Philadelphia Eagles need to be cautious with free agency targets in 2020

With the start of free agency on the horizon, many fans are hopeful the Philadelphia Eagles cash in on several splash signings to improve the team, but they also need to be cautious.

For many, the NFL season never ends. After the Super Bowl, it’s full speed ahead to free agency and the draft. Fans and media alike will try to mix and match different players to different teams in an attempt to try and quench their thirst for the upcoming season.

The Philadelphia Eagles are no different.

It has already been reported that Philadelphia has shown interest in cornerbacks Byron Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and Chris Harris Jr. from the Denver Broncos respectively.

On top of the cornerbacks, the Eagles have also been connected to wide receivers like Amari Cooper and Demarcus Robinson of the current Super Bowl champions in the Kansas City Chiefs.

While the prospect of these players (amongst others) donning the midnight green is definitely enticing, the Eagles need to be careful before they break the bank and go all in on certain individuals.

Recent history shows that when it comes to free agent cornerbacks and the Eagles, for every Asante Samuel or Troy Vincent, there’s five or six players like Nnamdi Asomugha, Byron Maxwell or Cary Williams.

Wide receivers have fared a little better, with Alshon Jeffrey being a recent example, as well as the one-year wonder that was Torrey Smith during the 2017 Super Bowl championship season, but don’t let that distract from the remaining.

While hope obviously still remains in the coming season, DeSean Jackson‘s second tenure with the Eagles has been a disaster so far, similar to what the team experienced in 2018 with Mike Wallace.

Also, don’t even get us started on Steve Smith when seeing how much of a bust that situation turned out to be.

The point is, the Eagles haven’t exactly been batting 1.000 when it comes to free agent wide receivers either.

Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is, the Eagles could very well be better looking internally first with their money.

In the case of cornerback, Ronald Darby is expected to be in another uniform, and with Jalen Mills’ recent cryptic tweet, he may have a similar fate.

While some fans may rejoice at this turn of events, at the end of the day, Darby and Mills were a Super Bowl champion cornerback tandem.

Of the corners sill remaining on the roster, the Eagles feature a myriad of up and comers in the versatile and ever-improving Avonte Maddox, the woefully underrated Cre’Von LeBlanc, late season hero Sidney Jones, and Rasul Douglas, who has five career interceptions.

While none of which are studs, they all feature not only regular season, but playoff experience as well.

As far as receiver goes, much has been made of the injuries the team suffered in 2019. However, in that time of peril, Greg Ward rose from the ashes like a phoenix to prove that he can make an impact the NFL.

Elsewhere, work needs to be done as well for Philadelphia. Luckily, the 2020 NFL Draft is expected to be the deepest for wide receivers, possibly in the history of the NFL, meaning the Eagles should be able to find a player in April’s draft to help fill their need.

Sure, free agency signings are helpful, but the Eagles don’t exactly need to throw the kitchen sink at one of the “top” targets, especially without being a 1,000 percent certain they fit the system and what they want to do as a team.

Luckily for Eagles fans, Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson are no dummies.

The Eagles will certainly be active in free agency over the next few months, but it isn’t time to panic if they don’t fulfill the wish list of every fan of the Philadelphia faithful by being careful, because this seems like the best approach moving forward.