The 2020 NFL Draft is quickly approaching and the Philadelphia Eagles are in a position to be active in an intriguing piece of the puzzle. With a possible ten selections in hand and a sturdy roster with some obvious holes, the Eagles will look to answer as many questions as possible come April. Understandably, that could make them one of the more volatile teams in terms of positional targets. That in combination with GM Howie Roseman’s penchant for moving around the draft, Philadelphia could be a major wildcard in this year’s event.
The one element that does seem to be set in stone is that the Eagles will target a wide receiver early in the draft. Whether that means addressing the position in the first round or on day two, it seems inevitable that there will be a new rookie receiver in Philly come the summer. Luckily, because this is one of the deepest wide receiver drafts in recent memory, the Eagles will have their pick of the lot.
A bevvy of options can be a blessing and a curse for a team looking to hit on a sure thing. Philadelphia has had a disheartening track record with drafting wide receivers and could come under scrutiny if the man they choose doesn’t pan out. A year after selecting J.J. Arcega-Whiteside over Seahawks’ receiver and athlete extraordinaire D.K. Metcalf and Washington’s rookie standout Terry McLaurin, the Eagles will be under the microscope in 2020.
One of the major issues for the Birds seems to be that they’re not exactly sure what they want out of their receivers. After trying over and over again to cash in on late-round speedsters and special teams contributors to no avail, the team changed it’s tone and selected the big-bodied redzone threat Arcega-Whiteside. At a crossroads with Nelson Agholor’s free agency and Alshon Jeffery’s weighty contract, Philadelphia has an opportunity to build their receiving corps of the future. The identity of said group still seems to be very much up in the air. PSN’s head honcho and all-around-good-guy Liam Jenkins broke down the sticky predicament the Eagles have painted themselves into:
Quite astutely, Liam breaks down the athletic profile Doug Pederson targets for his receivers into three categories:
1) Size
2) Speed
3) Yards after catch ability and route running
While the order of these three skill sets could change with the weather, it rings true that Pederson and the Eagles’ front office have placed a premium on size and speed since the beginning of his tenure. Pass catchers like Jeffery, Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert have all found a home in the quick to mid-range passing attack with the use of their long frames and steady hands. DeSean Jackson was brought in to remedy the Eagles’ need for a home-run hitter with elite speed that the team has desperately needed since his first stint in midnight green. On the other hand, yards after catch specialist Golden Tate came and went without much fanfare and never really seemed to mesh with the offensive scheme. On that note, I will be adding a fourth category to the list for this analysis as a bottom line:
4) Scheme fit
For the purpose of this article, we’ll assume that the Eagles will once again put a premium on size and speed in 2020. In addition, we’ll presume that they will look to add players who’s skill set somewhat resembles the options they already have in-house. Overall, we will be considering how the player will fit in the Eagles’ offence, while taking into account the three criteria put forth by LJ.
Continued on the pages below.
