Free agency is finally beginning to settle after a hectic couple of weeks, giving us all time to catch our breath. The Eagles have made a flurry of moves to better their roster, but how have their most pressing needs changed after the opening free agency window?
Cornerback
The acquisition of Darius Slay should leave most Eagles fans purring. Philadelphia finally has a lockdown cornerback worthy of a jersey purchase and that in itself is an exciting prospect. Slay signed a three-year deal with the team, meaning that he will be on the roster through the 2023 season, giving Howie Roseman plenty of time to find and develop a potential successor. Whether that man is already on the roster or not is a totally different question.
At CB2, it's presumed that Sidney Jones and Avonte Maddox will be locking heads to try and secure that role, but it's important not to write off Trevor Williams. He may have missed the best part of two seasons due to injury, but his early 2018 was eyebrow-raising.
Allowing 38 receptions on only 52 targets on 201 routes defended, Williams started to really solidify himself as a running-mate for Casey Hayward. He also allowed only 3 touchdowns and had a burn rate of 0.0%. In 201 routes defended, he was not burned once. On the year, he allowed an average target separation of only 0.68 yards.
At the nickel spot, it's Cre'Von LeBlanc vs the recently-signed Nickell Robey-Coleman. This will be an intriguing Summer battle given that 'NRC' started 7 games last year and has been about as reliable as one could ask as a nickel corner. Captain Cre'Von received a new contract while watching the Eagles try to fly without him at the beginning of the 2019 season before returning with quite the bang. Both players should have a role to play in 2020.
The man left in the dark through all of this is Rasul Douglas - who is currently being shopped by the team according to numerous reports. It's looking increasingly unlikely that Douglas will be on the roster next year, but a fresh start could do him the world of good.
Conclusion Three new players have injected a sense of stability to the position and there is still plenty of reason to be excited. The Eagles are still probably going to add some developmental talent, but a position that was once regarded as the defenses downfall, now looks much stronger on the surface.
Linebacker
Adding Jatavis Brown to the linebacker group would be fine...if the team didn't walk away from Kamu Grugier-Hill and then allow Nigel Bradham to test free agency waters.
While wildly athletic, Brown's tackling production can fluctuate, with flawed mechanics sometimes leading to chaotic efforts, oversetting, and arm-bars. This is a slight concern to the Eagles whose entire linebacking position outside of T.J Edwards struggled with the same problem.
Brown's role decreased would be a perfect replacement for Kamu Grugier-Hill, who the Eagles let walk at the beginning of free agency. Brown may be a lot smaller than KGH, but he possesses similar range and athletic prowess which bodes well for what the Eagles demand out of their weakside backers.
As of right now, T.J Edwards remains the sole 'MIKE' linebacker on the team. The Eagles clearly don't value the linebacker spot anywhere near as highly as fans do, but there is a high chance that the Eagles invest in the position through the Draft. We can all dream of a Patrick Queen, but there are some really intriguing sleepers in this year's class.
Conclusion: Less than ideal. Seeing the top names from this year's free agency class slide away was heartbreaking. Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatkoski, and even Joe Schobert were all pinched while the Eagles stood firm. Linebacker remains one of the team's top needs and biggest concerns due to clear neglect when it comes to investment.
Wide receiver
Ah.
The Eagles have added absolutely nobody so far but this is oddly for the best. The market was always going to be highly volatile with a draft class this deep on the horizon and Philly were wise to stand back and let the first few dominos fall before surveying the damage.
Robby Anderson and Breshad Perriman both secured some sizable new contracts and ones the Eagles would've likely scoffed at during negotiations and with the recent vote in confidence for Alshon Jeffery by Howie Roseman, the position looks to be settled for the time being...
Conclusion: It's draft or bust for the Philadelphia Eagles. It's beyond likely that the 21st overall pick (however it's spent) will end up being used in an effort to acquire a franchise-altering wide receiver. It just becomes a question of 'who?'
Continued on page 2 below.
Safety
Losing Malcolm Jenkins was the toughest possible pill for this team to swallow and we won't really feel the effects of it until we're a few weeks deep into the regular season. But Howie Roseman has done well to try and nullify the loss, spending the approximate value of Jenkins' new contract on bringing back Rodney McLeod and moving Jalen Mills to Safety.
The big move was then bringing in versatile DB and local kid Will Parks. Someone who has played just about everywhere in his short career.
Standing at 6’1, 218 lbs, Parks will likely be part of a community effort to nullify the loss of Jenkins. four seasons with the Broncos, Parks has racked up 148 tackles, 4 picks, 13 passes defensed, and 2 forced fumbles.
Conclusion: The Eagles lost a big cog of their defensive machine in Malcolm Jenkins, but have negated it as best as they could. There's room for some developmental talent, but I can't see significant assets being spent.
Defensive line
Adding Javon Hargrave is a MASSIVE win for this team. The Eagles made the former Steeler the highest-paid NT in the NFL and with good reason.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy1SQgnV4_4&t=214s
The 27-year old nose tackle played in all 16 games for the last three seasons and has posted a total of 12.5 sacks in that time period. In 2019, Hargrave was rated as the 8th best interior lineman in the league with a grade of 83.4. He’s also rallied to 13 tackles for loss in his last two seasons.
On top of that, the Eagles brought back Hassan Ridgeway, who they traded for at last year's NFL Draft. Their interior depth chart looks menacing.
DT1: Fletcher CoxDT2: Javon HargraveDT3/EDGE: Malik JacksonDT4: Hassan Ridgeway
As for the edge rushers, having Malik Jackson (who can line up at the 5-tech spot) adds a lot of stress-relief to a unit that doesn't have much depth outside of Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett, who just so happens to be in his contract year.
Conclusion: That interior depth is just plain nasty, which is great. But there needs to be some love given to the EDGE position, especially with Vinny Curry still searching for a new deal.
Offensive line
No gains, only losses here. It's one of the strongest positions on the team by a country mile, but that doesn't mean that depth won't ever be tested. Halapoulivaati Vaitai signed a fancy new five-year deal in Detroit, leaving the Eagles without a primary backup tackle.
Matt Pryor, a former TCU running-mate of Vaitai's could back up Andre Dillard, who is inheriting the starting throne from free agent Jason Peters, but even then it's a bit of a push.
Jordan Mailata is the next question mark for the team to deal with. At 6’8, 346 lbs, the project tackle was as raw as they come when the Eagles took a flyer on him, but presented a freak of nature project for Jeff Stoutland to nurture.
Now entering year three, Mailata could be in-line to push for a role on the final-53 that doesn't end with an IR placement.
Conclusion: It's all about confidence here. How confident are the Eagles in Pryor and Mailata? Do they need a backup center behind Jason Kelce? Expect draft assets to be spent here.
Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
