The Philadelphia Eagles seem to be getting the most out of veteran running back, Jordan Howard so far as he dominates first-team reps.
A couple of months ago, the Philadelphia Eagles were a giant question mark when it comes to the run game. During the previous season, they were one of the least productive backfields in the NFL. Their feature back Jay Ajayi dealt with a torn ACL on a contract year. Darren Sproles missed more than half the year with hamstring issues and was also on the final year of his deal.
Later on in the season, Corey Clement’s Sophomore slump ended early because of, you guessed it, an injury. Although the Eagles got a solid effort from Josh Adams and Wendell Smallwood, it was clear they weren’t going to be nearly as productive as the 2017 unit.
In order to upgrade this season, the Eagles made multiple moves. Though they spent a second-rounder on Miles Sanders during the 2019 NFL Draft, the patch-up effort began with a trade involving Chicago Bears’ running back, Jordan Howard. Now, Howard joins the Eagles for his fourth NFL season, and it seems like his experience is outweighing everything else right now.
Howard’s leading the charge so far
It is obviously early, but so far Jordan Howard is dominating carries with the 1st-team offense. Not even a close second. #Eagles
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) July 29, 2019
The Eagles haven’t even made it through an entire week of camp just yet, but so far it looks like Howard is number one on the depth chart. Does this mean much? Not entirely. As we know, the Eagles are going to continue to roll with the committee approach.
However, they do need to establish which backs can take on a good chunk of the workload. Seeing as though Howard has been quite productive through his first three seasons in Chicago, it only makes sense that he’s the top back in the rotation.
Aside from Darren Sproles, Howard has the most experience and most production out of everybody within the backfield. Seeing as though Sproles’ role will be a limited one, Howard will likely lead the team in carries, barring any major changes.
It seems unlikely the Eagles will retain Howard beyond his rookie contract, but you never know. If they can truly create a nice trio with Howard, Sanders, and Clement, it could benefit them for years to come. But first, the Eagles need to see just how much they can get out of Howard during his lone season with the Eagles. So far, they are on track to using him up to the best of their ability.