The time to mourn the loss of some of the most popular Eagles players over the years is now over. The time to look ahead, project, and reflect is now upon us.
The roster has basically filled itself out. The players projected to be the most notable contributors have already been discussed at length and head coach Chip Kelly is being touted differently depending on the person doing the evaluation. Some analysts and football experts say that Kelly is building his team for the playoffs while also stacking young talent to groom for the future. Others think he is a buffoon, but an argument can be made that Kelly could have realized the limited potential of his offensive and defensive unit and decided to cut bait while he still could. Doing so only makes sense if he had the intention of bringing in players he believed completely fit his system and/or already played in his system previously.
But before we crown him as a master builder, lets allow Chip to finish his structure.
The Eagles may have a plethora of new faces that are ready to achieve greatness under Chip’s rule, but the roster is far from a contender, thus far, in a tough NFC. Question marks at the quarterback position are the main reason for this idea but it definitely isn’t the only reason.
Defensively, the Eagles secondary seems to have improved on paper over last year. In the place of Cary Williams (signed with Seahawks) and Bradley Fletcher (signed with Patriots), the Eagles have brought in Walter Thurmond and Byron Maxwell. Both corners have flashed a great potential, but these moves will remain question marks until training camp. Don’t be surprised if Kelly still decides to take a corner in the first round of the draft as well (not sure that would not be a good idea too). You can never have too much talent at cornerback.
The Eagles have yet to make a move to bring in a safety to replace Nate Allen (signed with Raiders), but Kelly could be looking to a younger player to take a hold of that spot; Earl Wolff is the main person that comes to mind. Kelly could also be interested in drafting a safety in the upcoming draft, which is thought to be a weak safety class. Either way, finding talent at safety is one of the tougher things to accomplish. Ask Andy Reid after Brian Dawkins left town.
The linebackers for the Eagles seem to have improved as well. Even with the loss of the second place all-time sack leader, Trent Cole, the Eagles can possibly boast a stronger unit there. Luckily, Brandon Graham was retained by the team, and the acquisition of Kiko Alonzo adds depth to a position that had huge injury issues last year, especially when DeMeco Ryans returns. Depth at outside linebacker is still a concern with Marcus Smith being a virtual “no show” last season. If Kelly finds himself with a chance to go and draft a young pass rushing stud in the later rounds, it would not be surprising to see him pull the trigger.
On a positive note, Conner Barwin received a modest raise from the team recently, as he led the NFC in sacks this past season. The Eagles felt it was necessary to pay him more than Brandon Graham as he just signed a deal that would have paid him more than Barwin even without significant experience. It’s good to see a team take care of their guys. Barwin must feel even more secure than he did before.
The defensive line took a step forward last year as they were easily considered the Eagles best defensive unit. Kelly made it a priority to bring Cedric Thorton back as a starting defensive end to be the opposite force of the vaunted Fletcher Cox, who should have made a Pro Bowl last year with his play. Bennie Logan was featured at nose tackle this past year and again took a step in the right direction with his continued development.
As a run stopping unit, the Eagles defensive line is one of the best in the business, but they still struggle to create a pass rush without added pressure from the pass rushing specialists at linebacker. If Thorton and Logan can take a marginal step forward in their pass rushing abilities with Fletcher Cox remaining the dominant force that he is, the Eagles defense will be a contender in a strong NFC.
Offensively, the Eagles have more question marks than holes in comparison to their defense. The only position on the Eagles offense that seems to be set in stone is running back since they just welcomed the additions of DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews. The quarterback position is going to be a huge question mark thanks to Sam Bradford’s health being up in the air. The wide receiver position is anything but settled as they only have lost their main receiving threat from last year in Jeremy Maclin. Jordan Matthews and Riley Cooper are still on the roster, but Kelly will definitely look to bolster the position with more talent, either through free agency or the draft. The Eagles tight end position is set in stone even after the release of James Casey, but the offensive line will need attention as well.
Kelly decided to move on without long-time Eagles offensive lineman Todd Herremans in an effort to save money on the cap. Kelly is also planning to ramp up efforts to trade Pro Bowl offensive guard Evan Mathis this offseason. These two moves, while one is pending, do not exactly make a lot of sense if Kelly does not plan to replace both players, who are both going to be extremely difficult to replace along an offensive line that had great talent and stability.
Kelly’s effort to rebuild this team in his own image has been nothing shorter of commendable, while holding further judgement of the moves until football is back in session. It will be interesting to see how things turn out as no coach has attempted to do what Kelly is doing for this upcoming season. The holes he has to fill on the roster are not small as he has his work cut out for him. However, he did take a 4-12 team and flip them into a 10-6 division winner. He earned some trust to put in the bank after that.
Only time will tell from now on. The only analysis left is going to be on the draft. Chip Kelly’s decisions, right now, can only be judged in the future. Training camp cannot come fast enough.
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