Empire Writes Back
Fansided

New York Giants near top of NFC East Power Rankings

By TJ Wengert

Dec 22, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) huddles up his team against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first half at Lincoln Financial Field. The Philadelphia Eagles won 24-19. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 22, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) huddles up his team against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first half at Lincoln Financial Field. The Philadelphia Eagles won 24-19. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 24, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) in action during the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The Redskins defeat the Bears 41-21. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 24, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) in action during the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The Redskins defeat the Bears 41-21. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

The Washington Redskins:

The Redskins are coming off of an 8-7-1 season in which they were in the playoff hunt but fell just short.

The Skins had one of the most interesting off-seasons in the NFL as they had their offensive coordinator, Sean McVay, sign to become the head coach of the LA Rams, and they fired defensive coordinator, Joe Barry.

They filled those roles with Matt Cavanaugh (offensive coordinator) and Greg Manusky (defensive coordinator). They did however sign head coach Jay Gruden, going into his fourth year of five year contract, to a two year extension.

Not only did the team lose one coach and fire another, they lost two important skill position players in free agency, Desean Jackson and Pierre Garçon. The team did sign Terrelle Pryor, who is coming off of a season where he had 77 catches and a little over 1,000 yards receiving with the likes of Cody Kessler, Josh McCown, Robert Griffin III, and Kevin Hogan throwing to him. However, to fill the production of the both Garçon and Jackson, they will rely heavily on last year’s first-round pick, Josh Doctson.

The Redskins did have a very solid draft. Not only did they make arguably the best pick in the draft, taking Jonathan Allen with the 17th pick, but they made six picks in the first five rounds, which adds depth to the roster. One pick that I think is overlooked, was their fourth-round pick, running back, Samaje Perine. He had over 4,400 total yards from scrimmage in three years at Oklahoma, pretty impressive stuff.

Of course though, the biggest question surrounding the team is Kirk Cousins, will he be back after this season or will be gone? The Skins have one more year to work out a deal, but Cousins does hold a lot of leverage since he plays the most important position in football, he’s 28, and he will get a record breaking contract from some team. Cousin’s future in Washington will come down to the team’s success this year. If he and the team play great and make the playoffs, Captain Kirk will get the Skins to pay up, but if they miss the playoffs, then Washington will likely not resign him.

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