Divisional Draft Preview: NFC East
By Jace Garcia
The Super Bowl is almost here, and if you are a diehard fan and only care about your team, then you probably have found yourself looking forward to the draft and taking a look to see who could be the newest hope to help your team extend its season next year. As the draft gets closer and closer, I will be taking a look at every division in the NFL and break down what each team is looking for come April. We start off with the ugliest division this year, the one that put a 9–7 Eagles team into the playoffs, the NFC East. As ugly as this year was, anyone of these teams could find themselves one draft pick away from getting into the playoffs.
Washington Redskins
● Pick: 2nd
● Offensive tackle, wide receiver, and cornerback
● Targets: Andew Thomas, Chase Young, Jedrick Wills Jr, and Jerry Jeudy
In the NFC East, between the bottom two teams, the Redskins and the Giants, fans were under the assumption that the bottom of the barrel would end up with the stud defensive end from Ohio State in Chase Young. I am here to tell you when it comes to the Washington Redskins, that will not be their future. Dan Snyder is notorious for continually disappointing the fans and hurting the team, and if the Redskins do not take Chase Young, I am sure the fans will be prepared to get their pitchforks and torches and head down to the Redskins’ front office, but I am here to say their is no need for that. If the Redskins take the approach of drafting the best available player, that is easily Chase Young, but right behind Chase Young are two great prospects that can turn into Pro Bowl-type talent for positions the Redskins desperately need, and that can help put their young QB, Dwayne Haskins, in a position to succeed in his sophomore year in the league and onward.
Starting off with who I personally see them picking, is Andrew Thomas the offensive tackle from Georgia, after everything that happened this year with Trent Williams contract holdout and him coming out about the organization misdiagnosing his cancer, you can rest assured that situation is over. When one chapter ends, another one begins in Andrew Thomas and hopefully, the Redskins can learn from their mistakes with Williams and do better to Thomas.
A key necessity for Washington would be a wide receiver, they got lucky this year with the break out of Terry McLaurin, but with a young QB in Dwayne Haskins, why not give him more weapons. The 2020 draft class is stocked full of talent at wide receiver, and the Redskins at the 2nd spot, have their pick of the litter. The WR I think is the best fit and possibly even the best in the whole draft class is Jerry Jeudy from Alabama. Jeudy is one of the best route runners we’ve seen in the draft, and it looks like he has the ability to be the next Julio Jones. If the Redskins add someone like Jeudy to WR core that already has a guy like McLaurin, you are ensuring success for Dwayne Haskins in the future.
New York Giants
● Pick: 4th
● Team Needs: Defensive playmaking and offensive tackle
● Targets: Isaiah Simmons, Andrew Thomas, Jeff Okudah and Jedrick Wills Jr
Giants fan all year were somewhat content with the season the team was having because in the near future there was the great Chase Young, but after winning a few games at the end of the season, it seems as if the Giants won their way out of the “Chase Young lottery”, but as a Giants fan myself, I am going to tell you why that is okay. The biggest necessity for the Giants is defensive playmaking, and Chase Young was indeed that, but there’s another solid, future pro bowler in this draft that can benefit the Giants more than what even Chase Young could, and that man is Isaiah Simmons from Clemson.
Simmons is an interesting player to watch because he has the size of an edge rusher, but he is amazing in coverage. At Clemson, they moved him all over the field, some plays he was rushing the QB, others he was back deep playing safety, and sometimes, he would even line up man to man with the teams best receiver. I understand that Chase Young was a game wrecker and can rush the QB like no other person in this draft, but Isaiah Simmons is more of a playmaker. Simmons no matter where he is lined up on the field or what his responsibility is on a play he always finds the ball or ball carrier. Now, there is no need to be upset if you are a Giants fan, that they lost out on Chase Young. I understand that in the history of the Giants, they are always successful with a big time pass rusher, and that is great, but this is a new era, and Isaiah Simmons is the guy to build a defense around.
Dallas Cowboys
● Pick: 17th
● Team Needs: Secondary and interior d-line
● Targets: Grant Delpit, CJ Henderson, Paulson Adebo, and Javon Kinlaw
The Dallas Cowboys are a very, very interesting team to look at this year, with all the key players they have set to hit free agency. If Mr. Jerry Jones can cough up the money to some players leaving, their whole draft plan could change. But as it stands right now, the Cowboys need help in the secondary, and if they choose to not resign Byron Jones, which does not look likely, a replacement for him is a must. There is a decent amount of CB talent in this draft class and I think that most of the options in that role will be there for Dallas once they are on the clock, so the decision to be made, is who to choose. There are really 3 cornerbacks that stand out above the rest in this draft class, and those three are: CJ Henderson from Florida, Paulson Adebo from Stanford, and Kristian Fulton from LSU. Will all three of them be available when the Cowboys are on the clock? Probably not, but anyone of those three would benefit Dallas.
While the Cowboys are going to need to fill the hole that Byron Jones leaves, if they choose to take the best available player approach, I can see them taking Grant Delpit, the safety from LSU. While Dallas would need a cornerback, they also need a safety. While I think you can pick and choose which of the three CBs I listed you want, Henderson, Adebo, and Fulton, Delpit is on a tier above those three, so if available, Jerry Jones should be looking at him come draft time.
Philadelphia Eagles
● Pick: 21st
● Team Needs: Wide receiver and defensive youth
● Targets: Tee Higgins, Henry Ruggs III, Justin Jefferson, and Paulson Adebo
While the Eagles were the victors of the NFC East, they lost in the first round of the playoffs, at least they got there and Eagles fans can take solace in the fact that they were injury ridden all year. What can they do in the draft to fix that? I think the utmost priority for Philadelphia will be to draft a wide receiver. While adding youth to the defense can help them if the injury bug plagues them again next year, the position that was ruined by injuries was at wide receiver. Having to call up practice squad guys and sign free agents mid to late season is what really hurt Philadelphia down the stretch.
The Eagles are lucky because the 2020 draft class is littered with wide receiver talent and they are in a great spot to choose who they want. Guys like Tee Higgins from Clemson and Justin Jefferson from LSU are a must if available when the Eagles are on the clock, those two are a tier above the rest that the Eagles will be able to find with the 21st pick. But say both of those guys are taken the Eagles are still in a good spot picking which Alabama WR they want Henry Rugg III or Devonta Smith, and while I think they are a tier below Higgins and Jefferson they still are great WRs that just shows you how stacked this WR draft class is.
The draft is so interesting because any team has a chance to find that one player to fit into their team that can change the whole dynamic of their team. That is amplified in the NFC East because it is a division that is really wide open so really any team can take control if they find that right piece of the puzzle.
