As recently as early 2019, the Philadelphia Eagles had arguably the best roster in the NFL, at least according to groupthink. Armed with a ferocious front seven, an elite offensive line, and a nice set of weapons, many believed Philadelphia to be set for long-term success. That obviously didn’t happen, as the Eagles look hopeless and Carson Wentz looks broken. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and the Eagles can return to legitimate contention if they play their cards right.
How to Fix the Philadelphia Eagles Roster
Step 1: Identify the Problem
The Eagles have holes all over the roster, and everything could use a little improvement. However, Philadelphia cannot possibly address every need in one offseason, so they’ll need to put most of their focus on fixing their biggest issues. While nobody would call Philadelphia’s defense an elite unit, it’s not an active liability. Overall, Philadelphia’s defense ranked 11st in EPA/play allowed, including 13th in dropback EPA/play allowed. Philadelphia should definitely add some depth in the offseason, but most of their resources should go toward fixing an offense that ranked 30th in EPA/play.
The Eagles essentially need to build their offense from the ground up. Figuring out who should take over at quarterback is obviously the biggest issue, but it’s not the only one. Ultimately, just about every piece of this offense aside from running back needs to improve if the Eagles want to return to the playoffs.
Once considered the best offensive line in football, Philadelphia’s pass blocking has come back to Earth over the past year. According to Pro Football Focus, the Eagles didn’t have a single offensive tackle with a top-35 grade. The film backs this up, as Jason Peters clearly lost a step and Lane Johnson battled injury. The Eagles will have Brandon Brooks back in 2021, but he won’t be able to singlehandedly fix the offensive line.
On top of that, Philadelphia needs to field a better supporting cast. Dallas Goedert and Miles Sanders are solid at their respective roles, and Jalen Reagor flashed moments of promise. However, this team needs a legitimate lead receiver capable of stretching the field and providing a reliable target for either Wentz or Fields.
Step 2: Fixing the Problem
Unfortunately for the Philadelphia Eagles, they won’t be able to do too much roster building in free agency. Howie Roseman spent the better part of the past three or four seasons manipulating the salary cap in all sorts of convoluted ways, and it’s finally time to pay the bill.
As of this posting, Spotrac has the Philadelphia Eagles over the projected salary cap by 74 million dollars. Clearing that much money won’t be easy, and Philadelphia’s front office will need to do everything in their power just to eliminate all that extra money. The salary cap had been growing in recent seasons, so perhaps Roseman was banking on another rise in order to manipulate numbers. However, COVID-19 brought that trend to a dead halt, and now the Eagles will need to have a cost-effective free agency.
Projecting free agents in January is never easy, but there are a few low-cost targets the Eagles could keep an eye on. New England Patriots wide receiver Damiere Byrd is coming off a solid season and has the speed to threaten a defense. If Philadelphia can sign him for at or near the league minimum, he should be able to serve as a decent depth receiver.
Step 3: The Philadelphia Eagles Roster and the NFL Draft
The silver lining to a 4-11-1 season is the NFL Draft. Thanks to their terrible record, the Eagles hold the sixth pick in the NFL Draft, and that could turn into a very valuable selection. Right now, there appear to be three top quarterback prospects: Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, and Zach Wilson. Everyone knows Lawrence will be the first-overall pick, but there is a chance that Fields or Wilson falls to Philadelphia.
If this happens, the Eagles should trade back in a heartbeat. While Wentz and Fields both have their fair share of long-term questions, it wouldn’t be wise to take another quarterback this early. Ultimately, this roster has too many holes to fix with any one player, and some team will give up a fortune for the right to secure their quarterback of the future.
Trading back probably means passing on somebody like Ja’Marr Chase, but that’s ok. Fortunately for Philadelphia, this draft class is stacked to the brim with talent at the wide receiver position. As great as Chase is, it’s better to add a few extra picks and draft another talented player like Jaylen Waddle. Alternatively, the Eagles could grab an elite offensive tackle prospect like Sam Cosmi or Christian Darrisaw and attack the skill positions in the second and third round.
Ultimately, none of this matters if the Eagles make the wrong choice at quarterback. However, that’s a discussion for a different day. While they probably won’t be true Super Bowl contenders in 2021, the Philadelphia Eagles have a path back to the playoffs if they trade back and rebuild their offense through an absolutely loaded draft class.
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