Which NFL players will take their teams up, up and away in 2025? With DC’s Superman about to hit theaters and training camps not far behind, we had some thoughts about the NFC East.
WR CeeDee Lamb | Dallas Cowboys
After essentially flying solo as the team’s leading receiver for the past four seasons, Lamb may finally have the proverbial “Robin” to his “Batman” with former Steelers receiver George Pickens. That should open things up for the team’s top offensive weapon, although his numbers suggest he’s hardly been grounded.
Even without quarterback Dak Prescott, who missed most of the season with a hamstring injury, Lamb finished 2024 as the NFL’s eighth-leading receiver, tying Raiders tight end Brock Bowers with 1,194 yards. He took second-place with 1,749 yards in 2023, sixth-place in 2022 with 1,359 yards in 2022 and ranked 15th in 2021 with 1,102 yards.
In fact, Lamb hasn’t gone for fewer than 1,000 yards since his rookie 2021 season when he missed the mark by 65 yards. With a healthy Prescott and Pickens on the field, Lamb could reach new heights in 2025.
DT Dexter Lawrence II | New York Giants
A dislocated elbow suffered against Dallas on Thanksgiving Day foiled Lawrence’s 2024 campaign, landing him on the season-ending injured reserve list. Prior to the injury, the six-year veteran was having an excellent year with a career-high nine sacks in just 12 games played.
A three-time Pro Bowler, it’s hard to underestimate his importance to a team tasked with topping division rivals like Lamb, former Giants and current Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Of course, it’s even harder to imagine the 6-foot-4, 340-pound nose tackle running around in superhero spandex, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s “Sexy Dexy.”
Everybody do the Sexy Dexy #EasytoCelebrate | @BudLight pic.twitter.com/k2WrPyQ3jW
— New York Giants (@Giants) October 20, 2024
RB Saquon Barkley | Philadelphia Eagles
Who would ever think a team with the 29th-ranked passing offense would win an NFL championship? That’s just what Philadelphia did while averaging a mere 187.9 passing yards per contest on the way to Super Bowl LIX.
Credit Barkley for putting the team on his back by turning a career-high 345 carries into a league-high 2,005 yards in 2024. While he fell 100 yards shy of Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards set in 1984, he did break Terrell Davis’ record of 2,476 yards for a single season (including playoffs) by running for another 499 yards in the postseason.
QB Jayden Daniels | Washington Commanders
No play was more awe-inspiring than his 52-yard Hail Mary to beat the Bears as time expired in Week 8, but Daniels’ performance was downright heroic in 2024.
Not only did he set the NFL rookie record for most rushing yards by a quarterback with 891, he also became the first player in league history to record over 1,000 passing yards and 250 rushing yards in his first five games.
Daniels won his last five regular season games before going 2-1 in last year’s playoffs, beating favored opponents like Tampa Bay (23-20) and Detroit (45-31) before losing to Philadelphia (55-23) in an NFC Championship Game that was much closer than the score would indicate.
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