Philadelphia Eagles versus Cincinnati: 2 Reasons to start Trevor Williams
By Hunter Doyle
Trevor Williams needs to start for the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday.
Simply put, Avonte Maddox shouldn’t start this weekend. The Philadelphia Eagles have to deal with a skilled receiver corps on Sunday afternoon, and Maddox hasn’t proven he can match up consistently with anyone. The box score won’t tell Maddox’s full two-week story or how good the Cincinnati Bengals are at wide receiver.
First, there’s A.J. Green, who seems slower coming off of an injury from last year. The Bengals are playing it safe and easing the 32-year-old back into action which is smart with his injury history. There’s a chance that he could see increased snaps in Week 3 if they feel he’s ready. Darius Slay has been great so far and can probably limit Green when he’s on the field, so that could be a good battle if they’re matched up versus one another.
Green has just eight catches for 80 yards so far in this young season, but his quarterback, Joe Burrow, also missed him on a wide-open touchdown over the top versus the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1. Even in limited playing time, he has been getting open. Burrow is still learning the timing of the routes with his receivers and that will naturally improve as the season continues.
Then, there’s Tyler Boyd, who has quietly developed into one of the better slot receivers in the NFL with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. This despite dealing with poor quarterback play in Cincinnati. He’s off to a solid start in 2020 with 11 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.
Nickell Robey-Coleman is coming off of poor performance in Week 2 and will probably be asked to cover Tyler Boyd. The last time those two faced off, Boyd hauled in six catches for 65 yards, but Robey-Coleman made some nice plays of his own. The ‘slot god’ should bounce back and do a good enough job, and even if he doesn’t, Philly can insert Cre’Von LeBlanc into the lineup. If A.J. Green’s snap count is still limited, Slay could spend some time on Boyd as well, but Williams must start on the other side. Here are two reasons why.