A few months back, Eagles vice president of operations Howie Roseman said, “we need to surround Carson [Wentz] with weapons in order to help with his growth as a player.” Howie Roseman did just that in free agency by striking a deal with wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith.
Formerly of the Chicago Bears, Alshon Jeffery was the splash playmaker that Eagles fans were praying for this offseason. Jeffery has widely been considered the top wide receiver available in free agency and opted for a one-year contract with the Eagles worth $14 million.
Meanwhile, Smith was released by the San Francisco 49ers and inked a three-year deal with the Eagles worth $15 million.
The Eagles haven’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since Jeremy Maclin in 2014. They had only one wide receiver catch more than 40 passes in 2016 and that was Jordan Matthews when he had 73 catches for 804 yards.
Bringing in Torrey Smith gives the Eagles a “deep-threat” that the Eagles haven’t had since they released the polarizing wide receiver DeSean Jackson back in 2013 (Thanks again, Chip Kelly). Smith has the speed to allow quarterback Carson Wentz to show off his arm and stretch the field. Wentz ranked 29th in the league with 6.23 yards per attempt in his rookie season. Smith averaged 17 yards per catch in his career, including an NFL-best 20.1 average in 2015.
With Alshon Jeffery signing with the Eagles, he instantly becomes their number one wide receiver. The Eagles haven’t had a legitimate number one wide receiver of Jeffery’s caliber since signing Terrell Owens back in 2004 (Yes, it’s been that long). Luckily for the Eagles, Jeffery has excellent hands, which the Eagles have desperately needed after witnessing 30 drops from their wide receivers in 2016. Jeffery is a big target standing at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, with the ability to make plays anywhere on the field.
Suddenly with two acquisitions, the Eagles went from having the most inconsistent wide receiving corps in the NFL to building a position group that might be the deepest and most explosive on the roster.
In addition to their free agent acquisitions, the Eagles managed to retain linebacker Najee Goode, along with offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski who both managed to play valuable snaps as back-ups last year.
Eagles fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief when watching the passing game in 2017 with the additions of Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith. As an Eagles fan, it’s fulfilling so see the Birds’ front office stick to their word and add playmakers to this team. The team will only go as far as Wentz can take them and the Eagles needed to surround him with better players and it appears that’s exactly what they did—at least on paper.
With the free agency period still looming, the Birds are most likely done spending and on the flip side, most likely looking to cut and or trade players.