April 5, 2026, 5:40 a.m. ET

It’s been a busy offseason for the NFC East. The Washington Commanders spent plenty of money in free agency, the New York Giants made plenty of moves, including landing new coach John Harbaugh, while the Cowboys retained George Pickens and Javonte Williams and traded for Rashan Gary.

What about the back-to-back NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles? After a disappointing playoff exit, Philadelphia signed cornerback Tariq Woolen and others to cheaper one-year deals. The Eagles still have wide receiver A.J. Brown — for now — but did lose edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and linebacker Nakobe Dean.

It’s too soon to say if the other three NFC East teams did enough to catch Philadelphia. We’ll know more after the 2026 NFL Draft.

The NFC East has long been considered one of the NFL’s best divisions. Last season wasn’t a banner year for the division, though, with three of the four teams finishing below .500.

With the heavy lifting done in free agency, how does the NFC East compare to the other seven NFL divisions? Gilbert Manzano of Sports Illustrated recently ranked all eight divisions after free agency. Manzano wasn’t too high on the NFC East, ranking it seventh out of eight teams.

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The Commanders and Giants are two of the most improved teams this offseason. However, this division still appears to be a one-team race with the Eagles well ahead of the pack.

Perhaps the Commanders regain their 2024 form if they get a healthy season from Jayden Daniels, who played only seven games last season. But the offense lacks weapons, and there’s a new offensive coordinator, David Blough, taking over for Kliff Kingsbury. 

With the Giants, there are too many ifs because they will have no shot of competing if wide receiver Malik Nabers, running back Cam Skattebo and left tackle Andrew Thomas can’t stay healthy. That doesn’t even include Jaxson Dart’s knack for putting his body in harm’s way. But good coaching usually leads to depth and players stepping up, and that’s what New York could get with new coach John Harbaugh. 

Manzano then said the Cowboys were stuck in “a mediocre cycle” while the Eagles potentially regressing if they trade Brown before the season.

In case you’re wondering, he ranked the NFC South dead last. However, how did the NFC East rank behind the AFC South? Well, the AFC South did have two strong playoff teams last season, Jacksonville and Houston, so in that context, it makes sense.

The most encouraging part is that Manzano mentioned Washington’s improvement. While he’s concerned about a lack of weapons, the Commanders did add tight end Chig Okonkwo, and could soon add Brandon Aiyuk, in addition to either a running back or wide receiver with the No. 7 overall pick. Those weapons don’t look so bad when you add those names to the mix.

The key for Washington is Daniels. If he can remain healthy, the Commanders will be much better, and it will show in their record and in these division rankings, which will look much different after the end of the season.