Assessing the Start

Posted: March 19th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Assessing the Start

The Eagles are not setting the world on fire and that has more than a few people upset. The team added Javon Hargrave on Monday. They re-signed a few players on Tuesday. On Wednesday? Crickets.

The lack of moves has fans upset. And the news got worse.

That’s a lot to unpack.

We’ll start with Hopkins. There is no question that he would have been a huge addition to the passing game. No one questions his talent. Was he the right fit?

The Eagles decided he wasn’t.

It is easy to rip the team for not going after him. We don’t know what the cost would have been, but the actual deal with the Cardinals tells you the price was cheaper than it should have been.

Hopkins is about to turn 28. He wants a new deal that is going to pay him $18M to $20M per season. That is a fair price for such an elite receiver, but the Eagles obviously didn’t want to sink that much money into one receiver. They didn’t go after Amari Cooper, who is younger and wouldn’t have required any trade compensation.

This tells me the Eagles are more focused on building a WR corps than having one elite player. I have no problem with that philosophy, but it does require the team to draft well. The Eagles have struggled with drafting WRs for most of the last decade. That must change this year.

It is still possible the team could add a veteran in free agency, but multiple reporters indicated that the team isn’t focusing on veterans right now. They prefer to add multiple players in the draft. I would be shocked if the team doesn’t add a veteran at some point.

As to Jenkins, he left for a deal that isn’t much different than the money he was set to get. Many are taking that and coming to the conclusion that he simply wanted out of Philly.

Maybe.

It sure looks like the Eagles were focused on getting younger at safety and simply let Jenkins walk. Rodney McLeod is no spring chicken, but he’s two-and-a-half years younger and was also cheaper. I think he’s also better in coverage.

Jim Schwartz said when he came to Philly he wanted interchangeable safeties. That was no longer possible with Jenkins. He needed to be in the box the vast majority of the time. With McLeod and Jalen Mills, the Eagles can vary their coverages more than they could the last couple of years.

I know a lot of people are upset with Jenkins leaving. He was a great leader and still a good player, but I’m not going to get upset with the Eagles for letting an older player leave when that’s what I’ve been calling for them to do. Find younger talent.

We have no idea if the Eagles had any interest in Trufant. We assume they do because new DBs coach Marquand Manuel worked with Trufant in Atlanta. We don’t know if pro personnel scouts and other coaches liked Trufant.

There is no question that we’re all frustrated by the lack of action at WR and CB. I hate to sound like a broken record, but be patient. The league year technically started at 4pm on Wednesday.

The worst thing the team could do is sign players they don’t believe in. You and I make lists of players we like. When the guy at the top goes, we move down to the next one. That’s not exactly how it really works. Teams are picky about who they will commit millions of dollars to. They have detailed reports on age, character and health.

I’m okay with the Eagles deliberate approach as long as it is by design. If they are staying true to their rankings and being disciplined, that is a good thing. You spend months putting together specific lists of free agent targets. Just because a couple of guys sign elsewhere, you don’t panic and start throwing money at other players.

You need to be patient and be smart about your options.

Maybe Slay is a guy the Eagles really want and they’re waiting for the Lions price to come down. There are still other guys on the market. We don’t know the Eagles plan right now so that makes it frustrating. All we can do is sit around and guess.

The team still has plenty of cap room and there are still plenty of good players available. There are still moves to be made.

The Eagles will add some players. I just can’t tell you when.

UPDATE

Stay tuned. That would be a big move for the secondary.

*****

There has been a bigger trade market this year than I anticipated. We’ll see if that continues.

The Eagles could have their eyes on some players who we don’t even know are available.

I was shocked to see DT Jurrell Casey traded for a 7th round pick. That is incredibly cheap.

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