Here's how we know: Their most significant addition has been former Eagles cornerback Nolan Carroll.
The Cowboys are pencil thin in the secondary after losing defensive backs Barry Church, J.J. Wilcox, Brandon Carr, and Morris Claiborne in free agency. It will be shocking if the Cowboys do not take a cornerback and a safety in this draft and it could happen as soon as Thursday night.
The Cowboys also lost Doug Free to retirement and Ron Leary to free agency. Free had started 107 of Dallas' last 112 games at tackle and Leary had been the starting left guard since 2013. La'el Collins is certainly a suitable replacement for Leary, but the Cowboys' line depth has taken a big hit.
At the Giants' headquarters in North Jersey, the big offseason splash was the addition of free-agent receiver Brandon Marshall and the re-signing of defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul to a four-year deal worth a guaranteed $40 million. The idea of having to cover Odell Beckham Jr. and Marshall should be causing nightmares for cornerback-weak teams like the Eagles and Cowboys.
The Giants did not do much else, but they hit the jackpot in free agency last offseason when they added defensive end Olivier Vernon, defensive tackle Damon Harrison, and cornerback Janoris Jenkins. That trio helped the Giants move from the third-worst to the second-best scoring defense in the NFL last season. They improved by nearly 10 points.
Look for the Giants to focus on offensive linemen, tight ends, and possibly a running back in this draft. As potent as their passing game should be, they were 29th last season in rushing yards and 30th in yards per attempt. They have ranked 23rd or lower in rushing yards in three of the last four seasons.
While the Cowboys and Giants still appear to be ahead of the Eagles even after relatively inactive offseasons, Washington, coming off an 8-7-1 season, seems to have reverted to the dysfunctional state it has been in for most of Daniel Snyder's ownership era.
The Redskins opened free agency by firing their general manager even though Scot McCloughan seemed perfectly competent during his two seasons in the job. They also placed the franchise tag on quarterback Kirk Cousins because they could not decide whether he is worthy of being their franchise quarterback. Cousins happily accepted the $24 million tender even though he lost two 1,000-yard receivers - DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon - in free agency.
Terrelle Pryor was brought in as a replacement after successfully transitioning from quarterback to wide receiver with Cleveland. Washington also let veteran defensive tackle Chris Baker walk away as a free agent, replacing him with two unproven free agents at the position, Terrell McClain and Stacy McGee. No matter what the Redskins do in the draft, they appear ready to sink in the standings.
That leaves only the Eagles and we all know what they have done already and need to do in this draft. Will it be enough to keep the Cowboys from defending the NFC East title or preventing the Giants from winning their first division title since 2011?
At this point, it is difficult to envision that happening unless the Eagles have a draft like the one the Cowboys pulled off a year ago.
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