Coming off a season where the Philadelphia Eagles finished 7-9, missing the playoffs for the second year in a row, the team is in rebuilding mode in the eyes of many. Las Vegas, for example, set the Eagles over/under win total at just 7 wins for the upcoming season, with the Under bet being the favorite at some books. Vegas also has set the Eagles as the biggest underdog to win the NFC East this season.
For most people who follow the Eagles and NFL, that seems reasonable for a organization who has a first year head coach in Doug Pederson, and brand new coordinators Jim Schwartz and Frank Reich. However, Pro Football Focus disagrees. In a story on ESPN.com, Pro Football Focus ranks the Philadelphia Eagles roster fifth in the NFL. Here is what they had to say:
” 5. Philadelphia Eagles
Top five players: DE Fletcher Cox, OT Jason Peters, S Malcolm Jenkins, DE Brandon Graham, QB Sam Bradford
Starters who should be upgraded: LB Nigel Bradham, OG Allen Barbre, WR Nelson Agholor, LB Jordan Hicks, CB Nolan Carroll
The Eagles imploded around Chip Kelly, but the roster still has a lot of good players, and more may see the field after their offseason of personnel moves designed to move away from Kelly’s way of doing things as fast as possible. Cox has been a monster and could improve with a transition to a four-man line in which he will no longer have two-gap responsibilities, allowing him to simply attack gaps and wreak havoc in the backfield. Graham and Vinny Curry are both able edge rushers, and Bennie Logan should be a fine nose tackle in a 4-3 scheme, giving the Eagles a formidable front. Jenkins and Rodney McLeod look on paper to be one of the league’s best safety tandems, and if Eric Rowe can take a step forward, this defense looks very impressive.
There are still a lot of pieces in place on offense. The line has talent, but it has been inconsistent. Skill position players Zach Ertz, Darren Sproles and Jordan Matthews provide dangerous weapons from their roles. Second-year receiver Agholor needs to be much better in 2016. Plus there’s the quarterback competition, which will be the headline grabber, but Bradford played pretty well in 2015. “
The outlook is very intriguing for a couple of reasons. First, Jim Schwartz is changing the Eagles defense from a 3-4 back to a 4-3. The defense also features new players such as Rodney McLeod, Nigel Bradham, and Leodis McKelvin, who are expected to start, or at least compete for starting spots. I agree with the breakdown on the defensive side of the ball because if the defense can gel early on the talent on defense has a chance to place the Eagles as a top 10 defense this season. A lot hinges on the play of the cornerbacks, however.
Second, on the offensive end the Eagles are transitioning from Chip Kelly’s offense back to a traditional style offense under Pederson and new Offensive Coordinator Frank Reich. Along the offensive line, the Eagles made a conscious effort to improve the unit by signing Brandon Brooks and Steve Wisniewski, and drafting Isaac Seumalo and Halapoulivaati Vaitai.
The rest of the offense has a lot of question marks as well. While the wide receiving core has some decent talent with Jordan Matthews, Josh Huff, Nelson Agholor, Reuben Randle, and Chris Givens, the Eagles are still lacking a true go-to outside receiver. The hope is Agholor can take a leap this year and start to reach expectations that were placed on him coming out of USC, but there is no guarantee that happens in 2016.
I feel that the tight end group is the best on offense, especially with the belief that Zach Ertz finally has his breakout year in a offense which features the tight end a lot.
At running back, there are once again a lot of question marks. Ryan Mathews has talent, but has a ton of injury history which has hampered him from playing an entire season in five of his six NFL seasons. Behind Mathews, the depth chart has Kenjon Barner, Darren Sproles, and rookie Wendell Smallwood. Barner has shown flashes of potential, but has a lot to prove before he is handed feature back duties. Sproles is more of a change of pace, versatile out of the backfield threat, and Smallwood was a very good runner at West Virginia, but is coming into the league as a fifth round pick, who again has a lot to prove.
The Quarterback position, while interesting in the long-term, shouldn’t be any different than last year barring a injury to Sam Bradford. Doug Pederson has stated that Bradford is the starter, and the only way he will not suit up against the Cleveland Browns week one is if Bradford gets hurt. Chase Daniel is the new backup, and number two overall pick Carson Wentz is slated to learn the NFL and Eagles offense for at least a good portion of his rookie year.
So while I do believe the Eagles will have a much improved defense this season, and the offense has some potential to be more consistent if the line improves and the wide receivers grow, I just can’t agree with Pro Football Focus that the Eagles have a top five roster in the NFL at this point.
Do you think the Eagles have a top five roster? Let us know in the comments below and make sure to follow us on Twitter for all the latest philly sports coverage! @CphillyC and @samshipley5
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