NFC East Divisional Breakdown Recap for 2021 (Fantasy Football)

After devoting more than an hour to the NFC West divisional breakdown on Thursday, an episode ripe with potential great teams and abundant Cam Akers injury discussion, we move across the country on Saturday. This weekend Andy, Mike, and Jason tackled the NFC East. In this recap, once again, we will cover each of the teams in the division. The guys discuss both offensive and defensive statistics from the 2020 season, look at current ADPs for players, look back and forward for each team, and finally discuss some of the biggest fantasy questions for this division entering the season.

Washington Football Team

Head Coach: Ron Rivera

Offensive Coordinator: Scott Turner

Offense:

• 10^th in pace of play
• 25^th in points per game
• 30^th in total yards
• 9^th in passing attempts
• 25^th in passing yards
• 28^th in passing TDs
• 25^th in rushing attempts
• 26^th in rushing yards
• 13^th in rushing TDs

Defense:

• 13^th fewest rushing yards allowed
• 2^nd in passing yards allowed
• 4^th in points allowed

Schedule:

• First 4 matchups: vs LAC, vs NYG, @BUF, @ATL
• Vegas Projected Win Total: 8.5

Current ADP:

• QB – Ryan Fitzpatrick (15.04/QB25)
• RB – Antonio Gibson (2.07/RB13), J.D. McKissic (13.10, RB52)
• WR – Terry McLaurin (3.09/WR11), Curtis Samuel (8.07/WR38)
• TE – Logan Thomas (9.01/TE9) (Mike’s early BUST pick)

Let us remember that a 7-9 team in The Washington Football Team won this division last year. A bad offensive team in 2020 that started 2-7 with Dwayne Haskins and Kyle Allen under center adds some new blood this year to improve the offense. The addition of Ryan Fitzpatrick is massive for the potential of the offense – the QB play was abhorrent last year. Mike mentions that even though Fitzpatrick has only really been a streaming option in past, he is still much better than what Washington had last year. A trusting QB, who sometimes airs the ball out haphazardly, Jason reminds us that he was on pace for 17 interceptions last year and can implode on himself. The chance to “level up” with Fitz seems uncertain as he nears age 40.

Several things can go right and wrong in this RB room. If things go right, with more usage Antonio Gibson could become a top-five type of back. Conversely, what could go wrong centers around the fact that Washington still has J.D. McKissic, one of the league leaders in receptions. With McKissic still catching passes, Andy does not see Gibson finishing as a top 5 RB. In Washington, the two primary pass catchers are Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel this season, with Samuel currently being drafted much lower than McLaurin. At his current ADP, Samuel is a great value. Mike’s early bust pick of Logan Thomas is discussed next. He does not see the number of targets to be there for Thomas this season. Pair this with the fact that we have yet to have ever seen a prolific tight end on a team with Fitzpatrick at the helm, garners a pass from Mike this season.

Biggest Fantasy Questions:

• Is Ryan Fitzpatrick being undervalued?
• Will Antonio Gibson make the jump to top-5 this season? How much can J.D. McKissic hold him back catch-wise?
• Can Logan Thomas continue to be relevant?

New York Giants

Head Coach: Joe Judge

Offensive Coordinator: Jason Garrett

Offense:

• 21^st in pace of play
• 31^st in points per game
• 31^st in total yards
• 26^th in passing attempts
• 29th in passing yards
• 31^st in passing TDs
• 26^th in rushing attempts
• 19^th in rushing yards
• 22^nd in rushing TDs

Defense:

• 10^th fewest rushing yards allowed
• 16^th in passing yards allowed
• 9^th in points allowed

Schedule:

• First 4 matchups: vs DEN, @WSH, @ATL, @NO
• Vegas Projected Win Total: 7

Current ADP:

• QB – Daniel Jones (14.04/QB23)
• RB – Saquon Barkley (1.06/RB5), Devontae Booker (22.12/RB78)
• WR – Kenny Golladay (5.04/WR20)
• TE – Evan Engram (12.07/TE17)

The Giants started 2020 at 1-7 and were the only team to have a QB fail to throw for over 300 yards in a game. As Jason mentions, whether or not the New York Giants will succeed this season is a Daniel Jones question. Even with adding Kenny Golladay and getting Saquon Barkley back, the lack of protection the offensive line gave to Daniel Jones last season looks to continue. Only 2.5% of Jones’ attempts were TDs last season, which is two points under the NFL average. With only two weeks inside the QB1 range last year, Jones is not really a fantasy option. Saquon Barkley, the Giants star RB, returns in 2021, but not without an abundance if risk. Barkley is recovering from an injury, the offensive line is subpar, and he hasn’t played a full game of football in a long time. Drafting Barkley early in the draft is far from a sure thing. Moving on to the receivers, Andy, Mike, and Jason all feel that with the potential volume share coming, Kenny Golladay should be a fine fantasy option this year at his current ADP. Again, the only concern here is Daniel Jones’ ability. Evan Engram is coming off his worst fantasy season ever, and Jason feels that he only has streaming value at the most.

Biggest Fantasy Questions:

• Can Daniel Jones provide the needed offense for positional players to be relevant?
• How will Kenny Golladay fit in?
• Will Saquon be back to his former glory?
• Will Evan Engram continue to get targets?

Dallas Cowboys

Head Coach: Mike McCarthy

Offensive Coordinator: Kellen Moore

Offense:

• 1^st in pace of play
• 17^th in points per game
• 14^th in total yards
• 2^nd in passing attempts
• 8^th in passing yards
• 19^th in passing TDs
• 15^th in rushing attempts
• 17^th in rushing yards
• 21^st in rushing TDs

Defense:

• 31^st fewest rushing yards allowed
• 11^th in passing yards allowed
• 28^th in points allowed

Schedule:

• First 4 matchups: @TB, @LAC, vs PHI, vs CAR
• Vegas Projected Win Total: 9

Current ADP:

• QB – Dak Prescott (5.06/QB5)
• RB – Ezekiel Elliot (1.10/RB8), Tony Pollard (11.02, RB45)
• WR – Amari Cooper (4.06/WR16), Ceedee Lamb (4.08/WR17), Michael Gallup (10.09/WR49)
• TE – Blake Jarwin (14.07/TE21)

The Dallas Cowboys finished with the same record as the Giants. Losing Dak in week five was really the narrative for this team. The “lack of Dak” made all the difference in the world, with points per game dropping drastically as soon as Dak went out. For Jason, Dak is the reason that he is back in on Zeke, loving the value of Amari Cooper and greatly interested in CeeDee Lamb in an offense that will continue to move the ball. The overall depth for the Cowboys shows amazing promise as long as Dak stays healthy. The two main WRs, Cooper and Lamb, are going very close in drafts, and it leaves you to question which WR to target – the more dependable Cooper or the potential breakout Lamb. Jason still believes in Blake Jarwin in this offense, with tons of fantasy points to go around. Jason and Andy believe that Dallas will win this division.

Biggest Fantasy Questions:

• Will CeeDee Lamb break out and become the WR1 over Amari Cooper?
• Does Ezekiel Elliot have another monster year in him?
• How much will an improved defense impact their high-power offense?
• What will we see from Dak Prescott?

Philadelphia Eagles

Head Coach: Nick Sirianni

Offensive Coordinator: Shane Steichen

Offense:

• 3^rd in pace of play
• 26^th in points per game
• 24^th in total yards
• 10^th in passing attempts
• 28^th n passing yards
• 24^th in passing TDs
• 23^rd in rushing attempts
• 9^th in rushing yards
• 15^th in rushing TDs

Defense:

• 23^rd fewest rushing yards allowed
• 15^th in passing yards allowed
• 20^th in points allowed

Schedule:

• First 4 matchups: @ATL, vs SF, @DAL, vs KC
• Vegas Projected Win Total: 6.5

Current ADP:

• QB – Jalen Hurts (8.04/QB9)
• RB – Miles Sanders (4.02/RB21)
• WR – DeVonta Smith (7.12/WR35), Jalen Reagor (13.03/WR62)
• TE – Dallas Goedert (7.02/TE7)

Heading into 2021 the Philadelphia Eagles are almost a brand-new team. They have a brand-new coach and only nine total players left from their Super Bowl Championship team. Last season was tough for fantasy for the Eagles – a few Miles Sanders weeks and half of Jalen Hurts’ starts were the only things close to fantasy relevant. Hurts started four games last season but is quite polarizing and can have a vast range of outcomes. Both Mike and Jason feel that Hurts could finish as a top-five QB simply because he has the possibility to rush for over 1000 yards. However, due to a questionable WR core, this outcome for Hurts seems questionable, not probable. Jason foresees Hurts ending up at the back end of the QB1s. Rookie DeVonta Smith should be exciting to watch and could definitely be a draftable option as long as his ADP does not drop too low – he would be the best if you could get him at a value. Mike’s hatred for Miles Sanders still stands strong, with him strongly suggesting people to stay away. Finally, Dallas Goedert has breakout potential this season, which might get hindered if Zack Ertz ends up staying an Eagle.

Biggest Fantasy Questions:

• Could Deshaun Watson be traded to the Eagles?
• How much will they use Miles Sanders? Is he being undervalued?
• What is Jalen Hurts going to do? Could he be a late-round steal or a bust?

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