The Eagles’ ongoing coaching search is obviously the biggest conversation surrounding the team right now and I answered several questions about that coaching search yesterday.
Overall, we ended up with a ton of questions, so I decided to separate them into a few different groups.
Let’s get to Part 2 today:
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I agree with you that receiver is still a need for the Eagles in 2021. They will bring back Jalen Reagor, Travis Fulgham, Greg Ward, Quez Watkins, John Hightower and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. Technically, Ward is an exclusive rights free agent but he’ll be back. Reagor will be a starter. After that, you’re right, some big questions marks because I’m not sure they can count on anyone else. But I would like to see Fulgham get a shot to find success again.
The Eagles, as we all know, are in a cap crunch for 2021 so it’s hard to imagine them really breaking the bank for a receiver, especially as they enter a rebuilding phase.
There will be some big names available: Allen Robinson, Sammy Watkins, Corey Davis, Chris Godwin, T.Y. Hilton, JuJu Smith-Schuster. The Eagles probably won’t be trying to outbid other teams for the top guys. But if they can find a bargain bin option or two to give them some depth and field a competitive roster in 2021, they should do it.
But I’d also expect them to draft a receiver early. I think there’s a very real possibility they use the No. 6 pick on a receiver — either Devonta Smith or Ja’Marr Chase — but if they don’t, I could see them using a Day 2 pick on one again.
It’s pretty hard to figure out the market for Wentz because there are so many factors that go into this. He was a great quarterback who regressed to a point we’ve never seen before. And the public nature of his relationship and standing with the Eagles certainly won’t help trade value. I think the best thing that could happen, if the Eagles try to trade him, is that more than one team is interested. Then you can pin them against each other.
I don’t think the Eagles would get a 1st-round pick for Wentz. So my guess is a 2nd-rounder and then another pick or two. This is a deal where conditional picks could come into play. There are so many unknowns with Wentz but a team could potentially land a top 10 quarterback if they fix him. If I’m Howie Roseman, I’m hedging my bets a little bit by making the compensation come back to me as conditional picks. The better Wentz performs or the more he plays, the better my pick becomes.
As for Ertz, I really don’t think he has a ton of value. He’s 30 years old, has a salary of over $8 million in 2021 and wants a new contract. The Eagles probably missed their chance to get a Day 2 pick (2nd or 3rd round) in return for Ertz. My guess is the best they could do is a 4th-round pick.
I really like Wade. He’s been a good defensive coach for a long time in the NFL. I actually covered him briefly when I was in Houston and Roob covered him in the late 80s when he was the Eagles’ defensive coordinator the first time.
Not to be an ageist, but Wade is 73 now and the Eagles are talking about rebuilding and having a long-term plan. Not sure if Phillips is the guy for that. But it’s worth at least thinking about bringing him in as long as they have other strong assistants under him ready to take over if he eventually decides to retire.
Another hurdle is scheme. Phillips has preferred to run a 3-4 and it’s not to say he couldn’t run a 4-3 but my guess is he wouldn’t. The Eagles have mostly been a 4-3 team aside from those three years under Chip Kelly and Billy Davis when they switched things up. We’re talking about major changes to the roster, so maybe it doesn’t really matter, but the roster as constructed now is made for a 4-3. (I will acknowledge, though, that Wade’s 3-4 is not a super passive front like a lot of 3-4 defenses. His is a one-gap system where linemen get up field.)
Yeah, some of it is scheme, some of it isn’t. Really, you have to look at them on an individual basis.
The most surprising of those four names is L.J. Fort, who couldn’t even get on the field here. Sure, there’s a different scheme but he didn’t get a chance to play. And after watching Alex Singleton shine after Nate Gerry went down this season, it makes me question that Fort decision even more. I also think Jones and Douglas were somewhat scheme related but Jones also needed a fresh start.
NFL
The one that doesn’t surprise me is Nelly because we knew he could do it. But it was clear he needed to find a new team after the 2019 season. Look at a comparison of his two best years in the NFL:
2017: 62 catches, 768 yards, 8 touchdowns
2020: 48 catches, 896 yards, 8 touchdowns
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