Eagles Talk

Posted: February 9th, 2022 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Eagles Talk

While I was down at the Senior Bowl, I got to spend time with quite a few Eagles writers. I tried to pick their brains on a few topics to see how their opinions might differ from mine. Let’s take a look at some of the subjects.

QB

Everyone had good things to say about Jalen Hurts. He led the team to the playoffs, proved to be a solid playmaker and is everything you would want in terms of intangibles. But is he good enough?

We know Hurts will get better with more experience and better weapons around him. What we don’t know is what his ceiling is. Will Hurts ever be good enough to be one of the Top 10 QBs in the league?

He isn’t special physically. He’s not a top flight pocket passer. Can he develop enough to get a team to the Super Bowl?

There was no consensus about what the Eagles should do. Some liked the thought of drafting a QB in the first round (Malik Willis or Kenny Pickett). Others liked the thought of trading for Russell Wilson. Nobody is sure what to make of Deshaun Watson and his legal issues.

The smart move may be to stick with Hurts this year and see who might be available next year. Hurts is good enough that the Eagles don’t need to make a desperation move. If there is a QB they like, go get him.

OL

The group was pretty split on whether to move Landon Dickerson to RG so Isaac Seumalo could reclaim his old spot at LG. I prefer to have Dickerson stay at LG. He and Jordan Mailata had good chemistry. We know Dickerson can play at a high level at LG.

Seumalo is a versatile player. He’s been effective wherever he lines up. Let him move to RG.

Some felt like Seumalo was established at LG and deserved to keep that spot.

No one was too fired up on this. The Eagles have a good problem, trying to figure out how to use all their talented blockers.

WR

There were mixed opinions on what to do at receiver. Some think the Eagles should go get a veteran to add to the mix. DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins and Jalen Reagor are young. Go get a vet so you can get immediate results and he can help the young players develop. Some of the names discussed were Calvin Ridley, Allen Robinson, Zach Pascal and DJ Chark.

Others pointed out that if the Eagles stick with their running offense, would there be enough pass attempts to warrant spending money on a veteran free agent. The smart way to go might just be to add another receiver in the draft.

Everyone agreed that the Eagles must get better at receiver.

And no one thought Reagor was going to be the answer.

Safety

I was surprised at how many people think Rodney McLeod should return. He will turn 32 in June and his last good season was 2019. He did make some plays late in 2021.

The argument for him is that McLeod played better as he got healthier. After all, he did tear his ACL in December 2020. It takes time to come back from that and get your full ability back. McLeod is great in the locker room and off the field. There is a real argument for keeping him around to be a good influence on all the young players the Eagles will have on the roster in 2022.

The argument against McLeod is that he only made plays against bad QBs. As he gets older, he’s not likely to get any better. Now is the time to cut bait and move on.

To be clear, I’m open to bringing McLeod back, but I would rather look at him as a backup. If he competes for a starting job and wins it, that’s fine. Just don’t count on him to be a key player for the defense. The secondary was a real issue last year. I think the team needs a pair of new starting safeties.

Everyone thought Marcus Epps showed enough that he should get a chance to have a key role next year. No one has any idea what happened to K’Von Wallace. He seemed like a great draft pick, but he just hasn’t been able to get on the field.

*****

Speaking of Rodney McLeod…

Very cool.

Rodney is terrific off the field. I hope I’m wrong on him and he’s able to play another few years. He is the kind of guy the NFL needs in the league.

*****

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