May 11, 2017
In our weekly Eagles chat on Wednesday, there were a lot of good unanswered questions that I was not able to get to, so we'll cover them here in an Eagles mailbag.
Question from Mick: Are you discounting the possibility that Rasul Douglas is the No. 2 corner?
That he’s the No. 2 right now? Yes, I would discount that. Can he beat out the guys who are currently ahead of him? It’s not like his competition is all that good, so this would be a year where he'd have as good a chance as any.
Question from Ertz is Elite: Why wouldn’t Douglas be starting out of need?
I can understand that Douglas is the new Christmas present under the tree, and the Eagles’ current batch of corners are what they are. However, Douglas was the 99th pick in the draft.
Looking at the corners the Eagles have drafted in the same neighborhood of pick No. 99 (plus or minus 20 picks away) from the Andy Reid era on, here’s what you get:
| Player | Year | Overall draft slot |
| Jaylen Watkins | 2014 | 101 |
| Curtis Marsh | 2011 | 90 |
| Trevard Lindley | 2010 | 105 |
| Matt Ware | 2004 | 89 |
Certainly, the hope is that Douglas is a better player than Jaylen Watkins, Curtis Marsh, Trevard Lindley, and Matt Ware, but let's see him play first before we go putting him in the starting lineup, no matter how bad the current corners may be.
Question from Cool Mike: Do you think there is a potential 1000-yard rusher on the Eagles’ roster currently? If yes, who? If no, who around the league, if anyone, do you think would make the sense to go out and get to be that 1000+ yard guy?
To begin, I don’t think there are any backs on the roster currently who you would want to give enough carries to where they would approach some kind of benchmark like 1000 yards. At the same time, I don’t mean to say that they’re bad. I think the running backs they have all have something to offer as contributors in the offense, but are not meant to be fed the ball like workhorse backs.
As for looking outside the organization, the Eagles don’t have anything close to a back that runs with power. I think that would be the kind of guy they may look for between now and the start of the season, and I don’t think that guy needs to be someone you give the ball to 250 times.
The Eagles can get by with a committee approach this season, while continuing to look for a three down back in the future.
Question from Lance: Which of the following four running backs do you think is the best fit for the Eagles: Carlos Hyde, Mark Ingram, Jeremy Hill, or LeGarrette Blount?
Ingram, by a mile. Earlier this week, we did a post on five veteran backs who might make sense for the Eagles. There's a lot to like about Ingram, however, I would call that a long shot.
Question from Frank: I paid more attention to the draft this year than I have in the past. As a result, a number of players I really liked ended up on other NFC East teams (3 on the Cowboys, 1 on Washington). Now I have to hope they’re the biggest busts in NFL history. Would I have been better off just not paying attention in the first place?
Ha, that reminds me a little of the NCAA tournament. One round, you’re rooting for some school like Xavier to knock off a 6 seed in your bracket, they do, and then Xavier is your new favorite team. Then the next round you realize that they’re playing a team you have going to the Final Four, so you’re like, “Screw you, Xavier, you suck.”
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