Thoughts And Questions About The Eagles As Camp Begins

With Training Camp set to begin, the 2016 Eagles’ season is just around the corner. Here’s some thoughts, questions, expectations and concerns about the franchise’s outlook for the coming season.

Will Any Of The Wide Receivers Breakout In 2016? 

On paper, the Eagles’ offense isn’t scaring anyone.

Defensive coordinators look at the Birds’ personnel, and they see an injury-prone and mediocre starting quarterback in Sam Bradford. They an injury-prone, average-at-best featured running back in Ryan Mathews. But most of all, they see a completely unimpressive collection of options at the wide receiver position.

One of the worst things that Chip Kelly did to this franchise was his dismantling of the offense’s premier talent. Letting DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin go were major mistakes that led to Kelly’s undoing, and will still haunt the franchise for years to come.

The Eagles have invested draft picks in the first, second, and third rounds of their recent drafts into the position, but have been left with nothing but question marks.

Jordan Matthews is the best player of the bunch, but drops too many passes, and probably is best suited to be a complimentary number-two receiver.

Last year’s first-round pick Nelson Agholor was incredibly disappointing as a rookie. In today’s NFL, rookie receivers have no trouble bursting onto the scene, and Agholor was completely invisible despite serving as a starting receiver in his rookie year. The last time the Eagles spent a pick that high on a wideout that was that unproductive in his rookie year, we’d have to go back to the days of Freddie Mitchell. I think part of the reason for Agholor’s struggles can be blamed on Kelly, whose poor gameplanning and general lack of innovation in play calling really didn’t give Agholor much of a chance to shine.

Josh Huff has flashed explosive playmaking ability, but he hasn’t been nearly consistent enough, and could be in danger of being released before the summer is over.

Veteran additions Chris Givens and Rueben Randle bring some needed experience and a little upside to the table, but both also come with red flags. Givens has gone through multiple franchises without being able to establish himself. Randle had some productive numbers for the Giants, but the fact that New York made no effort to re-sign him raises a lot of concerns.

The Eagles Will Receive Little Impact From Their Draft Class

The method with which the Eagles approached the 2016 draft was one that was geared towards setting the team up to be stronger years from now, while taking a hit in the short-term.

As such, this presents a problem for the 2016 team. The Eagles will receive very little impact from draft picks in the coming year.

Carson Wentz is expected to be inactive for most of the season. Once the team is out of contention, there’s a chance he could see some action in the final month of the season, but the second overall pick won’t take meaningful snaps in his rookie year.

The team didn’t have a second-round pick thanks to Chip Kelly’s highly questionable trade for Sam Bradford a year ago.

Third rounder Issac Seumalo is also expected to be among the team’s inactives this year. The team doesn’t consider him a realistic option to start this year, and he just isn’t in the mix with Alan Barbre or Stefan Wisniewski for the left guard position.

Fifth-rounder Wendall Smallwood probably has the best chance to make an impact, assuming he does in fact make the team. Ryan Mathews is all but guaranteed to go down with injury at some point, leaving Smallwood with a decent opportunity for playing time.

Of the late-round picks, Blake Countess and Jalen Mills shouldn’t be playing in the secondary unless something has gone horribly wrong with the veterans in front of them. Defensive end Alex McCalister, if he makes the team, will be buried on the depth chart behind Brandon Graham, Vinny Curry, and Connor Barwin. Linebacker Joe Wilson figures to help primarily as a special teamer.

There’s just no impact players among the rookies this year, and that’s going to hurt the Eagles’ chances of competing for the division.

On draft night, the other teams in the division made themselves better this year. Ezekial Elliot is going to be a workhorse for the Dallas Cowboys. Sterling Sheppard and Paul Perkins will be instant contributors for the Giants. Josh Doctson adds another talented target to Kirk Cousins’ arsenal in Washington. And the Philadelphia Eagles got themselves a bunch of guys that will spend 2016 developing.

The Eagles Are Moving In The Right Direction, But Still Face An Uphill Climb

When I look at the Eagles and what they’ve been able to accomplish in the offseason, I feel good about a lot of the moves the team has made and where they’re headed.

For the first time since 1999, the Eagles have identified a franchise quarterback that they want to develop and build around for years to come. For the first time since the great Jim Johnson passed away in 2009, the team has a qualified, experienced, successful defensive coordinator in place that has a chance to restore the unit to the greatness that has long been lost between the likes of Juan Castillo and Billy Davis. The Eagles are focused on building themselves up the right way, rather than try to out-gimmick the NFL with Chip Kelly’s flawed and simple offensive philosophy.

However, I think the team is looking at least one, possibly two more losing seasons before they really start to find their place among contenders in the NFC again. The lack of impact from the rookie class this season, combined with the lack of explosive offensive talent, and the lack of a first-round pick next year says to me that in all likelihood, the next two seasons are going to be building years.

That’s not a welcome take for a city that’s been filled with losing across almost all of their major franchises over the last few years. But it’s reality. Doug Pederson is going to need time to establish himself and undo a lot of the damage that Kelly did.