Are The Eagles Building A True Contender in Philadelphia?
Head coach Nick Sirianni couldn’t have asked for a better roster in his second year. After making the playoffs in his first season, expectations now increase for this Eagles team after a stellar offseason.
Adding talent in almost every position group, the Eagles brought in players such as A.J. Brown, Hasaan Reddick, Jordan Davis and Naboke Dean to fortify this roster. Those four players will all provide valuable snaps to this Eagles team, which already had a solid roster beforehand. They now boast one of the deepest roster, with only two possible weak links on this roster.
At 225-pounds, A.J. Brown could be the big-bodied wide receiver to be a red zone threat that the Eagles need to improve their offense.
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Defensively, this roster doesn’t have the greatest cornerback room. Of course they have Darius Slay, who played like a top ten corner this season. Outside of him, the room isn’t the most reliable unit. Players like Avonte Maddox will need to step up if they are going to strengthen. Offensively, their weak link is Jalen Hurts.
This isn’t saying Hurts is a bad player, but rather someone all eyes will be on next season to see him progress as a passer. Hurts boasted a 61.3% completion rate with 3,144 passing yards with just 16 passing touchdowns. That’s solid, but the Eagles need more big passing plays and passing touchdowns to take the next step as a franchise. There is another area that Hurts did excel.
His main strength was on the ground, with 784 yards and 10 TDs. However, Hurts will need to take a jump as a passer in order for this team to take the next step. Finishing 28th in completion percentage and bottom half of the league in QBR, Brown and DeVonta Smith are bound to help him elevate those numbers. Regardless, this team goes as far as Hurts takes them.
Even though Philadelphia has a stellar rushing attack, it will need to see Hurts make the big plays on third and long to keep drives alive, or thread the needle in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. The Eagles need him to hit Brown or Smith on a go route to get a big play. To do that, it’s quite frankly what it’s always been about for quarterbacks: pinpoint accuracy. But if there’s anything we know about Hurts, we know that he’s a competitor. He’s battle tested, as he’s faced some of the best competition at the collegiate and professional level, and is not going to back down.
The question remains though, regardless of how well Hurts performs in 2022, are the Eagles a championship roster? They should be. They have a lot of depth, and players on both sides of the ball that can become stars. Hurts also isn’t the only player that they need to see elevated play from. There’s plenty of young talent on this roster that haven’t solidified themselves yet.
With the veterans, they need to continue their high level play and be leaders for this team. Fletcher Cox surely isn’t the All-Pro player he used to be, but he doesn’t have to be. With the selection of Davis and Javon Hargraves’ emergence, he needs to do his part to lead that unit to being a top defensive line.
On the offensive line, Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson are the two longtime veterans leading the Eagles. With Pro-Bowl guard Brandon Brooks hanging it up, Kelce and Johnson will need to hold this unit together and coach up the youngsters.
Will a lot of things have to go their way? Of course. That’s how it is for most NFL teams with championship aspirations. However, no champion was built overnight. This Philadelphia team doesn't face the most treacherous schedule, but will have some tests along the way. If players can take some steps, the roster remains healthy and the coaching staff does their jobs, the Eagles could position themselves to hoist their second Lombardi in the last ten years.
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