Bleacher Report’s Preseason Power Rankings were kind to the Philadelphia Eagles — but not kind enough.
We’ve heard over the last couple of months now that the Philadelphia Eagles are one of the most complete teams in football. Well, it’s hard to argue that fact when the front office did everything in their power to add depth where it’s necessary. However, depth is only half the battle in the NFL. Experience and talent also play a major part in a teams’ success as well.
Once again, we’ve heard that the Philadelphia Eagles are one of the most talented teams in the NFL. Yet, we’re having a hard time finding a Power Rankings that places the Birds anywhere close to the number one spot. This offseason, it hasn’t been difficult for publications to have the Eagles within the top ten. But cracking the top five seems to be quite difficult for the Eagles.
Bleacher Report became the latest popular publication to put together a full Power Rankings of teams as we head into the actual first week of the NFL Preseason. Knowing how deep and talented the Eagles are, we weren’t too surprised at the fact you have to scroll down to the top ten to figure out where the Eagles have landed — but you didn’t have to scroll all the way.
Where are the Eagles placed?
For this list, the Eagles enter the preseason ranked No. 6 on Bleacher Report’s ranks. Okay, so that’s not exactly the worst spot to be heading into the new year. Regardless of the opinion though, the Eagles might’ve proven over the last two seasons that they should probably be higher on these lists as long as their 2017 team pretty much stays intact. What was the main factor that played into the decision of keeping them out of the top five? Well, the obvious: Carson Wentz.
"“If Wentz can stay healthy and come close to recapturing his 2017 form, the Eagles could be a real threat for a second Super Bowl title in three years. The offense features a stout line and no shortage of skill-position talent—including a running back corps that added both veteran Jordan Howard and rookie Miles Sanders in the offseason” “The defense lost Jordan Hicks and Michael Bennett but added Malik Jackson and Zach Brown. There’s talent galore on both sides of the ball, as well as one of the league’s better head coaches in Doug Pederson. But it all comes down to Wentz staying on the field.”"
No Nick Foles means no guaranteed luxury replacement if the supposed injury-prone Carson Wentz does go down for the third season in a row. There’s a high-upside backup quarterback behind Wentz in Nate Sudfeld, but the unproven factor won’t have the Eagles feeling as confident in the former sixth-round pick as they did with Super Bowl LII MVP, Nick Foles.
Carson Wentz needs to stay healthy for the Eagles in 2019 — that’s not up for debate. But being that the Eagles are stashed with talent all across the board on both sides of the ball, they are built to compete at the NFL’s highest-level even through adversity. Again, No. 6 isn’t bad. At the same time, though, this team could see that placement as bulletin board material heading into 2019.