Eagles boast best NFC East RB grouping despite recent ranking’s findings

Following a 2-5 start to their season in 2021, the light bulb finally came on for the Philadelphia Eagles. Somewhere along the line, they looked up. They realized that they had the best offensive line in pro football, and they determined that even though they’d like to be some sort of air-raid offense, they’d win more games if they stopped being stubborn and they handed the ball off more often.

In year one, Kenneth Gainwell proved his mettle, stacking 291 yards on 68 carries, 253 yards on 33 receptions, and reaching the end zone six total times. Boston Scott proved again that he’s one of the more underrated players in the league. Miles Sanders didn’t reach the end zone in 2021, but we know he’s a capable tailback with home-run ability.

All three of those guys will be back in 2022. This could be a special unit that does great things, but how are they viewed by the rest of the league?

The Philadelphia Eagles and Giants land in the ‘gets the job done’ category.

Whether you understand their analytical engines or not, the stat gurus over at Pro Football Focus are always worth a look. Recently, Ben Linsey ranked the best running back units in the NFL, stacking them into four tiers: elite backfields, good backfields, the ‘gets the job done’ tier, and units that may be a ‘potential weakness’ for their respective offenses.

The Philadelphia Eagles landed at 21, four spots behind the G-Men in the ‘gets the job done’ tier. Here’s some of Linsey’s reasoning for placing them there.

"Philadelphia’s running backs benefit from a couple of factors. The first is that Jalen Hurts is a legitimate threat in the run game, which creates more space for the running backs to attack. The Eagles also have one of the better run-blocking offensive lines in the league. Both of those together help explain the disconnect between Miles Sanders’ rushing production (5.4 yards per carry since 2020) and his middle-of-the-road PFF grade over the last two years (68.1).Sanders, Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell is still a nice collection of talent at the position, even if they don’t crack the top half of this list."

Here’s what he had to say about New York.

"In terms of talent, Saquon Barkley alone warrants a higher spot on this list for the Giants backfield. Unfortunately, that talent has spent a lot of time on the sideline and been dampened by injury over the last three years. New York will be looking for a healthy Barkley to return to rookie form, when he posted PFF grades above 83.0 as a rusher and receiver on over 800 offensive snaps.Matt Breida stands out as the No. 1 option behind Barkley on the depth chart. He’s a nice No. 2 option with some speed but not someone the team necessarily wants stepping into a lead role if injuries limit Barkley again."

Can you believe that some of the expectations for Saquon Barkley are still where they are for some people? Isn’t it more believable that he’ll get hurt again than it is to state he’ll morph back into the guy we saw in 2018?

One can never tell, but witnessing the injury-riddled career he’s endured as of late won’t strike fear into the hearts of opposing defensive coordinators. Neither will large dosages of Matt Breida if Barkley can’t go.

Just in case anyone’s interested, the Dallas Cowboys landed at number seven on the list, in the elite tier, while the Washington Commanders were the lowest-ranked NFC East squad at 26.

As Linsey states, collectively, Washington’s backfield ranked “23rd in yards per carry (4.1) despite its offensive line ranking ninth in PFF run-blocking grade among 32 units”. That isn’t good.

Meanwhile, in Texas, the love affair with Ezekiel Elliott continues even though he clearly isn’t what he once was. It may be time to hand the ball to Tony Pollard, but until Dallas makes an effort to prove they’re ready to transition, Zeke will play. That’s good news for Birds fans.

On the homefront, keep an eye on undrafted rookie Kennedy Brooks. He could sneak onto the roster, and if he does, he could become the workhorse that so many people have been clamoring for.

All that’s been said to say this. PFF remains one of the best sources for football content, but despite what the numbers say, we’ll defer to the eyeball test. The Philadelphia Eagles, with Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Kenneth Gainwell, and possibly Brooks boasts the best and deepest running back unit in the division.