NFC East Mailbag: Who's in for a Bigger Year, Dez Bryant or Miles Austin?

Is this already our fourth edition of the NFC East blog mailbag? This thing's no longer a baby anymore. Pretty soon, we'll be able to drive, vote and drink. Got some great questions this week, so let's jump right in. 

Oh, and you, too, could be featured in this spot! Doing so requires one easy step: Send me a question, any question, that has something to do with the NFC East. If you're down with the Twitter, hit me up @Brad_Gagnon. If you'd prefer to do things the old-school way, send me an e-mail at [e-mail]. 

OK, I lied earlier. Now we're ready to jump right in, starting with Guate2006, who is a sports fanatic, music lover, web programmer, and social media fan from the most beautiful country in the world.

And as you can see in the picture to the right (stolen from his Twitter profile page), he's also got decent form.

What's on your mind, Guate2006?

Depends how you define impact, Guate. He'll make a difference, sure, maybe even in the return game, but I do fear that Cowboys fans are getting their hopes up a little for his first season. Rookie cornerbacks rarely excel as much as rookies at other positions, and Claiborne will face some big-time quarterbacks.

Sure, having Brandon Carr and Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick will ease pressure, but I don't expect him to become a star cover man as quickly as some are thinking.

Then you also consider that he's yet to even practice as he recovers from surgery on his left wrist. It's not an ideal situation.

Remember, Claiborne's college teammate Patrick Peterson was just as heavily hyped prior to his rookie season, and while Peterson was superb on special teams, he actually had a subpar 2011 campaign in coverage.

Peterson didn't benefit from a full offseason, but Claiborne's not able to practice yet anyway, 

I think he'll be good, not great.

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We don't get a lot of Giants questions, so I was excited to get this one from my Toronto pal, Patrick Kennedy (@CheckPK)...

Martellus Bennett is there to provide a veteran presence, and my money's on him earning the starting job Week 1, but beyond that I'm thinking the Giants are very hopeful that Pascoe can be that guy. The three-year veteran really stepped up as a suitable receiving option last year, especially down the stretch when Jake Ballard wasn't available.

He's not super athletic, but he's tough and he's a Tom Coughlin kind of player. He suits the Giants' mentality, more so than Bennett, and he's a hard enough worker to earn a substantial number of reps this season. 

Don't forget Adrien Robinson, the "JPP of tight ends", who was taken in the fourth round of April's draft. The Cincinnati product is expected to be more of a long-term project, but he's clearly the most athletically gifted tight end on the roster. 

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The only Redskins Q I received this week that had nothing to do with Robert Griffin III came from Rodge Stumbaugh of Western Maryland, who I've been told cracks one hell of an egg (profile pic to the right).

And since there is more to this team than RG3, I'm gonna field it...

The obvious answer is Evan Royster, but don't be surprised if rookie sixth-round pick Alfred Morris makes the roster and pushes for reps in the event that Roy Helu or Tim Hightower get hurt or stumble. The Shanahans go with whoever has the hottest hand each week, so anyone could earn starting opportunities down the stretch.

Royster was the most productive back on the team last year, but only with a very small sample size. We've seen quite a few running backs do big things in their rookie seasons and then disappear, so that's not out of the range of possibilities either. 

The thing I want to emphasize is that I don't see any of these backs going for 1,000 yards this season. The Washington backfield is a fantasy football prison.

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We turn to the NFC East e-mail inbox ([e-mail]) for the final question, which comes from Brian Punambolam:

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Who'll blow up next year, Dez Bryant or Miles Austin?

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The Cowboys have said that they'd like to see Bryant emerge as the No. 1 receiver, and he's younger and more talented than Austin. Plus, he's having a great offseason and seems to be maturing.

The only way I can see Bryant failing to become a superstar this year is if injuries get in the way. Austin was hurt last year, too, but he admitted that was more about poor offseason conditioning than anything else. Bryant is probably a bigger injury concern.

Though even when he was healthy in 2010, Austin's numbers dropped off significantly from his breakout 2009 campaign. 

Here are my statistical predictions for both players in 2012:

Thanks for the questions. Jump in on the mailbag next week by tweeting at me or emailing us at [e-mail].

(Top picture via the San Antonio Express-News)