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Have the Eagles been set up to fail?

30 November 2016 Eagles News


The narrative is, you build through the draft. This is not the case with the Philadelphia Eagles. Over the last couple of years, the Eagles have had very up and down drafts. Excluding the 2016 draft class, the Eagles have drafted 63 players since 2009. Only 15 of those players are currently on the team.

Here are the are draft classes since 2009. (In order from round one to round seven)

2009

Jeremy Maclin, Lesean Mccoy, Cornelius Ingram, Victor Harris, Fenuki Tupou, Brandon Gibson, Paul Fanaika, Moise Fokou

2010

Brandon Graham, Nate Allen, Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, Trevard Lindley, Keenan Clayton, Mike Kafka, Clay Harbor, Ricky Sapp, Riley Cooper, Charles Scott, Jamar Chaney, Jeff Owens, Kurt Coleman

2011

Danny Watkins, Jaiquawn Jarrett, Curtis Marsh, Casey Matthews, Alex Henery, Dion Lewis, Justin Vandervelde, Jason Kelce, Brian Rolle, Greg Lloyd, Stanley Havilli

2012

Fletcher Cox, Mychal Kendricks, Vinny Curry, Nick Foles, Brandon Boykin, Dennis Kelly, Marvin McNutt, Brandon Washington, Bryce Brown

2013

Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz, Bennie Logan, Matt Barkley, Earl Wolff, Joe Kruger, Jordan Poyer, David King

2014

Marcus Smith, Jordan Matthews, Josh Huff, Jaylen Watkins, Taylor Hart, Ed Reynolds, Beau Allen

2015

Nelson Agholor, Eric Rowe, Jordan Hicks, JaCorey Shepherd, Randall Evans, Brian Mihalik

 

Let’s just look at the players who are still on the team;

Brandon Graham– After being a disappointment for the most part of his career, he is having a breakout season in 2016. He is probably the Eagles best defensive lineman this season.

Jason Kelce– Currently the starting center, however, this might be his last season as an Eagle.

Fletcher Cox– Just signed a contract worth 103 million, one of the league’s best defensive lineman.

Mychal Kendricks– Starting linebacker. At the beginning of the season, he was rumored to be on the trading block. Maybe he is traded this offseason.

Vinny Curry– Signed a big deal this offseason. However, this season he is seeing very limited snaps and action.

Lane Johnson – Suspended again, this time for ten games. He is one of the league’s best offensive lineman when he is playing.

Zach Ertz– Honestly, an average tight end. He is a solid player, but nothing special. Some games he is a big figure, other games he is a no show.

Bennie Logan– Logan is one of the best run stoppers. His contract is up after this season. We do not know if the Eagles will resign him.

Marcus Smith– Can be labeled as a first round bust. This season he has been getting some snaps, but nothing close to what a first rounder should get.

Jordan Matthews– The Eagles best receiver, although, he does struggle with drops. As of now, he is the Eagles most reliable receiver.

Jaylen Watkins– He gets a lot of reps at safety this season for the Eagles when Malcolm Jenkins moves to the slot. He is a solid role player, but nothing else.

Taylor Hart– Has still yet to see the field due to injuries.

Beau Allen– The backup defensive tackle who has also played fullback. He does really well when he is in the game.

Nelson Agholor – We all know where this one goes.

Jordan Hicks– You can argue that he is the Eagles best defender.

Do you see a trend?

Firstly, the Eagles have struggled to draft any real members of the secondary. Over these past seven drafts, the only cornerback/safety on the active roster is Jaylen Watkins. He is not anything special either.

A good offensive line makes or breaks a team in the NFL. The Eagles only drafted two starters in Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson. Kelce might be gone after this season as well. That would leave the Eagles with just one drafted starting offensive lineman. The Eagles did not draft one offensive lineman in 2014 and 2015.

The main problem goes back to the Chip Kelly era. When the Eagles got rid off guys like LeSean Mccoy, Desean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Evan Mathis, etc. They did not replace them. Also, the secondary was always an issue and the Eagles have yet to use an early draft pick on a cornerback.

When it is all said and done, this team has not been built properly through the draft. They have relied too heavily on free agency and we are seeing the full effects of that now. However, after what looks like a solid 2016 draft class, the Eagles need to keep building off of it. Right now, this team is not built properly. It is almost like the Eagles thought they were just one player way from a Super Bowl rather than starting to rebuild.

As you can see, in my opinion, this team was built to fail. This team has a lot of holes. Hopefully, the Eagles continue to fix the mess that was left. The 2016 draft seems to have been a hit. Here’s to hoping  the Eagles 2017 draft is just as effective.