Adrian Fedkiw
The Philadelphia Eagles had the No. 3 scoring offense in the NFL and yet had just two wide receivers top 100 yards last year in a game.
It’s not because Carson Wentz didn’t have weapons this time, it’s because he had them.
Balance and upredictability made the Eagles’ offense extremely difficult to defend.
The Eagles’ No. 1 wideout Alshon Jeffery never recorded a 100-yard game, but was still rewarded with a four-year, $52 million extension. Jeffery’s first year in Philadelphia got off to a rocky start and many questioned whether he was a true No. 1 receiver. Turns out, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, that Jeffery played through the entire 2017 season with a torn rotator cuff.
#Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery had successful surgery this morning on a torn rotator cuff, sources say. He suffered it in training camp and played through it, somehow, on the way to a Super Bowl.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 21, 2018
Electing to fight through the pain after signing a one-year deal, Jeffery tallied only 354 yards and two touchdowns over his first seven games. He normally turns 50-50 balls into 80-20 balls, but those 80-20 balls went back to being 50-50 balls this season. He’s known for his strong hands at the catch point and making tough snags through traffic, but we didn’t see as much of that from him either.
Jeffery flipped the switch over his final nine games, putting up 435 yards and seven scores. In the postseason, Jeffery recorded 219 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 18.2 yards a reception.
Alshon Jeffery was doing things like this on a torn rotator cuff, unreal! pic.twitter.com/ToMn7OPOFW
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) February 21, 2018
The biggest surprise in 2017 came from the slot with the emergence of bust-turned-weapon Nelson Agholor, who posted 62 receptions for 768 yards and eight touchdowns a year after only catching 36 ball for 365 yards and two scores.
Nelson Agholor roasts Budda Baker, puts a juke on him and scores a 72-yard TD. Wentz now 8/9 for 207 yds and 3 TDs on 3rd down. WOW!!! pic.twitter.com/es7To7gGyb
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) October 8, 2017
Agholor went to the slot after Jordan Matthews was traded to Buffalo as part of the deal that brought Ronald Darby to Philly. The move saved his career. The USC product struggled with the press along the outside and didn’t showcase good awareness with bracket coverage. From the slot, however, Agholor has used his quickness and agility to break free from inside defenders. He also used his speed to outrun the angles of defenders on crossing routes over the middle.
The Eagles found their replacement for Torrey Smith after he was traded to Carolina, inking Mike Wallace to a one-year deal. Like Smith, the 31-year-old Wallace is a deep threat, using his athleticism and straight line speed to get open. With a big-armed quarterback in Joe Flacco that was able to get the ball out to him, Wallace saw a career resurgence the last two years with the Baltimore Ravens, tallying 748 yards and four touchdowns last year and 1,017 yards and four scores the year prior. Wallace has a career yards per reception average of 15.0. Wallace has 68 more receptions and 1,068 more yards than Smith has totaled the past two seasons.
Imagine Carson Wentz throwing downfield to Mike Wallace. pic.twitter.com/mCqQsbfM1M
— Joe Giglio (@JoeGiglioSports) March 22, 2018
I’m most intrigued by second-year wideout Mack Hollins. At 6’4, 221 pounds Hollins is a long strider with sneaky good long speed. He’s still a work in progress with his route running, but he was stealing snaps from Smith as the year went along.
Eagles offense is struggling and just like that Wentz uncorks this beautiful 64-yard bomb to Mack Hollins!!! pic.twitter.com/H0pEuWRbn4
— The Bitter Birds (@AdrianFedkiw) October 24, 2017
With Wallace coming in to take over the No. 2 receiver spot, Hollins isn’t stressing about where he is going to fit in the rotation. Here’s what he had to say about that in late May.
Don’t get caught up in, ‘Oh he’s been playing in the league 10 years, he’s a starter for sure.’ Play your game, act like everybody is on the same level, everybody is on the same playing field, and just do what you’ve been doing for your entire life … The older guys are such a blessing because you can get things you would never learn from anybody else unless you played. No coach can teach you what a 10-year veteran can teach you, so having guys in the locker room who can teach you to play the position is invaluable.
Philadelphia has a quartet of wideouts who appear to be locks to make the team in Jeffery, Wallace, Agholor and Hollins, but who will fill the last two spots? Shelton Gibson made the squad last year as a rookie, but was unimpressive and basically has the same skillset as Wheaton. Bryce Treggs, Greg Ward, Rashard Davis and Marques Wilson are also other options to make the 53-man roster.
Here’s the way I look at it, if Gibson struggles again and doesn’t show improvement, Wheaton makes the team. If he does, Wheaton will be looking for another job come August and September. Out of the other options, I liked the quickness I saw last year from former college quarterback Greg Ward. He showed signs while still learning how to run routes. If he shows more improvement in his sophomore campaign, I think he’ll make the team.