2021 NFL Draft: Team-by-team storylines to watch this fall

NFC East

Garrett out, McCarthy in. Can the Cowboys close when it matters?

While the Dak Prescott contract situation continues to drag on as he enters the 2020 season under the tag, the Cowboys will be led by former Packer head coach, Mike McCarthy. After several years of underachieving in the regular season, the former Super Bowl-winning coach should be the shot in the arm the Cowboys need if they are to be taken seriously in a competitive NFC.

The Cowboys offensive line took a hit with the surprise retirement of Travis Fredrick, but the Cowboys still possess one of the strongest lines along with top playmakers around Prescott, joined by first-round pick CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys looked to improve their pass rush with former Viking Everson Griffen. The Dallas secondary looks to be the team’s biggest area of concern with rookie Trevon Diggs joining a cornerback group in need of stepping up for the departed Byron Jones.

Prediction: The Cowboys have continued to be one of the most talented teams on paper but have failed to meet their high expectations under Jason Garrett. The Cowboys made the playoffs just three times under Garrett and failed to get out of the Divisional round.

While McCarthy flamed out in Green Bay, a year off should benefit the 56-year-old coach and the Cowboys should end the regular season with a home playoff game.

A new era has officially begun in New York, where does Jones go his second year?

Snip-snap, snip snap. That has been the theme under recent Giants management as the team turns to their third head coach in less than five years after the appointment of Joe Judge. The Eli Manning era is officially over in New York as Daniel Jones takes the keys to the franchise. Daniel Jones should promise as a rookie quarterback throwing for over 3,000 yards and 24 touchdowns as a rookie. The Giants have good weapons around Jones if they can stay healthy and continued to invest in their offensive line, selecting Andrew Thomas fourth overall.

If the Giants are to move out of the first 5 picks in the 2021 NFL Draft, Judge will need to see significant improvement in his defense. The Giants have young talent, however the injury to rookie safety Xavier McKinney will rock a poor secondary.

Prediction: The Giants are taking the steps to rebuild an offense under the new regimes, but the rebuild will be contingent on their defense. The Giants are one of the youngest teams in the NFL and should see improvement in 2020, however, the Giants will likely find themselves with a top ten pick in the 2021 NFL Draft before making the jump back into the playoff picture. 

The Eagles are hoping for a smoother start if they want to keep the East.

After a poor start to the 2019 season, the Eagles went on a four-game winning streak to end the year at 9-7, enough to clinch the NFC East. The Eagles lost Carson Wentz early in the fourth quarter to a concussion in which was the first playoff game he was healthy to dress for since joining the league. The Eagles addressed their biggest team needs this offseason trading a third and fifth for Darius Slay and drafted receiver Jalen Reagor in the first round of the 2020 draft.

There’s also the new presence of rookie quarterback, Jalen Hurts, a second-round pick who will be watched with interest given Wentz’s struggle to finish a complete season unharmed. Unless there is some major injury, don’ expect to see any pressure from the bench given Wentz’s success in the league and his recent big-money deal. Any game time would likely come as the result of some kind of formation match-up or trick play.

Prediction: There’s a clear drop in the caliber of team from Dallas and Philadelphia to New York and Washington in the NFC East. The Cowboys shouldn’t slip up as much this year, so the Eagles can’t find themselves in a position to win out at 5-7 to make the playoffs. The NFC is full of 10 win caliber teams and Philadelphia falls just short of the postseason and can benefit from an upgrade at linebacker in the 2021 NFL Draft. 

After a turbulent offseason, Rivera is building a defense for the future.

No NFL franchise had a messier offseason than Washington and for all the wrong reasons. Beyond all of the organizational change and legal issues, the Football Team hired former Carolina Panther head coach, Ron Rivera. Rivera will be running the ship and has the track record in Carolina indicating he can be successful if given time from Dan Snyder.

Washington continued to invest in their defense, using the second overall pick in the draft on defensive end Chase Young, arguably the strongest player in college football. The Football Team should have one of the league’s strongest defensive lines and invested in the secondary by signing Kendall Fuller and Ronald Darby. Safety and linebacker remain a concern but nothing compared to the offense where there are questions at every position outside of young star receiver Terry McLaurin.

Prediction: Washington is in the beginning stages of an upcoming identity crisis. Rivera is putting the foundation down for a strong defense, but the unit remains far from complete. The offense is scattered with questions from holes on the line outside of franchise-tagged Brandon Scherff, to the lack of talent at running back and wide receiver. We don’t know who Dwayne Haskins Jr. is at quarterback, and we may never know, when Washington has one of the top picks in the 2021 NFL Draft.