Philadelphia Eagles: Rookie RB Jason Huntley deserves more snaps
By David Esser
The Philadelphia Eagles should see what they have in rookie RB Jason Huntley.
The Philadelphia Eagles offense has been downright disastrous this season. While a majority of that can be attested to their miserable passing game and the revolving door that’s been taking place at offensive line, their lack of a consistent ground game hasn’t been making life any easier.
Miles Sanders has missed 37.5% of the season up unto this point, and even when active, he’s been limited to fatigue issues and lingering injuries. Boston Scott had productive games against both Dallas and New York, but really struggled as a rotational back for the first six weeks of the season. Corey Clement in all reality should have been cut by now, as he has just 81 total scrimmage yards here in 2020.
While there’s still a chance Sanders returns after the bye and re-establishes himself as a legit every-down back, the Eagles really would be wise to buy back into the idea of a “running back by committee”. The obvious problem with that plan, as just stated, is that the team is seriously lacking at their backup RB position. Scott is fun, but he’s definitely not a legitimate RB2 in today’s league.
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Howie Roseman was rumored to have looked at a couple running backs on the trade market prior to Tuesday’s 4PM deadline, but ultimately stood pat. If the team is going to rebuild their ground game back into a multi-back machine, it’s going to have to come from what’s already on the roster (unless the team surprisingly adds a free agent RB in the coming days).
The one name that I failed to mention previously was that of rookie Jason Huntley. The Detroit Lions fifth-round pick in the 2020 draft, Huntley was released right before the regular season began as Detroit finalized their 53-man roster. The Philadelphia Eagles were quick to snatch him up, slotting him in as the team’s fourth back over guys like Adrian Killins and Elijah Holyfield.
Despite the team’s apparent eagerness to claim Huntley, the former New Mexico State RB has failed to really see a whole lot of action up unto this point. He’s played in just 11 offensive snaps, and only recorded three total carries.
While it’s essentially impossible to get a feel for a player through such a small sample size, Huntley has genuinely shown some explosiveness. He busted off a 10 yard run against the Giants in Week 8, and he had a juke move filled 20 yard kick return against the Cowboys.
Is more Huntley the answer to the Eagles backup running back woes? Who knows. What I do know is that it can’t hurt to try. The Philadelphia Eagles offense was at its best when it had a solid rotation of backs to rely on, dating back to the 2017 days of Blount, Ajayi, and Clement. At the moment, the 2020 Eagles really only have two backs that they can consistently rely on for solid yardage (and who knows how much longer Sanders will be out for).
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Considering his rookie status, and the fact that he’s flashed some speed, giving Huntley some more reps following the bye week is the best course of action moving forward. At the bare minimum, it’ll give the coaching staff a better chance to evaluate just where his talent level is at.