Breaking Down Philadelphia Eagles' Offseason Plan and What's Left to Address
As it turns out, there was no way to predict head coach Chip Kelly’s plan for the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason. By my count, he waved goodbye to nine key veterans and added 10 new faces to the locker room, making for one of the most dramatic roster overhauls in recent memory—and the draft is still three weeks away.
Clearly, Kelly has a vision for the Eagles; it just isn’t entirely clear what exactly that entails. Some observers were left scratching their heads over many of the moves, and even ardent supporters of the plan must admit there are areas of the team that have gone under-addressed.
First, we’re going to examine a few of Kelly’s controversial decisions from this offseason and reassess the blueprint behind them. Then we’ll look ahead to what’s left for the Eagles and see if we can’t figure out just what the heck this mad scientist has been up to.
Upgrade at Quarterback
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Oftentimes in the NFL, a team will only go as far as its quarterback's ability. Obviously, Kelly didn’t believe Nick Foles was going to lead Philadelphia to a Super Bowl, so upgrading the position became a priority.
Judging from the response, the vast majority of people view the trade for Sam Bradford as a lateral move at best. Foles has done far more in three seasons in the league than Bradford has accomplished in five, not to mention the latter is coming off of two ACL tears only nine months apart.
I believed in Foles, but the truth is Bradford has more upside. At least NFL talent evaluators seem to think so, which is why the St. Louis Rams also received draft compensation from the Eagles in the trade and why both teams have admitted to turning down a first-round pick.
Not only that, but Bradford is likely a better fit for Kelly’s offense, which shares similar spread concepts with the one he played in college. Bradford has one of the faster release times in the NFL, and he seldom makes a poor decision with the football, as evidenced by the third-lowest interception percentage among active players, per Pro-Football-Reference.
Much of the blame for Bradford’s lack of success in St. Louis falls on the organization. He was never surrounded by so much as passable weapons or protected by an even decent offensive line. Several offensive coordinators have been through there with different systems as well.
We saw firsthand what a difference a quality supporting cast and stability can do for a quarterback, as evidenced by Mark Sanchez in 2014. Sanchez was a laughingstock when he arrived in Philly, but he posted career highs in completion percentage (64.1), yards per attempt (7.8) and passer rating (88.4) in nine games last season.
Bradford is likely to experience a similar bump in performance—if he can stay healthy. Who knows, he just may start living up to the expectations of being the first overall pick in the 2010 draft. Kelly thought it was worth finding out.
Build Around the Ground Attack
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By all appearances, there won’t be as much pressure on Bradford to put the offense on his shoulders. The Eagles invested a lot of money at running back, signing both DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews in free agency. They join Darren Sproles in what looks like a crowded backfield.
It goes without saying that Kelly wants to run the football. That’s what he did at the University of Oregon. That’s what he’s done since jumping to the NFL. Philadelphia finished fourth in rushing attempts in 2013 and in seventh last season.
Now that Kelly has a fleet of ball-carriers at his disposal, don’t be surprised if he’s gunning for first.
Not only did the Eagles bolster the backfield, they also brought in players suited to Kelly’s offense. Murray and Mathews are both one-cut backs who hit the hole quickly, and according to ESPN Stats & Info, nobody has rushed for more yards out of the shotgun formation over the past two seasons than these two.
I don’t believe LeSean McCoy was traded because he wasn’t a fit—he did lead the NFL in rushing in 2013. The Buffalo Bills simply presented a unique opportunity, sending a promising young player at a position of need (ILB Kiko Alonso) and freeing up a ton of space under the salary cap in the process.
Now the Eagles have two feature backs as opposed to one, so expect Kelly to lean even more heavily on the ground attack moving forward.
Fix the Secondary
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It probably didn’t matter who was lining up under center or toting the rock for Philadelphia if something wasn’t done about the horrendous defense, particularly the secondary. The Eagles took some steps toward rebuilding the back end, though there’s still a ways to go yet.
The big move was awarding free-agent cornerback Byron Maxwell a huge contract. Maxwell has only started 17 games in the NFL, and he hasn’t established himself as a shutdown corner in that time. However, he possesses ideal size; he’s physical; and he has a lot of experience playing against top competition in big games as a member of the Seattle Seahawks.
Time will tell whether Maxwell is worth the money, but at the very least, it’s suspected he’ll be able to hold down the fort on one side of the field.
Opposite Maxwell, the Eagles signed Walter Thurmond III to compete with Brandon Boykin and Nolan Carroll for a starting job. Thurmond has only suited up for 27 of the last possible 71 regular-season and playoff games, so he’s hardly dependable. Regardless, it’s difficult to imagine him performing worse than Bradley Fletcher last season.
Apparently, the Eagles are thinking a lot about addition by subtraction these days, as safety Nate Allen bolted and the team never bothered to replace him. The club went hard after Devin McCourty in free agency, but he ultimately chose to re-sign with the New England Patriots, leaving the Birds empty-handed.
2013 fifth-round pick Earl Wolff is the current front-runner to replace Allen.
So is the secondary actually fixed or not? Good question, but it certainly will be different. Between Maxwell and Thurmond, with Alonso at linebacker, the Eagles added a lot of talent on defense, and Kelly is undoubtedly counting on some improvement as a result.
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Holes Remain
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Despite the numerous moves Philadelphia has made, there are plenty of holes remaining on the roster.
Safety is a huge concern. Despite the apparent upgrades at cornerback, only Maxwell has meaningful experience and is signed beyond 2015. There is no established depth behind Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham at outside linebacker.
On the other side of the ball, the offensive line is still projected to start three players in their 30s. Jeremy Maclin’s unexpected departure created a void at wide receiver. And the Eagles might want to come up with a backup plan for Bradford, who has one year left on his contract and is a wild card to boot.
Granted, these situations aren’t necessarily as dire as they’re painted here, but those are some significant flaws with the current roster. Fortunately, there’s still the draft to attempt to correct some of these issues.
Draft Blueprint
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I subscribe to the best-player-available theory, so I can’t say the Eagles should target any particular position with their first-round pick. Frankly, it’s difficult to pinpoint their greatest need and, in some cases, whether the players available at No. 20 are even the right fit.
Based on the prospects the Eagles have been hosting for official predraft visits and working out, though, it seems likely the team will go wide receiver, outside linebacker or secondary in Round 1. In fact, a good percentage of their eight draft picks are probably committed to these areas, as they appear to be the most immediate needs on the roster.
No doubt, the Eagles will attempt to add draft picks as well. All-Pro left guard Evan Mathis is reportedly on the trade block, according to Ian Rapoport for NFL.com. We’ve speculated Mychal Kendricks could be on the move based on the logjam with Alonso and DeMeco Ryans at inside linebacker. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald suggested Boykin could be on the Miami Dolphins’ radar.
Of course, what will be interesting to watch is what happens to Heisman Trophy-winning signal-caller Marcus Mariota. Kelly would love to get his hands on the quarterback he recruited at Oregon, but it’s long been thought impossible.
Mariota truthers believe Bradford could be a trade chip. The Eagles reportedly turned down a first-round pick for Bradford from the Cleveland Browns, according to NFL Media’s Charley Casserly (via Chris Wesseling of NFL.com). If Mariota starts sliding on draft day, and the Browns sweeten the pot, you could wonder if Kelly might change his mind.
An extra first and some of the aforementioned names on the block could go a long way toward Philly landing Mariota. However, this still seems an unlikely scenario.
The safe bet is the Eagles use their picks to systematically address the many needs on their roster, including a developmental quarterback in the middle or late portion of the draft. Then again, if Kelly has proved one thing this offseason, it’s that he’s unpredictable, so there’s really no telling what Philadelphia might do in the draft.
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