Eagles may have gotten glimpse of an attractive option on Saints roster

Marcus Williams (L), Miles Sanders (R), Philadelphia Eagles (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Marcus Williams (L), Miles Sanders (R), Philadelphia Eagles (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Once the time ran out on the Philadelphia Eagles Week 11 victory over the New Orleans Saints, as you might imagine, the after-party went on for about 16 hours before Monday morning rolled around and we were back to debating what said win meant.

Are the Eagles actually a possible playoff team? They can win these next six games right? How good could Miles Sanders be if he didn’t fumble so much? Did we overstep by stating Jonathan Gannon has already lost the attention of many of the members on his defense?

Here’s something else to ponder. What if, while watching the Eagles play versus the Saints, seeing Malcolm Jenkins in the opposing team’s jersey, and getting nostalgic, the Birds might have gotten a glimpse of someone that could replace Rodney McLeod and Anthony Harris during the next free-agency period?

With money to spend come next March, might Philadelphia take a flier on Saints star Marcus Williams? Five seasons into his NFL career, he signed a franchise tender on March 30th. So far, New Orleans has yet to sign him to a long-term extension past 2022. Do we have your attention?

The last time the Eagles snagged a safety from the Saints roster, things worked out.

Here’s a question that we haven’t asked as often recently unless we’re discussing those potential three first-round draft choices. What type of turnover can we expect from Philadelphia’s roster in 2022?

17 players on this team are expected to hit the free-agency market including McLeod and Harris, their starting safety tandem. That would make Marcus Epps and K’Von Wallace the starters. That isn’t the likely scenario.

What if the Eagles acquired a safety in free agency or during the next NFL Draft (or both)? What if the Birds got a glimpse of an option during Week 11’s game? The last time they nabbed a safety from the Saints, things worked out well for them.

Many moons ago, the Eagles and Andy Reid abandoned a plan that they normally utilized during the NFL Draft. More often than not, Big Red went with an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman in the first round.

In 2009’s selection meeting, he veered away from the script and elected instead to go with wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. That worked out pretty well for them, but sometimes, it’s easy to think about what could have been.

What if Malcolm Jenkins would have fallen five more spots to the Eagles at 19 rather than being snatched up by the New Orleans Saints at 14?

We all know how things ended up. Maclin hauled in 353 receptions and reached the end zone 37 times in 77 games. That includes two playoff games. As fate would have it, Malcolm Jenkins wound up with the Birds anyway in 2014. You all know the details of that story as well.

Perhaps it would be wise if the Birds gave some thought to adding Marcus Williams. Then again, Notre Dame star Kyle Hamilton is an attractive option depending on where the Eagles wind up selecting with those three first-round draft choices.

Put an asterisk by both names as one thing is certain. The Birds should be capable of making some monstrous upgrades come next season.