After a year of neglect, the Philadelphia Eagles run game is set to return

Carson Wentz has driven the conversation over the last 24 hours – that much was expected. When the Philadelphia Eagles made the decision to name Frank Reich’s offensive coordinator (Nick Sirianni) their new head coach, it didn’t’t exactly disguise the fact that the Eagles organization is hell-bent on “fixing” their franchise quarterback moving forward.

With that said, there’s more to Sirianni than just his ability to work with quarterbacks. While yes, a majority of his resume is filled with the success he’s had with the likes of Andrew Luck, Jacoby Brissett, and most recently Philip Rivers. Siranni is also bringing with him the background of someone who commits to moving the football via the ground game, something that Doug Pederson infamously gave up on in 2020.

Under Nick Sirianni, the Philadelphia Eagles run game should return in 2021.

In 2018, second-year running back Marlon Mack saw himself thrusted into the lead back role for the Colts, a job that he ended up filling quite beautifully. Mack finished the season with 908 yards in just 12 regular season games, averaging 4.7 yards per attempt. He also set a franchise record in the first round of the playoffs, logging 148 rushing yards on 24 attempts.

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The following year in 2019, Frank Reich and Nick Sirianni’s second year in Indy, the Colts really got into a groove on the ground. They finished with the fifth most rushing attempts in the league that year, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Mack cracked 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career (1,091) despite missing the final two games due to a fractured hand.

This past season in 2020 was arguably the Colts best season on the ground, as they really built themselves a “three-headed monster” around the likes of standout rookie RB Jonathan Taylor. The Colts finished 10th in the league in rushing attempts, 11th in total rushing yards, and 6th in total rushing touchdowns.

Taylor finished with 1,169 rushing yards on 5.0 yards per attempt, and both Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins finished with over 300.

For what it’s worth, the Philadelphia Eagles main reasoning behind hiring Sirianni was definitely due to his close ties with Frank Reich, and the perceived positive impact that it will have on Carson Wentz. However, with that in mind, a lot of the Colts’ offensive success over the last few years has been due to their desire to establish the run.

This makes the quarterback’s decision making process a whole lot easier, as designed play action reads become a staple in the offense.

The Eagles have a pretty good RB in Miles Sanders, who was used poorly under Doug Pederson last season. Combine the former Penn State back’s ability with the likes of a rookie RB potentially picked up in the 2021 Draft, and the Eagles could easily build a ground game to rival the likes of what the Colts predicated their offense around in 2020.