Is This the Most Talented Eagles Offense in the past Decade?
A lot of the talk this off-season has been about how much the Eagles have upgraded the talent surrounding Carson Wentz. On paper, this seems to be the most talent the Eagles have had on offense in Wentz’s short career.
With this thought in mind, I wanted to compare this year’s offense not only with the 2017 team that won the Super Bowl, while also looking at the past decade of Eagles football. After some review, there are really only two other years that compare- the magical 2010 season when Michael Vick burst back onto the scene, and Chip’s first year in 2013 when his offense caught the league by storm.
Going position by position, Carson Wentz is probably the best QB of the group. Personally, I’ll give the 2017 version of Wentz the nod. He would have been the MVP that season had he not gotten hurt, and while I have all the faith in the world in Wentz, there is no telling how he will react coming off back to back season ending injuries. I could see a world in which Wentz improves upon his 2017 season, but I’ll still take the pre-injuries version of Wentz. As much as I love Nick Foles, his success that season is attributed more to the league not figuring out Chip Kelly’s offense yet than his overall talent.
Photo: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Deciding between 2017 Wentz and 2010 Vick is the most difficult of this group. It is tough to separate the Vicks 2010 season from the rest of his Eagles career where he struggled with turnovers and staying healthy, but it is also easy to forget just how dominant he was that season. Per PFF, in 12 starts (including playoffs) he had 30 total touchdowns (21 passing, 9 rushing) with 6 interceptions, and he finished that season with a 100.2 QB rating. Wentz, in 13 starts, had 33 passing touchdowns and 7 interceptions, finishing the season with a 101.9 QB rating. For me, I’m taking Wentz. He only got better as the season progressed, and he had an answer for everything defenses threw at him. Vick’s season felt gimmicky in the moment, and he struggled to end the season. In the playoff loss against Green Bay the Eagles only scored 16 points.
Running back is a little less difficult to decide. LeSean McCoy is clearly the most talented back in the group, and while having the depth from 2017 or this year is a luxury, I’ll take the highest talent. McCoy was dominant in 2013. He led the league in rushing with 1607 yards on the ground and added another 539 through the air, with 11 total touchdowns (9 rushing, 2 receiving). After this season there is a chance we view this 2019 RB situation more favorably than the 2013 team with McCoy, but that depends on how Miles Sanders develops. The Eagles drafted him in the second round with hopes he can become something close to McCoy, but the jury is still out on that.
Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Choosing which wide receiver core was another tough decision, this time between 2010 and 2019. The 2010 team had prime DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Jason Avant, but this 2019 team has the perfect skill-set of WRs that complement each other. Alshon Jeffery as the red-zone threat and jump ball artist, Djax as the deep-threat, and Nelson Agholor as the third-down option and best overall route runner. Add in rookie JJ Arcega-Whiteside, who has a similar skill-set to Jeffery, and the Eagles have 4 quality options at wide receiver.
Still, it is hard to choose against the top end talent on the 2010 team. Prime Djax and Maclin, in my opinion, are better than any of the WRs currently on the roster. That was only Maclin’s second year in the league, but he still finished the season with 10 TDs and almost 1000 yards. Djax chipped in with another 6 TDs and over 1000 yards, and Avant was always an underrated receiver. He never put up gaudy stats, but he was an excellent third option who could line up in the slot and move the chains on third down. This 2019 team has depth, but I’ll take talent over depth any day of the week.
Photo: MICHAEL BRYANT / Philly Inquirer
Reviewing the tight ends gives the first win to the 2019 team. It was tough comparing Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert to the 2017 team with Ertz, veteran Brent Celek, and Trey Burton, but I think 2019 gets the win. Ertz has only gotten better in the past two years, and I have high hopes for Goedert. He has already received rave reviews going into his second year, and I’ll take the player who is a better blocker than Burton and better receiver than Celek.
Looking at the offensive line is probably the most difficult to decide from. Leaving out 2010, which is clearly the worst, the other 3 teams all have stellar offensive lines. While I think the Eagles offensive line will be dominant this year, I have to choose the 2013 and 2017 teams over them. Peters had an incredible season in both 2013 and 2017 pre ACL tear but wasn’t the same last year. Peters could improve this season after another year removed from the injury, but he could also be starting to show his age as he turned 37 in January. Evan Mathis is the clear winner at LG between Steven Wisniewski and Isaac Seumalo, while 2017 Brandon Brooks is the winner at RG. I’ll take 2017 Brooks over 2019 since he tore his Achilles in January and is uncertain if he will be back in time to begin the season.
2017 was probably the best career of both Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson, but they were no slouches in 2013 either. Lane was a rookie that year, but still had a great season, and 2013 was probably the second best year of Kelce’s career. With all this under consideration, I’ll take the 2013 team. From left to right there was no weakness to exploit, and I’ll take the younger Peters as the x-factor.
The final tally gives the 2013 team with two wins, with every other year at one. But, with that said, I would give the overall team with the most talent to this 2019 team. In all the other years I could pinpoint a weakness that might hold the team back. In 2010 it was the offensive line, in 2013, as much as this pains me to say, it was Nick Foles, and in 2017 it was the lack of a deep threat and explosive RBs.
This year’s team can wear down defenses in almost any way depending on the match-up. The Eagles have the ability to go 12 personnel with Ertz and Goedert on the field and still move the ball through the air, as both TEs are excellent pass catchers. Or, they could go with 11 personnel and keep 3 receivers on the field, all who complement each other as detailed earlier. They still have the threat of a running game too with the additions of Howard and Sanders.
The key to this season obviously depends on the health of Wentz, but if he can stay healthy this team has no excuse not to be a top 5 unit in the league, with potential to be top 3.
Table posted again below, with the winner in green.
Featured Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
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Categorized:Eagles