Next man up: Philadelphia Eagles young players need to mature quickly
With the injury bug biting down hard once again it’s time for the Philadelphia Eagles young players to step up.
Philadelphia Eagles fans know this story all too well at this point. Dating back to the 2017 season, the Eagles have had some of the worst injury luck in the NFL. Sunday nights match-up with the Atlanta Falcons was just the latest (perhaps most absurd) chapter in the growing history of injury woes that have plagued the team.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, the Eagles were left without starting wide-outs Desean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery. They also appeared to lose perennial All-Pro left tackle Jason Peters at one point. These injuries drive home the importance of hitting on your draft picks, and it’s time to see how well these young bucks can perform at the NFL level.
The past three years’ worth of draft picks were represented strongly on the field throughout Sunday’s contest. Former first-round pick Derek Barnett led the team with six backfield pressures. Former fourth-round pick Josh Sweat also shined in limited action, pressuring Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan off the edge.
Their continued progress moving forward will be essential to aid a defensive line that is suddenly bereft of depth up the middle after injuries to Timmy Jernigan and Malik Jackson. The Eagles secondary is filled with picks from the past three years’ worth of drafts.
They were a mixed bag overall against Atlanta. Presumed number one cornerback Ronald Darby got his bell rung all night long against Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley, giving up over one hundred yards and two scores on eight receptions.
On the positive side, Sidney Jones collected his first career interception and tackled with a ferocity that had not been seen before. This is a young group that will need to drastically improve on a weekly basis to keep pressure off of a depleted defensive line.
On the offensive front, the Eagles youth movement showed promise. With Jackson and Jeffery out of commission, Carson Wentz turned to Nelson Agholor, Mack Hollins and JJ Arcega-Whiteside to make plays down the stretch. With the exception of a key drop on the games final drive, Agholor looked like a guy that could step into the top wide-out spot for the team for a short period of time.
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He made up for his drop with an insane 4th & 14 grab that kept the Eagles alive in Falcon territory. He ended the night with over one hundred yards and a touchdown to his credit. Hollins also shined in the fourth quarter, being the recipient of Wentz’s unbelievable throw from his knees and continuing to move the chains.
Hollins had shown promise as a deep threat option dating back to 2017, and the team may need him to reprise that role in the short term. The two most important players that need to step up for Philadelphia moving forward are Miles Sanders and JJ Arcega-Whiteside.
Sanders has shown momentary flashes of how good he can be in the first two contests, but he needs to lock in and find his stride now. The Eagles rushing attack has been lackluster at best in the first two weeks (they have averaged under 80 yards total). For the betterment of the offensive line and the health of Wentz, Sanders, and company will need to establish the run game more effectively going forward.
On the flip side, Arcega-Whiteside was drafted to be the surrogate Alshon Jeffery of this offense. He has the measurables (6’2/225 Lbs) to be another great red-zone threat for this Eagles team, and that is precisely what he’ll need to be until Jeffery is able to return. With a number of the teams most valuable players either injured or missing in action, the Eagles will need to rely on the continued growth of their young players to succeed.
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Philly has a coaching staff capable of molding these players into what they need to be, but this will likely be a week by week period of analysis moving forward. This Eagles team marched into the season with one of the deepest rosters in the league, filled with a combination of youthful potential and veteran savvy. It’s time to start seeing that potential become a reality.