3 Thoughts on a potential breakout year for Eagles CB Avonte Maddox

1. Philly will add pieces, and that should decrease his stress level.

You won’t love this statement if you love the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, or the Washington Redskins, but the Eagles are the class of the NFC East. They had the division’s best team on paper heading into the 2019 season, and despite the fact that injuries eliminated any chance of some of their best players being available for a run at a title, they still took the division’s crown.

In 2020, many of the guys who weren’t available will be back, (Malik Jackson and DeSean Jackson for instance), and Eagles vice president and general manager Howie Roseman is armed with draft picks and spending money). The ‘Birds’ will be in the discussion again next season, and they should give the NFC East something they haven’t seen in a long time, a repeat champion.

Now, we all know what that does for public perception and Pro Bowl voters. Fans overreact to things they’ve just seen. Teams win, and they’re elite. Teams lose, and they ‘suck’. No one’s going to feel sorry for this guy because it’s the NFL, but they have asked this guy to do a lot.

He’s been asked to play safety, be a cover guy, and, at times, limit the other team’s best receiver. That’s a lot to ask of a guy who literally just got here. At times he’s succeeded. At other times, he hasn’t, but just like Carson Wentz needs weapons, young guys can’t always be left on islands. They need their defensive teammates, and if Maddox is surrounded by more talented teammates, he will excel.