Fantasy football burning questions: Dissecting the NFC East
USA TODAY Sports is readying up for fantasy season by taking a closer look at each of the league's 32 teams and the biggest fantasy-related questions that surround them. How will new players joining a team affect the offensive balance? Can young players keep up their momentum? How will coaching changes make an impact?
On this episode of divisional deep-dives, it's time to take a look at the NFC East. The division contains the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, the NFC runners-up Washington Commanders, a Dallas Cowboys team with a new head coach and a New York Giants squad with new young players and an uncertain future.
Here are the biggest questions we have about each team in the division:
Philadelphia Eagles (2024 record: 14-3)
How will the offense look in the post-Kellen Moore era?
After a 2-2 start to the season, the Eagles turned everything around offensively after their Week 5 bye. Philadelphia finished the season ranked seventh in the NFL in scoring offense (27.2 points per game) and eighth in average offensive yards (367.2 per game).
That was in large part thanks to the switch in offensive focus to the Eagles' run game, led by running back Saquon Barkley and supplemented by quarterback Jalen Hurts, a talented rusher in his own right. The team's 179.3 average rushing yards per game were the most by any NFC team and second in the NFL to the Ravens (187.6).
The same key players are back for Philly: Barkley, Hurts and all five offensive line starters. Top pass-catchers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are back too. But offensive coordinator Kellen Moore left to become the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, and Kevin Patullo, former Eagles passing game coordinator, was promoted to replace him. Whether Patullo will be able to design an offense that gets the most out of its players like Moore did last year (and en route to a Super Bowl win) remains to be seen.
Top players (Fantasy Pros ADP)
Washington Commanders (12-5)
Can Jayden Daniels avoid a sophomore slump?
Daniels was the best rookie quarterback in a 2024 draft class that was stacked with talent at the position. He was rewarded for his efforts – in a season with 3,568 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, six rushing touchdowns and nine interceptions – with the Offensive Rookie of the Year award and a Pro Bowl nod.
In 2025, he'll be looking to avoid the same fate as his immediate OROY predecessor, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. Stroud had a stellar rookie season in 2023 but a more forgettable 2024 season that featured fewer passing yards and touchdowns, and more interceptions and incompletions.
Daniels led the Commanders to an NFC championship game appearance and painted a target on his back in the process. Receivers Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel's production is in the hands of Daniels, who will look to avoid a sophomore slump this season.
Top players (Fantasy Pros ADP)
NFC NORTH: Fantasy football burning questions
Dallas Cowboys (7-10)
How will new head coach Brian Schottenheimer deploy Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb/George Pickens WR duo?
The Cowboys extended Lamb last year on a four-year deal, then followed that up by trading for Pickens earlier this offseason. While Lamb and Pickens have insisted that neither of them is a No. 2 receiver, there's only one football on the field at a time, so only one player can be targeted at a time. One of them will inevitably get more targets.
On top of the interesting dynamic between two receivers used to being the clear top-dog in a passing offense is the Cowboys' head coach switch-up. Brian Schottenheimer got the promotion after serving as Dallas' offensive coordinator for the last two seasons. Notably, however, Schottenheimer was not calling the plays on offense during his tenure. That was former head coach Mike McCarthy's job.
So as Prescott makes his big return from a severe hamstring injury that ended his season early, Schottenheimer's job will be figuring out how to negotiate target share between Prescott's top two receivers.
Top players (Fantasy Pros ADP)
New York Giants (3-14)
How much of a factor will young players (Malik Nabers, Tyrone Tracy, Cam Skattebo, Jaxson Dart) be in 2025?
Rookies Malik Nabers and Tyrone Tracy Jr. were two of the lone bright spots in a 3-14 Giants season that the team and its fans would mostly like to forget. But they did shine brightly.
Nabers recorded 109 catches for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns last season, establishing himself as the team's clear WR1. Tracy took over as the starting running back in Week 5 and looked the part of a lead back with his 810 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on 180 attempts (4.5 yards per carry). Tracy's scrimmage yards total for the season also surpassed 1,000 thanks to his success as a pass-catcher out of the backfield.
But with three new quarterbacks in the building, including rookie Jaxson Dart, what will production look like from the Giants' young offensive core? How will the incumbent players adjust, and how will newcomers like Dart and running back Cam Skattebo shake things up? Those are the big questions that remain to be answered ahead of the start of the 2025 regular season.
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