Between now and the end of August, TGS will offer up a quick snapshot of every NFL team heading into the 2016 regular season. Today, the Philadelphia Eagles.
2015 in a nutshell: The defense stinks and they can’t get enough from quarterbacks Sam Bradford or Mark Sanchez, or running back DeMarco Murray, in a disappointing 7-9 season.
Why 2016 could be different: Head coach Chip Kelly is gone after three years, replaced by Doug Pederson. And Jim Schwartz takes over as defensive coordinator. They also remade the secondary and traded Murray.
Major additions: Leodis McKelvin, Ron Brooks and Nigel Bradham are all reunited with Schwartz from their time in Buffalo, and all are expected to play big roles. For what it’s worth, the Schwartz-led Bills defense that contained those three players in 2014 was ranked fourth in the NFL. They also added veteran safety Rodney McLeod, and on the offensive side of the ball they signed veteran interior offensive linemen Stefen Wisniewski and Brandon Brooks.
Major losses: Veteran defenders DeMeco Ryans (not re-signed), E.J. Biggers (signed elsewhere), Walter Thurmond (retired), Byron Maxwell (traded) and Kiko Alonso (also dealt) are all gone.
Breakout watch: Pick a receiver, any receiver. You’ve got No. 1 guy Jordan Matthews, who has yet to hit 1,000 yards two seasons into his career. You’ve got last year’s top pick, Nelson Agholor, who had just 283 yards as a rookie. And you’ve got fringe youngsters Josh Huff, Rueben Randle and Dorial Green-Beckham, whom they traded for last week.
Position to watch: Bradford is being paid like a top-notch starting quarterback, but he’ll have to hold off new backup Chase Daniel, who is being paid like a top-notch backup, and 2016 No. 2 overall pick Carson Wentz. As per usual, the quarterback situation in Philly is complicated.
Prediction: The defense might be a bit better and at least they’ll eventually have three solid quarterbacks to pick from. But this continues to be a good-not-great team, and the NFC East should be challenging in 2016. I think they win eight or nine games and fall short of the playoffs, but there’s definitely a boom-or-bust aspect to this squad.
