There were some who actually had the Philadelphia Eagles pegged as Super Bowl contenders heading into 2019. Obviously, they did not live up to expectations.
Yes, they won nine games and won the NFC East, but they were eliminated in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.
To be fair, the Eagles were ravaged by injuries for most of the season, but on the other side of the coin, Carson Wentz was up and down and their defense was pedestrian.
Will Philadelphia improve going into next year?
Here are the three biggest questions for the Eagles in 2020:
3. Can their receiving corps stay healthy?
One of the most prominent problems for the Eagles is that their two top wide receivers, Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson, are both injury-prone.
That issue reared its ugly head in 2019, as Jeffery played in just 10 games before bowing out with a Lisfranc injury and Jackson was limited to only three contests due to a core muscle injury.
With both players being on the wrong side of 30, injury concerns will once again be a talking point for the pair heading into 2020. Not to mention the fact that both Jeffery and Jackson have lost a step or two.
Philadelphia did take TCU's Jalen Reagor in the first round of the NFL Draft to bolster its receiving corps, but there are legitimate questions as to whether or not Reagor's game will translate into the pros.
If Jeffery and Jackson can't stay on the field in 2020, Philly's offense will struggle yet again.
2. Is The Eagles Defense Better?
The most significant move the Eagles have made this offseason is swinging a trade for Darius Slay to address their ailing secondary.
It was certainly a terrific deal for Philadelphia, and it's not like the Birds stopped there, either. They also signed defensive lineman Javon Hargrave to a three-year deal, solidifying their defensive front.
Are the Eagles suddenly an elite defensive team? Probably not. Their linebacking corps remains questionable, and even with the additions of Slay and Nickell Robey-Coleman, their secondary isn't great. Fletcher Cox's horrific 2019 is also slightly concerning.
That being said, I don't think there is any question that Philly is notably better on the defensive side of the ball now than it was at this time a year ago. At least on paper, anyway.
We'll see how that new talent translates on to the field.
1. Can Carson Wentz avoid injury?
That brings us to what is clearly the most pressing issue for the Eagles: Wentz's health.
Wentz actually played a full 16-game campaign this past year, marking the first time he achieved that distinction since his rookie campaign back in 2016.
However, he was knocked out of Philadelphia's Wild Card Round playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks because of a concussion. Also, even though Wentz was able to stay on the field during the regular season, he was very inconsistent.
While there is reason to believe that Wentz can bounce back in 2020, he has to stay healthy for that to happen.
I'm not sure he will ever regain his 2017 form, when he was an MVP frontrunner prior to tearing his ACL late in the year. But Wentz showed some flashes in 2019. Perhaps he can do that on a more consistent basis next season with a clean bill of health.
Follow Us
Subscribe