With the NFL Combine right around the corner, it’s a great time to dive into some early NFC winners! We saw the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. The NFC has some great teams and teams that should make major jumps this season. You can’t count out the Eagles. However, if the Lions were healthy all season, they had a great chance to win the conference. Then you have your dark horses like the Commanders and the 49ers. Let’s dive straight into these teams and cook up a season-long.
Three Favorites to Win the NFC Next Season Pre-Combine:
#3 Washington Commanders (+900)
The Washington Commanders have a chance to be a great team next season. With Jayden Daniels having as great of a rookie season as he had, we have seen young quarterbacks make a big jump from year one to year two. Daniels won the Rookie of the Year award last season and the sky is the limit for him and this team. They made the NFC Championship without a good roster. If Washington can make a few tweaks to this roster, they will be one of the premier teams in the conference. Lastly, they have an abundance of salary cap to make moves.
The Commanders are 3rd in the NFL in terms of the salary cap that they can spend this offseason. With $82 million in a cap, that can revamp a roster that was just in the NFC Championship game last season. With Washington being one of the teams interested in Cleveland Brown’s superstar Myles Garrett, that would sure up a defense that struggled against the run, giving up 137.5 rushing yards per game. I could see them trying to get help in the back end in free agency with someone like Carlton Davis III and a pair with Terry McLaurin with a player like Amari Cooper.
#2 Philadelphia Eagles (+300)
The Philadelphia Eagles are the reigning Super Bowl Champions. Behind the Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley, who had maybe the best runningback season of all time, they were a dominant team all season long. Jalen Hurts had his best game of the season in the Super Bowl and will look to string together another solid season. However, with the loss of Kellen Moore, their offensive coordinator, it will be interesting to see how this offense varies from last year. The roster is still excellent with one of the best offensive and defensive lines in the NFL.
The most impressive thing about this team is all their star players are young. The Eagles fixed their secondary last season in the draft with Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell having excellent rookie campaigns. This defense has a chance to replicate what they did last season and can be one of, if not, the best defense in the NFL. With Josh Sweat, Zack Baun, and Mekhi Becton set to be free agents this summer, bringing them back or at least two of them would be excellent. This will be a dominant roster for the next few seasons.
#1 Detroit Lions (+400)
The Detroit Lions had a chance to be that dream team in the NFC last season if not for all the injuries suffered to the defensive side of the ball. Aiden Hutchinson was on pace to be the defensive player of the year until he broke his leg against the Cowboys. Despite this team losing both coordinators, like the Eagles, there is too much talent on this team to fall off a cliff. You still have Jared Goff, two great running backs, two above-average receivers, and one of the best offensive lines in the NFC.
This team isn’t going anywhere, despite all the injuries, they still finished with a 15-2 record. Assuming everyone can stay healthy, next season will be another 12+ win season. Do they need help in the back end? Yes. However, with the $51.8 million they have in salary cap to spend this offseason, that is plenty to bring back Carlton Davis who suffered a broken jaw late in the season, and bring in others to help with a secondary that was awful statistically.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, many teams were left off this list that could represent the NFC in next year’s Super Bowl. With most of the “superstar” quarterbacks in the AFC, that leaves the opposing conference wide open. Don’t be surprised if the 49ers bounce back in a big way as well. However, I am picking the Detroit Lions to represent the NFC in the championship game next season in this Pre-Combine rankings for the NFC. Thank you so much for making us here at Total Apex Media part of your day!
