Philadelphia Eagles: Top positional needs for 2020 offseason
By John Newman
After a disappointing 2019 season, the Philadelphia Eagles will need to get creative with their roster moves this offseason. Here are some likely free agents and draft prospects the team should consider bringing on board in 2020.
It has been a little over 24 months since the Philadelphia Eagles were on the top of the football world. On February 8, 2018, the team was riding along in a motorcade, celebrating their victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52. Spirits were high, while players and fans alike took the occasion to celebrate together in downtown Philadelphia.
For a fan base acclimated to disappointment and heartbreak, the moment was sublime. In the freezing cold February weather of southeast Pennsylvania, an estimated 700,000 fans crowded in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum. Here, head coach Doug Pederson promised the fans of Philadelphia that this was just the beginning.
“This is our new norm”. To be fair to coach Pederson, he hasn’t broken his word yet with the city. In the subsequent seasons since the Super Bowl victory, the Philadelphia Eagles have made the playoffs twice. In both seasons, the team went on improbable playoff pushes, that kept fans on the edge of their seats going into the final weeks of the season. And in both seasons, the team lost in agonizingly close matches.
The new norm for the Philadelphia Eagles has been playing football in January. But they’ve gone about it very differently than they did in 2017. The team went into the 2019 season with one of the highest-ranked teams in the NFL.
But after finishing 9-7, it appears general manager Howie Roseman is finally ready to admit the team needs a major facelift if it hopes to compete in 2020. Linebacker Nigel Bradham has already been released. There are reports that Alshon Jeffery will be gone too. Darren Sproles has (finally) retired, while Jason Peters and Ronald Darby will likely leave in free agency.
Spotrac has 20 free agents listed for the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason, many of them were key contributors on the Super Bowl-winning team.
Many of these free agents will depart in free agency, leaving the team with several holes on their roster. With $41 Million in estimated cap space according to Over The Cap, Roseman should have plenty of opportunities to upgrade the Eagles roster.
With the 2020 NFL Draft less than two months away and the free agency period imminent, we’ll discuss in this article the biggest offseason needs for the Philadelphia Eagles.
In this article, we’ll review each position of need, diagnosing which starters are likely to return in 2020. Next, we’ll review which free agents from other teams would make the most sense for the Philadelphia Eagles. Finally, we’ll review players available in this year’s draft class for each open position, and why they would be a good fit on the Eagles roster.
The positions are presented in no particular order. Up first we’ll discuss the position that, based on Roseman’s draft history, is the most likely position to be drafted in the first round. Spoilers: it’s not a wide receiver or cornerback.