The 2019 season has come and gone, and still the question remains as to whether or not this Philadelphia Eagles team has the potential to be a contender in the 2020 NFL season. There are still a lot of procedures in which GM Howie Roseman must go through in order to give his team a chance to be in the same form they were in during their 2017 Super Bowl campaign. Here we will be going through the necessities that this Eagles team needs to capitalize on in order to have the utmost success next season.
The first major obstacle in Howie Roseman’s way is the contract he must offer for Pro Bowl safety Malcolm Jenkins. Jenkins has made it clear that he will not be returning for the Philadelphia Eagles if they do not bump up his pay for the next season. Under his current contract, Jenkins is making approximately 7.85 million per year. From what he has been saying, he believes that he should be marketed among the likes of someone like future Hall of Famer Earl Thomas who is making 13.75 million per year. Who can blame Jenkins for wanting this steep price? He has played 100% of every Eagle’s defensive snap this past season and his impact on each and every game is unquestionable. The only problem that arises is the fact that the Safety will be turning 33 this next season, which clearly put his longevity at question. I will be interested to see what Howie Roseman does with Jenkins this offseason, but it is clear among the fans and players that his pay grade should be much higher.
Secondly, the Philadelphia Eagles need to get quarterback Carson Wentz a lot more help in his receiving core. The fourth year quarterback threw for a franchise record of 4,039 yards last season without a single receiver having over 500 yards on the year. The only viable targets in which Wentz had the past season were former All-Pro tight end Zach Ertz and first year starter Greg Ward. The good news is that this year’s NFL Draft may be one of the best wide receiver heavy classes the sport has ever seen. With the Eagles currently sitting at the 22nd pick this year, it seems very unlikely that Oklahoma’s Ceedee Lamb or Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy will be available at their draft spot. However, there are potential stars who could potentially still be available such as Alabama’s Henry Ruggs and Clemson’s Tee Higgins. If the Eagle’s truly want to have the offensive spark that they lacked last season, then it is a necessity that the team should draft one of these two potential stars in the next few months.
The Philadelphia Eagles have struggled with one position since 2012 when they had to say goodbye to their Pro-Bowl cornerback Asante Samuels. That position is cornerback. The Eagle’s secondary let opposing teams have an average of 318 passing yards against them each game. That number is much too high for a team who has Super Bowl aspirations. In order for this team to make a push for contention, this position must be dealt with. The good news is that there are many potential targets in this year’s upcoming free agency. The targets include Dallas Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones and Denver Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. The bad news is that the Eagle’s can probably only address one of the two corner spots due to their current cap space of 38 million. But just having one cornerback slot viewed as a lockdown can potentially create more time for this great defensive line to create more pressure against opposing offenses.
Finally, the last point in which the Philadelphia Eagles desperately need to address is their health. If this team wants to compete to their highest potential, then they need to be able to be on the field. The Eagles had 12 of their starters injured in the first 8 games of the season. This has brought about the question of whether it’s the medical staff, the strength and conditioning staff, or if the players don’t feel like playing. Howie Roseman dismissed some potential threats already by signing former Ram’s strength and conditioning Coach Ted Rath. He parted ways with over half of the medical team and strength team. The final question for this Eagles team is who will be on it? It is clear that Nelson Agholor’s days have come to an end here in Philadelphia, but what about injury ridden Alshon Jeffrey? It will be very interesting moving forward to see what members of the current secondary and receiving cores will be here for training camp in the upcoming months.
