Five Eagles Who Could Benefit the Most from the New Coaching Staff

PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles have been talking about new ideas and new voices for a couple of years now. This time, however, they've accomplished the goal by revamping the coaching staff.

As with anything in football, the results will hinge on execution.

The entire staff is still a work in progress but we do know the top of the pyramid, basically a reboot of the old ABC television program "Thirtysomething" with new head coach Nick Sirianni, 39, bringing along two of his closest confidants, first-time defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, 37, and Shane Steichen, the 35-year-old ex-Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator who gets the same position in Philadelphia.

Add in a 39-year-old passing game coordinator in Kevin Patullo and you've got a bit of a theme developing, one in which could give new life to certain players either pigeonholed by the previous staff or downright forgotten.

Here's a look at the five current Eagles players who figure to benefit the most from the new sets of eyes looking at them for the first time:

WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside - The fan base probably gave up on the 2019 second-round pick even quicker than the coaching staff but the lengthy Stanford product figures to get one more opportunity to change the narrative of a career in which he's been labeled as a bust with comparisons to DK Metcalf and Terry McLaurin all too prevalent.

Remember that Sirianni played WR in college at Mount Union and his DNA in coaching is at that position despite the quarterback narrative while Patullo has also coached WRs in the past and split duties as a QB and WR in college at South Florida.

The third part of this equation is need, in that the Eagles have to solve the WR position after consecutive years of no player at the position piling up more than 540 yards, an almost unthinkable lack of production in the modern NFL.

The new staff isn’t the WR version of the QB incubator that Doug Pederson, Frank Reich, and John DeFilippo were pitched as in 2016 but the receiver group looks like it’s going to be the expertise and there is an obvious obligation to carpet-bomb this position, something that will give everything at the staff’s disposal opportunities.

S Marcus Epps - A former sixth-round pick by Minnesota in 2019, the Vikings took a flyer on the former walk-on at Wyoming because they liked his natural instincts in coverage. When Epps got to Philadelphia off waivers in November of his rookie season, the Eagles' defensive coaches mentioned the same thing pretty consistently.

Epps got some opportunities in 2020 due to injuries and led the team in interceptions with two despite the limited playing time. Gannon, meanwhile, cut his teeth under Mike Zimmer as a quality control coach and assistant defensive backs coach in Minnesota from 2014-17 and likes to play cover-2 behind an attacking front.

That means Gannon is going to see what Zimmer sees and instinctive players in coverage will be paramount.

Edge Josh Sweat - Speaking of that attacking front, the rangy Sweat was arguably the Eagles most productive pass rusher in 2020 finishing with 6.0 sacks in 422 defensive snaps. Brandon Graham led the Eagles with 8.0 sacks in 759 snaps and Fletcher Cox had 6.5 in 747 reps. Derek Barnett, the starter on the edge opposite Graham, had 5.5 sacks in 535 reps.

Barnett has the first-round pedigree but a new staff, who wasn't involved with that draft pick, is less likely to default to pedigree and rely on a simple meritocracy. Both Barnett and Sweat are good players who generally struggle with injuries but Sweat will have a more open road when it comes to additional playing time.

LT Andre Dillard - The 2019 first-round pick's sophomore season was erased by a torn biceps and he'll have an opportunity for a fresh start with coaches that won't hold his rookie failings against him.

While fans, and the Eagles to a certain extent, are thrilled with the promise of Jordan Mailata at left tackle, don't write off Dillard just yet. He could still develop into an elite pass protector down the line if his confidence can be rebuilt.

RB Miles Sanders - It seems like everyone in Philadelphia was skipping steps on Sanders when it came to the little things like blitz pickup, route-running, and hands.

What we know is that he's an explosive, home-run hitter as a runner.

What we don't know is if Sanders can "tighten up his hands," like now-former running backs coach Duce Staley said, be a reliable outlet for the QB, whether it's Carson Wentz or Jalen Hurts, and then take the next step into being a real weapon as a receiver who can be lined up in the slot or outside the numbers, something that would take both a serious dedication to improving his route-running skills, along with sound and patient coaching.

John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Tuesday and Thursday on "The Middle" with Eytan Shander, Harry Mayes, and Barrett Brooks on SportsMap Radio and PhillyVoice.com. He’s also the host of Extending the Play on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

Ed Kracz is the publisher of EagleMaven. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.