The Philadelphia Eagles needed to add a legit RB2 in the offseason.
For the second time this season, the Philadelphia Eagles will be walking into an NFL football game with Boston Scott and Corey Clement as their two main running backs. It backfired big time during the team’s Week 1 loss to Washington, and it’s entirely possible we see a similar result against the Giants on Thursday Night Football.
Both Scott and Clement have really struggled when it comes to moving the ball on the ground (3.2 and 2.7 yards per carry), and both have been even worse when it comes to pass protection. Outside of the team’s poor offensive line play in Week 1, a lot of the blame for that loss can be put on the lack of a serviceable run game. With Miles Sanders now battling his second injury of the season, it’s hard not to feel like Howie Roseman dropped the ball when it came to acquiring a reliable backup behind him.
Roseman had a few opportunities to address the position, dating all the way back to the early stages of free agency, where he watched multiple veteran backs sign with other teams (Carlos Hyde for example). Roseman instead opted to throw his money at yet another highly paid defensive tackle (Javon Hargrave), leading most to assume he would address the RB2 position in the draft.
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All of the Philadelphia Eagles 2020 draft picks came and went, and Roseman didn’t select a single running back. The most noticeable omission came in the second-round, where Roseman selected quarterback Jalen Hurts over JK Dobbins. The Eagles reportedly had a lot of interest in the former Ohio State workhorse, and he would’ve been a dream fit alongside Sanders.
Dobbins hasn’t been anything particularly special in Baltimore thus far, but his 228 scrimmage yards is almost double what Scott and Clement have collectively put up.
Following the draft, there were still a handful of veteran free agents who had yet to sign with a team. LeSean McCoy and Devonta Freeman were the most noticeable, and both obviously went on to sign with other NFC teams (Shady to the Bucs, Freeman to the Giants). While it’s worth pointing out that neither have been all that productive on their respective teams, both would still have been upgrades over the before mentioned Scott/Clement duo.
There were even some surprise releases that Howie turned his nose at, as both Leonard Fournette and Le’Veon Bell were cut from their teams this year. It’s unknown if either of them had any interest in the Philadelphia Eagles, but it didn’t seem like Roseman approached them in the slightest either.
Of course, hindsight is always 20/20, but this was a roster hole that was brought up all offseason long. Roseman had countless opportunities to address it, and he even knew that Sanders was battling a lingering hamstring injury during the offseason. If anything that should have rushed Roseman to sign a solid veteran RB2, or draft a solid rookie back. Instead, he inked Clement to an one-year deal and cut multiple UDFA RBs.
The Eagles did end up claiming the Lions fifth-round pick, Jason Huntley, but he’s played just three snaps thus far.
It was a mistake to enter the season with Sanders as the team’s only reliable back, and it’s only been magnified by the amount of injuries that the team has suffered in other areas. Heading into the Giants game on short rest, this is a situation that the Eagles would normally rely on their run game quite a bit. Instead, they’ll be forced to air it out once more as Scott and Clement have simply not proved to be reliable options on the ground.