After an eventful first couple of days for the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency, the Eagles answered one of their most pressing questions, who will be catching passes from QB Carson Wentz?
Needless to say, Howie Roseman and company were aggressive in signing playmakers to surround their young franchise. Alshon Jefferey and Torrey Smith, combined with Jordan Matthews, creates quite an intriguing core of starters for the Eagles..and one could argue, the potential of one of the best cores in football.
With that said, after the first three wideouts, the Eagles still have legitimate questions to be figured out. Nelson Agholor’s, struggles were well documented and Dorial Green-Beckham left a lot to be desired during his first year in Philadelphia. After that, there are a slew of untested prospects that fill up the Birds’ depth chart. So we have decided to list the reasons why the Eagles are best suited in adding the best WR talent available in this years Draft..even with the new weapons for Carson Wentz.
Cap space:
The Eagles may have signed Alshon and Torrey this offseason, but when you look at the deals, you can see why another receiver could help. Jeffery’s contract is a one-year deal for now. Sure, he could sign a long-term deal during the season, or be franchise tagged for the next two years, but if they are willing to do so, they might as well sign him long term. Smith’s deal is for three years, but could be voided after a year, with no penalty.
With this in mind, the Eagles are set to have the lowest cap space in the league in 2020..and that rank doesn’t exactly soar in the season’s between now and then, or those after. The Eagles have eight players signed through 2020, cornerstones of the franchise setting them back with a huge cap deficit. If the team were to sign Jeffery or Smith to longer term deals, there’s no doubting that it would sting their already hurting amount of cap space. Drafting a rookie whom will be with the team for the duration of Wentz’s rookie deal, who still has star potential, but at a much cheaper rate, could be a perfect option to create sustainability in the event things didn’t go according to plan.
A new era:
As I previously stated, the state of the Eagles, roster after the “Big Three” is shaky at best. The team got into this situation by investing in a slew of middle of the road prospects. It wasn’t until this year that the Eagles went after and signed a true number 1 WR. Well, not since Terrell Owens, have they made this investment. Investing in a blue-chip receiver this coming Draft, would be the perfect plan to develop a wideout factory with the addition of Mike Groh.
Carson Wentz is going into his second year, why not give him a young guy to grow with? All franchise quarterbacks have a safety blanket, and as of now Wentz has Jordan Matthews and TE Zach Ertz. Despite these two, the opportunity to grow, with another receiver on the outside, could prove to be the perfect scenario for Carson and help the Offense turn into the next big WR-QB combo. We all know how close Wentz is with Ertz and Matthews, adding even more talent to that core is only going to benefit thr offense.
Take a look across the room:
When you look across the league, there are teams that have legitimate stars and still go out and add talent to their core. Just look up the street at the New York Giants, they already had Odell Beckham Jr, then they added Sterling Shepherd, in the Draft (2016), before adding Brandon Marshall, this offseason. Add that to the reports that the Giants, are still looking to add talent via Tight-End, or another blue chip WR in this years draft and you can see why an arguably regressing Eli Manning has had the success he has enjoyed.
The Philadelphia Eagles, are off to a great start with the additions of Jeffery and Smith. Still, the addition of another talent would only help the Eagles in the long run, and put them in position to have difference makers, not just creating a win-now situation..but surrounding their young Franchise QB for years to come.
Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
