A Simple Test

There are a lot of different ways to look at the draft and the whole offseason. Sometimes I think we get too caught up in our perception of the moves or non-moves and lose sight of focusing on what did happen.

Here is a simple question…are the Eagles better than they were in January?

QB – Carson Wentz is a star QB and now you have a healthy Nate Sudfeld behind him. Jalen Hurts gives the team a very talented #3 to develop. As much as we loved Josh McCown the person, he wasn’t a very good player, as we found out in the playoff loss. I do think the Eagles are better here.

RB – Miles Sanders and Boston Scott give the team a good 1-2 punch. Unknowns Elijah Holyfield and Michael Warren are behind them. Losing Jordan Howard certainly hurts. The Eagles are not better here. I am curious to see if Holyfield can become a good role player. His development would help a lot. And the Eagles might not be done with moves. There are some good veteran RBs still on the market.

WR – Better. Faster. Deeper. Jalen Reagor should be a difference-maker. Marquise Goodwin gives the team a speedy backup. John Hightower and Quez Watkins can both fly and will challenge for roles. DeSean Jackson is healthy and that makes a huge difference. JJAW is in his second year. I don’t know how good he’ll be, but I would bet a case of PBR that he’ll be better than last year. The Eagles still have plenty of questions at WR as they figure out how to use these guys, how good Greg Ward actually is and what’s going on with Alshon Jeffery, but the WR position is better off.

TE – No major changes here. The Eagles are basically the same. I do think UDFA Noah Togiai is an interesting addition. Good scheme fit.

OL – Mystery spot. There has been a lot of noise about Andre Dillard. Are the Eagles happy with him? Is he ready to start? We have a lot to learn about him. The rest of the line returns and should be outstanding. Matt Pryor will be a key backup. Nate Herbig has a chance to be a key backup. Jordan Mailata will be back in the mix and will need to show he can contribute. He certainly has the potential. Now you add talented rookie Jack Driscoll and Prince Tega Wanogho to the mix. The line could be just fine if Dillard handles his business, but that is a question right now.

DE – Most of the guys return. Vinny Curry is out, with the Eagles wanting to get younger and faster. His absence means more reps for Genard Avery, who the team has high hopes for. Shareef Miller needs to show he can contribute in his second year. The Eagles did add an athletic rookie in Casey Toohill, but he’ll have to fight for a roster spot. I feel like the Eagles are pretty much the same as they were last year.

DT – Definitely better. Free agent addition Javon Hargrave will start next to Fletcher Cox (who is healthy). Malik Jackson will be a terrific #3 DT. Haasan Ridgeway is back and is a player the Eagles like a lot. There is good depth in Bruce Hector, Anthony Rush, Alberty Huggins and UDFA Raequan Williams.

LB – Nigel Bradham is gone. The Eagles added free agent Jatavis Brown to compete for the WLB job. Then they drafted speedsters Davion Taylor and Shaun Bradley. There are no big names, but this is a young group that runs well. I think the Eagles are better here, but not everyone agrees. I think Nate Gerry is ready continues to improve and I think T.J. Edwards is ready to be the MLB.

S – This is a tough one. You lose Malcolm Jenkins, a key player for the past six years. An impactful presence on and off the field. You replace him with Jalen Mills, who hasn’t started at safety in the NFL. That is a drop-off. But then you add Will Parks as the #3 safety. I think he will be an upgrade. The team drafted K’Von Wallace to give them even more depth. Losing Jenkins will hurt, but the overall group could be better.

CB – Better. Darius Slay gives the Eagles the best CB they have had in years. The coaches decided to make Avonte Maddox the starter opposite of him. They are rolling the dice a bit here, but they believe in Maddox, who has looked good at CB at times. Nickell Robey-Coleman and Cre’Von LeBlanc will man the slot. Sidney Jones is the top backup. There has been a lot of talk about trading Rasul Douglas, but he’s still here as of now.

STs – The specialists are all the same. The Eagles added some talented returners, but we need to see who gets which roles before we can really judge this group.

*****

Overall, I do think the Eagles are a better team.

LT is the biggest question mark for me. Dillard might play at a high level and put any questions to bed. Mailata might move back to the left side and could prove to be a good backup. Wanogho was a good LT for Auburn and could be in the mix there if his knee is good to go.

Are the Eagles good enough to compete for a Super Bowl? That’s an important question. Before I can get into that, I need to study the rest of the league and see how the other teams look at this point.

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