An Overview of The 2021 Philidelphia Eagles

The Eagles are a team I would’ve never anticipated ranking this low so soon after being a truly elite team and that is mostly due to the massive amount of misfortune this team has suffered the past few years. Some of that misfortune has actually come directly from the league itself; Philidelphia has ranked 31st or 32nd in rest differential every year since 2016. Rest differential is the amount of difference in days of rest between a team and its opponent across a season and for whatever reason, the NFL has had it out for the eagles by consistently putting them at a mathematical disadvantage with their schedule. This explains why they have had such miserable luck with injuries over the past year and it is only fair to assume that the team’s health won’t be too much better in 2021 after ranking dead last again. On top of that, something unexplainable to everyone outside the Eagles organization took place between Doug Pederson, Carson Wentz, and the front office which was resolved in a complete change in their coaching staff as well as their QB. Outside of one of the worst QB-coach duos in the league and great misfortune, Philidelphia does have a very talented roster on both sides of the ball and is a unique team that may have some surprising performances.

Philidelphia Offense

Following the inevitable trade of Carson Wentz, Philadelphia hopes the former 2nd round pick in Jalen Hurts will develop into the franchise QB they need to get back to success. Nick Sirianni has a lot to prove with the situation the eagles are in and many would say he is not equipped to handle the expectations set by the city. The Eagle’s biggest issue in 2020 besides coaching and communication was their receiving core which has only has seen minimal improvement. The two quality starters they had left although were massive injury liabilities, they were able to draft a high-end prospect in Devonta Smith who will pair well with Hurts play-style. Outside of Smith Hurts doesn’t have much help which significantly hinders his opportunity for development. They have a very talented O-line with promising young players but have had a poor history of staying healthy at that position group. If the O-line is healthy and Sirianni impresses as a play-caller, I could see this offense matching up well against certain defenses though will still be very lacking in explosiveness.

Overall OFF Grade: 70.9 (30)

• View bottom of page for notes on grades.

Philidelphia Defense

Though the Eagle’s defense won’t be great and needs many positions of improvement, they have a true identity and understanding of what their defense will look like which many others can’t say. Lead by Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham, the eagles have a top-performing D-line year in year out and there is no reason for this not to continue. Not only are they lead by two stars, but they also have great depth all across the D-line in addition to having Javon Hargrave as an elite nose tackle. Despite my doubts about their new coordinator Jonathon Gannon they will undoubtedly have a stout pass rush and a great first-level-run defense. As for the linebacker group, Howie Roseman has never prioritized this group which will only make them struggle to defend high-end TEs that they face. Philadelphia’s DBs have frustrated fans the past two seasons with their subpar coverage and that may or may not change in 2021. This was hoped to be fixed last season by signing former all-pro Darius slay who didn’t even play close to his standards in 2020. They gave him 30 million in guarantees and he is only 30 years old so eagles fans would definitely expect him to improve his play substantially this year. This offseason they also brought in CB Steven Nelson and Safety Anthony Smith who were both quality starters for their previous teams which improve their secondary. One thing to note, this defense has struggled with tackling the past two seasons and that is questionable to improve with the coaching change. There is a chance of this defense being one of the worst and just as good of a chance of it being pretty solid and it is depending on the outcome of three or so scenarios playing out.

Overall DEF Grade: 74.6 (23)

• View the bottom of page for notes on grades.

Projected Record: 3-14 (4th DIV)

Philidelphia 2021 Schedule

• Individual grades are based on scale of 50-100.