In the past few weeks, we took a look at the positional groups of the Philadelphia Eagles and decided which players should stay and which ones should leave. The realization of this exercise further confirmed what we already know, which is that this list stinks and that Birds have needs in almost all positional groups in this off-season.
Here, we will classify your off-season needs from the most obvious to the most stable, although we should note that there really isn’t a big difference between one of your biggest needs (cornerback, for example) and, say, linebacker, which we have as your seventh biggest need . In other words, if your ranking was different from ours, we probably wouldn’t have much to contend about.
1) Quarterback
Jalen Hurts is the only defender currently under contract until the 2021 season. So, uh, spoiler: the Eagles are going to sign or hire at least one quarterback this season, and probably more.
So the question is not whether the Eagles are going to add defenders. Instead, it is the type of resources they will put into position. This will depend a lot on Eagles think they have it in Hurts.
As we saw in 2020, Hurts is undeniably a weapon for a runner. Not only is he fast and athletic, he can also tackle. He also has intangible elements essential to the position of defender, such as intelligence, leadership qualities, endurance and balance.
The disadvantage is just your general shooting ability, as there are significant concerns about your accuracy and, to a lesser extent, arm strength. He also showed early in his career that he is prone to fumble. We will have a more in-depth article on what we saw at Hurts during the 2020 season soon.
The Eagles could follow one or more of the following directions in the quarterback this off-season:
- They could select one with the sixth general choice or even exchange for one.
- They could do the Day 2 route again, as they did last year with Hurts (that would be crazy, in my opinion).
- They could try to draft and develop a guy for Day 3 to play behind Hurts.
- They could spend some money on a former veteran holder this off-season, which could challenge Hurts to an initial training camp job.
- They could look for the crafty vet who knows his place and is there to help Hurts’ mentor.
- They could follow the “Let’s suck anyway, so let’s just find the cheapest reserve veteran possible” (cough, Nate Sudfeld, cough).
The bet here is that they beat a quarterback in sixth place overall.
2) Cornerback
The Eagles have only one legitimate NFL cornerback, Darius Slay, who is now 30 years old and is coming out of an unimaginable season. Frankly, if another team was interested in negotiating with Slay, the Eagles should take this opportunity, but this is an unlikely scenario.
In recent years, the Eagles have often had delusional assessments of the players’ skills in their squad, and the feeling that Avonte Maddox could handle external cornerback responsibilities is an excellent example. Maddox should be fine moving back into the slot, but clearly the Eagles have a short, stark hole in the corner, and they will be tasked with replacing an aged Slay on the horizon.
3) Wide receiver
What else is new?
DeSean Jackson is gone, and Alshon Jeffery will soon follow. Eagles will be left with a flock of young receivers who (in theory) have an advantage, but in reality they should not yet be considered solid holders.
Jalen Reagor, Travis Fulgham, Quez Watkins and John Hightower would fall into that “potential” bucket, although it is probably safe at this point to call JJ Arcega-Whiteside a failure. And, of course, there’s Greg Ward, who is a good story, and who at least caught the ball when it hit his hands, but who is not a threat to opponent defenses, considering his 8.3-yard career by reception.
The Eagles need to find another ace outside, and one for the slot machine.
4) Defensive equipment
Malik Jackson won’t be back in 2021, Fletcher Cox is on the wrong side of the 30s (the Eagles should change him, but they probably won’t) and Javon Hargrave had a disappointing 2020 season after the Eagles spent a lot of money on him in free agency.
The Eagles clearly prioritize the inside of their defensive line, given the extraordinary amount of money they have invested in the position in recent years. They need to add youth and depth.
5) Defensive end
There is a small chance that Derek Barnett will not be back with the Eagles in 2021, but the Eagles are more likely to get a contract extension with him this off-season, which will reduce his cap number in 2021. Even if Barnett is back, the Eagles need to continue adding edge rushers to the pipeline, as (a) it is a position that takes some time for young players to develop and (b) Brandon Graham will turn 33 in April.
Ideally, the Eagles would like to have two good starters and two good rotating players that they can produce when they have opportunities. At the moment, they have an aged Graham and two “maybe newbies” in Barnett and Josh Sweat. This is probably a greater need than many are realizing, since positional importance is very high.
6) Security
Jalen Mills is a free agent and Rodney McLeod will most likely not be ready to start the 2021 season in time. The Eagles can bring Mills back for a year, while K’Von Wallace continues to develop, but they need a long-term midfielder to replace McLeod, who will turn 31 in June.
The 2021 security draft class is full of good prospects for Day 2.
7) Linebacker
Wait, the linebacker is just seventh on this list? Yes. Although the Eagles went too far in devaluing their position, their philosophy about linebackers is unlikely to change dramatically. In other words, don’t expect them to recruit Micah Parsons in April.
The Eagles have a pair of solid but unspectacular linebackers, Alex Singleton and TJ Edwards, and they caught two linebackers in the 2020 draft. These guys will have a chance to develop.
Could they use a three-down linebacker? Absolutely. I mean, duh. Just don’t expect one to be added this offseason. Perhaps during the free agency in 2022.
8) OL interior
Brandon Brooks turns 32 in August, but is expected to be back in 2021. To determine whether he will be effective after returning from his second Achilles injury. Jason Kelce is now 33 and even if he doesn’t retire, it wouldn’t make much sense for him to want to return to this team, so a post-June 1 negotiation would be logical. Isaac Seumalo became a solid starter at LG, Jack Driscoll has college experience in guard and Nate Herbig showed some left-right versatility in 2020 and can be a constant backup going forward.
There are more urgent positions to fill, but it would make sense to add more depth.
9) Fair end
The Eagles have a good start at Dallas Goedert. They could use a tight pass capture end to complement it.
10) Offensive discharge
Yes, the Eagles gave up 65 sacks in 2020, but I would see the offensive tackle’s position as relatively deep, so much so that an Andre Dillard switch would make sense. The Eagles have Jordan Mailata and Dillard on LT, as well as Lane Johnson and Jack Driscoll on RT.
11) Back race
Miles Sanders is a good lead back, and Boston Scott is fine as a passing guy. The Eagles could use an adequate backup to handle initial tasks to spell out Sanders in the game or whenever he is injured, and useful running backs can be found later in the draft.
12) Kicker / punter / long snapper
Jake Elliott had his fights in 2020, but his contract makes him unfeasible. The Eagles may be able to have a new bettor in 2021, but obviously this is far from a necessity, relatively speaking, as this team could get.
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