One unit on each NFC team that needs work

Roster construction is usually top of mind 365 days a year for every NFL front office. But no team is built perfectly.

Ahead of training camp in late July, Yardbarker NFL writers identify the weakest position room on every team in the NFC.

NFC East

DALLAS COWBOYS | Running back | Free-agent additions Javonte Williams (513 rushing yards in 2024 with Denver) and Miles Sanders (205 rushing yards with Carolina) couldn’t match last season’s production of former Cowboy Rico Dowdle (1,079 yards) and have little chance of doing so in 2025. Considered the worst group of running backs by Pro Football Focus, Dallas clearly hopes fifth-round pick Jaydon Blue can put the league’s 27th-ranked rushing attack (100.3 YPG) on his shoulders.

NEW YORK GIANTS | Tight end | Theo Johnson led Giants tight ends with 331 yards receiving as a rookie and veterans Daniel Bellinger and Chris Manhertz combined for 155 yards receiving in 2024. New addition Greg Dulcich had five receptions in four games with the Broncos last season, three more catches than ACL tears (two) suffered by seventh-round rookie TE Thomas Fidone II in four years with Nebraska. 

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES | Special teams | Thanks to a career-high eight missed field goals from veteran kicker Jake Elliott, the Eagles finished last season with the seventh-worst kicking stats in the NFL. In 2024, they averaged the 10th-fewest yards per kick return (26.5) and tied for the eighth-fewest yards (9.2) per punt return, unexpected stats for a championship team.

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS | Defensive line | Pro Football Focus rated Washington’s defensive line second worst in the NFL for giving up the third-most rushing yards per game (137.5) and failing to generate a consistent pass-rush in 2024. The addition of former Jets DT Javon Kinlaw should help, but he might not be enough to overcome the loss of DT Jonathan Allen and DE Dante Fowler Jr., who led the team with 10.5 sacks last season. — Bruce Ewing

NFC West

ARIZONA CARDINALS | Cornerback | Jonathan Gannon’s defense relies on cornerbacks who can play on an island and win one-on-one battles, but the Cardinals do not have a player capable of doing so. Second-round pick Will Johnson could be that guy for Arizona, but with his injury history, who knows? (Johnson missed the second half of Michigan’s 2024 season with a turf toe injury.)

LOS ANGELES RAMS | Linebacker | Despite drafting Chris Paul Jr. in the fifth round and signing undrafted free agent Shaun Dolac, the Rams have yet to find a shutdown force in the middle of the field. Los Angeles does not have a returning linebacker with a great Pro Football Focus coverage grade and is still vulnerable to passes in between the numbers — a staple of the offenses run by division rivals San Francisco and Seattle.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS | Kicker | Although the 49ers poured multiple draft picks into replenishing their defense and offensive weaponry, Jake Moody’s 31st-ranked field-goal percentage (70.6 percent) looms large. The 49ers played in eight one-score games last season, and having a below-average kicker could be the difference between another 6-11 season or a playoff berth. 

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS | Offensive line | Signing QB Sam Darnold needed to be paired with an improved interior offensive line, which was accomplished by drafting Grey Zabel in the first round. Yet, with just one offensive lineman with an average PFF blocking grade above a middling 70, Seattle is putting a lot of pressure on unproven pieces to fill the gaps, protect Darnold and keep their playoff hopes alive. — Sterling Bennett

NFC North

CHICAGO BEARS | Safety | The back end of the secondary could fall apart at any moment, as Jaquan Brisker missed 12 games because of multiple injuries last season, and Kevin Byard is over the hill at 31. If either player misses time, opponents will be able to attack this defense down the field. 

DETROIT LIONS | Defensive line | DE Aidan Hutchinson led the Lions with 7.5 sacks last season despite playing in only five games. No other Detroit player had more than four sacks. The Lions didn’t do much to upgrade the pass-rushing group this offseason, so they’ll need veterans Marcus Davenport, Levi Onwuzurike and Derrick Barnes to step up. 

GREEN BAY PACKERS | Cornerback | The Packers didn’t help their secondary issues by releasing two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander, but he was too expensive and injury-prone to keep. Green Bay will rely on Keisean Nixon and 2023 seventh-round pick Carrington Valentine to carry the CB group. 

MINNESOTA VIKINGS | Quarterback | The Vikings are loaded at nearly every position except QB, which became a huge question after Sam Darnold left for the Seattle Seahawks this offseason in free agency. Minnesota hopes second-year QB J.J. McCarthy is the answer, but it won’t be easy to perform in his first NFL action on a team with championship expectations. — Jack Dougherty

NFC South 

ATLANTA FALCONS | Defensive line | The Falcons heavily invested at defensive end but largely ignored their defensive interior. Atlanta ranked in the middle of the pack against the run last season, and if the defense declines this season, offenses could routinely find themselves ahead of schedule and out of obvious passing situations, which would negate the team’s gains at edge-rusher.

CAROLINA PANTHERS | Tight end | Carolina is still searching for a playmaking tight end for QB Bryce Young. TE Tommy Tremble, who has averaged 195.5 yards receiving per season in his first four years in the league, is TE1 on the team’s unofficial depth chart. Not a great look.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS | Cornerback | After trading Marshon Lattimore to Washington and Paulson Adebo left for the Giants in free agency, the Saints are thin at corner, with mostly unproven options behind starters Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alontae Taylor and 2025 free-agent acquisition Isaac Yiadom. Rookie Quincy Riley and undrafted free agents Rico Payton, Rejzohn Wright and Tra Fluellen are among the depth options, with Payton the only one to play a defensive snap last season.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS | Backup QB | Tampa Bay Times reporter Rick Stroud wrote about Bucs first-year offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard describing starting QB Baker Mayfield’s playing style being “like a UFC fighter” and the team toeing the line between embracing his competitive spirit and wanting to protect its most valuable player. Tampa Bay’s uninspiring options behind Mayfield include Kyle Trask, who has 11 pass attempts since being selected No. 64 in the 2021 NFL Draft, and Michael Pratt, a 2024 seventh-rounder who spent most of his rookie season on Tampa Bay’s practice squad after his release by the Packers.  — Eric Smithling