Last week, I made my picks for who I believe would be winning each division in the AFC. Continuing with that trend, this week I will be making my picks for the NFC divisions. Keeping in mind that these picks are reflecting on teams projected lineups at the time of preseason week three.

NFC East

1. Dallas Cowboys

As I just finished typing why I thought the Cowboys would win the division, I turned around only to see Tony Romo exit the third preseason game clutching his back. That being said, I still believe the Dallas Cowboys have the best shot at winning the division. The Cowboys have the number one offensive line in all of football to block for rookie runningback Ezekiel Elliott, who many people believe is going to be a star in the league. But even if he doesn’t pan out, they still have a more than viable backup in Alfred Morris who rushed for 1,000 yards pretty consistently with the redskins. Not to mention the Cowboys will be getting back one of the best receivers in the league in Dez Bryant. The icing on the cake would be a healthy Tony Romo to command the offense, but thanks to the Seattle Seahawks, that isn’t in the cards for a while. Last year that would have been enough for me to move them down to 3^rd or 4^th in the division, but rookie quarterback Dak Prescott has looked very polished in the first three preseason games to the point where a Romo injury isn’t as season killing as it used to be.

2.New York Giants

The Giants did the one thing the other teams in the East didn’t-- they went out and spent everything they could on defense. The Giants now have the only viable defense in the division. This should greatly help their cause considering last year, they lost a lot of games in the fourth quarter because their defense couldn’t get any stops.

That being said, there is no telling if the pieces they added on defense will help, but based on the preseason, it looks somewhat promising.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Giants have a top three receiver in Odell Beckham and possibly another great receiver if Victor Cruz returns to form or Sterling Sheppard turns out to be as good as advertised. The only reason I put the Giants at two is because with all the money they spent on defense, they did absolutely nothing to improve their offensive line which has been a problem for them in recent years.

3.�Washington Redskins

The Redskins won the division last year, but that was thanks in part to a few problems other teams had and not so much how good they actually were. Last year both Romo and Bryant missed most of the season for the Cowboys, and the Giants had leads in most games but lost them all in the fourth quarter. Both of those teams have since fixed those problems whereas the redskins haven’t done much to improve.

Their only notable addition was Josh Norman who was the top cornerback last year.

That being said, he was the top cornerback on a team that had a lot of good defensive players. It’s much easier to be good when everyone else on your team is just as good. Now, he is on a team that like the rest of the east has no defense, and I keep seeing videos of Norman getting beat in practice. That doesn’t mean much but even if Norman is the same player he was last year, one player doesn’t make a team great.

4.Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles are another team that did nothing to upgrade their team in any notable way. They are also the only team in the division who don’t have a player that you have to game plan for like the rest of the teams in their division. Even if they did have some better talent, they also just changed head coaches so there is going to be some growing pains this year as the team changes its schemes and game plans.

NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers

The Packers are the easy choice here. They finished second place in their division last year by one game, and that was without their star-wide receiver Jordy Nelson. Not to mention their running game was so awful last season that teams could just sit pack in pass defense to try and stop the Packers. But now Nelson is coming back, and running back Eddie Lacy has lost a few pounds and looks a lot like he did in 2014 when he was a great player. The Packers should be back to championship level football again this year.

2.Minnesota Vikings.

Last year the Vikings won the division by one game over the Packers. What the Vikings have going for them is that their team is returning pretty much intact from last year. They have a great defense and as always they have the luxury of just handing the ball off to Adrian Peterson. That’s good old school football right there, and as we’ve seen in the last few years, the teams that go to the Super Bowl are the ones who can play defense. However, I put them second because if their running game fails, I don’t yet have enough confidence in their passing game. Teddy Bridgewater has to step up this year and become a better quarterback. They have a few good young receivers, so they really need to work together to find some chemistry.

3.Detroit Lions

I don’t know what it is about the Lions that makes players want to retire early, but it’s not very helpful to their championship goals. After Calvin Johnson retired, the Lions were left with an un-fillable void at wide receiver.

There is no one in the league that could fill Johnson's shoes, not even Antonio Brown.

However, they did go out and pick up a decent player in Marvin Jones. He’s not going to be the superstar wide receiver that they lost, but he will help this offense to spread the ball out a little more. And they need all the wide receiver help they can get, because they have no running game what-so-ever. There best runningback catches the ball more than he runs it, to give you an idea of how one dimensional this team is. This team is going to live and die by the arm of Mathew Stafford, and until they get some kind of a run game going they will not be going very far.

4.Chicago Bears.

The Bears just haven’t been able to get any kind of momentum going over the last few seasons. They have had great players and coaches but for whatever reason, they can never seem to put it all together. Once again that will be the case. They have lost star runningback Matt Forte and tight end Martellus Bennet. Their defense has been lacking for the last few years, and their franchise quarterback Jay Cutler has never been able to reach his full potential. It might be a while before the Bears are back to being anything other than this ho-hum team they have been since losing the super bowl in 2007.

NFC South

1. Carolina Panthers.

There’s not even a need for an explanation on this one. The NFC champion Carolina Panthers had the best record in football last year at 15-1. I don’t expect them to win 15 games again this year, but the fact that the second best team in the south last year was 8-8 makes the Panthers repeat chances pretty high. They still have the MVP quarterback in Cam Newton and a top five defense, even without all pro-cornerback Josh Norman. And their offense will be getting a big boost this year with the return of their top receiver Kelvin Benjamin. Barring an injury to Newton, the Panthers should be well equipped to win their division again and possibly more.

2.Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

A bit of a surprise team, but the Bucs have quietly become a relevant team again. Jameis Winston exceeded my expectations last year, and he looks even better this year. He also has two great wide receivers to throw to in Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson, and their running game came back pretty nicely last year, too. As much as I like the Bucs, going forward, I do expect Doug Martin to regress a little bit.

3.Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons have been that team on the cusp for the last few years. They have good players but can never seem to put anything together. They have one of the top five receivers in Julio Jones, and a franchise quarterback with Matt Ryan. They have a pretty good offensive line to go along with their breakout running back Devonta Freeman, although I don’t expect him to be the surprisingly explosive player he was last year. Despite all that though, their Achilles heel has always been there defense. They just haven’t had a defense in years. It has gotten better recently but nowhere near where it needs to be.

4.New Orleans Saints.

I have no clue what the Saints' plan is anymore. They still have Drew Brees who can throw the ball as good as anyone. But they got rid of Jimmy Graham, and have not upgraded one of the league’s worst defenses in a few years. They have a few decent receivers, but that’s all they are is decent. They don’t have a standout pass catcher, and for a team that throws the ball as much as they do, you would think they would have invested heavily in that department in free agency. The Saints are going to score points, but they couldn’t stop even the most mediocre offenses from coring on them, and until they fix that defense they won’t be going anywhere.

NFC West

1. Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals have the most complete team in the league. They have a good balance of talented receivers, an all pro-quarterback, and a possibly great running back to go along with one of the league’s top defenses. When healthy, this team is hard to beat because they don’t have many weaknesses. But that’s the key; when healthy. For the most part, their team is relatively not injury prone except for one person. Carson Palmer has had some bad luck with injuries over his career, and like most teams the backup quarterback will not be able to do the job. As long as Palmer is healthy this team could be Super Bowl bound very soon.

2.Seattle Seahawks.

The Seahawks, like the Cardinals, have a very good balance of power. Their defense in my opinion is the best in the NFC. Yes, even better than the Panthers. They have a quarterback who even when you think you have him beat, he finds a way to escape and make a big play. They did lose Marshawn Lynch this year however, who was a big part of their offense. Beast Mode, as they called him was the heart and soul of that Seahawks team since he arrived in 2010. Now the running back job is thrust on to a young Thomas Rawls who has shown some flashes of good play. The Seahawks need to get their running game going now if they hope to make a splash in the playoffs, because their receiver talent is average at best. If their run game falls flat, defense will be able to sit on the pass plays and make things very difficult for the Seahawks.

3.LA Rams

The Rams have a chance to change their fortunes this year. They get a fresh start in a semi-new city, with a fresh host of young talent. Running back Todd Gurley looks to be the next Adrian Peterson, and the Rams defense has a lot of potential, especially with defensive tackle Aaron Donald who at times seems unstoppable. But like the Seahawks, they lack a receiver corps that can generate any kind of threat. The only thing they can hang their hat on is that Gurley is a monster. But with the sub-par receivers, the Rams also don’t have a lot of talent at quarterback making that passing game a non-factor, so you know defenses will be playing the run heavily.

4.San Francisco 49ers.

If I only list the positives for the 49ers, it would be a very short description, but here it goes. Carlos Hyde... yeah that’s it. Other than Hyde, there are no positives. They don’t know who their quarterback will be, they have no receivers that really standout, and their defense hasn’t been the same since Jim Harbaugh left and Patrick Willis retired. I feel bad for Hyde because he has all the potential in the world, but with no help around him it is going to be rough for him to get anything going.