4. NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles
A Vic Fangio-coached defense is almost always going to be somewhere among the best in the NFL. He's inevitable.
Fangio's defense for the Eagles last season was the biggest reason why that team had such a high floor, even amidst some brutal struggles offensively. They ranked 5th in total points allowed and 8th against the pass, but the Eagles struggled a bit against the run over the course of the season. Situationally, they ranked 9th in the red zone (a hallmark of Fangio's defense), but 21st on 3rd downs.
There were a number of personnel issues highlighted last year for this Eagles team, including the need for more juice off the edge. That's why they made the in-season trade for Jaelan Phillips, and after failing to re-sign him in free agency, they had to go out and make another trade to get Jonathan Greenard.
And if he's at full strength, Greenard should not only raise the floor for Fangio's pass rush, but really thrive with Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis drawing so much attention on the interior.
With the talent they have at all three levels, it feels like the Eagles are once again destined for a top-5 defensive ranking.
3. NFC West: Los Angeles Rams
Given the additions they've made this offseason, it feels like the Los Angeles Rams should be higher than third on this list, but there are two teams with similar levels of star power and more continuity defensively.
Just because the Rams look elite on paper -- and they do -- doesn't mean that they're going to immediately be the #1 defense in the NFL without contest.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, how sick does this Rams defense look?
The addition of Myles Garrett off the edge was one of the most unexpected developments of the offseason, and it speaks volumes that it has completely overshadowed the other blockbuster trade they made early in the offseason to acquire cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Chiefs.
That move alone would have had the Rams up to 3rd on this list, but getting Myles Garrett -- even though they had to give up Jared Verse in the process -- makes this Rams defense Super Bowl-ready. And they might not be done if Aaron Donald agrees to ultimately come out of retirement.
There's so much to like about this defense, even though their depth at cornerback/in the secondary is still shaky.
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