Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles season preview 2016: Predictions and analysis

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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In the National Football League, having a black hole at quarterback is a death sentence. Consider the Eagles condemned.

Philadelphia did the right thing in the draft, trading up to land Carson Wentz with the second-overall pick. While some could argue that the price was too steep, it could also be said that it needed to be paid. The Eagles have not had a franchise quarterback since the heyday of Donovan McNabb, and at least have a chance at that again with Wentz’s arrival.

In the short term, it won’t change much. First-year head coach Doug Pederson has stated he has no intention of starting Wentz, burying him as the third option on the depth chart. Wentz is coming from a small school in North Dakota State, so the idea of bringing him along slowly, while a painful proposition for Eagles fans, is very much the right call.

After fleecing the Minnesota Vikings by trading Sam Bradford for first and fourth-round picks, the Eagles are handing the keys to Chase Daniel. Daniel, 29, has thrown for 464 in his career, earning two starts in seven years. After backing up Drew Brees and Alex Smith, Daniel finally gets the chance to start under center. The results will likely be uneven at best, but after moving Bradford, it was the only move for Pederson.

With Daniel at the helm, Philadelphia will need to play excellent defense and run the ball to have hopes of a surprise playoff berth. The Eagles traded away the disappointing DeMarco Murray in the offseason, and are rolling with both veteran Ryan Mathews and rookie Wendell Smallwood. Smallwood might end up getting the bulk of the carries, due to Mathews being both injury and fumble-prone.

The defense also has its concerns, although the front seven should be rock solid. No defensive tackle causes more problems for the interior of an offensive line than Fletcher Cox, who signed a $103 million deal this offseason. Cox can both clog up lanes against the run and dominate against a guard or center on a pass rush.

Cox has help up front, especially in Connor Barwin, who is looking to bounce back from a seven-sack campaign. Brandon Graham has also developed into a quality piece, amassing 6.5 sacks in 2015.

Of main concern on the defense is the back end. After signing and then subsequently trading Byron Maxwell, Philadelphia is left with Nolan Carroll, Eric Rowe, and a litany of other spare parts at cornerback. Rodney McLeod and Malcolm Jenkins are terrific at safety, but they can only cover so many problems.

Philadelphia changed its coaching staff and revamped large parts of the roster. Now, the process of becoming good again begins, and while the city of brotherly love has never been great with patience, that’s the order of 2016.

Schedule

Week 1 – Cleveland Browns
Week 2 – at Chicago Bears
Week 3 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 4 – BYE
Week 5 – at Detroit Lions
Week 6 – at Washington Redskins
Week 7 – Minnesota Vikings
Week 8 – at Dallas Cowboys (Sun. night)
Week 9 – at New York Giants
Week 10 – Atlanta Falcons
Week 11 – at Seattle Seahawks
Week 12 – Green Bay Packers (Mon.)
Week 13 – at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 14 – Washington Redskins
Week 15 – at Baltimore Ravens
Week 16 – New York Giants (Thurs)
Week 17 – Dallas Cowboys

This is a very challenging schedule. The Eagles have a layup to start the season but then see a tough road game in Chicago before hosting the Steelers. Also, a Week 4 bye is always tough, considering the team will have 13 straight weeks of football ahead.

Philadelphia will have a very difficult stretch from Weeks 11-13, playing on the road at Seattle and Cincinnati with a home game against Green Bay sandwiched in between. This docket will be fairly relentless after the early bye week.

Draft class

Round 1 (2) – Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota State
Round 3 (79) – Isaac Seumalo, OG, Oregon State
Round 5 (153) – Wendell Smallwood, RB, West Virginia
Round 5 (164) – Halapoulivaati Vaitai, OT, TCU
Round 6 (196) – Blake Countess, CB, Auburn
Round 7 (233) – Jalen Mills, S, LSU
Round 7 (240) – Alex McCalister, DE, Florida
Round 7 (251) – Joe Walker, ILB, Oregon

This class is all about Wentz. The quarterback situation is a mess in Philadelphia and has been since the glory days of McNabb. The Eagles are saying Wentz won’t be starting any time soon, which could be a smart move as this team struggles in 2016.

The rest of this group is nothing to get excited over. After giving up a ton to get Wentz, Philadelphia only had one other pick before the fifth round. At best, the Eagles got a steal in Mills, who some believed could go off the board in the second round.

Offseason moves

Acquired

Rodney McLeod, S (5 years, $37.5 million)
Chase Daniel, QB (3 years, $21 million)
Brandon Brooks, OG (5 years, $40 million)
Stefen Wisniewski, C (1 year, $1.5 million)
Stephen Tulloch, OLB (1 year, $3 million)

Lost

DeMarco Murray, RB (Trade with TEN)
Kiko Alonso, ILB (Trade with MIA)
Byron Maxwell, CB (Trade with MIA)
Sam Bradford, (Trade with MIN)
Walter Thurmond III, CB (Retirement)

X-Factor

Can the Eagles stop anybody from throwing? Philadelphia signed Byron Maxwell to a huge six-year, $63 million deal last offseason. But Maxwell was terrible, and was subsequently traded to Miami. The Eagles are left with a motley crew in the secondary, a major problem in a wideout-loaded NFC East.

Philadelphia will need the Cox-led pass rush to be special. If the Eagles can’t get constant pressure, there is no reason to believe that they don’t get torched on a weekly basis. In today’s NFL, four good players in the defensive backfield is a must.

Bottom Line

The Eagles are going to be finishing last in the division barring some kind of miracle. Philadelphia has good individual players in certain areas, but there are simply too many holes on the roster. To win in the NFL, you need depth and talent spread across the board.

This season is really about evaluating Pederson and Wentz, assuming the latter ever gets on the field. Owner Jeffrey Lurie is hoping these two will represent what Andy Reid and McNabb did so many years ago, only this time with a title to show for it.