Philadelphia Eagles Offseason WorkBook 2019

Philadelphia Eagles

2018 Record: (9-7) 2^nd NFC East

2018 Season Recap:

Offense

Points: 22.9 (18^th)

Yards: 365.3 (14^th)

Pass Yards: 267.2 (7^th)

Rush Yards: 98.1 (28^th)

Defense

Points:  21.8 (12^th)

Yards: 366.2 (23^rd)

Pass Yards: 269.2 (30^th)

Rush Yards: 96.9 (7^th)

Eagles-Nation was riding high during the 2018 offseason after winning their first Super Bowl in franchise history. With that success, came greater expectations for this club to repeat those feats entering the 2018 regular season.

With Carson Wentz recovering from his torn ACL, the Eagles brass understood that going back to Nick Foles to start the season was their only option. Seeing roster turnover and stacking the defensive line group, this version of the Eagles surly viewed as a club ready to compete in returning to the big show for a second straight season.     

Right from week one, the Eagles didn’t appear to have that same killer instinct they possessed during the season prior, looking somewhat vulnerable. It was clear offensively that the Eagles didn’t possess that running prowess which they enjoyed during their super bowl run, and it only compounded further when the team lost Jay Ajayi to a season ending ACL injury. Like most teams in the league, Philly endured more than their fair share of sending players to the medical room, which in turn made the team appear to play better (at least in the win column), which was quite baffling to say the least.

As the Eagles completed the first half of the 2018 season, the group appeared to be something of a Jekyll and Hyde obtaining little consistency in the process. Having a 4-4 record entering their week 9 bye, most knew a strong push would have to be had to find a way back into the postseason.

Philadelphia came off their bye dropping their game to the Cowboys, followed up by a complete dismantling at the hands of the Saints. A loss like that would normally send teams in a downward spiral to an early offseason, but Coach Pederson rallied his troops to finish the last six games with a with a 5-1 record, ultimately stamping their ticket back to the postseason.

While getting back to the dance is one thing, we all know that anything can happen in the NFL postseason. The Eagles took their talents on the road on Wildcard weekend to face one of the best defensive groups in the league (the Bears). They managed to claw and grab their way to victory with assistance from Cody Parkey’s last second missed field goal.

Keeping the hope of a Super Bowl repeat alive, the Eagles traveled to New Orleans for the divisional round and managed to shock the viewing public to obtain an early 14-0 lead. Philly looked decisive in how they played that first quarter, while capitalizing on the Saints shortcomings. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Sean Payton adjusted his approach from the second quarter on and dominated the field of play thereafter ending the Eagles run.           

2019 Offseason WorkBook:

The Coaching Staff

It wasn’t a surprise to witness the same cast of characters retain their positions on the coaching staff, as Doug Pederson stayed the course with Mike Groh (offensive coordinator) and Jim Schwartz (defensive coordinator) for the upcoming season.

In attempts to improve and shake things up, Pederson did revamp his specialty coaching staff with hiring and promoting 11 new members to the group. Positional and assistant coaching moves dictated the Eagles staff as they look to regroup for the upcoming season.

The Offense

Right off the bat, the main conversation regarding the Eagles is what would be done with backup quarterback Nick Foles? While this conversation has been floating around since the Eagles were eliminated from the postseason, we’ve recently gotten more certainty on his future. While the Eagles exercised the option on Foles contract for the upcoming season, he did reject the deal opting out from the current stipulations. Recent reports have also concluded, that the Eagles wouldn’t franchise the quarterback leaving him free to explore the open market once again.

Now that Foles will find his way to new pastures this season, perhaps some undervalue the importance he brought to this club. Relegated as one of the best backups in the league, Nick was able to bring the city of Philadelphia a Super Bowl title in relief of Carson Wentz. Having that security blanket behind Carson Wentz (who’s health is now in question), was paramount in the last two seasons. Nevertheless, the Eagles will have to move forward without his services.

Adding to the quarterback position, some within the Eagles circle have voiced their concern over Carson Wentz, believing his recent injury history could become problematic. While reviewing his statistical achievements, Wentz was on pace to shatter previous career highs had he been able to stay on the field for the entire year. It’s our contention that Carson struggled at times due in part to the lack of efficient run attack the Eagles couldn’t provide. Adding viable runners to this roster will do a world of good to Carson’s outlook in 2019.

As for the running backs currently on this roster, it’s no question in our minds that a massive talent infusion needs to occur. With Jay Ajayi and Corey Clement both suffering season ending injuries last season, it was clear the cupboards were quite bare and production slipped. Clement should again find his role as the change of pace back and receiving option, but finding a true number one runner should be top priority.

The receiving core is a thinner group led by Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor, but outside of that, more talent needs to be applied. Trading for Golden Tate looked to be the elixir needed to elevate this unit’s production, but his return to the club has never been a certainty. Receiver depth is another area greatly needed this offseason.

Continuing down the path of pass catchers, perhaps the strongest group on this offense is the tight end position. Zach Ertz is one of the best in the business, teamed with youngster Dallas Goedert; we would go to war with these gents any day of the week.       

The Defense

In reviewing the defensive side of the ball, it’s quite easy to see the strengths and weaknesses of this group as a whole.

The Eagles stacked their defensive front last offseason in snagging former Seahawk Michael Bennett, and former Lion Haloti Ngata, to see great production from the group. While super star Fletcher Cox remains the heart and soul of this defense, we did see solid development from younger players on this line. This group helped generate a whopping 44 sacks on the 2018 campaign while holding the 7^th rank in rush yards defended, quite clear where the strength sits on this defense.

While the defensive front is a guiding force, the line backing group can hold their head high with what they bring to the table as well. Lead by Nigel Bradham and Jordan Hicks, the middle of the field is never in serious doubt with these two leading the way. Both players were team leaders in tackles generating 97 and 91 takedowns respectively last season. Suffice it to say, after these two talents, the Eagles could use a great deal of depth at the position. It’s not difficult to envision the Eagles making moves to improve this area of the defense this offseason.  

Moving to the weakness of this unit, the secondary requires a great deal of depth improvement, as injuries decimated the backend of this defense this past season. Losing both starters Ronald Darby and Sidney Jones half way through the year completely derailed their outlook. Also losing safety Rodney McLeod after week 3, his absence alone left opposing teams able to exploit the Eagles deep week-to-week. Don’t get us wrong, when this group is playing together then can be an absolute force, but as seen from this past season, depth was a major concern.      

Team Free Agents / Team Salary Cap

When reviewing the Eagles financial statements (salary cap), our eyes nearly fell out of our heads. Philadelphia currently sits with one of the worst cap situations in the entire NFL, and have some work to do to help correct this roster.

Starting with the numbers, the Eagles hold just under 1 million (+$884,684) in positive cash flow and have 17 free agents to contend with. This is an obvious dreadful situation to be in as extremely difficult choices will be on the horizon.

First, looking over team free agents the Eagles would like to entertain resigning; Brandon Graham, Jordan Hicks, Golden Tate, and Ronald Darby form the priority talents ready to hit the open market. On a lesser note, Jay Ajayi and Haloti Ngata hold some value, but have likely played their last downs with the Eagles.

Finding ways to keep these players while adding others can only occur with cutting bait with high priced talent currently on the roster. Clearly in our eyes, Jason Peters is a player ripe for becoming a cut casualty with his 13.1 million eating up 6.75% of the team’s space, and holding a mere 2.6 in dead money. While Peters could return and dominate another season, his injuries compared to his payout are too vast to justify any longer. Nelson Agholor is another player that holds far too much capital for this franchise with his 9.3 million or 4.81% applied to the cap, with zero dead money attached. An outright release or trade would be exactly what the doctor ordered here.      

Rounding out other potential moves to help aid this cap trouble - Michael Bennett holds 7.2 million, while Chris Long could add another 5.6 million in savings with a mere 300k applied to dead funds between the two of them. Not stopping there, Jalen Mills could be released saving the team another 2 million dead cap free. There are savings to be had, it’s just depends on how deep general manager Howie Roseman wants to go.  

If these moves come to fruition, there is a potential savings here in the amount of 37.2 million dollars toward the Eagles free cap with a meek 2.9 million heading over to dead money. Many wins can be had here.             

The NFL Draft

Having draft capital in your pocket is a necessity when your books are completely out of whack and over spent.

The Eagles currently possess a healthy 8 selections on draft day including an additional 2nd round and 6^th round pick. Having no 7^th rounder shouldn’t be felt to any grave degree.

While the Eagles select from the 25^th overall spot in the first round, could we envision a trade down to secure more draft wealth? In our eyes trading out of the first round altogether wouldn’t be the worst situation as they could revamp and retool this club given the potential for key losses in attempts to garner more funds.

Having the potential to hold three - 2^nd round picks and potential future compensation, could easily supplant the notion of cutting bait with some high end talent. Roseman will have to get super creative this offseason to help this ship continue to float.