The Eagles are back at home this weekend and they’ll welcome back their franchise quarterback as Carson Wentz makes his 2018 debut.
It should be a lot of fun.
But he’ll be without a few weapons. That’s where we’ll start:
I lumped these questions together for obvious reasons. First, I think Matthews is going to play a lot. I think he plays more than Shelton Gibson and Kamar Aiken. I think he actually finishes second in snaps to just Nelson Agholor among the wideouts. He’s healthy, fresh and knows the offense. There’s no reason to not play him.
But how will they use him? I think we’re going to see more of Matthews in the slot, which does move Agholor outside. That’s not ideal, but that’s what’s going to happen. I think Agholor is much better equipped to play outside now than he was a year ago. His confidence is on a whole different planet. But they will move their receivers around. The Eagles always do.
1. Carson Wentz
2. Patrick Mahomes
NFL
3. Deshaun Watson
4. Baker Mayfield
5. Sam Darnold
Putting Wentz at the top was easy for me. He was playing at an MVP level in Year 2. Putting Mahomes over Watson was tough because Watson was sooo good last year, but there wasn’t a huge sample size and Mahomes is doing special things right now. I also think Mahomes has a better shot with Andy Reid than Watson has with Bill O’Brien.
And the last two spots weren’t decided by the game Thursday. That would be unfair. I just liked Mayfield slightly more than Darnold in the draft.
Roob and I are going to get into this more tomorrow. Here’s my basic thought: We might see a slow start, in part because of the lack of weapons. But I’m not worried about Carson Wentz. He’s going to settle in and have a good game.
I think Sidney Jones is special. I wrote about that this week, that he hasn’t done anything in two games to change that opinion (see story). Eventually, Jones is going to be a starter for the Eagles. I think he’s going to be a Pro Bowler in this league. But Jalen Mills deserves a little bit of a leash. He has been a good player here. But if it’s Week 10 and we’re still wondering about this, I think the Eagles will have to think about a switch.
The good news for the Eagles is that T.Y. Hilton has been dealing with a quad injury and likely won’t be 100 percent. But you’re right. He’s good and his ability to catch deep balls is something the Eagles have to be aware of. The safety help can’t do what it did last week. No plays over the top. It can be frustrating to see short passes with a big cushion, but it’s worse to see big completions over the top.