No one would blame you if you averted your gaze from the NFC East this offseason, considering none of the four teams have truly done much to earn your attention as 2022 NFL free agency begins to settle. Considering the Dallas Cowboys owned the division in 2021, to the tune of a 6-0 record en route to the NFC East crown, it was presumed the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders and New York Giants would make waves with new acquisitions to try and reverse their fortunes for 2022; and while the Giants cleaned house with their front office and coaching staff, there haven't been many roster additions that raise the bar.
That's not to say no moves were made, because they were, and some were stellar -- e.g., Michael Gallup sticking with the Cowboys and the Eagles landing Haason Reddick on a multi-year deal -- but in the same month that saw Amari Cooper and La'el Collins shipped out of Dallas and Carson Wentz acquired for multiple draft picks ... it's not been at all pretty in the NFC East as of late.
With that said, let's grade where each team stands in late March.
Eagles: C
Biggest acquisition: Haason Reddick, LB
Of the four teams in the division, the most impressive (and, really, the only) splash exists in Philadelphia. Their decision to award Reddick a three-year deal can only be viewed in the moment as a great idea, especially given the compensation vs. previous production formula, with Reddick still being one of the better pass rushers in the NFL. He'll join a defense that was able to release but then re-sign team legend Fletcher Cox to a smaller contract for cap reasons (well played, Mr. Roseman) and with Anthony Harris retained on a one-year deal -- keeping a starting safety in tow -- to make for a still solid defense in combination with Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham.
The offense gets Zach Pascal and Boston Scott on paper to aid Jalen Hurts, and it just feels like while the Eagles aren't off to their usually explosive start to free agency, they're currently winning the race of the four one-legged horses.
Giants: C-
Biggest acquistion: Tyrod Taylor, QB
Is Daniel Jones the answer at quarterback? It's now a perennial question the Giants are still waiting to locate the answer for, because they still haven't, regardless of their public posture. Enter Taylor, a capable starter who has proven he has the ability to enter the Giants quarterback room and, at best, push Jones to take the next step. At worst, he might take Jones' job, but time will tell how that all shakes out -- though you can at least give the Giants credit for trying to buy insurance. They've purchased the same at running back, adding Matt Breida to a roster unsure about the future of Saquon Barkley, and Mark Glowinski is light years beyond the best run blocker you've seen in New York in seasons past.
Toss in Ricky Seals-Jones and maybe the Giants offense takes a step forward, likely regretting the Kenny Golladay signing and taking a more measured approach under Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen.
Cowboys: D
Biggest acquisition: Michael Gallup, WR
It's no surprise the Cowboys didn't swim in the first two waves of free agency, because they typically wait until the third wave and beyond before putting down their sun tan lotion to get into the water. What was a surprise was in how they created need where it previously didn't exist -- an example being trading four-time Pro Bowl receiver Amari Cooper under the premise they could likely retain both Michael Gallup and Cedrick Wilson. Well, Wilson called that bluff and took his talents to Miami, making it that much more important to re-sign Gallup, which they did successfully. They've since gone on a pleasant run of elite in-house re-signings that include Jayron Kearse, Malik Hooker, Bryan Anger, Dorance Armstrong and more, but the nearly complete absence from outside business is unforgivable, even more so when factoring in the need to replace players like Randy Gregory.
The formula in Dallas this offseason has been a mix of the good, the bad and the downright ugly, and adding James Washington and Dante Fowler (while solid) isn't potent enough to raise this grade from just above failing as March nears its conclusion.
Commanders: D
Biggest acquistion: Carson Wentz, QB
Things aren't off to the best start to the offseason for the Commanders, be it on or off of the field. On it, they were basically making their rounds and pleading with teams to send their QB1 to Washington to avoid Ron Rivera being forced to field Taylor Heinicke as starter in 2022, only to be met with ignored calls as Russell Wilson and anyone else with a no-trade clause (e.g., Deshaun Watson) wouldn't remotely entertain playing for the franchise. To make matters worse, they arguably jumped the gun in sending picks to the Indianapolis Colts for the right to eat Wentz's contract, and without knowing if he'll ever again be a viable franchise QB (could they have at least had a shot at Matt Ryan?).
They did enjoy a win in convincing J.D. McKissic to flip his commitment from the Buffalo Bills back to the Commanders, and keeping Bobby McCain balances the "loss" of Landon Collins, but viewing Andrew Norwell as an equal of Brandon Scherff is a reach I'm not willing to make, with the remainder of their signings being the low-level sort.
