August 10, 2020
After a week of walkthrough practices and classroom learning, the Philadelphia Eagles will hit the practice field in earnest this week for their first full-team practices of 2020 training camp.
It's a strange dichotomy to be preparing for a full season as college football appears to be on the brink of shutting its season down before it even gets off the ground, but that's life in COVID-19 America. Of course, the fact that NFL teams actually, you know, pay their players, it's a lot easier to stomach hundreds of men risking their and their family's health to provide us entertainment.
There's no guarantee that the NFL season actually gets played, but they're going to give it the old college try regardless (no pun intended). And that means we have plenty of news, analysis and opinion about the Eagles to cover as the scheduled start of the regular season is just over a month away.
Here's a look at the latest round of What They're Saying...
It shouldn't come as any surprise that the Eagles are lacking in young talent — after all, Howie Roseman admitted earlier this offseason that the team needed to get younger from last season's veteran-laden squad. The COVID-19 pandemic may have thrown a bit of a wrench in those plans, as the Eagles have somewhat abandoned that philosophy and brought in veterans who may take less time to get up to speed with the shortened offseason program.
Still, the Eagles had 10 draft picks this year, double what they've had in each of the previous two drafts, and have found some late-round gems in recent years. And when it comes to ESPN's rankings of the teams with the most under-25 talent in the NFL, that was enough to bump the Eagles up three spots.
Unfortunately, the Eagles finished dead last (32nd) in 2019, so there was really nowhere to go but up — and that three-spot improvement was only enough to get them up to 29th this time around. Here's what ESPN's Scott Spratt had to say about the Birds' young talent (or lack thereof)...
29. Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles' second-round draft selection of quarterback Jalen Hurts epitomizes their commitment to depth over star power, but their recent inability to draft a blue-chip player will catch up with them if they cannot turn that trend around. Their lone first-round pick from 2017 and 2018, Derek Barnett, has peaked with just 26 hurries and 6.5 sacks in his best of three career seasons. And after one year, the team's 2019 draft looks particularly poor. First-rounder Andre Dillard blew 7.8% of his rookie blocks, the highest rate among left tackles with 300 or more snaps played. His need to further develop might have prompted the team to re-sign 38-year-old Jason Peters if they hadn't already done so to replace injured veteran Brandon Brooks at right guard. Second-round wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside found the field for just 486 offensive snaps in a healthy season and was inefficient with a -12.3% DVOA when he was targeted. Fourth-round defensive end Shareef Miller did not play a single defensive snap. And fifth-round quarterback Clayton Thorson is no longer with the team. Among their five picks, only running back Miles Sanders showcased his potential, and his workhorse consideration for 2020 relies more heavily on his excellent receiving (20.0% DVOA) than his demonstrated rushing efficiency (-6.6% DVOA).
The Eagles would likely have repeated as the last-place team in the under-25 rankings if not for their success in the later rounds. Cornerbacks Avonte Maddox and Sidney Jones excelled in relief of presumed starters Ronald Darby and Jalen Mills, posting impressive 56% and 67% respective coverage success rates. One of them is likely to start across from newly acquired veteran All-Pro Darius Slay. With 16 hurries and four sacks, defensive end Josh Sweat outpaced the more heralded Barnett in half as many snaps. And the team must like either unproven sophomore linebacker T.J. Edwards or rookies Davion Taylor and Shaun Bradley, because one of them almost certainly will start with just Duke Riley and Jatavis Brown as veteran options at off-ball linebacker.
Even with those deeper finds, the Eagles have a lot riding on the success of their 2020 draft. ... [espn.com]
With Jatavis Brown's abrupt retirement over the weekend, the Eagles are now even thinner than before at the linebacker position. They now have an average age of under 24 years old and have 35 combined starts in the NFL — Alex Singleton is the oldest at 26, but he's never made a start.
Obviously, they could use some help.
Over at Bleeding Green Nation, Brandon Gowton took a look at 11 names — none of them are eye-popping additions, but each would bring something the Eagles need, even if that's simply another body. Here's a look at two names, both of whom actually appeared in our list earlier this offseason of linebacking options for the Eagles.
MARK BARRON
The Pittsburgh Steelers released Barron in March to clear $5.25 million in cap space. Not an extermely difficult decision to move on from a merely adequate and aging linebacker with one forced fumble and one interception in his last 27 games played.
Barron turns 31 this season and his best football is probably behind him. Still, he brings experience to the table with 102 career starts. PFF had Barron graded out only one spot lower than Nathan Gerry in 2019. The No. 7 overall pick from the 2012 NFL Draft also boasts hybrid experience after starting out at safety before moving to linebacker in 2015.
Barron could be the best bet if the Eagles are looking to add a seasoned vet.
ALEC OGLETREE
The New York Giants released Ogletree to clear $8.25 million in cap space earlier this year.
The soon-to-be 29-year-old doesn’t lack experience with 93 career starts under his belt. But I can’t imagine the Eagles will be itching to sign the dude they’ve seen regularly dusted by Zach Ertz twice per season. Ogletree was often a liability in coverage for the Giants. [bleedinggreennation.com]
Over at The Athletic, Sheil Kapadia broke down a handful of trades that he believes should happen before the start of the NFL season. And, interestingly enough, one of those deals involved the Eagles trading for a linebacker, and in the process dealing a cornerback they seem to have already given up on.
It's also worth noting that Gowton also listed this linebacker as an option and considered him the "most intriguing option. (In fact, this was the guy we originally had in the above section, but when Sheil's story dropped we switched it out to show you some alternate options. Anyway, maybe there's something to this...)
Eagles trade CB Sidney Jones to the Lions for LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin
Why it makes sense for the Eagles: Jones has played in 22 games (and made eight starts) since he was drafted in the second round in 2017. He’s never been on the field for more than 31 percent of the defensive snaps in a single season. The Eagles traded for Darius Slay and signed Nickell Robey-Coleman this offseason. Avonte Maddox is the favorite to start opposite Slay, and they still have fourth corner Rasul Douglas, who has been a starter in the past. The Eagles have thrown a bunch of darts at the linebacker position, and Reeves-Maybin could offer one more. He’s been mostly a backup with the Lions but has athletic traits and could compete for significant playing time — specifically in sub-packages as the Eagles don’t have a lot of options at linebacker. A worst-case scenario: Reeves-Maybin can be a core special teams player. His 13 special teams tackles last season ranked fourth league-wide. He’s 25 and in the last year of his rookie deal. [theathletic.com]
Yet another Jalen? What do the Eagles know that we don't?
Quarterback rankings have come up a lot this offseason. And, usually when they do, there's been a problem with Carson Wentz' positioning on the list. He's consistently too low.
But this might be a bit too high, although I'm sure no Eagles fans will complain about it.
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout with the Eagles and a well respected talent evaluator, offered up his list of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Here's how he ranked them:
8. Kyler Murray
7. Aaron Rodgers
6. Matthew Stafford
5. Deshaun Watson
4. Lamar Jackson
3. Carson Wentz
2. Russell Wilson
1. Patrick Mahomes
Yup, that's Wentz right behind Mahomes and Wilson — and ahead of reigning MVP Lamar Jackson. Here's what Jeremiah had to say specifically about the Eagles quarterback...
It’s not just a hat tip to my buddy (Dan) Orlovsky, this is legitimate. Carson Wentz, he goes at No. 3 on the list here. He’s somebody, again, I think we saw what he could do in that Super Bowl year before he got hurt. He was on his way to winning MVP. The physicality he plays the position with, his ability to be able to pull through tackles, his ability to be able to stand firm in the pocket. I thought last year with all the injuries and issues they had at the receiver position, I thought you saw Carson Wentz elevate everybody’s play. I think he’s in the MVP discussion this year. [youtube.com]
Over at The Ringer, Danny Heifetz ranked every NFL team's group of pass catchers. If you remember, by the time last season ended, Carson Wentz was throwing to a bunch of practice squad guys. Now, they've added Jalen Reagor to the mix and expect to have a healthy DeSean Jackson and, eventually, a healthy Alshon Jeffery in the fold. So, on paper, they should be considerably better than what we saw on the field last season.
But the sixth-best group in the NFL? Does that seem too high to anyone else?
Having two top 10 tight ends and a skilled pass-catching running back should help. That being said, Reagor is an unknown at this point, Jeffery wasn't great even when he was healthy last season, and Jackson barely lasted one game before injuries derailed his season, so who knows what they actually wind up looking like when the season arrives.
6. Philadelphia Eagles
WR: DeSean Jackson
WR: Alshon Jeffery
WR: Jalen Reagor
RB: Miles Sanders
TE: Zach Ertz
TE: Dallas GoedertThe Eagles had absurdly bad injury luck last year that led to them plumbing the depths of the AAF, but in theory this squad is deep. Ertz is the team’s no. 1 catcher, and Goedert pairs with him for the best tight end pair in football. Alshon Jeffery is hurt again, but they have a healthy DeSean Jackson, who played only three games last year, plus rookie first-rounder Jalen Reagor. (Marquise Goodwin, whom the team traded for during the draft, has opted out of the season.) Sanders and Boston Scott figure to be an excellent pass-catching duo out of the backfield. Carson Wentz probably won’t pass to any former XFL players this year. [theringer.com]
We began this post by talking about the Eagles' lack of young talent, so it's only appropriate that we end it by talking about their over-30 talent, of which they have a bit. The Eagles had two players appear on NFL.com's list of the best players over the age of 30.
It was, however, a bit of a shocker that 32-year-old Malcolm Jenkins wasn't on this list. But he's no longer an Eagle so we can leave the complaining to Saints fans, since they seem to love it so much.27. Brandon Graham
Philadelphia Eagles · DE · Age: 32
AB: Graham has somehow been overlooked for Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors in each of his 10 pro seasons. In fact, we're probably guilty of having him too low on this list. The defensive end finished last season ranked No. 1 in stuff percentage (7.3%) and tied T.J. Watt for the eighth-highest disruption rate (13.4%) among all front seven players (min. 400 pass-rushing snaps, per Next Gen Stats). Don't be fooled by Graham's lack of splashy traditional stats from last year (just 8.5 sacks) or over his entire career (51), for that matter. Trust your eyes. They'll confirm that he's one of the best defensive linemen in football.
[...]
21. Jason Kelce
Philadelphia Eagles · C · Age: 31
TB: Centers might have a limited ceiling in terms of star potential, but it helps if you have a personality. And a brother who is also an elite tight end. Oh, and if you're really good at playing center. Kelce is a three-time Pro Bowler coming off his third straight first-team All-Pro season, ranking as PFF's top-graded center, both overall and in run-blocking, in 2019. The Eagles' offensive line is going through some things, with Jason Peters trying to become the first guard 38 or older to start 16 games in the NFL since Ray Brown did it for Detroit in 2003, and second-year pro Andre Dillard seeking to validate his first-round pedigree at left tackle. Kelce, who has missed just four starts over the past seven seasons, will be the rock in the middle. [nfl.com]
Follow Matt on Twitter: @matt_mullin
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
