Philadelphia Eagles: Offseason Wants, Needs & Preview

[Finished 4-11 Overall]

This offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles have 14 unrestricted free agents and two restricted free agents. They’ll have some tough decisions to make as they’re projected to be well above the salary cap for 2021. Over the next couple of months, they will need to make adjustments in order to drop below that cap.

Newly appointed HC Nick Sirianni will have his work cut out for him as he jumps into the offseason with a new team. Former QB Carson Wentz was shipped out to Indianapolis and Jalen Hurts will now be the starting quarterback. The Eagles projected salary cap looks as bleak as the NFC East teams' records last season as they are currently $33M over the cap. So far in the 2021 offseason, we've already seen the record for the largest dead cap hit broken twice. The first record was broken when the Rams traded away QB Jared Goff and took a $22.2M dead cap hit. Then, moving Carson Wentz alone had a $33M dead money hit to the cap, which, by the way, is now the new record for the biggest dead cap hit in NFL history. The Eagles had many holes this past season and the Super Bowl of a few years ago seems like a distant memory.

Offensive Needs

The Eagles claim a quarterback will be brought in to compete with Jalen Hurts for the starting job. Tyrod Taylor is a name that pops into mind as someone who is familiar with the offense and is also mobile. At this point in his career, Hurts is a better fantasy player than a real-life starting quarterback. It will be interesting to see if he takes the leap next season as QB Lamar Jackson did two seasons ago.

The Eagles have got to be kicking themselves after passing on both WR DK Metcalf and WR Justin Jefferson in back-to-back drafts. Wide receiver remains a big concern for this franchise with DeSean Jackson getting chopped and the expectation that Alshon Jeffrey will be released. The Eagles have tried to address this need by taking multiple shots at wide receivers in the draft. Unfortunately, the scouting department has dropped the ball on a number of selections over the past two years. This past season, WR Jalen Reagor missed a ton of time due to training camp injuries. WR Travis Fulgham had a really hot stretch in 2020 but wavered down the stretch. Slot WR Greg Ward remains the only real solid receiver. If these young receivers don't step their game up, expect Howie Roseman to continue to take shots at the position.

TE Zach Ertz appears to be on the trading block and is likely to be moved as we get closer to the draft. As it stands right now, TE Dallas Goedert is the better player in both fantasy and real life. Goedert is a solid fantasy player in 2021 after the elite tier goes.

The quandary surrounding RB Miles Sanders should have some more clarity this upcoming season. Sanders had an impressive series of outings with Jalen Hurts under center. RB Boston Scott remained a nuisance on passing downs, plus we'd love to see Sanders get back to his 3 down role.

The most pivotal group that the Eagles need to address is the offensive line. This unit was beaten up badly. Former QB Carson Wentz took far too many sacks and wasn’t able to sustain a full bill of health all season. The Eagles can mask this need with Hurts' scrambling capabilities and a spread-style offense.

Defensive Needs

The Eagles do one thing well on defense and that is rush the quarterback. They can get after the quarterback and apply pressure on any signal-caller. Where they really struggle is over the middle of the field, having some of the lightest linebackers in the NFL. The Eagles' corners were also very weak last season and got beat more times than not. CB Darius Slay has had some great games in his career. However, when he lines up against elite WRs, he gets exposed. The second and third corners in this unit were horrendous. Surprisingly, the Eagles were much worse against the run this season than they had been in years past. This is likely because the offense was barely on the field, going 3 and out more often than not, thereby leaving the defense on the field for extended periods of time. This unit has good, capable players up front, but they were simply tired after being on the field for so long. The Eagles are going to need a roster overhaul at linebacker, cornerback, and safety if they want to get back to Super Bowl playoff aspirations.

Too Long Didn't Read Version

Point blank, the Eagles were a team that disappointed in 2020. The way they capped off the season in Week 17 was a perfect summary of how the rest of their season had gone. Going into 2021, we will see if the scapegoat was simply Carson Wentz or Doug Pederson. Now, what happens if neither one of those two are the reason for this franchise's recent failure? Will the sword fall next upon Howie Roseman's head if the team does not improve? In a franchise filled with uncertainty, one thing remains certain: RB Miles Sanders, TE Dallas Goedert, and QB Jalen Hurts will offer nice fantasy football value in 2021 drafts.