Eagles Snubbed in Projection of NFL's Top Offenses?
A year ago, the Philadelphia Eagles finished second in the NFL with 6,614 total yards. Quarterback Jalen Hurts had a breakout season, aided by the addition of Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Brown, the continued emergence of wideout DeVonta Smith and one of the best offensive lines that the NFL has seen over the last decade.
Despite offensive coordinator Shane Steichen moving on to become the coach of the Indianapolis Colts and leading rusher Miles Sanders departing in free agency to join the Carolina Panthers, The Ringer believes they will once again have the second-best offense in the sport.
"That’s all to say that some regression for this group is likely. I just don’t think it will be a drastic drop," The Ringer wrote. "Hurts, wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and tight end Dallas Goedert are either in their primes or ascending players. The offensive line is one of the best in the NFL. And given how much Hurts has already improved, it’d be silly to put a cap on his ceiling. He’s 25 years old, and last season, he ranked sixth in Next Gen Stats’ completion percentage over expectation metric, which assesses accuracy based on the difficulty of each throw."
Should the Philadelphia Eagles or Kansas City Chiefs be the top-ranked offense in the NFL? (USA Today)
Both Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell are back, while general manager Howie Roseman acquired both Rashaad Penny and D'Andre Swift this offseason as well, which should ease the blow of losing Sanders. Steichen is gone, but quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson was promoted to offensive coordinator, so it should be a relatively seamless transition.
Eventually, 35-year-old center Jason Kelce and 33-year-old right tackle Lane Johnson will hit a wall, but both were First-Team All-Pro selections last season, so there's no reason to believe that Jeff Stoutland's offensive line won't be one of the league's top units once again.
The only question is whether the Eagles should have been No. 1 on the list. But it's hard to argue with Andy Reid's Kansas City Chiefs taking the top spot. They led the NFL with 7,032 total yards of offense a year ago, and of course, defeated the Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII. Patrick Mahomes is the top quarterback in the sport, and Travis Kelce is one of the five best tight ends in NFL history, at least. Running back Isiah Pacheco emerged late in his rookie season, and could very well rush for 1,000 yards this season. Until someone unseats the Chiefs, it's hard to have any gripes about them finishing first on a list like this.
