The Future of the Eagles’ Offense is Bright
In a season where not much, if anything, has gone right for the Eagles, there is still a silver lining to be found.
Over the past three weeks, the Eagles offense has slowly started to come together despite a lack of playmakers.
Against the Steelers, Ravens, and Giants, the Eagles have trailed by 17, 17, and 11 respectively at some point in the game. After such deficits, the Eagles have outscored all three opponents by a grand total of 54-20. After averaging 19.25 points a game over the first four weeks of the season, the Eagles offense averaged 26.3 points a game in their last three games, over a full touchdown more.
The sudden burst in offensive production has a lot to do with unproven guys stepping up big time as well the improved play of Carson Wentz.
Looking further into the recent success, you begin to wonder, are the pieces of this offense’s future starting to come together?
The wide receiver position is one that the Eagles have suffered dearly from over the past several years. In fact, this team has not had a 1,000-yard wide receiver since 2014, when Jeremy Maclin recorded a career-high, 1,318 yards. However, that drought has the potential to be ended this season.
Travis Fulgham, currently one of the city’s highest trending players, is averaging 89.3 yards a game since he debuted for the Eagles in their win against the 49ers.
With nine games left to play, his current average projects him to amass 1,112 yards at the season’s end. Some may say his success has a very small sample size, but his consistency says otherwise. He hasn’t had a single game under 57 receiving yards and has shown an ability to compete with the toughest corners in the game, including Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters. He may very well be a cornerstone of this offense for years to come.
Photo: Tim Tai/Philadelphia Inquirer
Additionally, Greg Ward has also continued his success from last year, having an exceptional year in the slot. Currently averaging 33.3 yards a game, he’s on pace to finish with close to 533 yards. Then, taking a look at a couple of the rookies from this year’s draft class, both Jalen Reagor and John Hightower have shown major deep threat abilities. Although Reagor’s only seen a handful of snaps in the two games he’s played in so far, he caught a huge 55-yard bomb for his first catch on opening day. He was a first-round draft selection for a reason and could be the home run hitting player that the Eagles have been searching for, for years. Although Hightower has had a few poor drops, he’s managed to get open for 50-yard catches in back-to-back weeks. It’s possible the Eagles use him in chunk yardage situations. It may be an overreaction, but if these players develop for another year or two, Carson Wentz will have plenty of weapons to chose from in his artillery.
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Photo: Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports
As far as the rest of the offense goes, the bright spots are endless.
Miles Sanders is 12th in the league in rushing yards despite missing two games, Dallas Goedert was primed for a breakout season before his ankle injury, and Carson Wentz is finally getting back to his true self. Although the offensive line has been the weakest spot for the team this season, it can’t be overlooked, because when healthy, they are one of the best units in the league. In fact, Jordan Mailata’s career is also taking off after three years of development, perhaps making him a future long-term starter.
Once Brandon Brooks and Andre Dillard return next season, Carson Wentz won’t be running for dear life as he has been doing the entire year.
Oh and don’t forget, Jalen Hurts is also available for “gadget plays”. While this season has been a wash, for the most part, the Eagles’ future is shaping up quite nicely.
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