Philadelphia Eagles: What to make of Wendell Smallwood’s lack of carries
Why is Philadelphia Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood barely playing in the preseason this year?
The Philadelphia Eagles officially wrapped up three of their four preseason games on Thursday night with a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. While the win-loss column surely doesn’t matter, the statistics and game film on the players fighting for a roster spot absolutely does.
Right now, the Eagles have 90 guys trying out for the team. As you know, they can’t and won’t be keeping them all. Therefore, only 53 will survive the final cuts. At this point, we have a pretty good idea of who is likely to get cut. However, some situations are more challenging to decipher.
Once again, the Eagles backfield becomes an interesting topic in the preseason. Despite having two solid young running backs joining the team this year, the Eagles still plan to utilize a committee on Sunday’s, which means having at least four running backs rostered is necessary.
We know the locks are Jordan Howard, Miles Sanders, Darren Sproles, and Corey Clement. Is there going to be a fifth guy though? Seeing all of the injuries develop in the backfield last season, having five guys on board is definitely not out of the question. If they do roll with five though, who will it be?
Analyzing the preseason workload
If the Eagles were to go with a fifth back, who barley makes the roster? The two obvious candidates are last year’s rushing leader, Josh Adams. And former fifth-round pick, Wendell Smallwood. Both of these guys have acquired regular-season snaps, but haven’t exactly looked better than the other.
Sometimes, Smallwood looks solid, but he’s clearly no better than any other running back that’s ahead of him on the depth chart. Adams, on the other hand, proved he could make some big plays if he’s given the carries to get him going, but he’s still got a lot of developing to do.
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This year’s training camp and preseason is made for a battle like this between Smallwood and Adams. But what’s strange is that Adams clearly leads the pack in opportunities while Smallwood’s getting little-to-no action standing on the sideline.
Through three games, Adams has taken on 15 carries for 28 yards (1.8 YPC) and a touchdown. Smallwood has only acquired seven carries for 14 yards (2.0 YPC). Typically, you would think if one running back receives more work than the other, then the Eagles must like that guy better, right? Well, that might not be the case when it comes to the preseason.
Smallwood with nothing left to prove?
The preseason is primarily used for players who are trying to showcase their talent to make a final roster. Typically, you could say a lack of work for a non-starter in the preseason means they are likely to get cut — but what if the player has three years of regular-season experience under their belt? Smallwood has been around for a while, and the Eagles strangely like him.
He’s been rumored to be on the roster bubble for the last couple of years, but every time he survives. Seeing as though he barely has any preseason work, playing zero percent of the snaps this past Thursday kind of proves that he has nothing left to prove to the Eagles.
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Will he ever be a starter? Probably not. However, the Eagles do use Smallwood on special teams, and they occasionally like to mix him in the offense randomly on game day. There’s no other explanation as to why the Eagles like Smallwood so much — but it’s clear that they do. And while some believe a lack of preseason carries could mean he’s on his way out — it very much means the opposite. Don’t be shocked to see him make the final 53-man roster in a couple of weeks.