Since 2016, I've predicted what the Philadelphia Eagles' next calendar year would look like (in stick figure form), based mostly on logic, and mayyyyybe a little inside knowledge here and there.
First, a recap, and then we'll lay out 2024:
2016
On December 1, 2015, with the Eagles' season still underway (but already over for all intents and purposes), I was already in offseason mode:
How'd we do?
- They did indeed continue to suck.
- Jeffrey Lurie fired Chip, to the surprise of most.
- They hired Doug Pederson, who wasn't a retread in the traditional sense, in that he wasn't a formerly fired coach getting his second crack as a team's head coach. But at the same time, he was kind of retread'y, in that he was an Andy Reid disciple. It was certainly a "boring" hire, at the time. I feel like I should at least get half-credit here.
- All those guys would indeed soon be gone, though it took a little longer than anticipated for a few of them, like Sam Bradford, who almost made it to the 2016 regular season as the Eagles' starting quarterback. Thank you, Vikings.
- They did indeed draft a savior quarterback (for a little while anyway), but I'm so mad at myself for not including Wentz. I would take my first look at him a week later, and instantly loved him as a player. Had I watched him sooner, he'd have been in there. But certainly, the premise of quarterback being the focus of the offseason was correct.
- And they did continue to suck in 2016, but, you know, with a quarterback who (at the time) the fan base could feel good about for the future.
Sooooo, 5.5 out of 6? Is that fair?
2017
Fearing I wouldn't top the previous year, I'd have preferred to retire this bit on a high note, but I gave the people what they wanted. I'm glad I did:
Bang.
- They did indeed free up a lot of money to prepare for a free agent splurge. And yes, I know I had Jason Kelce in there, but shut up.
- They did indeed let Nolan Carroll, Stephen Tulloch, Bryan Braman, and Bennie Logan walk in free agency. I remember getting a lot of grief for including Bennie, but that was a pretty easy call, in my view.
- They did indeed sign a couple receivers, and I even had both of them (Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith) included in my picture.
- They did indeed draft a couple of corners in Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas.
- There were no major contract extensions handed out to players already on the roster. In fact, they even traded away Jordan Matthews, who appeared in that box.
- Yep.
Soooooo, 6 of 6. On my game that year.
2018
In 2018, I could only go down, and that I did.
- Trey Burton, Beau Allen, and Patrick Robinson did indeed move on.
- Nick Foles was not traded, and he remained in Philly.
- The Eagles did indeed have an unsplashy free agency.
- Jason Peters played another year. (It's amazing that he was still playing in 2023.)
- Wentz was hampered, and while good at times, his season did not go as everyone would have hoped.
- Half right on this one.
So, 3 right, and 2 half-right? 4 out of 6? Good? Good.
2019
In 2019, the Eagles should have listened to me a little more.
- Foles walked, and I got the team right.
- The Eagles should have been more willing to let some of their own go last offseason. Guys like Ronald Darby, Rodney McLeod, Darren Sproles, Richard Rodgers, and Timmy Jernigan should not have come back.
- They did at least get rid of guys like Mike Wallace, Haloti Ngata, Chris Maragos, and Corey Graham.
- Not adding defensive line talent in a loaded DL draft was a huge surprise to me at the time. Instead, they ended up with Andre Dillard, Miles Sanders, and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside.
- It took a little while, but Wentz did indeed have a bounce-back year, leading the team to the playoffs with a 4-0 finish.
- Half right here.
3.5. Ugh.
2020
- Alshon was pretty clearly cooked, in my opinion, and injured, and for some insane reason that I still can't understand to this day, instead of having him begin the season on the PUP list, they had him occupy a spot on the active roster for nine weeks, as he didn't play in a game until Week 10.
- The Eagles did move on from most of these guys, with the two exceptions being Jason Peters, who they just couldn't detach from, and Rodney McLeod.
- They did indeed go after Chris Harris and Byron Jones, but those guys landed elsewhere. Instead, they pivoted to the trade market, landing Darius Slay, and subsequently giving him a big contract extension. I say this one counts.
- They drafted Jalen Reagor, John Hightower, and Quez Watkins.
- The one vet they shouldn't have let go, they let go. Would the team have been as much of a disaster as it was in 2020 with Malcolm Jenkins? Maybe not.
- I was pretty confident the rest of the NFC East was trash, and I was right! Little did I know the Eagles would be even more trash.
I'd say 2.5 is fair? Was I losing my fastball? Or were the Eagles just doing illogical things? You can decide on that.
2021
As soon as the offseason began, action was fast and furious, with a rift growing between the team and Wentz, as well as Doug Pederson's firing. And so, by the time I had thought about doing this yearly post, a lot of stuff had already happened, and it was sort of too late. Again, my apologies.
2022
- Despite the Eagles' endorsement of Jalen Hurts as the Eagles' starter during the offseason in 2022, they did indeed seek trade opportunities at quarterback.
- They eventually settled on Hurts, and holy crap are they lucky Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson didn't want to play in Philly.
- The Eagles didn't have the kind of cap space to go buck wild in free agency, but after an offseason of shopping in the bargain bin, I figured Howie would be itchy to get back in buyer's mode, and they'd sign a few starters at mid-range money, which they did in Haason Reddick, James Bradberry, etc.
- They traded up for Jordan Davis in the first round.
- Based on things I had heard at the time, I thought Jonathan Gannon was going to land a head coaching job (most likely with Houston), but it didn't happen. I was a year early on this one, but for the purposes of the calendar year projections, I was wrong.
- I didn't think the Eagles would be Super Bowl contenders when I published last year's version of this in 2022, but I did believe that they would continue to grow as team, and thought they would have more quality wins than in 2021. They did indeed continue to grow as a team, but I way undersold it.
4.5.
2023
- Boom. ✔️
- This one was easy, but yeah, the Eagles lost a lot of good players in free agency last year. ✔️
- They signed a bunch of early-round draft busts to one-year deals, almost none of whom panned out. ✔️
- My logic before free agency started last year was that the Eagles didn't have any picks in Rounds 4, 5, or 6, so I figured they'd consider moving back a pick to collect more picks. So that was wrong. I did correctly diagnose that the Eagles would trade up for Jalen Carter the day before the draft, but for the purposes of this exercise, I got this one wrong. ❌
- When I first saw the picture on this entry, I thought, "Why did I predict that the Cowboys would win 3 fewer games? Who cares about them?" But then I realized that I meant that I thought the Eagles would win at least three fewer games (as described in the explanation section), which was correct. ✔️
- They indeed did not make the Super Bowl. Do I get bonus points for having Patrick Mahomes win again? For accountability's sake, I did later predict that the Eagles would win the Super Bowl, but for the purpose of this exercise, I was right. ✔️
5 out of 6.
And finally, my 2024 calendar year projections
- With trade rumors swirling around both Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat, it feels a little bit like the Eagles have already decided they're dealing at least one of their starting pass rushers.
- Expect the Eagles to be very busy in free agency in 2024, filling roster holes at safety, linebacker, wide receiver, edge rusher, and running back, and in some cases, they could be shopping near the top of the market.
- I know that there are a lot of fans who do not want the Eagles to draft a successor to Lane Johnson with an early pick. Sorry, but it's very likely happening, in my opinion.
- Vic Fangio and Kellen Moore will be better than Sean Desai, Matt Patricia, and Brian Johnson, and it won't be close.
- Jalen Hurts threw as many INTs in 2023 as he did in 2021 and 2022 combined. He maybe wasn't the top 3-5 type of quarterback some thought he was heading into last season, but he isn't suddenly some scrub. He'll bounce back in 2024 with a less predictable offense that seeks to accentuate his strengths and mask his weaknesses.
- The Eagles are still a very good football team. I expect them to take back the NFC East in 2024, but fall short of the Super Bowl, and I believe that Nick Sirianni will take himself off the hot seat.
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