There’s less than a month left before training camp, so it’s a good time to take a look around the NFC East at what the Redskins divisional rivals did this offseason. We’ll start with the Eagles, who open their season in Washington on Week 1.
Record in 2016: 7-9, finished last in NFC East.
Who’s in: WR Alshon Jeffery (FA), WR Torrey Smith (FA), RB LeGarrette Blount (FA), DE Chris Long (FA), DT Timmy Jernigan (FA), DE Derek Barnett (R1), CB Sidney Jones (R2), CB Rasul Douglas (R3), RB Donnel Pumphrey (R4), WR Mack Hollins (R4), WR Shelton Gibson (R5)
Who’s out: DE Connor Barwin, NT Bennie Logan, CB Nolan Carroll, CB Leodis McKelvin, WR Dorial Green-Beckham
Good job: Putting together a legitimate wide receiver corps. In two games last season, Carson Wentz threw exactly one touchdown against Washington — a four yard pass to running back Darren Sproles. The Eagles signed Jeffery to a low-risk deal that the 27-year-old has the potential to far surpass in value, and Smith and fourth- and fifth-round picks Hollins and Gibson add depth and versatility.
That means a lot less of Nelson Agholor, whose last name sounds like the heaving noise in the back of your throat that would come watching the Eagles attempt anything resembling a vertical passing game in 2016, and Dorial Green-Beckham who, despite having a last name combining two premier wide receivers in the NFL, has very little in common with either of them. The Eagles released Green-Beckham earlier this summer.
Adding Blount to the running game was smart and the power back should do well behind a good offensive line.
Bad job, for now: On defense, the secondary is still weak. While the Eagles couldn’t throw the ball down the field in 2016, opponents completed 57 passes of 20 yards or more, the sixth-most allowed by a defense, and 13 passes of 40 yards or more, tied with the Jets defense for third-most allowed.
Eventually, second-round draft pick Sidney Jones could become the answer to that problem, but it’s unclear how much, if at all, Jones will be able to contribute in 2017 as he recovers from a ruptured Achilles. The most optimistic assessments have Jones making his debut at the beginning of November, which would mean that the Eagles will be without him for both games against Washington (Weeks 1 and 7). Third-round pick Rasul Douglas is unpolished.
The Eagles cut McKelvin and let Carroll walk to the Cowboys. Jalen Mills and Patrick Robinson are the expected starters but represent no clear improvement.
In the long run, Jones and Douglas could turn out to be good picks. Eagles fans may do well to borrow a phrase from the local basketball team and trust the process. In the short run, though, the Redskins won’t be seeing an upgraded Philadelphia secondary this year.
Good job: Ultimately, Philadelphia’s defense starts with Jim Schwartz’ 4-3 defensive front and the Eagles added pieces that fit in nicely. They used their first-round pick on ultra-productive Barnett, snagged Jernigan from the Ravens by swapping third-round picks and signed Long, a still-productive veteran who wanted to go back to a 4-3 after playing out of position with the Patriots last season (not that Long regretted that decision). The Eagles rarely blitz, yet they collected 33 sacks last season and are positioned to recreate those results.
Bottom line: The Eagles were crippled by their lack of a passing game last season. There are totally reasonable scenarios in which this is still a weakness in 2017 (most of those scenarios start with Jeffery getting hurt, since Smith isn’t a world-beater on his own) but there was pretty much nowhere to go but up.
• Nora Princiotti can be reached at nprinciotti@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.