We asked, you answered.
In the first part of our All-Decade series, we take a look at the 2010s offense. On Twitter, @PhiladelphiaSN for those of you living under a rock, we put out some polls over the course of Monday and Tuesday asking for your vote on who should represent the decade at each position. Without further ado, let’s see how you voted!
Quarterback – Carson Wentz
Who else? Okay, so maybe the Super Bowl winning quarterback had a chance. Maybe one of the most dynamic quarterbacks this league has ever seen had a chance (Vick). But those two were really the only contenders to Wentz’s spot on this list (sorry Liam, Bradford had no shot).
Wentz is one of nine quarterbacks in NFL history to have 70 or more touchdown passes within his first three seasons. Out of those nine, he is one of two (Russell Wilson) to have thrown less than 30 interceptions. All of this in only 40 games.
Last season, he set the longest streak in NFL history of consecutive games with at least one touchdown and one or fewer interceptions (22 games) and tied Peyton Manning’s NFL record of four straight games of 30 pass attempts and a rating over 115.
He already has the single season franchise record for passing touchdowns in a season with 33. This guy is everything the team has been missing since the departure of Donovan McNabb.
Obviously the injury concern is there. He has missed eight of 48 total games since he’s been in the league and he’s coming off of a fractured back, so he’ll need to prove he’s not “injury-prone” so the non-believers can believe.
It’s only a matter of time before Wentz becomes the second quarterback in Eagles history to lead the team to a Super Bowl win. Don’t be surprised if it’s sooner rather than later.
Oh and get ready for more of this:
https://twitter.com/LoganBanker_19/status/1142775561791479809
Running Back – LeSean McCoy
The Eagles’ all time leading rusher ran (no pun intended… ok maybe a little) away with the vote, garnering 95% of the fans’ votes.
McCoy, now with the Buffalo Bills, spent his first six seasons with the Eagles after being drafted by them in the second round of the 2009 draft. At the time of his departure (trade), he ranked first in Eagles history in career rushing yards, third in rushing touchdowns, fifth in total touchdowns, and third among Eagles’ running backs in career receptions.
He also owns the Eagles’ single season rushing record with 1,607 in 2013 and owns the Eagles’ single season rushing touchdown record with 17 in 2011.
With the Eagles, he was a two time First Team All-Pro and three time Pro Bowler.
Unfortunately he was traded to the Bills in 2015 for linebacker Kiko Alonso, thanks a lot Chip.
We could all wonder how much McCoy could’ve improved his game and improved the team if he never left, but the ripple effect of his trade led to the drafting of Wentz, so fans shouldn’t still feel angry about the trade.
Wide Receivers – DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, Jason Avant
Our receivers for the All-2010s team comes with two current Eagles and one former.
DeSean “D-Jax” Jackson is back with the team after a five year hiatus with two terrible teams. Another casualty of Chip Kelly’s ineptitude, Jackson comes back looking to move into the top three on the Eagles’ all time receiving yards list.
Going into his 12th season, Jackson sits 347 yards shy of Mike Quick’s third place spot and 1,295 yards behind Pete Retzlaff’s second place spot.
Does Jackson still have what it takes to be an elite weapon for Carson Wentz? Well, according to ProFootballFocus, Jackson is the NFL’s leader in deep receiving yards, deep receptions, yards after the catch, and deep touchdowns over the past ten seasons. Yeah, ten. Not last season. The past ten seasons. He’s still got it, and we should all be excited to see Wentz’s deep ball to Jackson (first play of the season????).
Alshon Jeffery has been everything as advertised during his two seasons with the Eagles. He became the number one receiver the Eagles were lacking prior to his arrival, and, more importantly, he did good on his Super Bowl prediction (who cares if he said that while with the Bears):
At the end of last season when he was still with the Bears, Alshon Jeffery said, “I guarantee we win the Super Bowl next year.” Asked about it, Jeffery said he never specified the team in his quote.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) November 21, 2017
He has 1,632 receiving yards with the Eagles in his two seasons with the team, 128 more than the next highest, but in three fewer games. He’s also been Wentz’s and Foles’ best friend when he’s been targeted:
Alshon Jeffery posted a career high 111.7 passer rating when targeted a season ago! pic.twitter.com/uGqHVt93kv
— PFF (@PFF) July 9, 2019
Despite his costly drop in the divisional round against the Saints, he has been as sure handed as can be. We’ll be seeing more of this:
Alshon Jeffery is already loading up his Eagle resume/highlight reel in just his first 2 years:
Regular season:
– 122 rec, 1,632 yds, 15 TD
Postseason:
– 23 rec, 364 yds, 3 TD
– Super Bowl ring2019: Year 3 of Wentz/Jeffery, both entering/in their primes? pic.twitter.com/gXiTp4Qap9
— Eagles Fan Central (@EagleFanCentral) June 13, 2019
Jason Avant’s eight year career with the Eagles wasn’t a spectacular one, but it was pretty solid.
He averaged 2.6 receptions per game for 31.4 yards and had 12 total touchdowns over those eight seasons. Over his entire career with the Eagles, with includes years before 2010, Avant was eighth among wide receivers with over 250 receptions in catch percentage (via Pro Football Reference). Pretty reliable.
However, his most famous play wasn’t a catch. It was his crucial block on DeSean Jackson’s Miracle at the Meadowlands punt return:
Never forget Avant's block to help spring DeSean Jackson game-winning punt return: http://t.co/AK7L9K9zug pic.twitter.com/1QHn8oNccw
— Rob Tornoe (@RobTornoe) March 4, 2014
Tight End – Zach Ertz
Another player looking to move up in career ranks for the Eagles is Zach Ertz, who is the All 2010s tight end as voted by the fans.
Ertz currently sits at 4,827 yards, 171 away from Brent Celek’s tight end record for the Eagles. Ertz should hit that mark in the second game of the season. He’s already the team’s all time leader in receptions for tight ends with 437, thanks in part to his historic 116 receptions last season, and is 152 receptions shy of the all time receptions mark for the Eagles.
As previously stated, Ertz had a monster year last season with 116 receptions, breaking Cowboys tight end Jason Witten’s previous record of 110.
He’s been with the team since 2013, six seasons, and you should expect him around another ten. Ertz has all the tools to become an all time great tight end and we could see his name on the All-2020s list when it’s time for that.
Offensive line on next page!
