Adrian Fedkiw
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell clearly doesn’t believe there’s much top-tier talent on the Philadelphia Eagles’ roster.
The ESPN staff writer recently ranked the NFL’s best offensive and defensive triplets. The Eagles’ offense checked in at No. 30, which is understandable, but his No. 15 ranking of the defense might be a surprise to some.
So what did the triplets comprise of? Barnwell picked the three “most useful and important skill-position players for 2016” and the quarterback was mandatory on the offensive side of the ball.
He chose Sam Bradford, Ryan Mathews and Jordan Matthews as the Eagles’ triplets.
You could make a case that this group should include tight end Zach Ertz over either Mathews or, um, Matthews, but the offense’s relative strength is depth as opposed to top-level talent. New coach Doug Pederson has useful second-tier weapons such as Ertz and Darren Sproles, and it’s too early to count out 2015 first-rounder Nelson Agholor, who struggled through his rookie season with a high ankle sprain. There are three viable starters at quarterback, but the problem is that none of the three options — Bradford, Chase Daniel and rookie Carson Wentz — would project to be above average if given the reins in 2016. Philly will need its offensive line to return to form and its front seven to stay healthy to take a leap forward during Pederson’s first season.
I would’ve definitely included Ertz over Mathews. I explained last week why I believe Ertz will finally break out in 2016. Mathews isn’t exactly a great fit for the offense. Head coach Doug Pederson, like his mentor Andy Reid, likes to use his running backs as pass catchers out of the backfield, but Mathews has some of the worst hands coming out of the backfield in the NFL.
I completely agree about the No. 30 ranking. There’s no go-to guy on this offense that an opposing defense should fear. The only teams ranked lower were Chip Kelly’s San Francisco 49ers (31) and Cleveland Browns (32). The top five included the Pittsburgh Steelers (1), New England Patriots (2), Green Bay Packers (3), Carolina Panthers (4) and Arizona Cardinals (5).
Barnwell’s three defensive triplets for the Eagles were Fletcher Cox, Connor Barwin and Malcolm Jenkins.
Cox’s importance to the Eagles was underlined with the six-year, $102 million deal he signed last week, one which will end up realistically paying him $63.4 million over the next four seasons. New defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has built his defenses around devastating interior linemen such as Albert Haynesworth (Tennessee), Ndamukong Suh (Detroit) and Marcell Dareus (Buffalo), and Cox is next in that line of dominant disruptors. Barwin is one of the most versatile defenders in the league, capable of contributing as an excellent pass-rusher and an above-average cover linebacker at different times, but again, there’s a drop-off between those two and the rest of the defensive roster.
Barnwell says there’s a drop-off from Cox and Barwin, huh? Does anybody outside of Philadelphia know how good Jenkins has been?!
Barwin wouldn’t be in my triplets, my third guy would be Jordan Hicks. It’s not a coincidence the Eagles’ run defense fell off a cliff once Hicks went down for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. Hicks is athletic and plays with great instincts. Not only does he do a tremendous job of diagnosing plays, he also does a great job taking the proper angles. He also uses his instincts in zone coverage very well, reading and anticipating where the quarterback is going with the ball. Hopefully he can stay healthy this year.
The Eagles should be a little higher than 15. I don’t think the Eagles will have a top five defense like some have prognosticated, but do believe they have the potential to get into the top 10. Barnwell’s top five defensive triplets were the Seattle Seahawks (1), Denver Broncos (2), Panthers (3), Cardinals (4) and New York Jets (5).