Marquise Goodwin is Eagles’ Speedy Safety Net
A healthy DeSean Jackson popping the top off the defense, Jalen Reagor stretching things horizontally and Zach Ertz dominating the middle of the field.
Those are the dreams likely dancing through the head of Doug Pederson during the quarantine of the COVID-19 pandemic.
You don’t have to go back very far as an Eagles fan, however, to realize the best-laid plans often go awry.
The Eagles essentially got one game, albeit a spectacular one, out of Jackson in 2019 and the explosiveness of the offense left with his core-muscle injury.
General manager Howie Roseman took plenty of hits for not having a second option to stretch the field in Jackson’s absence so this time around the GM has assembled a track team where those outside the 4.4 club need not apply.
Of all the speed the Eagles have assembled, however, the fastest of them all is former Olympic long jumper Marquise Goodwin.
“Marquise is one of the fastest men in the world," said Roseman. "And I mean that when I say that. He's one of the fastest men in the world. He is so fast.”
The trade pickup, in which the Eagles dropped back 20 spots in the sixth round, ultimately getting potential swing tackle option Prince Tega Wanogho, might be the least talked about when it comes to the new additions outside the numbers, a group which includes Reagor and fellow draft picks John Hightower and Quez Watkins.
Goodwin, 29, is the most likely to contribute right away for two reasons: his prior history with new senior offensive assistant Rich Scangarello and his veteran status in the first virtual offseason.
Goodwin might be crossing the country from San Francisco to Philadelphia but at least he’s not making the leap from college to the professional ranks without a real offseason like Reagor and the Eagles other speedy rookies.
Roseman confirmed that the Eagles pursued Goodwin on the recommendation of Scangarello, the closest thing Philadelphia has to a traditional offensive coordinator after rebooting the coaching staff after last season.
Before Scangarello was the OC in Denver for one year he was Kyle Shanahan’s quarterbacks coach with the 49ers where he got to know Goodwin.
“Obviously Rich had the opportunity to be with him, and so he recommended him to (VP of player personnel) Andy (Weidl), coach, and I,” Roseman said.
Roseman, along with his former right-hand man Joe Douglas, now the GM with the New York Jets, created something called the “cohabitation matrix” where they would encourage anyone who had ever crossed paths with a potential player to offer their two cents on the subject and in the case of Scangarello with Goodwin, it tipped the scales.
After the trade, Pederson called Goodwin “a veteran player who understands the game,” and noted his importance “until we can get these young guys caught up.”
“In a veteran league, I think moving forward it does bide time for our young players to catch up,” said the coach.
Quarterback Carson Wentz, meanwhile, brought up Goodwin unprompted when talking with reporters during a video conference call earlier this week.
“I’m extremely excited, not just with adding Jalen in the first round - adding his speed - but also going out and getting Marquise,” said Wentz. “I’ve been watching him on tape for years, through crossover tape in the league, and I’m extremely impressed with who he is as a player, and the speed and dynamic that he brings as well.”
The knuckleball to all of this is health. Goodwin is not the most durable option and finished last season on injured reserve with knee and foot issues. Before that, he had slipped down the Niners depth chart after struggling with drops.
And that's why Roseman carpet-bombed things. If Reagor and Goodwin can't contribute maybe Hightower and Watkins can.
“Adding the speed element to (the offense) obviously factors in,” said Pederson. “Look, I mean, we play a ton of teams this past couple of seasons where it was hard to push the ball down the field, whether it was injury or whatever it was. This just allows us to, I think, open some things up."
John McMullen covers the Eagles for SI.com and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every day on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes, Every Tuesday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SBNation Radio, and every weekday on ESPN 97.3 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
