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The NFC East was the biggest surprise of the eight NFL divisions last season, emerging from the rank of laughingstock to having one of the best performances by a division in decades. The NFC East became the only division since the 2002 realignment — and the first division since 1997 — to get three teams into the divisional round of the playoffs.

Only the 2013 NFC West and 2007 NFC South had a better win percentage (.656) than the 2022 NFC East, but the NFC East had more total wins than either (43 to 42) thanks to the additional 17th game. The NFC East was the only division to have all four teams finish over .500.

Can any division top the NFC East in 2023, especially with all the offseason changes around the league? We won’t know until the games are played, but these offseason rankings serve as a barometer of where each division stands with most offseason moves complete as we head into the season.

1. NFC East

The best division in football got better. The Philadelphia Eagles did lose some key pieces from their defense last season, but they were able to retain Darius Slay and James Bradberry . Philadelphia also had one of the top draft classes, getting younger on defense with Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith as the Eagles revamped a defensive line that had 70 sacks last year.

While Philadelphia is the top contender to repeat in the NFC, the Dallas Cowboys also got better on offense with Brandin Cooks and defense with Stephon Gilmore . Cooks should be an excellent No. 2 wide receiver to pair with CeeDee Lamb while Gilmore and Trevon Diggs form one of the best cornerback duos in football.

The New York Giants were able to retain Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley while improving the pass catching situation for their quarterback. They should be better after having a strong offseason, while also improving the offensive line.

Washington has another quarterback battle, but the Commanders were able to finish .500 (8-8-1) last year despite the position’s struggles. If Sam Howell is as good as the Commanders make him out to be, this is a playoff team.

The NFC East hasn’t had a repeat winner in 18 years. The Eagles are the best team, but the Cowboys will have a strong say on whether Philadelphia can repeat. No matter who wins it, it’s the strongest division from top to bottom.

2. AFC East

This division certainly became more interesting with Aaron Rodgers heading to the New York Jets . Does Rodgers make the Jets a Super Bowl contender? They will have to snap their 12-year playoff drought first. The Jets did also add Allen Lazard and Mecole Hardman to bolster the offense. Breece Hall returning is also huge for this team.

The Buffalo Bills are still one of the top teams in the AFC as they seek a four-peat in the division. A strong draft with Dalton Kincaid and O’Cyrus Torrence as the top two picks bolster the offense, while linebacker Dorian Williams should be in the mix to start at linebacker after Tremaine Edmunds left in free agency.

The Miami Dolphins had a quiet offseason, but they have plenty of talent and are coming off a playoff appearance. Their division title chances depend on Tua Tagovailoa’s health.

The New England Patriots have a lot of questions to answer on offense, but their defense can stack up with the powerful offenses in the division. This is the best the AFC East has been in the Bill Belichick era, so New England will have its hands full.

Buffalo will be challenged in the AFC East, which could get three playoff teams this year.

3. AFC North

Imagine how good this division can be in 2023. The Cincinnati Bengals were in the AFC Championship Game and have one of the game’s best quarterbacks in Joe Burrow . Cincinnati has the core in place with Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase , Tee Higgins , and Joe Mixon — and have added Orlando Brown to the mix to improve the offensive line. Myles Murphy makes the pass rush with Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard even stronger.

The Baltimore Ravens were able to re-sign Lamar Jackson , giving him his best group of wide receivers since he entered the NFL . Baltimore also signed Roquan Smith well before free agency started, knowing how strong the defense was with him on the field.

Kenny Pickett should improve with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Year 2, as the franchise never has losing seasons and always competes for playoff berths with Mike Tomlin. The Cleveland Browns should be better with a full season of Deshaun Watson and an improved defense with the additions of Dalvin Tomlinson and Juan Thornhill .

Cincinnati is the top team in this division, but the AFC North will be a grind — again. All four teams should compete for a playoff berth.

4. AFC West

What was supposed to be the best division in football ended up with the Kansas City Chiefs making a statement, winning the division by four games. Kansas City swept the Los Angeles Chargers for AFC West supremacy, while the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders had issues all season. Will this division be better in 2023?

Kansas City has Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes , so the Chiefs are the NFL’s team to beat with two Super Bowl titles in four years. Drafting Rashee Rice should pay dividends for the wide receiver group. It doesn’t hurt that no team in the division can contain Travis Kelce .

The Chargers need to sign Justin Herbert to a contract extension, as Quentin Johnston bolsters an already strong wide receiver group with Mike Williams and Keenan Allen . Keeping Austin Ekeler in the fold was huge for a team looking for a return trip to the playoffs. The Broncos hired Sean Payton to make the Russell Wilson experiment work, while signing Mike McGlinchey is an immense improvement at right tackle.

As for the Raiders, who knows what they’re doing? Will Jimmy Garoppolo even be on the roster come September, given his foot issues ?

If Denver is better, this division can compete with the best in the NFL. That will come down to whether or not the Seattle version of Russell Wilson shows up under new head coach Sean Payton.

5. NFC West

The San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks make this division the second best in the NFC in a down year for the conference. San Francisco still has a quarterback situation to figure out, but the 49ers added Javon Hargrave to a top-five defense and have one of the best skill position groups in the NFL with Christian McCaffrey , Deebo Samuel , Brandon Aiyuk , and George Kittle . This team has been to three conference championship games in four years for a reason.

Seattle re-signed Geno Smith and had a strong draft by selecting Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the first round. Smith-Njigba will man the slot with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett on the outside while while Witherspoon pairs with Tariq Woolen at cornerback. With an improving offensive line and Zach Charbonnet pairing with Kenneth Walker at running back, expect Seattle to score a lot of points. The Seahawks are a dark horse Super Bowl contender in the NFC.

The Los Angeles Rams are rebuilding and unloading bad contracts, but Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp are back and will try to inject life into a roster that was dormant for most of last season. The Arizona Cardinals are in a rebuild and looking toward 2024.

This top-heavy division will come down to San Francisco and Seattle for the title.

6. NFC North

Significant change occurred in this division with Aaron Rodgers no longer employed with the Green Bay Packers . Jordan Love takes the reins in Green Bay, quarterbacking a young roster that has playmakers on offense in Christian Watson and Aaron Jones . Jaylen Reed is an intriguing rookie receiver while rookie tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft are worth monitoring.

The Detroit Lions are expected to be the top contenders for the division title after revamping their secondary and renovating their running back room with David Montgomery and rookie Jahmyr Gibbs . Marvin Jones is an underrated signing at wide receiver, especially with Jameson Williams suspended for six games.

The Chicago Bears have improved the offensive line, but the big addition was acquiring D.J. Moore from the Carolina Panthers — giving Justin Fields a No. 1 wide receiver. Chicago also revamped the linebacker core with Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards .

What about the Minnesota Vikings ? They did win the division last season, but they weren’t active in free agency ( Josh Oliver was their biggest signing). Releasing Adam Thielen hurt the offense and Dalvin Cook’s future is uncertain. Rookie Jordan Addison should help out the wide receiver group.

The NFC North is unpredictable with Rodgers out of the picture — what will happen here is a big question mark. It wouldn’t be surprising to see this division improve over the course of the year.

7. AFC South

Notoriously the worst division in football over the last few years, the AFC South has improved thanks to the resurgence of the Jacksonville Jaguars . A surprising division winner in Doug Pederson’s first year, Jacksonville has a franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence who makes the Jaguars a dark horse Super Bowl contender in the AFC. The addition of Calvin Ridley and the improvement of Travis Etienne makes the offense more dynamic.

What to make of the other three teams? The Tennessee Titans collapsed with Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry last year but are primed to run it back for 2023. When will Tennessee turn the page to Will Levis ? The offensive line is better with Andre Dillard and Peter Skoronski , but can this team compete for the division?

The Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts have rookie quarterbacks and first-time head coaches, so they’re rebuilding this year. Indianapolis has an opportunity to improve the quickest if the offensive line can straighten things out and Shaquille Leonard can stay healthy. For the Texans, developing C.J. Stroud and keeping him upright would be a successful season.

Jacksonville is the class of this division, which appears to have three mediocre to bad teams after the Jaguars. Another year toward the bottom of the division rankings is likely.

8. NFC South

This division took a hit last year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers being an under .500 division champion — and this was with Tom Brady at quarterback. Was the division competitive? Yes, but every team had major flaws and none were Super Bowl contenders.

The New Orleans Saints could emerge as a contender for the NFC South title with Derek carr at quarterback. New Orleans has exciting young skill players in Chris Olave , Rashid Shaheed , and Juwan Johnson — along with a healthy Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara . New Orleans typically has a good defense and a favorable schedule could get the Saints double-digit wins.

As for the Buccaneers, Brady retired and Baker Mayfield is the quarterback. Tampa Bay still has most of the core players from the Super Bowl LV team and a new offensive coordinator in Dave Canales.

The Atlanta Falcons drafted Bijan Robinson and wins will come via the running game, as Desmond Ridder gets a one-year trial at quarterback.

The Carolina Panthers are intriguing with Bryce Young as the next franchise quarterback. Young will have playmakers in Adam Thielen, D.J. Chark , and Miles Sanders to make life easier in Year 1. The offensive line that was strong in run blocking will also be back. Vonn Bell and Shy Tuttle should help the defense. Count the Panthers as a division dark-horse.

This division likely won’t be good, but it will be competitive and the division championship should come down to the wire. Improvements by Atlanta and Carolina would certainly help the NFC South get out of the basement.

It’s Memorial Day and that means we are all now free to obsess over the standings. Memorial Day is the traditional start of summer and, at this point, we kind of have to stop saying “it’s early.” The 2023 season is nearly two months complete and the contenders are starting to separate themselves from the pretenders, and those hot and cold starts are sorting themselves out.

Now that summer has unofficially begun, let’s take stock of the baseball landscape. Come with me, won’t you?

Postseason bracket

This is Year 2 of MLB’s new 12-team postseason bracket. Eight of the 12 teams in postseason position on Memorial Day last year ultimately made the playoffs. The biggest miss? The Twins . They were 29-19 (.604) on the morning of Memorial Day, then went 49-65 (.430) the rest of the way to finish 14 games out in the AL Central and eight games out of a wild-card spot. These would be the postseason brackets if the season ended today (based on winning percentage):

AMERICAN LEAGUE BYE: Rays (.709) and Rangers (.635) WC1: Yankees (.582) at Twins (.509) WC2: Astros (.596) at Orioles (.642)

NATIONAL LEAGUE BYE: Braves (.604) and Dodgers (.593) WC1: Giants (.509) at Brewers (.528) WC2: Marlins (.519) at Diamondbacks (.566)

The only teams truly out of the race right now are the Athletics (.182) and Royals (.296). Both are double-digit games out of a postseason berth and there’s no reason to believe they can put together the sort of turnaround necessary to contend. It would be a stunning and historic reversal.

Otherwise, every single team in the NL — every single one! — is within 4 1/2 games of a postseason berth. Every team other than the A’s and Royals in the AL is within six games of a postseason berth. The races are still wide open, as they should be on Memorial Day. Even a team like the White Sox , who started so terribly, has hope with four months to play. That’s good for baseball.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Best team: Rays. It’s closer than you think — the Orioles and Rangers have been excellent and appear to have staying power — but yeah, it’s the Rays, who have won 39 of their first 55 games. Tampa is second in runs scored per game, fourth in fewest runs allowed per game, and first in defensive efficiency. They have 11 players with at least seven home runs. The Rays have been a powerhouse two months into the season. The best team in baseball, regardless of league.

Worst team: Athletics. This is just a sad situation and I feel terribly for A’s fans. How government officials in Las Vegas could look at the way A’s owner John Fisher and team president Dave Kaval have run the franchise and treated the fan base and say, “That looks great, let’s given them hundreds of millions of dollars to run a team in our city!” is beyond me. The A’s are on pace to go 29-133 and shatter — shatter — the 1962 Mets modern record for futility (40-120-1). What a shame. What a disgrace. Also, the Royals owe the A’s a big thank you. Kansas City is on pace to go 48-115, and without Oakland, we’d be talking about the Royals having a chance to be the worst team since the 2003 Tigers went 43-119.

Biggest surprise: Rangers. They lead baseball in runs scored per game and are fifth in fewest runs allowed per game, and they’re doing that despite getting only 30 innings out of Jacob deGrom . Injuries come with the territory with deGrom, I know that, but if you would have told me before the season that the Rangers would have allowed the fifth fewest runs per game on Memorial Day, I would have assumed deGrom had stayed healthy and been a major contributor. Nathan Eovaldi stands out as the best free agent signing of the winter, certainly among pitchers at least, and the Rangers surpassed the Rays in run differential last week (plus-123 to plus-120). I thought Texas would be improved this season. I did not think they would be this good, even just over the first two months.

Biggest disappointment: Blue Jays . I was tempted to say White Sox, though a poor start didn’t seem out of the question given last year and their underwhelming offseason. Toronto looked like a potential powerhouse with a shot to challenge for the AL East title, if not the best record in the AL. Instead, they’re hanging around .500 two months into the season and recently wrapped up a 2-9 stretch against division rivals with some careless mistakes along the way . The Blue Jays should be a lot better than this. The Guardians deserve a shoutout here as well. That offense is abysmal.

Team with the most to prove: Mariners . They snapped the longest postseason drought in the four major North American sports last season and, while there are still four months to play, the Mariners haven’t exactly looked like a team ready to make the jump to World Series contender. Offseason additions Teoscar Hernández , AJ Pollock , and Kolten Wong have underperformed (and that’s putting it nicely), and while they’ve lost several important pitchers to injury ( Andrés Muñoz , Robbie Ray , etc.), Seattle isn’t alone in that department. The Mariners are better than they’ve shown to date. Now they have to go out and prove it.

Team that most needs to make a trade: Rangers. There are a lot of “correct” answers to this one. The Yankees need a left fielder. The Mariners need a DH. The Rays need bullpen help . I’ll go with the Rangers because, as good as they’ve been, the bullpen has been a sore spot. Texas doesn’t want to undermine their dominant offense and strong rotation work with a leaky bullpen come the second half and the postseason. GM Chris Young has shown himself to be a big game hunter and I can’t help but wonder if Liam Hendriks would be on the radar should the White Sox decide to sell.

MVP: Shohei Ohtani . The AL MVP race is wide open at the moment and the tie goes to the dude who pitches and hits at high levels. Wander Franco leads the league in WAR, Marcus Semien is the engine that drives the Rangers, and if you took Aaron Judge away from the Yankees that offense goes from mediocre to bad real quick. There have been a lot of terrific individual performances in the Junior Circuit this season. I won’t argue against Franco or Semien or Judge or Randy Arozarena or several others. Right now, two months into the season, I’ll go with Ohtani. He’s incredible.

Cy Young: Sonny Gray . The case can be made the top two Cy Young contenders are Twins: Gray and Joe Ryan . Shane McClanahan is the frontrunner among non-Twins with Gerrit Cole ‘s so-so May knocking him down the depth chart. Gray is going to get whacked with the home run regression stick at some point — he has yet to allow a home run in 54 1/3 innings — but it hasn’t happened yet, so the MLB leader in ERA, ERA+, FIP, and WAR is an obvious choice for the Memorial Day Cy Young.

Rookie of the Year: Hunter Brown . Gunnar Henderson is beginning to pick it up at the plate — the stats aren’t there yet but he consistently puts together quality at-bats and hits the ball hard — and my guess is he’ll be a serious contender for this award when it’s all said and done. But, right now, two months into the season, I’ll go with Brown over Bryce Miller and Yennier Cano mostly because he’s thrown roughly twice as many innings, and pitched very well in those innings. Don’t sleep on Zach Neto. He’s beginning to settle in after a sluggish start to his MLB career.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Best team: Braves. The Braves and Dodgers have essentially the same record and run differential, and roughly the same strength of schedule too. They’ve both had a lot of injuries as well. This really is a toss up. I’ll go with Atlanta because the case can be made they have the two best players in the NL this season ( Ronald Acuña Jr. and Sean Murphy ) and because they’ve weathered the pitching injuries a little better than Los Angeles. But again, this is a toss up, and I wouldn’t argue with anyone who says the Dodgers have been the best team in the NL. Atlanta’s margin of victory here is razor thin.

Worst team: Rockies . The Cubs have not covered themselves in glory the last few weeks and are a viable contender for this spot. I mean heck, they have the NL’s worst record! Colorado is right there with them though, and the Cubs have enough talent that I can see them turning things around in a way I just can’t with the Rockies. Credit to the Nationals for being better than just about everyone expected too. They’re not good (23-30), but they’re not an abject disaster either and they compete hard. Two months ago I would have assumed they were a shoo-in for this spot.

Biggest surprise: Pirates . They have crashed back to Earth hard since their 20-8 start, but they woke up in a postseason spot Sunday morning, and that qualifies as a surprise on Memorial Day. Even with Oneil Cruz ‘s unfortunate injury, you can see the makings of the next contending Pirates team coming into place. It’s Mitch Keller atop the rotation, Bryan Reynolds in the middle of the order, Ke’Bryan Hayes winning Gold Gloves at third base, etc. The Diamondbacks deserve a mention here as well, though I thought they had this kind of start in them given their young talent. I’m less surprised the D-Backs are where they are than I am surprised the Pirates are where they are, so the Pirates it is.

Biggest disappointment: Padres . The names say this should be one of the best teams in the league, if not the best, and yet the Padres are under .500 and far enough out in the NL West that a division title might already be out of the question. The hope was Fernando Tatis Jr. would give the team a spark, and as good as he’s been, San Diego had a .450 winning percentage before he returned from his suspension and they have a .455 winning percentage since he returned from his suspension. They haven’t exactly turned things on. The Padres should be better than this. We also said that last year and the year before though. It’s impossible to quantify and difficult to even explain, but the Padres seem to be lacking an “it” factor.

Team with the most to prove: Mets. San Diego certainly fits here as well. The Mets having the highest payroll in the sport’s history, however, and they’ve hovered around .500 most of the season. On paper, they have the best rotation in the game, but that rotation ranks 29th in WAR because of injuries and poor performance. The Mets blew a 10 1/2-game division lead last season and lost in the Wild Card Series, then owner Steven Cohen invested heavily in the roster in the offseason. This is very much a World Series or bust team, and the Mets have not looked very World Series-ish to date. The Phillies are an honorable mention here.

Team that most needs to make a trade: Cardinals . St. Louis is 14-7 since their 10-24 start and they’ve begun to climb up the NL Central standings. The division is extremely winnable and, like most contenders, the Cardinals will look to add at the deadline. Unlike most contenders, the Cardinals also figure to look to trade pieces away at the deadline. They have too many outfielders and not enough pitching, so an outfielder for a pitcher trade would be ideal. Easier said than done, of course. Point is, St. Louis needs to clear the outfield logjam and beef up the pitching, both for this year and the future.

MVP: Ronald Acuña Jr. He has been arguably the best all-around player in the game and he has a real chance at a 40/40 season. The best player on the league’s best team always gets a ton of MVP support. Acuña’s teammate, Sean Murphy, deserves love here as well, as do Freddie Freeman , Mookie Betts , Paul Goldschmidt , and others. It’s weird to call him a sleeper, but don’t forget about Juan Soto . He’s back to being the best hitter in baseball after an underwhelming (by his standards) April. If the Padres get their season on track, Soto will be a major reason why, and that will lead to MVP votes.

Cy Young: Logan Webb . Alex Cobb ‘s stinker Sunday paved the way for his teammate to take our Memorial Day Cy Young. Webb leads the league in innings and ranks near the top of the league in ERA, ERA+, ground ball rate, and WAR. That’s good enough for me. Zac Gallen is in the race as well, ditto Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder . Atlanta’s rotation injuries gave Elder an opportunity and he currently leads the league in ERA and ERA+, albeit in considerably fewer innings than the other Cy Young candidates. I value volume, so Webb gets the nod here. Great season for Elder though. Way to capitalize.

Rookie of the Year: Corbin Carroll . James Outman ‘s poor May opened the door for Carroll to win our Memorial Day Rookie of the Year award. Francisco Álvarez is charging hard though. He’s out-hitting Carroll and Outman, albeit in way fewer plate appearances, and he’s doing it as a catcher. For now, Carroll is the NL Rookie of the Year thanks to a thrilling power/speed combination. He is the franchise player the D-Backs have lacked since trading away Paul Goldschmidt.