Philadelphia Eagles: Here’s where Kelly and Reid edge Pederson

Here’s one thing Doug Pederson’s Philadelphia Eagles haven’t done.

Doug Pederson has had a lot of great running backs in his system, but what you might not know is none of them have gotten close to that 1,000-yard threshold. Pederson is also an Andy Reid disciple, so he likes to toss the rock around more than he likes to run it. No one can blame him though when you have Carson Wentz as your quarterback.

Over the course of Pederson’s era, this Eagles team has rushed for 7.437 yards, 8,018 if you include the playoffs. The best rushing performance by any back under his watch came from Jay Ajayi, who rushed for the most yards in the Pederson era with 873. Keep in mind the fact that Ajayi showed up midseason, and for the most part, he’s been juggling bodies as a ton of the guys he thought he’d lean on got injured (Corey Clement, Darren Sproles, Jordan Howard).

In 2017, Pederson had Ajayi, LeGarrette Blount, and Clement to rely on. A year later, his leading rusher was the undrafted Josh Adams. In 2020, there’s a strong chance that Philly might see the first 1,000-yard rusher in the Pederson era with a triple-headed monster that includes Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, and the aforementioned Clement.

Sanders has already posted the second-highest rushing total of the Pederson era, and he did so as a rookie. Philly’s also got a quarterback that makes things happen with his legs. There isn’t an Eagles fan walking that wants Wentz to limp out of another game, but we know the option is there to freelance. Step number one os keeping him upright, and a solid running attack would do that. Keep a smile on those faces Eagles fans. This could wind up being the most solid rushing attack of the Doug Pederson era.