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The NFC East is always one of the most unpredictable divisions in the NFL. All four teams have made some big changes this offseason, but who will take the crown this year?
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00:00And what we're going to do is start to look at the division and look at the positional depth in
00:06the division.
00:07And Cakes, you've been dubbed the guy who's going to lead the show.
00:10This is true.
00:11These are going to be my, the way I look at these units, I'm going to rank them myself.
00:17I'm not going to lift it from CBSSports.com or ESPN.com.
00:22So we'll start off with the defensive line.
00:24And for argument's sake, we're going to include outside linebackers and edge rushers as part of your defensive line combos.
00:32And we're only going to do the NFC East.
00:34We're focusing in on the commanders and their division rivals.
00:37All right.
00:38So with three of the four NFC East teams, Washington, Dallas, and the Giants, ranking the bottom five of total
00:45yards allowed in the 2025 NFL season,
00:48these front offices had lots of retooling to do to improve their defenses this offseason.
00:55So I'm going to do these rankings starting from four, working your way up to the number one team in
01:00the division.
01:01We'll start off with the Dallas Cowboys.
01:03Now the Cowboys scored 27.7 points per game on offense last year, but their defense allowed a league worst
01:1030.1 points per game.
01:13Major changes were needed for this defense.
01:15We saw them trade for Quinn and Williams from the New York Jets.
01:19That happened in November of last season.
01:22Kenny Clark is another vet along that defensive line in Dallas that was acquired in the Micah Parsons deal.
01:28Rashawn Gary is at a big piece that comes in.
01:31He was acquired from Green Bay for a fourth-round pick.
01:35He's had 15 sacks over the last two seasons, but he's never reached 10 in his career in a single
01:42season.
01:42You have the Cowboys D-line ranked fourth?
01:44I have them fourth out of four in the NFC East.
01:48Now the Cowboys also added Malachi Lawrence with their second first-round pick in the 2026 draft.
01:54The UCF pass rusher racked up 20 sacks in three seasons during his collegiate career.
01:59So Dallas has made a real push to improve their defense, but I need to see how it all fits
02:05together
02:05against their division opponents to rank them any higher than fourth at this point as we head towards training camp.
02:13Did you mention Quinn and Williams?
02:15I mentioned Quinn and Williams.
02:16He was added in the trade in November of 2025.
02:20A few years ago, I think he had 11.5 or 12 sacks.
02:23Hasn't come close to that number, but he is a force on that interior defensive line.
02:27Dallas did a lot like what Washington did, right?
02:31They saw their defense sucked, and they made a bunch of additions.
02:34But on paper, you still have them dead last.
02:37I still have them fourth at this point.
02:40Right now, I have Washington ranked third.
02:43A lot of unknowns.
02:43I really like the offseason ad of Adafi Owe.
02:46They gave him $68 million guaranteed.
02:48He's got to become the superstar of this group.
02:51He's got to be the guy that has double-digit sacks on a yearly basis to make that investment worthwhile.
02:58Now, remember, in Baltimore, last season, zero sacks.
03:02Now, he didn't play a ton of games before he moved, but that's a little troublesome.
03:07But then he took off.
03:08Yeah, and then he goes to the Chargers and...
03:11Contract year, you've got to turn it up.
03:12Yeah, speaking of contract years, could we see another one of those stat-wise for Deron Payne,
03:18who's in the final year of his deal?
03:20So, go back to 2022, he racked up 11.5 sacks in that campaign.
03:25Got a massive deal after that.
03:28Added the return of Dorrance Armstrong and Dietrich Wise
03:32and the under-the-radar signing of Charles Amenhu from Kansas City
03:36to bring some depth to this unit that should be able to disrupt opposing passers more in 26 than they
03:43did in 25.
03:44I think the big question mark here is, can Javon Kinlaw and Johnny Newton be big contributors?
03:49We saw what Johnny Newton did Christmas Day, three-sack performance.
03:53Are you going to see more of that in 2026?
03:57I hope.
03:57We need more.
03:58We need more from Kinlaw.
03:59I like the depth here.
04:00I like the off-season ads, but it's not going to get them higher, in my opinion, than the third
04:04-ranked unit.
04:05No, it shouldn't.
04:06And we're going to be talking about this throughout the year.
04:10There's a lot of unknown with those guys.
04:12They made ads, much like the Cowboys, right?
04:14You make ads, and on paper it looks good.
04:17But when you say double-digit sacks, it's not something that's always proven to do.
04:22Right.
04:23You know what I mean?
04:24Like, it's what you hope, and he's a young guy, and he has the skills where he can do that,
04:29but he has yet to do it.
04:30Right.
04:31I mean, you would love to see that.
04:33And then with Payne...
04:33They're going to pay him like that sort of talent.
04:36I feel a lot of fans are out on Deron Payne because he has been kind of up and down
04:40in his career.
04:41I would say he really had one standout year.
04:43And that, of course, was his contract year.
04:45It's obviously not a sign of faith from the front office that he's going into the final year of his
04:50deal,
04:50and he hasn't been extended here in Washington.
04:53So I think they're hoping and banking on him having a big season in a contract year,
04:58and then they'll deal with that after the season.
05:01So I have Washington as your third-ranked unit.
05:03I have the Giants at No. 2.
05:06They're loaded.
05:07The loss of Dexter Lawrence is going to hurt this unit, but there's a stockpile of talent here,
05:11especially on the edges in Year 1 for John Harbaugh in New York.
05:16Arvill Reese comes in as the highly-touted rookie out of Ohio State.
05:19Abdul Carter is in Year 2.
05:22But Brian Burns is the undisputed stud here.
05:25He had 16.5 sacks last season.
05:28I think the big question mark for the Giants is going to be the reworked front three.
05:32But if Carter can go from four sacks to a guy who gives you eight to ten in Year 2,
05:38this defensive unit is going to be tough to deal with on a weekly basis.
05:44Well, because they've drafted guys in the first round really high that, at least on paper,
05:52are supposed to produce.
05:53Like all the guys they've drafted, you would say, yeah, they should be double-digit sack guys.
05:57Yeah, and one of those guys you're mentioning is, without naming, is Kayvon Thibodeau.
06:02Still on the roster, but he's entering the last year of his rookie deal.
06:06Doesn't seem to be in the team's long-term plans,
06:09but he seems like a guy who can basically give you six to eight sacks.
06:14I know he's flirted with double digits before.
06:16I don't think he's hit that number, but he could give you six to eight sacks on the way out.
06:21Doesn't seem like he's going to sign long-term with the Giants.
06:25So that brings us to the top-ranked unit in the NFC East.
06:28So it's still Philly.
06:30In my opinion, you guys are welcome to disagree with me if you wish.
06:33I have Philadelphia.
06:34I mean, it's hard for me to knock them off the perch
06:36when they were actually one good defensive unit in the entire division last year.
06:42They might also arguably have the best player in Jalen Carter.
06:45Yeah, Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, they form a nasty two-thirds of their defensive front,
06:50and they're young.
06:51They're 26 and 25 years old, respectively, so those guys are a handful in the middle
06:58for the Philadelphia Eagles.
07:00They bring in Arnold Ebikite on a one-year deal from Atlanta.
07:05They also trade for Jonathan.
07:07Is it Grenard or Greenard?
07:08I don't know which.
07:09It might be Grenard.
07:10He was added to the mix via trade to help deal with the loss of Jalen Phillips, who departed.
07:16So Grenard had 24 and a half sacks in the 23 and 24 seasons.
07:21He dipped down to three last year.
07:23I know Philly is counting on a bounce back.
07:25I'm sure they want him back to double-digit sacks.
07:29So I have it Washington at third, Dallas at the bottom.
07:34I have the Giants as the number two defensive line unit, and I can't knock Philly off of its
07:39spot at this point until I see otherwise, until I see a big step back from them heading into
07:46the season.
07:46I think your top two are correct.
07:51I think the bottom two is up for grabs.
07:54It could flip-flop.
07:55It's up for grabs.
07:56And it's probably going to come down to which personnel department did better in acquiring
08:04new talent and drafting new talent, right?
08:07Also, which ones have new defensive coordinators?
08:10So we do.
08:11So I think that's a little bit of a question mark.
08:13You can see how it all fits in together.
08:15Is Denard Wilson the defensive coordinator for the Giants?
08:18Is he new?
08:20I believe he is.
08:21It might be his first year.
08:23It makes sense because Harbaugh's coming in, so you're probably going to bring in a new
08:26defensive coordinator when you bring in your staff.
08:30Right.
08:30His first season, he served as D.C. for the Titans from 24 to 25.
08:35So, I mean, you never know when you have a new staff how it's all going to play out.
08:40I don't know.
08:42Something to think about.
08:43In fact, I'm actually super excited for what Durante's going to bring to our defense.
08:47defense.
08:49I think that, you know, steal some of those themes of moving guys around, disguising stuff.
08:57I think that could be big, big for this defense.
09:00Look, the defensive line has been a liability.
09:03It's been easy to run on them.
09:05They addressed it.
09:06The question is, will these guys produce?
09:09I think Cakes has talked about it a lot, and maybe when you were talking about it earlier,
09:13always kind of be one of your favorite additions in the offseason.
09:16But he's got to be a stud.
09:18Yeah, he has to deliver.
09:20He has to be a guy who's living in the opponent's backfield.
09:24I mean, there's a reason you gave the guy $68 million.
09:28And the reason he was, you know, a guy that was attractive to a lot of teams in free agency
09:32this offseason.
09:34He's a disruptor.
09:35You need, this team just needs more of that.
09:37He's actually not my favorite.
09:39I mean, he's the big money guy.
09:41He's maybe the poster boy for it.
09:43But, you know, overall, defensively, I'm more excited than I am the line.
09:48I'm more excited about the linebacking corps.
09:50More excited about Leo Chennault and what he can do.
09:53And obviously the rookie that has all the ability in the world to see how he translates in that
09:58Sonny style.
09:59Take a deep breath, EB.
10:00We're going to do the linebackers another day.
10:02I'm just saying, as far as the defensive line goes, it's kind of like ho-hum.
10:06What's your confidence level, though, that the defensive line would be better?
10:09We can open it up to callers.
10:101-800-636-1067.
10:12Cakes went through it.
10:13He's got the commanders at number three.
10:15All right?
10:16The big ads, he went through it.
10:17OA, to me, is the big one as an edge guy.
10:21And I think you're right.
10:22Johnny Newton's got to step up, right?
10:24There's no more.
10:27It's getting a little different.
10:29If you want to get a little younger, there's no more Jonathan Allen here to be alongside
10:34Dron Payne.
10:35He's still got Dron Payne, but Johnny Newton was drafted in the second round.
10:38He's got to step up.
10:39He's had a couple big games, right?
10:42I think he had the bulk of his sacks in one game last season.
10:44He had three on Christmas Day.
10:46Right.
10:47So he's shown that he has the ability.
10:49So when you put all these guys together, what is your confidence level that this unit
10:54is going to be better?
10:54I would say I'm moderately optimistic that it's going to be better.
11:01For sure they're going to be better.
11:02You haven't even mentioned, I mean, Cakes mentioned it, but we didn't really talk about it.
11:06I really thought Dietrich Wise added something in the limited play before he got hurt.
11:09He got hurt like in the first game or two.
11:11And Dorrance Armstrong.
11:12And Dorrance Armstrong coming back healthy.
11:14He was on a ridiculous sack pace before he got injured.
11:16And I'm not sure.
11:16So if he can get back close to that level, that's an under-talked-about piece that could
11:22contribute.
11:22And I think they're excited about adding Tim Settle, bringing him back.
11:26Bringing in some defensive line depth, which you always need.
11:28I actually think from a talent perspective, if they're all healthy, it's a huge upgrade
11:35over last year.
11:36But do you think that the line is good?
11:39I think it'll be solid.
11:40Really good?
11:41I think it'll be solid.
11:42Average?
11:42I think it'll be solid.
11:43But it should be a market upgrade over last year's banged-up unit.
11:47To me, it still sounds a little average at best.
11:51Yeah.
11:52I mean, I'm not...
11:53But O-Way, I think, could change it.
11:55Like, that's the one.
11:55Like, if he can get 12, 13 sacks, then all of a sudden it's like, okay.
12:00Yeah.
12:00Then he makes sense.
12:01Because I think the interior of the line with Kinlaw, Payne, Newton is pretty solid.
12:06Right.
12:07It's the edge where you worry about it.
12:10But you're right.
12:10Dorrance Armstrong was putting up numbers.
12:12Mm-hmm.
12:14I think Wise does great things like setting the edge, that sort of thing, should really help
12:19in the run game.
12:19Yeah, he may not be like a gaudy sack guy, but he's going to be like a glue guy that
12:23helps
12:24keep everybody together as long as he can stay healthy.
12:26As long as it's not an albatross to the team.
12:28Yeah.
12:29I don't think it will be.
12:29I mean, the defense had a lot of problems last year.
12:32So, hopefully, you know, they've upgraded all the areas, but especially defense.
12:36They have problems at every level.
12:37Yep.
12:37Let's go to Greg.
12:39Greg, what's up?
12:41Good morning, Junkies.
12:42I believe it depends on the rotation.
12:45Like, their personnel rotation will probably be a bit totally different than what they
12:49did last year.
12:50I don't know how they rotated them last year.
12:52I know they got new faces in the interior.
12:54But I believe it depends on the rotation, who's ready to go at the time when they need
13:00to make plays.
13:01I think that's going to be the key point, the rotation of the defense in the line.
13:04Yeah.
13:04All right.
13:05Thank you, Greg.
13:05Appreciate it.
13:06Well, they got a lot of guys to rotate in and out.
13:07I mean, between Settle, Johnny Newton, Dron Payne, Kinlaw, et cetera.
13:12I mean, they got some guys.
13:15They got some guys.
13:16Did you add in, you know, Wise, Owe, Armstrong?
13:21They're bodies, but are any of them good?
13:23I think those guys are pretty good.
13:25I think most of those guys are pretty good.
13:26And we had Jeremy Fowler on the show yesterday, and he kind of had to go through the top of
13:30his head, but as they rank all the units, the 11 units that they rank of top 10 players
13:38at their position, the commanders only have one guy in all 11 units, and that's Laramie
13:44Tunsil.
13:44So they have no top 10 talent anywhere.
13:49That's fine.
13:50But I think from top to bottom, I think the depth is fairly solid.
13:54I don't think it's like top heavy where you have like a superstar, and then, I don't know.
13:58I think it's pretty solid.
13:59But they have potential.
14:00I don't know if they have the potential of the Giants.
14:02Like, when you look at the Giants defensive line on paper, and just by draft position and
14:07names, you would think that they could be the best in the division.
14:10Yeah, I'm not going to argue.
14:11I think the loss of Dexter Lawrence will impact them, at least initially.
14:16Because I don't know if that front three is loaded with any sort of guy you would call
14:21a superstar.
14:22Now, their edge players are outstanding.
14:24Their pass rush personnel is really good.
14:26And it's just a question, how are they going to work in Arvel Reese?
14:30What is his role going to be, being added to that defense?
14:36I don't know.
14:37I just think overall defensively, I know we're going to go through each unit.
14:40I think overall defensively, it's going to be a market upgrade from like one of the worst
14:43defenses you've ever seen to something that can keep you competitive and keep you in games.
14:49And maybe, God forbid, maybe create a few turnovers.
14:53That would be fantastic.
14:54Turnovers would be great.
14:55Get a few sacks, create a few turnovers.
14:57Were they a minus 13 turnover differential at the end of the year?
15:01They were somewhere around there.
15:02I can double check it, but they were terrible in turnover differential.
15:06And that's an important stat.
15:081-800-636-1067 is the number.
15:12Coming up next, a lot of people are down on Lamar Jackson.
15:16How low is he ranked amongst some of the national media?
15:20We'll tackle that next here on The Junkies.
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