Philadelphia Eagles are building a “Dream Team” again

 The year is 2017 and the Philadelphia Eagles are once again working on building a “Dream Team.” Vince Young might be proud, but should we as fans worry about the team’s approach to this offseason?

During the infamous 2011 offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles became a dream team. A misaligned belief that the team was Super Bowl bound was commonplace among fans. Unfortunately, the dream quickly turned into a nightmare.

Back then, the NFL Draft was held prior to the start of free agency. If we are looking at failed draft classes, that year would be the litmus test. The Eagles had a total of three picks inside the top 100. They used those picks on Danny Watkins, Jaiquawn Jarrett, and Curtis Marsh. Marsh, the 90th pick, played 24 games with the team, which turned out to be the most among those players.

The offseason fireworks didn’t begin until long past July 4th however. On July 28th, the Eagles traded Kevin Kolb to the Arizona Cardinals for Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie and a 2nd round pick. The next day, the team signed prize acquisition Nnamdi Asomugha and Vince Young. The very next day, the “Dream Team” quote was on bulletin boards across the NFL.

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Welcome to 2017, where history is seemingly repeating itself. The Eagles shocked the world by signing Alshon Jeffery to a one-year contract. They recently made a buzz by trading for defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan. Torrey Smith, Chance Warmack and Chris Long have all joined the team as well.

The new dream team might be short lived however. Jernigan and Jeffery are effectively on one year contract rentals. Doménico Cieri Estrada wrote “Bring the past only if you are going to build from it.”  This ultimately begs the question: How good can the Eagles be this season?

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The Eagles are digging up the past by being aggressive in free agency, a strategy that hasn’t worked well for them. Can Howie Roseman build a cohesive roster from top to bottom? Will the mistakes of the past, such as signing a scheme dependent player like Asomugha, educate and build for the future?

It appears that’s the case up until now. With the exception of running back, the Eagles have seemingly addressed every position of need thus far. As a result, the team can take the best player available in the draft. As long as the team does not draft a 26-year-old fireman with their first pick, they might be on the right track.

There is no way for us to know how this upcoming draft and 2017 season will go. Up until now however, there’s reason for the same optimism we felt in July of 2011. The Eagles are building something special. For as long as it will last, I’m going to be optimistic about the team’s potential. After all, the dream of an Eagles Super Bowl win is best between February and August. The nightmare usually doesn’t start until around Halloween.