Looking at the Cowboys and Eagles before the Draft
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The 2023 NFL season saw two NFC East teams get eliminated in the postseason. Both teams were eliminated in the Wild Card Round in similar fashion. The Dallas Cowboys were defeated at home while the Philadelphia Eagles lost on the road. After a disappointing ending to both of their seasons the two teams look to bounce back this upcoming season with the off-season being the first step in doing so.
reviewing the cowboys
In the 2023 NFL season the Cowboys earned the right to call themselves the NFC East champions which assured they would host at least one home playoff game. They also finished with a record of 12-5 and were able to get the second seed in the NFC. Dak Prescott was playing at an MVP level throughout the season and the defense was playing at an elite level ranking top five in total defense, pass defense, and scoring defense. With the way the regular season turned out for them the expectations were sky-high and many thought this could actually be their year to advance to the Super Bowl. However, that would not be the case as they would get bounced out by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the NFL playoffs. That playoff loss demoralized the fan base and team more this time because of the expectations the team had and how well they were playing all season.
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Now as we are in the middle of the off-season process the Cowboys look to improve in some positions after losing some productive players in free agency. The NFL Draft and free agency, still, will be key for this team to fill the needs on their roster. Some of the needs this team has is along the offensive line, running back, and at the linebacker position. One of the main objectives for the Cowboys this off-season was to fill needs but instead it looks like they have lost more than they have gained so far through free agency. Seeing as there are still some valuable players available in free agency, it would be wise for them to try and sign one at a position of need. They currently hold the No. 24 overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft and have five picks in total. If they want to improve their chances of repeating as NFC East champions then they will have to certainly be all-in during the draft and replace what they lost.
reviewing the eagles
At the start of the 2023-2024 season it seemed as though the Eagles would have a repeat appearance in the Super Bowl as they earned a record of 10-1. However, towards the end of the season the team started to fizzle out and would lose five of their last six games. This would spell doom for them as they would get blown out by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round.
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Now that we are in the off-season the Eagles have made some splash signings during free agency with the biggest being the signing of running back Saquon Barkley, who will be replacing D’Andre Swift who signed with the Chicago Bears. Barkley gives the offense an explosive home run threat that can also contribute in the pass game. Pairing him with the offensive line that the Eagles have seems like a great match. Other major additions include cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson and pass rusher Bryce Huff, which were positions of need heading into the off-season for the Eagles. Gardner-Johnson should help the Eagles passing defense which struggled last season. Bryce Huff is a quality addition seeing as they did trade away Haason Reddick to the New York Jets this off-season. With these additions the Eagles seem to have improved on some positions but will still need a strong draft to recapture the NFC East crown. For the 2024 NFL Draft the Eagles are in possession of eight draft picks, with two of them being in the second round. With the amount of picks they have they can assess their positions of need.
The draft will be crucial for both these teams as they continue to assess their teams and improve them in hopes of being named NFC East champions next season and make it into the NFL playoffs. The NFL Draft will begin on April 25 in Detroit, Michigan.
