The Philadelphia Eagles had an interesting 2020 NFL Draft weekend. It included them improving many positions and confusing some fans.
However, even in that confusion, the moves they made could be rationalized, including about the head-scratching Jalen Hurts pick in the second round.
Most people felt it was too early to take a quarterback when they just signed Carson Wentz to a massive deal. There is the injury argument to be made regarding Wentz's durability, and now the Eagles have a talented backup on a rookie deal.
So the quarterback position was improved. At the same time, they took steps to fix their wide receiver corps. Philadelphia also got some help in the pass rush and on the offensive line.
Not everything is perfect in Philadelphia, however. What is the Eagles biggest weakness they still need to address after the draft?
Philadelphia is actually a well-rounded team. They didn't really address the secondary much in the NFL Draft, but they made moves this offseason. Those moves included signing Nickell Robey-Coleman and trading for Darius Slay.
Adding those two cornerbacks is more than sufficient. Which means we need to look at their other weakness on defense, the linebacker position.
In the draft, the Eagles added an inside linebacker and an outside linebacker. Davion Taylor was taken in the third round out of Colorado. Although he's an outside linebacker, he's more of a tweener, mixing in some safety to his game. And he's probably not going to make a major impact immediately.
Meanwhile, inside linebacker Shaun Bradley out of Temple was taken in the sixth round. There is potential there, but he is more than likely a depth piece to start out. So much like Taylor, Bradley probably isn't making much of an impact to begin his career and likely even less.
So while Philadelphia added pieces for the future at linebacker, they didn't really improve at the position for 2020. And their current group shouldn't be exciting fans all that much.
The linebacker unit is not terrible. However, the rest of the Eagles roster is really solid and well put together. Even at most of their “weak” positions, they have a star.
Sure, wide receiver still needs work but they made steps to improve it to the point it can't be considered the team's biggest position of weakness.
Meanwhile, the linebacker group consists of Bradley and Taylor, as well as fellow (undrafted) rookie Dante Olson. There is also Jatavis Brown, T.J. Edwards, Nathan Gerry, Duke Riley and Alex Singleton.
Is that really a standout group? Or is it a group of young linebackers with potential, but without anyone who could take the lead immediately and hold up the unit?
The Eagles addressed the issue a little bit by adding in potential pieces for their future. Their additions in the draft likely aren't going to be immediate impact players, though. So for 2020, this is still a looming weakness.
Luckily for Philadelphia, they don't have many glaring deficiencies elsewhere. For the most part, this is a complete team. And they aren't in the scariest division either, having won the NFC East last season with a 9-7 record in 2019.
So even with a minor issue at linebacker, they can trust the rest of the team to pick them up. And the Eagles are very much in the running to win the NFC East once again.
Perhaps someone in that unit does step up and become a star in 2020. For now though, it's still a weakness and something they should consider addressing before the start of the new season.
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