Who will be the rookie X-factors in the NFC East?
With two big contract situations stirring the headlines in the division, there could be more emphasis placed on players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, especially for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders who are facing the possibility of granting the trade requests of their stars, Micah Parsons and Terry McLaurin.
While each of those league-changing trades could put some rookies in position to play more important roles in 2025, the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants are hoping their rookies step up and make key contributions in areas of need. Which rookie for each team can be that X-factor who could change the landscape of the roster?
Let’s look.
One rookie X-factor for each NFC East team:
Dallas Cowboys– Donovan Ezeiruaku
The second round pick out of Boston College was selected to add more pass rush alongside Micah Parsons, Dante Fowler Jr., Sam Williams and Marshawn Kneeland. However, with the trade request made by Parsons, the addition of Ezeiruaku could become that much more important in 2025.
Despite Cowboys owner Jerry Jones pleading to the fanbase not to worry about the contract dispute between the team and Parsons, the team must prepare for life after Parsons. That’s where drafting Ezeiruaku could end up being more important.
As far as being an X-factor, Ezeiruaku emerged as one of the top edge rushers entering the draft after leading the ACC with 16.5 sacks last season. Even if the Cowboys work out a long-term deal with Parsons, Ezeiruaku will still be in position to form a tenacious due with the All-Pro edge, especially with Fowler and Williams entering contract years.
New York Giants – Jaxson Dart
Top pick Adbul Carter will make a huge splash, but he’s playing at a position where the Giants already have impact players. When it comes to a rookie X-factor, its Jaxson Dart. Although the Giants have both Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston ahead of the team’s second first round pick, it’s really about the future at quarterback.
Can Dart be the franchise QB the team has been looking for since the revelation that Daniel Jones wasn’t it?
While this is not a prediction that Dart will overtake both Wilson and Winston, The Giants need Dart to flash some promise of hope. With prototypical size for a quarterback, great athleticism and passing accuracy, Dart is expected to sit and learn behind the veterans, but if the Giants struggle out of the gates offensively, there could be a try to get the rookie in there sooner rather than later. If he is able to give the offense that spark, it could drive the team’s needs going into the 2026 NFL Draft, especially if Dart shows enough to make the team and fans believe he is the guy.
Philadelphia Eagles– Andrew Mukuba
While it’s tempting to go with Jihaad Campbell here, second-round pick Andrew Mukuba is the rookie who will be the X-factor on defense. After selecting Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles now aim to add playmaking safety Mukuba to their young mix of secondary defenders.
With Reed Blakenship leading the safety group, Mukuba will have a shot at securing the starting spot opposite him. In suffering a shoulder injury in training camp the Eagles rookie did lose some ground in his battle with Sydney Brown for that starting role, but his importance as a safety will allow the team to keep DeJean at the corner position and make the Eagles secondary one of the top units in the NFL. If Mukuba finds his comfort zone and becomes the player he was at Texas, watch out NFC East.
Washington Commanders – Jacory Croskey-Merritt
It’s not every day that a seventh-round pick is selected as an X-factor for a team, but we are going with Jacory Croskey-Merritt to be that guy for the Commanders in 2025. While the spotlight will be on the top two picks, Josh Conerly Jr. and Trey Amos, they are playing at positions where the team and get by if they don’t shine right away.
.@JacoryMerritt15 coming through 💥 pic.twitter.com/tBN0QWjGT2
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) August 4, 2025
The same could be said at running back with Brian Robinson Jr., Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols in the mix, but the unknown about Croskey-Merritt, the reason why he was a seventh-round pick is what makes him intriguing. After rarely playing during his final season at Arizona, Croskey-Merritt rushed for 1,190 yards and 17 touchdowns while at New Mexico in 2023. That is the player who has shown up in camp for the Commanders and added himself to the conversation at running back.
What makes him an X-factor is he could give offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury another weapon to master into the team’s offensive plans in 2025. The Commanders’ running game was okay in 2024 but building it stronger in 2025 only makes Jayden Daniels that more effective as a quarterback.