Philadelphia Eagles Offense Skill Position Depth Chart Preview
The Philadelphia Eagles have been probably the most interesting team in the NFL this offseason, and it’s not really close. Chip Kelly has done his very best to fluster all of us sitting at home while he builds his team and does his thing for Philly.
It’s really been entertaining, at the very least, to watch Kelly at work and try and figure out the method to his madness. Does he just really like former Oregon players? What does he have against the recently departed Eagles players, if anything?
There has been so much roster turnover this offseason alone in Philadelphia, there’s no doubt in my mind this Eagles team is going to be almost unrecognizable and it might take them some time to mesh, perhaps longer than the general public is willing to give them with the short leash on Chip Kelly.
The Eagles have plenty of talent offensively, especially at the skill positions, so let’s take a look at the players he’s assembled.
Quarterback
Jun 17, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford (7) throws during minicamp at The NovaCare Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
One of Kelly’s first orders of business this offseason was getting rid of Nick Foles, and in my opinion, he definitely upgraded by acquiring Sam Bradford from the St. Louis Rams. Bradford comes to Philadelphia with a lengthy injury history, but he’s certainly a talented quarterback and the Rams might have made the playoffs the last couple of years with as well as their defense played had he been 100 percent.
Banking on him being 100 percent is the true problem, however. We all know the former number one overall pick is a great player, but if he’s not on the field, it’s not doing anyone any good. I’m really hoping we get to see Bradford play at least one season without injury problems.
If that’s not the case, then we’ll get to see Mark Sanchez again. The Eagles prioritized re-signing Sanchez this offseason, and he stuck around despite probably a pretty decent chance to go start elsewhere in the NFL. He played alright last year in relief of Nick Foles, but the Eagles probably can’t count on him for any extended period of time to produce the kind of results they need to win the NFC East.
If not Sanchez, we could be seeing plenty of Tim Tebow this year. I’m excited to be writing about him again as it deals with him being on an NFL roster.
Tebow has been rumored to be a weapon for the Eagles with the new 2-point conversion rules, making this a genius move by Chip Kelly. Even if Tebow can’t contribute as a ‘quarterback’ this season, he could certainly be one of the most productive short-yardage runners in the NFL.
May 28, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tim Tebow (11) takes the field during OTA
All he requires is that he be practicing with the quarterbacks during the week. That shouldn’t be a big deal.
Matt Barkley is still around for the Eagles, but for how much longer? The former USC signal caller has struggled in his time in the NFL, and doesn’t appear to be a lock for the final roster.
Running Back
The Eagles made a huge blockbuster trade this offseason when they acquired Kenjon Barner from the Carolina Panthers. Oh sorry, wrong trade…
Chip Kelly put all his chips in the center of the table when he moved LeSean McCoy, the team’s best offensive player the last few years, to the Buffalo Bills for Kiko Alonso.
There’s nothing wrong with bringing in Alonso, but trading McCoy is an incredibly bold move especially with the kind of impact he had made in the 2013 season, where he played like a potential league MVP. With McCoy out of the picture, Kelly went out and snatched up DeMarco Murray from the Eagles’ biggest rivals in Dallas and basically swapped the incumbent McCoy for the league’s leading rusher at a reduced price.
May 28, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back DeMarco Murray (29) talks with the media during OTA
Not a bad trade-off, after all.
Along with Murray in free agency, the Eagles acquired Ryan Mathews from the San Diego Chargers. Mathews, not unlike some of the other additions the Eagles made this offseason, has had some issues with injuries in his NFL career. Philly got him at a really good price and got a player that could definitely start if needed. In his time with the Chargers, Mathews was twice a 1,000 yard rusher and proved extremely valuable as a receiver as well.
In addition to the new two-headed monster for the Eagles at running back, Darren Sproles returns in his classic third down role. Sproles led the Eagles with six rushing touchdowns last year, but oddly didn’t have any receiving touchdowns. If he has 60 plus targets again in the passing game, I don’t expect him to not hit the end zone…
Back to Kenjon Barner, all joking aside, I think this is a great addition for Chip Kelly and the Eagles because of his familiarity with the offense, and the fact that he has tons of speed. If Barner can’t succeed in Philadelphia, he might have to re-consider career choices. This is the ideal spot for him.
Wide Receiver
The Eagles lost Jeremy Maclin to the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason, which could wind up being their biggest loss of all. Malin was nothing short of stellar last season, leading the team with 1,318 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging nearly 16 yards per catch.
Jun 17, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receivers Jordan Matthews (81) and Nelson Agholor (17) during minicamp at The NovaCare Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
With no more Maclin, the odds-on favorite to be the highest targeted player on this team is Jordan Matthews, the rookie who showed off some fantastic playmaking ability in 2014. Matthews had 872 yards and eight touchdowns in his rookie campaign coming out of Vanderbilt, and has the ability to be this team’s leading receiver in 2015.
If not Matthews, it might just be rookie Nelson Agholor out of USC, the team’s first round pick who plays pretty darn similar to Jeremy Maclin.
Agholor comes to Philadelphia with high expectations, some even thinking rookie of the year, but it’s well-deserved because he was phenomenal in his final season as a Trojan.
Riley Cooper returns to give the Eagles some size at the receiver position, and he had 55 catches last season.
Perhaps the dark horse on the Eagles’ roster is Josh Huff, a former Oregon Ducks player who was drafted just one round after Jordan Matthews last year. He showed off some playmaking skills as a returner last year, but only caught eight passes. He should easily surpass that this season.
Miles Austin was brought in as a UFA from the Cleveland Browns, and at this point in his career and with his injury problems, the Eagles are merely hoping he can provide a boost as a veteran presence. He caught 47 passes last season with two touchdowns.
Seyi Ajirotutu provides depth and some intrigue as a free agent pickup from the Chargers, and another former Ducks receiver Jeff Maehl was brought in from the Houston Texans.
Tight End
Jun 17, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz (86) catches the ball during minicamp at The NovaCare Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sportsd
The expectations are high for Zach Ertz in Philly this season after a 58-702-3 line last year. The former Stanford Cardinal star was targeted 86 times last season, and is still splitting some time with Brent Celek, but he has everything in place to be an absolute stud for Philly this season.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see a 75-850-8 line or so this season, perhaps even more scores since with a new quarterback he could be the most relied upon red zone threat this year. I think he’s due for a big season statistically.
Brent Celek had 32 catches last season and proved he is still a valuable player in this offense, but he could be taking a back seat to Ertz permanently this year.
Trey Burton is an intriguing former QB/WR from Florida that now plays TE/H-Back with the Eagles. He has five carries to his name as an NFL player, but that’s it. The Eagles could look to get him more involved this season.
Former UTEP tight end and 2015 undrafted free agent Eric Tomlinson is an intriguing blend of size, speed, and athletic ability. He might be a dark horse to make this roster.