Washington, Cowboys & NFC East: At Least They Don't Rank Last

The NFC East was a debacle last year and there's not much confidence this year that it will be better. However, it is. At least on paper.

ASHBURN, Va. -- Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports recently did a ranking of the eight divisions across the NFL and guess what? The NFC East is not last.

It's not much higher than that, but hey - that could be completely wrong by the time the season is over.

LaCanfora has the quartet of NFC East clubs collectively ranked seventh and only ahead of the AFC South (Indianapolis, Tennessee, Jacksonville, Houston) ... and that part rings true, despite the Colts and Titans as playoff teams last year.

The Jaguars will be better but how much? Four wins? Five? They'll still stink. Houston should be a nightmare because of their roster and the Deshaun Watson mess.

Now this doesn't say much about the WFT or their division foes but there's reason to think that this group is better than that group.

READ MORE: No. 1 Defense for the WFT? 

Washington is a playoff team and improved. Dallas getting Dak Prescott back and drafting Micah Parsons should make them better ... though their defense is still very shaky, among other issues.

The Giants added Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney to their stale offense plus will get Saquon Barkley back. Their defense performed above expectations last year and should still be solid.

READ MORE: Rank & Chase? 

The Eagles are a complete wildcard. Jalen Hurts' upside gives them some hope and his downside gives pause for concern. They added speed at receiver as well. 

Their offensive line is strong if they 're healthy but that was a huge problem last year.

Philadelphia's defense is bolstered by the addition of Ryan Kerrigan and others.

The division is still filled with major questions but it's undeniably better on paper that it was in a 2020 year when, among other flaws, it didn't have Dak or Saquon in action. For this year? It couldn't get much worse than it was. For this year for teams hoping to up-end the WFT? The rest of the teams are likely to benefit from not having a first-place schedule like Washington does.