Position Battles to Watch: NFC East

It’s early, but now is the time to make notes on who’s getting the action in camps as the NFL season starts to warm up. These are some of the position battles to keep an eye on as things get underway…

Dallas Cowboys
Blake Jarwin vs Dalton Schultz
Jarwin missed all of 2020 with a torn ACL, and Schultz played as the starter that year, ending up with the 9th most targets for TEs(85). Jarwin should be healthy going into camp, but we don’t know how his knee will respond to the action. Schultz would be a sneaky late round fantasy pick should Jarwin see any setbacks during camps.

New York Giants
Kenny Golladay vs Sterling Shepard
This argument seems dubious at first glance, of course Golladay is the no.1, but we’re talking about a QB, Daniel Jones, who is arguably the worst deep ball passer in the game right now. It’s well within the realm of possibilities that Shepard leads the team in targets, if not yards, when all is said and done. We need to watch and see if Jones can produce enough to feed a beast of Golladay’s caliber, or will he resort to dumping off to Shepard on short and intermediate routes all day.

Philadelphia Eagles
DeVonta Smith vs Jalen Reagor vs Travis Fulgham vs Greg Ward 
Is there a true no.1 in Philly? It isn’t obvious that Heisman winning rookie Smith is the top dog yet. He still needs to learn that offense and prove that he can separate at the next level. Reagor is almost as talented, with a year of NFL play under his belt, and Fulgham has been the WR3 in early mini camps, even though it was Greg Ward who led the Eagles in targets(79), receptions(53) and receiving TDs(6) in 2020. Smith will be the highest pick in drafts, no doubt, but both Reagor and, to a lesser degree, Fulgham and Ward will compete with him to be whoever starts for Philly’s favorite WR target.

Jalen Hurts vs Joe Flacco
We can’t automatically assume Hurts will be the starter come season’s start, despite owner Jeff Laurie’s desires. HC Nick Sirianni has stated that there will be a QB competition in camp between Hurts and Joe Flacco for the starting job. I’m leaning heavily toward Hurts taking the role, but it’s going to have to play out in camp. Whoever gets the job will have a bevy of electric options in the passing game to work with in 2021.

Washington Football Team
Ryan Fitzpatrick vs Taylor Heinicke
Assuming the mantle of a “gunslinger” in recent years, Fitzpatrick offers Washington some decent upside in the downfield passing game after Dwayne Haskins and Alex Smith offered little to none in 2020. He’s the favorite to start for the team this season, but 28 year-old Heinicke can’t be counted out yet. The veteran started for an injured Smith in Washington’s playoff loss last season, throwing for over 300 yards and 2 TDs. He’ll get an opportunity to challenge Fitzpatrick for the right to throw to Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel and Dyami Brown this season.