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Unveiling the 2018 Preseason All-NFC-East Team
By Bob Sturm Sep 5, 2018
Here at The Athletic, we enjoy one of the biggest virtual newsrooms in the sports world, with a robust staff of NFL writers in every market covering every team as the new season opens. That had me thinking a couple weeks back that there are probably endless ways to leverage that level of expertise into some rather interesting projects moving forward. This is one of my earliest attempts at doing exactly that.
I wanted to leave the confines of my own head and even my own market down here in Dallas, and gather two writers from each of the NFL East brethren to assemble an eight writer panel to select the Preseason All-NFC-East Team for 2018 before the Eagles take the field on Thursday Night.
Every writer voted for each of the 22 positions (again using my premise that since 11 personnel in nickel defense are the most-used personnel groupings in today’s NFL by virtually everyone, we should use that alignment here) on offense and defense to show the best at each position and by extension, perhaps the most loaded rosters of the four rivals that go at it every year in the East.
Our panelists all voted using a “secret ballot” so they would not be tempted to stick up for their home market or team, filled out their rosters about 10 days ago and now we may reveal our findings for you on the eve of the new season.
The voters were:
Our New York Giants writers: Dan Duggan and Patricia Traina.
Our Philadelphia writers: Sheil Kapadia and Bo Wulf.
Our Washington writers: Tarik El-Bashir and Jeff Cavanaugh (Jeff represented Washington in The Athletic’s mock draft back in April before the staff was fully filled out).
And Our Dallas writers: Calvin Watkins and yours truly.
I thank each and every one of them for their time and participation for what you will find below. Each voter was asked for the “top 2 players at this position” and no further explanation was given. Basically, who would you take for the 2018 season alone? Then, each player would receive two points for a first-team vote and one point for a second-team selection, for a maximum of 16 points possible per player. It is not a flawless system, I am sure, and maybe if this lives for a second season, we can tweak the methodology or process. But I think the findings are pretty solid, so let’s take a look:
ALL-NFC-EAST DEFENSE
Our defense is pretty diverse, as each organization was able to fit multiple pieces on the first team. As you can see below with our graphic, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington each received 3 players on the first team and Dallas had two starters.
The divisional squad lines up as follows:
Let’s look at each position and reveal the results.
DEFENSIVE EDGE: Demarcus Lawrence – DAL (15 points) and Ryan Kerrigan – WAS (13) made the first team with Brandon Graham – PHI (9) and Olivier Vernon – NYG (7) on the second team at this position. So, the top four included one player from each squad. The next man up was Derek Barnett – PHI.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE: The voters unanimously voted for Fletcher Cox – PHI (16) and Damon Harrison – NYG (13). Michael Bennett – PHI (6) and Timmy Jernigan – PHI (4) tied with Jonathan Allen – WAS (4) for the final spot on the second team so they must split the point for team standings below.
LINEBACKER: We looked for the two best “non-edge” linebackers, and our voters unanimously agreed on Sean Lee – DAL (16). Also, making the first team is Zach Brown – WAS (10). Both second-team linebackers were Eagles; Nigel Bradham – PHI (9) and Jordan Hicks – PHI (4).
CORNERBACK: We judged the three best cornerbacks in the division to be Josh Norman – WAS (15), Janoris Jenkins – NYG, and Ronald Darby – PHI (10). Those on the second team were Jalen Mills – PHI (9), Chidobe Awuzie – DAL (6), and Byron Jones – DAL (5).
SAFETY: Our two starting safeties were both decisive winners. Strong safety Landon Collins – NYG (14) and free safety Rodney McLeod (15) were well in front of Malcolm Jenkins – PHI (10) and Darian Thompson – NYG (4), who finished as our backup free safety despite landing on Injured Reserve for the Giants as he cannot shake his hamstring issue.
The Eagles have three defensive players on the first team and seven more on the second team. The Giants have three players on the first team with two more on the second team. Washington has three on the first team and none of the second team, while Dallas has just two on the first team and two more on the second team.
Now let’s look at the other side of the ball.
ALL-NFC-EAST OFFENSE
The offense on the preseason all-divisional team lacks the diversity that the defense offered. Here we can see that the Super Bowl champions were able to pretty much fill this side of the ball out with their squad. As you will see with our visual aid below, there is plenty of green on this field and although a few notables won’t be available opening night, Philadelphia is certainly in a good spot entering 2018.
Here is the first-team All-NFC-East Offense:
Here is how the voting broke down at each of the positions on our offense:
QUARTERBACK: This was not too terribly difficult for our panel as Carson Wentz – PHI was able to get the first-place finish on all eight of our ballots (16). Finishing as the second team QB was Alex Smith – WAS with (4). Dak Prescott – DAL had (3) votes and Eli Manning – NYG finished last with just a single second-place vote (1).
RUNNING BACK: Our top running back Ezekiel Elliott – DAL (15) did not receive the first-place vote on every ballot, as one voter placed Saquon Barkley – NYG (8) ahead of him, but Barkley will have to settle for the second-team for now. Jay Ajayi – PHI was the honorable mention with a single point.
WIDE RECEIVER: The two first-team receivers both won their spots unanimously. Odell Beckham – NYG and Alshon Jeffrey – PHI both received all (16) of the points available. The second team was far more difficult to figure out, but it went to Sterling Shepard – NYG (7) and Josh Doctson – WAS (3).
SLOT RECEIVER: I felt it was important to distinguish the slot receiver from the rest of the group because it that position is increasingly specialized these days. Our first-team slot player is a great example of this because since Nelson Agholor – PHI (10) started lining up there, his career has taken off. Jamison Crowder – WAS (8) is no slouch himself and takes the second-team spot over Cole Beasley – DAL.
TIGHT END: I certainly don’t want to sound like a broken record here, but the Eagles have this spot squared away in the post-Jason Witten-era as Zach Ertz – PHI (15) won easily. The race for second-team TE was won by Evan Engram – NYG (5) over Jordan Reed – WAS.
LEFT TACKLE: As we go through the offensive line, certain spots are loaded. Left tackle is one of those positions, and it was won by Tyron Smith – DAL (15) while Trent Williams – WAS finished second (5). That means the very distinguished Jason Peters – PHI and Nate Solder – NYG were not on either team. Tough spot to crack for sure.
LEFT GUARD: This spot is considerably easier to win as the division is trying to sort itself out on the fly at this position. Stefen Wisniewski – PHI (13) is the best of the bunch, despite widely being thought of as the weak link on his own line. Rookie Will Hernandez – NYG – was placed on the second team (8).
CENTER: This balloting took place after the Travis Frederick diagnosis, but it is certainly difficult to say that Jason Kelce – PHI (15) wasn’t going to be the winner either way after his remarkable 2017. Frederick – DAL (9) is on the second team, despite uncertainty about the timeline of his return.
RIGHT GUARD: Right guard is another impressive position. Our winner is Zack Martin – DAL (13) and the second-place finisher is Brandon Scherff – WAS (6). This leaves the excellent Brandon Brooks – PHI as an honorable mention. This is a very solid group.
RIGHT TACKLE: The final spot on the line was won unanimously by Lane Johnson – PHI (16) and the battle for second team RT went to La’el Collins – DAL (4) over Morgan Moses – WAS (3).
As you can see, the first-team offense includes seven Eagles. The Cowboys had three first-teamers of their own and two more on the second team. New York had Odell Beckham on the first team and four more players on the second team. Meanwhile, Washington had no first-teamers on offense, but five players on the second team.
That spits out the following standings if we simply sort by first-team players:
These are hardly scientific findings, but you can see that the perception of the Eagles roster has spiked with the verification of its quality during last season’s playoffs. 17 of their starters are thought to be amongst the best in the division. Then, the other three teams all sit in the same general vicinity of each other and could make a case for somewhere between second and fourth in many discussions as they each band together to pull the Eagles back down to earth in 2018.
Feel free to argue about these spots with your friends or in the comments section below.
But, now it is time for these teams to write their next chapter and play the games that shape our perceptions moving forward.
By Bob Sturm Sep 5, 2018
Here at The Athletic, we enjoy one of the biggest virtual newsrooms in the sports world, with a robust staff of NFL writers in every market covering every team as the new season opens. That had me thinking a couple weeks back that there are probably endless ways to leverage that level of expertise into some rather interesting projects moving forward. This is one of my earliest attempts at doing exactly that.
I wanted to leave the confines of my own head and even my own market down here in Dallas, and gather two writers from each of the NFL East brethren to assemble an eight writer panel to select the Preseason All-NFC-East Team for 2018 before the Eagles take the field on Thursday Night.
Every writer voted for each of the 22 positions (again using my premise that since 11 personnel in nickel defense are the most-used personnel groupings in today’s NFL by virtually everyone, we should use that alignment here) on offense and defense to show the best at each position and by extension, perhaps the most loaded rosters of the four rivals that go at it every year in the East.
Our panelists all voted using a “secret ballot” so they would not be tempted to stick up for their home market or team, filled out their rosters about 10 days ago and now we may reveal our findings for you on the eve of the new season.
The voters were:
Our New York Giants writers: Dan Duggan and Patricia Traina.
Our Philadelphia writers: Sheil Kapadia and Bo Wulf.
Our Washington writers: Tarik El-Bashir and Jeff Cavanaugh (Jeff represented Washington in The Athletic’s mock draft back in April before the staff was fully filled out).
And Our Dallas writers: Calvin Watkins and yours truly.
I thank each and every one of them for their time and participation for what you will find below. Each voter was asked for the “top 2 players at this position” and no further explanation was given. Basically, who would you take for the 2018 season alone? Then, each player would receive two points for a first-team vote and one point for a second-team selection, for a maximum of 16 points possible per player. It is not a flawless system, I am sure, and maybe if this lives for a second season, we can tweak the methodology or process. But I think the findings are pretty solid, so let’s take a look:
ALL-NFC-EAST DEFENSE
Our defense is pretty diverse, as each organization was able to fit multiple pieces on the first team. As you can see below with our graphic, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington each received 3 players on the first team and Dallas had two starters.
The divisional squad lines up as follows:
Let’s look at each position and reveal the results.
DEFENSIVE EDGE: Demarcus Lawrence – DAL (15 points) and Ryan Kerrigan – WAS (13) made the first team with Brandon Graham – PHI (9) and Olivier Vernon – NYG (7) on the second team at this position. So, the top four included one player from each squad. The next man up was Derek Barnett – PHI.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE: The voters unanimously voted for Fletcher Cox – PHI (16) and Damon Harrison – NYG (13). Michael Bennett – PHI (6) and Timmy Jernigan – PHI (4) tied with Jonathan Allen – WAS (4) for the final spot on the second team so they must split the point for team standings below.
LINEBACKER: We looked for the two best “non-edge” linebackers, and our voters unanimously agreed on Sean Lee – DAL (16). Also, making the first team is Zach Brown – WAS (10). Both second-team linebackers were Eagles; Nigel Bradham – PHI (9) and Jordan Hicks – PHI (4).
CORNERBACK: We judged the three best cornerbacks in the division to be Josh Norman – WAS (15), Janoris Jenkins – NYG, and Ronald Darby – PHI (10). Those on the second team were Jalen Mills – PHI (9), Chidobe Awuzie – DAL (6), and Byron Jones – DAL (5).
SAFETY: Our two starting safeties were both decisive winners. Strong safety Landon Collins – NYG (14) and free safety Rodney McLeod (15) were well in front of Malcolm Jenkins – PHI (10) and Darian Thompson – NYG (4), who finished as our backup free safety despite landing on Injured Reserve for the Giants as he cannot shake his hamstring issue.
The Eagles have three defensive players on the first team and seven more on the second team. The Giants have three players on the first team with two more on the second team. Washington has three on the first team and none of the second team, while Dallas has just two on the first team and two more on the second team.
Now let’s look at the other side of the ball.
ALL-NFC-EAST OFFENSE
The offense on the preseason all-divisional team lacks the diversity that the defense offered. Here we can see that the Super Bowl champions were able to pretty much fill this side of the ball out with their squad. As you will see with our visual aid below, there is plenty of green on this field and although a few notables won’t be available opening night, Philadelphia is certainly in a good spot entering 2018.
Here is the first-team All-NFC-East Offense:
Here is how the voting broke down at each of the positions on our offense:
QUARTERBACK: This was not too terribly difficult for our panel as Carson Wentz – PHI was able to get the first-place finish on all eight of our ballots (16). Finishing as the second team QB was Alex Smith – WAS with (4). Dak Prescott – DAL had (3) votes and Eli Manning – NYG finished last with just a single second-place vote (1).
RUNNING BACK: Our top running back Ezekiel Elliott – DAL (15) did not receive the first-place vote on every ballot, as one voter placed Saquon Barkley – NYG (8) ahead of him, but Barkley will have to settle for the second-team for now. Jay Ajayi – PHI was the honorable mention with a single point.
WIDE RECEIVER: The two first-team receivers both won their spots unanimously. Odell Beckham – NYG and Alshon Jeffrey – PHI both received all (16) of the points available. The second team was far more difficult to figure out, but it went to Sterling Shepard – NYG (7) and Josh Doctson – WAS (3).
SLOT RECEIVER: I felt it was important to distinguish the slot receiver from the rest of the group because it that position is increasingly specialized these days. Our first-team slot player is a great example of this because since Nelson Agholor – PHI (10) started lining up there, his career has taken off. Jamison Crowder – WAS (8) is no slouch himself and takes the second-team spot over Cole Beasley – DAL.
TIGHT END: I certainly don’t want to sound like a broken record here, but the Eagles have this spot squared away in the post-Jason Witten-era as Zach Ertz – PHI (15) won easily. The race for second-team TE was won by Evan Engram – NYG (5) over Jordan Reed – WAS.
LEFT TACKLE: As we go through the offensive line, certain spots are loaded. Left tackle is one of those positions, and it was won by Tyron Smith – DAL (15) while Trent Williams – WAS finished second (5). That means the very distinguished Jason Peters – PHI and Nate Solder – NYG were not on either team. Tough spot to crack for sure.
LEFT GUARD: This spot is considerably easier to win as the division is trying to sort itself out on the fly at this position. Stefen Wisniewski – PHI (13) is the best of the bunch, despite widely being thought of as the weak link on his own line. Rookie Will Hernandez – NYG – was placed on the second team (8).
CENTER: This balloting took place after the Travis Frederick diagnosis, but it is certainly difficult to say that Jason Kelce – PHI (15) wasn’t going to be the winner either way after his remarkable 2017. Frederick – DAL (9) is on the second team, despite uncertainty about the timeline of his return.
RIGHT GUARD: Right guard is another impressive position. Our winner is Zack Martin – DAL (13) and the second-place finisher is Brandon Scherff – WAS (6). This leaves the excellent Brandon Brooks – PHI as an honorable mention. This is a very solid group.
RIGHT TACKLE: The final spot on the line was won unanimously by Lane Johnson – PHI (16) and the battle for second team RT went to La’el Collins – DAL (4) over Morgan Moses – WAS (3).
As you can see, the first-team offense includes seven Eagles. The Cowboys had three first-teamers of their own and two more on the second team. New York had Odell Beckham on the first team and four more players on the second team. Meanwhile, Washington had no first-teamers on offense, but five players on the second team.
That spits out the following standings if we simply sort by first-team players:
These are hardly scientific findings, but you can see that the perception of the Eagles roster has spiked with the verification of its quality during last season’s playoffs. 17 of their starters are thought to be amongst the best in the division. Then, the other three teams all sit in the same general vicinity of each other and could make a case for somewhere between second and fourth in many discussions as they each band together to pull the Eagles back down to earth in 2018.
Feel free to argue about these spots with your friends or in the comments section below.
But, now it is time for these teams to write their next chapter and play the games that shape our perceptions moving forward.
