Here are all-NFC East first and second teams for 2019 season

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As we creep closer to the beginning of training camp, I decided to take a look around the NFC East to put together an All-Star team from the division. 

Over the last two decades there has been plenty of parity in the NFC East. No team has won the division in consecutive years since the Eagles from 2001-04. Since then, here’s how many division titles each team has won: 

Cowboys: 5
Eagles: 4
Giants: 3
Redskins: 2

After the Cowboys won the division with a 10-6 record last season, the Eagles might be poised to recapture the NFC East title this season and continue the trend of a new champion every year. But the Cowboys return a pretty strong roster too, while the Redskins should be decent and the Giants are, well, kind of rebuilding. 

Anyway, let’s take a look at my all-NFC East first and second teams: 

First team

QB: Carson Wentz (PHL)
RB: Ezekiel Elliott (DAL)
WR: Amari Cooper (DAL)
WR: Alshon Jeffery (PHL)
SLOT: Nelson Agholor (PHL)
LT: Tyron Smith (DAL)
LG: Will Hernandez (NYG)
C: Jason Kelce (PHL)
RG: Zack Martin (DAL)
RT: Lane Johnson (PHL)
TE: Zach Ertz (PHL)

DE: DeMarcus Lawrence (DAL)
DT: Fletcher Cox (PHL)
DT: Jonathan Allen (WAS)
DE: Ryan Kerrigan (WAS)
LB: Leighton Vander Esch (DAL)
LB: Nigel Bradham (PHL)
LB: Jaylon Smith (DAL)
S: Landon Collins (WAS)
S: Malcolm Jenkins (PHL)
CB: Byron Jones (DAL)
CB: Janoris Jenkins (NYG)

Second team

QB: Dak Prescott (DAL)
RB: Saquon Barkley (NYG)
WR: DeSean Jackson (PHL)
WR: Golden Tate (NYG) 
SLOT: Sterling Shepard (NYG)
TE: Jordan Reed (WAS)
LT: Trent Williams (WAS)
LG: Connor Williams (DAL)
C: Travis Frederick (DAL)
RG: Brandon Brooks (PHL)
RT: Morgan Moses (WAS)

DE: Brandon Graham (PHL)
DT: Malik Jackson (PHL)
DT: Matt Ioannidis (WAS)
DE: Robert Quinn (DAL)
LB: Alec Ogletree (NYG)
LB: Zach Brown (PHL)
LB: Mason Foster (WAS)
S: Jabrill Peppers (NYG)
S: Antoine Bethea (NYG)
CB: Josh Norman (WAS) 
CB: Ronald Darby (PHL)

A few notes: 

• The Eagles led all four teams with 9 of the 22 first-team spots, followed by the Cowboys (8), Redskins (3) and Giants (2). That seems about right. It’s clear the Eagles and Cowboys are the top two teams in the division. 

• While Zeke and Saquon being 1a and 1b in the division at running back, that’s not the deepest position in the division. That distinction belongs to RG; the NFC East might have the three best right guards in football. Zack Martin earned my top spot, followed by Brandon Brooks and it hurt to leave Brandon Scherff off the lists. He’s one of Washington’s best players and you can certainly make the argument that he belongs, but he played just eight games last season because of injury. 

• The Cowboys got both of their young linebackers on the first team and it wasn’t really a hard decision. The only question I had was the leave Nigel Bradham on there over Alec Ogletree. Ultimately, I think Bradham is a tick ahead of the Giants’ linebacker. 

• Even though he missed the entire 2018 season with Guillain-Barre syndrome, I still put Travis Frederick on the second team at center. If he comes back healthy this season, it’ll be a huge boost for the Cowboys. But Jason Kelce is clearly the top center in the division and likely the league. 

• I went with a 4-3 alignment on defense, which meant I had to shoehorn Ryan Kerrigan into a defensive end spot. He’s been a OLB in Washington’s 3-4, but there’s no way I was leaving him off the first team and it would be a cop out to make him a linebacker. 

• With how much of a strength the Eagles’ defensive line is, I was surprised just Fletcher Cox ended up on the first team. Overall, though, I think they have the most talented DL. 

• I could have made a case for Evan Engram over Jordan Reed on the second team. It was close. But neither is close to Ertz on the first team. By the end of this season, it isn’t crazy to think the Eagles could have the top two tight ends in the division. 

• On the second team, I have Sterling Shepard as the slot guy and Golden Tate outside. Not sure how that’s going to shake out. It seems to be the same problem the Eagles had with Tate and Agholor on the same team. I thought about Randall Cobb with one of those second-team spots but I want to see how he does with his new team in Dallas. 

• By the end of this season, I think Derek Barnett will be ahead of Robert Quinn, but based on what we’ve seen so far, Quinn gets the nod for that other second-team DE spot. 

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