The 2020 Philadelphia Eagles’ offense is (probably) going to look different
The Philadelphia Eagles are just built different.
The Philadelphia Eagles don’t have a number one wide receiver.
Okay, technically that isn’t true, the Eagles do have a number one wide receiver, only he doesn’t play wide receiver, he plays tight end.
As any Eagles fan who still remembers watching the team play in the pre-COVID world, Zach Ertz has consistently led the team in receiving yards since his selection in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, amassing an average of 820 yards and five touchdowns in each of his seven professional seasons. In 2019, Ertz nearly doubled the amount of yards of the Eagles’ top wide receiver, Alshon Jeffery, who only picked up 490 yards in an abbreviated 10 game season.
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Do you know who the Eagles’ second and third-leading receivers were in 2019? That would be Dallas Goedert and Miles Sanders, two decidedly not wide receivers who ended up earning substantial roles in Doug Pederson‘s offense out of necessity.
But here’s the thing, the Birds aren’t trying to run some weird, throwback offense like San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, or ex-Minnesota Vikings OC-turned-soon-to-be-Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. If that was the case, they too would have drafted a glorified fullback in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
No, the Eagles are actually looking to double-down on a speed-based offensive attack that spreads the ball around to a number of speedy receivers with an ability to run after the catch, not to mention right past a flat-footed defensive back.
Is that a drastic change? Would it be very, very unusual to see the Eagles go from having the best 10 package in the NFL thanks to Ertz and Goedert to regularly running out five receivers and an empty backfield? Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. The Eagles have eight wide receivers under contract who could legitimately make the team’s opening day roster and even be active on game day. Could the team keep all eight? That would be hard but they could certainly keep seven and maybe even sneak an eight on the books if Jeffery ends up starting out the season on either PUP or IR.
As crazy as it sounds, the Eagles very, very, very well may not have a wide receiver who ends up with more than 60 catches this fall – tight ends notwithstanding – and may ultimately fail to end their 1,000-yard receiver drought – a drought that has been going on since Jeremy Maclin wore a midnight green jersey in 2014.
Why? Because there are just too many mouths to feed.
Factor in dynamic receiving backs like Miles Sanders and Boston Scott who could easily combine for 100 targets this fall thanks to Pederson’s RPO-based short passing game and the Eagles offense may have averaged as many as eight unique pass catchers in any given game – much to the chagrin of fantasy football fans looking for ‘that guy’.
I guess, for fantasy football purposes, Carson Wentz is ‘the guy’ this fall, except that probably won’t even be the case, as Jalen Hurts could easily take away snaps – and touchdowns – from the Birds’ $100 million franchise QB.
Next. Could Miles Sanders actually win MVP?. dark
Is any of this set in stone? No way. I doubt anyone had a playoff receiving corps featuring the likes of Greg Ward, Robert Davis, Deontay Burnett, and Josh Perkins on their preseason bingo board but after suffering through enough injuries for two seasons in 2019, it’s safe to say Howie Roseman isn’t taking any chances this fall. No, in 2020 the Philadelphia Eagles are built around one simple concept: Optionality. Is it going to transform any one player into a household name – let alone a spot in the Pro Bowl – probably not, but after winning a Super Bowl with the ‘next man up’ mentality why not run it back and try to do so again?