Folks,,,,some professional news:This is my last day at both @TheDraftNetwork and @BleedingGreen.
This is where I really cut my teeth, and as I step forward into a new role, I realize how much I’ve loved working here, and how much I owe the entire team and community.
For my final publish here, ten semi-training-camp related thoughts on the Eagles.
But for as much fun as that story is, the seventh-round rugby convert is not supposed to beat out the first round tackle.
But the most concerning way is when the individual simply isn’t suited to playing professional ball, and the entire scouting and coaching staff missed on that.
The book isn’t closed at all on Dillard, nor Jalen Reagor, the Eagles second-year wide receiver who has also had some attitude and demeanor problems early.
But as Mailata pulls ahead early in the training camp process, the Eagles’ trading up for Dillard in the first round may end up being the crowning jewel in a long litany of draft misses over the last five years.
Nobody knows what exactly to expect from Jalen Reagor after a shaky first year; Devonta Smith as a 170-pound rookie.
Travis Fulgham knows that — he was one of those unproductive youths facing opportunity last season, when he exploded for 29 catches on 48 targets, 435 yards , and 4 touchdowns in the middle of the 2020 season.
Fulgham may feel like another name in the milling pool of potential starting wideouts, but he does have that key advantage over everyone else: he has done it before, if just for a brief moment.
That will help keep Smith and Reagor in roles that they should fill — underneath route runners, separators, YAC threats — which will help their development; it’ll give young QB Jalen Hurts a downfield inaccuracy-eraser, which will help his development.
Of all of the inexplicable choices made over the last few years in Philadelphia, the continued faith in Nate Gerry was one of the most laughable.
I’ve enjoyed hunting down threads and diving down rabbit holes for new DC Jonathan Gannon, who is easily the coach on Nick Sirianni’s staff about whom I’m the most excited.
Eberflus is committed to zone coverage, often running two-high shells with seven defenders dropping and a four-man rush predicated on twists, games, and stunts.
He’s far more willing to rotate coverage, send blitzers, and on third down, present highly aggressive fronts that suggest seven, eight possible blitzers.
That SAM linebacker can line up as a traditional stack linebacker, but also rotate onto the line of scrimmage as a quasi-edge rusher, creating deception and versatility in the defense’s pre-snap look.
The Eagles are looking at “Pony” backfields here, which is a common West Coast term for two RBs on the field at the same time.
By putting two players on the field who can reasonably line up in the backfield, potentially line up in the slot, motion through both places, and create explosives with the ball in their hands, you can really stress the rules of even the top NFL defenses.
Throw in a running quarterback like Jalen Hurts, and now you can run college-style option plays in the backfield with three threats to carry the football.
It is especially frustrating in the wake of the Darius Slay trade, which was a very necessary move to fix the cornerback room, but clearly not the only move, in that three good corners have to be fielded on any down.
Wentz may get rushed back onto the field for Week 1; he’ll likely miss critical time with his new coordinators, coaches, and receivers.
This is a guy that was definitely good at some point, was definitely bad last year, and has been grafted back into the context that seemingly had him good in 2017: elite OL, Frank Reich, lower expectations, et cetera.
Eagles go 5-12, beating the Giants once, the Cowboys once, the Falcons, the Lions, and the Jets.
Washington Football Team wins the division at 10-7 on a tiebreaker with the 10-7 Cowboys; they lose in the first round and end up with 19 overall again, making it tough to draft a true starting QB.
Devonta Smith plays 12 games and snags 800 yards worth of volume, behind only Ja’Marr Chase and Rashod Bateman among rookie receivers.
K’Von Wallace gets a foothold in the starting lineup, Donnel Pumphrey scores a returning touchdown , JJAW gets cut during the season, Nick Sirianni accidentally drops an F-bomb on a live mic, and BLG creates a #FireHowieRoseman hashtag by Week 7.
I think his ceiling is fairly low, largely due to the limits on him as a passer, and I think the Eagles will be back in the QB market in 2022.
Aaron Rodgers will likely be available, but 29 other teams will be in on his market, and as we saw during last year’s coaching cycle, major league players don’t want to come to Philadelphia.
And if the Eagles’ competitiveness wanes in the back half of the 2021 season as they angle for a Top-3 pick and the potential to draft Rattler, I won’t fault them for it.