The Philadelphia Eagles Holiday Wish List

Another Philadelphia Eagles season has basically come and gone, but there remains one consistent: the Eagles will not be Super Bowl Champions. Unfortunately, the NFC was a very strong conference this year and the Eagles dropped key games down the stretch. The Eagles were troubled by injury at every position this year. The Eagles have one game left this season and could seal back-to-back ten win seasons under Chip Kelly. It is the holiday season and Philadelphia have needs, so lets review the 2015 Philadelphia Eagles wish list.

First on the Philadelphia Eagles wish list is offensive line health. The Philadelphia Eagles line failed to stay healthy in 2014, which created problems for their high-powered offense. Sure, regression happens and that could explain some of struggles LeSean McCoy and Nick Foles experienced, but when you break it down, the line health changed these players. Nick Foles, who moves as if he has cement in his cleats, spent his 2014 season taking hit after hit–finally taking the big blow against Houston which ended his season. The standout game for Foles was Washington and sure, he got crushed on the blindside hit, but he was on his back that whole game. It isn’t easy to win games behind backups, take a look at the Mark Sanchez experience. Losing Mathis and Kelce to injury and Lane Johnson to a PED suspension, the Eagles were down three key lineman early. Yes, they managed to win games, but paid a long-term price with Foles getting injured. Shady McCoy didn’t appear to be himself early in 2014, which raised the question of whether or not he lost a step. McCoy appeared to be cutting back a lot instead of hitting the hole, but in most cases, nothing was there for McCoy. Were there times that he missed the hole or cut back when he shouldn’t have? Yes, of course. But the best pulling center in football, Jason Kelce was not healthy and I think that injury alone hurt McCoy a ton. You can have all the skill players in the world, but if you don’t have a healthy offensive line, you’re going to be in trouble.

The second wish for Chip Kelly’s Philadelphia Eagles is secondary help. You can fault Billy Davis or Chip Kelly, but it is the players job to make plays. You are an NFL player and physically take part in each play, so there needs to be a high level of accountability. To this point in 2014, Bradley Fletcher has been throw at 116 times, allowing 61 completions. Those 61 completions have gone for 1,072 yard and nine touchdowns. The nine touchdowns allowed by Fletcher are the most in football amongst corners who played 75% of their teams defensive snaps. Another glaring statistic is that both Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams are in the top 15 in NFL QB Rating against. On top of that, both are in the top-10 in yards per reception against. All of this is happening while having played the most snaps amongst corners in the NFL. I’m not sure all of this is on the corners though. Some of this may be a product of the system. If you spend more time on the field than anyone else, you run the risk of having tired players. As brutal as Fletcher and Williams were, the Eagles had plus value at the safety position in 2014. Malcom Jenkins was a very good sign for the Eagles. The biggest surprise for me is that, according to ProFootballFocus, Nate Allen was a plus-value safety in 2014. However, the cornerback negatives far outweigh the safety positives. Bradley Fletcher is only under contract for one more game, so the Eagles will be looking to fill his position. On the other end, Cary Williams is entering the final year of his three year, $17 million deal. The departure of Bradley Fletcher will add a cornerback to the Eagles wish list. The only question that remains is if Chip Kelly drafts a corner or Howie Roseman signs a corner.

The third wish is for Nick Foles to return to 2013 form. Foles struggled in 2014, coming off one of the most impressive QB seasons in NFL history. Foles did not turn the ball over, stayed healthy and drove the Eagles down the field in the playoffs for the go ahead score. Is Nick Foles the answer? Who knows, but what I will tell you is that Foles is the Eagles QB heading into 2015. A trade up for Marcus Mariota is unlikely because of the package it would take–which leaves you with four options. You can go with Foles, re-sign and start Sanchez, draft a QB or sign a free agent. All of those options are possible, but if Foles can be the player we saw in 2013– there is no need for the other three options. This draft is not very deep at the Quarterback position, Mark Sanchez is not better than Foles and signing a free agent other than Sanchez doesn’t make sense. Sure, the Eagles could trade for a Quarterback, but even that isn’t a great option. Don’t forget that Nick Foles was very good in 2013 and went to the Pro-Bowl. Nick Foles bouncing back to 2013 form, or even close to that is the Eagles third wish.

The fourth wish for the Philadelphia Eagles is re-signing Jeremy Maclin at an affordable price. One can argue that Jeremy Maclin was a top-10 receiver this year and a lot of statistics would agree with that. According to ProFootballFocus, Jeremy Maclin was the tenth best overall wide receiver in the NFL. Calvin Johnson’s contract has an annual average value of just over $16 million. The length of Johnson’s contract is seven years and Johnson was the best receiver in the NFL when he signed. If I use Johnson as a baseline, Maclin could realistically ask for an average annual value of $10-12 million. If I am the Eagles, I would sign Maclin to a four year, $48 million deal. Maclin had a career year and if he produces at the level he did when Foles was playing, $12 million would be a great deal. The Eagles need their number one receiver, so add Jeremy Maclin re-signing to the wish list.

The final wish on the Philadelphia Eagles list is drafting a very good player in the first round. Take a second and think about how many times you heard Marcus Smith’s name called by an announcer this year. Pretty difficult, isn’t it? The thing with first round picks is that you cannot miss. It is unacceptable from an organizational standpoint to miss on a first round pick. Is Smith a bust yet? Obviously not, but he appears to be an overdraft. Heading into the 2015 NFL Draft, Chip Kelly cannot miss. The player the Eagles select in the first round must have an impact in 2015. In all likelihood, the Eagles will draft a corner early in the draft to replace Fletcher. Regardless of who Chip Kelly and the Eagles select in the first round, he must have an impact in 2015.

While my wish list is brief and imperfect, I think these four wishes are not only important, but realistic heading into 2015. Remember, try to keep it all in perspective. I’m not happy that the Eagles missed the playoffs, but they have the chance to win 10 games in back-to-back seasons. Remain optimistic and trust Chip Kelly’s plan.