What initially felt like a slow free agency period for our Philadelphia Eagles eventually became a pretty active start to the new league year. Along with re-signing some of their own with Jalen Mills and Rodney McLeod, Howie Roseman also brought in free agents Javon Hargrave, Will Parks and Jatavis Brown, as well as trading for Pro Bowl corner Darius Slay.
To some, this offseason has gone exactly like they envisioned. Howie has clearly put the emphasis on getting better defensively, although losing Malcolm Jenkins does leave a huge hole to fill. But, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has always had a soft spot for Mills, so he likely views the converted corner as his starting safety for next season, even if many fans don’t see it that way.
While I am glad and encouraged to see Howie affording the majority of his assets into the defense, the Eagles offense still needs some work. Most notably at the receiver position, obviously.
The team invested a lot into this group last offseason, so seeing them somewhat disregard it this year shouldn’t be too surprising. Even if the position is a clear need, we can’t expect Howie to sign free agent wideouts every offseason. At some point it becomes overkill, and adding to the group through free agency again this offseason would’ve qualified as such.
This is a clear sign that Howie plans to address this hole through the draft. Given how talented this year’s crop of wide receivers are, this should pan out as a solid plan. Although, trusting Roseman to hit on a high draft pick almost feels like fool’s gold at this point.
On the other hand, it almost feels impossible to miss on a wideout in this year’s draft. Let’s just hope the latter turns out to be true.
Other than wide receiver, I still expect the team to fill the offensive depth chart through the draft as well. An interior offensive lineman, possibly a running back and probably a backup offensive tackle will all be on Howie’s check list heading into the draft.
I would be surprised if we see anymore notable moves before the draft on April 23. With eight picks to play with, this year’s draft should be an interesting one for Philly fans.