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PFF names Alshon Jeffery as Philadelphia Eagles’ most improved player

By Geoffrey Knox

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 13: Alshon Jeffery #17 of the Philadelphia Eagles is tackled by Marshon Lattimore #23 of the New Orleans Saints after making a catch during the second quarter in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 13, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 13: Alshon Jeffery #17 of the Philadelphia Eagles is tackled by Marshon Lattimore #23 of the New Orleans Saints after making a catch during the second quarter in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 13, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Pro Football Focus recently released a story every NFL team’s most improved player. Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery takes that honor home for the Philadelphia Eagles.

After a successful rookie campaign by Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz in 2016, everyone had drawn the same conclusion. Philly needed to surround their franchise quarterback with more playmakers. Part of the plan involved bringing in Alshon Jeffery on a one-year deal.

69 receptions and 12 touchdowns later (that includes the regular season and playoffs), Philly rewarded Jeffery with a four-year extension worth $52 million. $27 million of that was guaranteed.

Fans will never forget his pirouette in the end zone in Super Bowl 52 at U.S. Bank Stadium. That would be the first touchdown of a wonderful Eagles night.

Die hard Eagles fans will never forget the fact that he played the entire 2017 with a torn rotator cuff. Keep in mind the fact that the pirouette we mentioned resulted in him landing on his shoulder.

Surgery to fix the issue resulted in Jeffery missing most of the Eagles offseason activity, every preseason game, and the first three weeks of the 2018 NFL season. When he returned, he appeared to be the same old Jeffery.

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Despite appearing in three less regular season games than he did in the year prior, and being targeted 28 less times, ’17’ saw improvement in several major categories. He caught over 70% of his catches in 2018 as opposed to catching 47.5% in 2017.

He also saw improved his reception and yardage totals. He caught eight more passes, taking him from 57 in 2017 to 65 in 2018. The 843 yards he tallied in 2018 was an improvement over the 789 yards he racked up in 2017.

Jeffery would add 11 more receptions for 145 yards in Philly’s two-game 2018-19 postseason run.

Recently Pro Football Focus released their list of every NFL team’s most improved player, and ’17’ got the nod. Here’s what they said:

"This one is more a factor of no one else on the Eagles taking much of a step forward. A lot went right for the Eagles to win the Super Bowl and unfortunately this past year a lot went wrong. Jeffery’s big deal was not one of those things though, as he hauled in 71.7 percent of his targets compared to 52.7 percent a year ago."

The Eagles should be fine if they can find a nice compliment to put on the opposite side of wherever Jeffery lines up in 2019. That appears to be the plan. We’ll all be watching closely to see what the result is.

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