No NFL team has dominated the offseason headlines the way that the Philadelphia Eagles have as both the experts and fans from around the league debate every single move that head coach Chip Kelly has made and whether or not he is on the right track. Kelly has certainly earned the benefit of the doubt since he arrived in Philadelphia but the pressure will be on him to get the job done after several surprising offseason moves that dramatically changed the entire landscape of the NFC East. The Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Washington Redskins did what they could to keep up but it was certainly the Eagles that have made the biggest splash so far this offseason.
Rising Team – Philadelphia Eagles
Super Bowl Odds: 18/1
Philadelphia was one of the top offensive teams in football a year ago, so when Kelly traded star running back LeSean McCoy, quarterback Nick Foles and allowed wide receiver Jeremy Maclin to leave via free agency, there were a number of experts that called him out for it. This comes after last offseason in which the team traded away Pro Bowl wideout DeSean Jackson. However, the Eagles might have actually upgraded at two of those three positions with the additions of DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews and Sam Bradford, not to mention that they also made one of their division rivals weaker by stealing the league’s leading rusher away from Dallas. The additions of cornerbacks Byron Maxwell and Walter Thurmond have to be considered an immediate upgrade in the secondary while they managed to upgrade the linebacker position when they acquired Kiko Alonso in the McCoy trade. The Eagles still have time to upgrade and the NFL Draft is just a month away, but right now they have to be considered the biggest risers as a team that will have a drastically different and improved look at least on paper from a year ago.
Falling Team – Washington Redskins
Super Bowl Odds: 100/1
After all of the chatter about Robert Griffin III exiting Washington, there has been no movement on that front and it appears as though the team intends to move forward with RGIII and Colt McCoy competing for the starting job once again. That’s a problem as all sorts of reports indicate that head coach Jay Gruden wants to cut him outright.
The Redskins spent their money on defensive linemen with the additions of Ricky Jean-Francois, Stephen Paea and Terrance Knighton, but they once again failed to address their biggest area of need on the offensive side of the football. Maintaining the status quo on offense was not what football fans in Washington wanted to see and it would be no surprise if the Redskins fell even further again next year with the division’s other three teams all making significant upgrades this offseason.
Biggest Game-Changing Move – DeMarco Murray
While the Cowboys did manage to sign Darren McFadden, there isn’t a strong likelihood that he will be able to match the production of DeMarco Murray from a year ago when he led the NFL in rushing yards. Factor in the fact that Murray will now suit up against Dallas twice this year in an Eagles uniform and there is no doubt about the biggest game-changing move of the offseason in the NFC East.
Post Free Agency NFC East Pick: Philadelphia Eagles
The Cowboys could take a step back without Murray while neither the Giants or Redskins are in position to make a run at the NFC East title right now, so that leaves the Eagles as the favorite to win the division. For as drastic and surprising as Philadelphia’s moves were, they also seem to be an improved team from a year ago – at least on paper – and Kelly does deserve some benefit of the doubt for what he has been able to do in his first two years on the job. The Eagles have all of the weapons to return to the playoffs and right now they appear to be the favorites to win the NFC East.
