is the eagles championship window closed already?

Speaker 1: [00:00:00] Jonathan Gannon signed with Arizona Cardinals. And Shane Steichen is going to be the head coach of Indianapolis. The Eagles are going to have a lot of change going into this next season. Like Jason Kelsey, there's rumors he might retire that's going to heavily impact their offensive line. They're just not going to be able to afford to pay people in the same way. And Jalen hurts. He's earned himself a contract. You know, Jalen Hurts has earned himself a top five NFL contract for sure. So if you're the Eagles and you want to continue this run of success, how likely do you think that is? [00:00:30][30.9]
Speaker 2: [00:00:31] About as likely as it was five years ago. Right. Because we just went through this with the Eagles where they had the quarterback that was coming up on a giant contract. They had the offensive line that was aging, like Jason Peters turning 39 and Jason Kelsey with retirement rumors. They had Zach Ertz, the older tight end who they replaced with Dallas cutter Chris Long retired. They ended up this year replacing them with Jason Raddix. It feels like we were kind of just here not too long ago with the Eagles. And it's super interesting because they are in that same position again. They're going to extend the quarterback. There's no fifth year option on Jalen Hurts, so he's got to get it this offseason or else his contract is up at the end of next year and they've said we're going to pay him close to $50 million. You don't usually hear that from the president and the owner at this stage of the game. They're like, Yeah, we're going to pay him whatever he wants, so they're going to pay. Jalen hurts, and like you said, that means a couple pieces aren't going to be there in a couple of years. The Eagles kind of just went through this five years ago and they really messed up badly five years ago. Like they miraculously pulled themselves out of it, but like, they had to go to some pretty low lows in terms of building themselves out of that lull. They came in after winning the Super Bowl in 2017. [00:01:45][74.1]
Speaker 1: [00:01:46] So looking at it, the unrestricted free agents for the Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry defensive tackle Fletcher Cox tackle Andre Dillard linebacker T.J. Edwards. Safety Marcus Epps Safety C.J Gardner-johnson Defensive end Brandon Graham. Defensive tackle Javon Hargraves. Defensive tackle Lynn Paul Joseph Center. Jason Kelsey Punter Brett Curb Gardner Minshew is out Zach Pascal at wide receiver defensive end Robert Quinn, who they just acquired this past season. Myles Sanders Boston Scott Isaac Small number two Ginsu and Kizer White That's a lot of names. In particular the. [00:02:28][42.2]
Speaker 2: [00:02:29] Fliers. [00:02:29][0.0]
Speaker 1: [00:02:30] Yeah, in particular, the positions that are most heavily affected too of their running back rotation. The Miles Sanders and Boston Scott both gone. And then you look at the impact on the defensive line I get it Brandon Graham Fletcher Cox These guys are probably in their sunset years, but at the same time they're still really good. They're why the Eagles were really good. If they was either of those guys, I think they'll come to some sort of contract with these two because I think for a guy like Fletcher Cox, he's like the heartbeat of your Philadelphia Eagles defense. He's been there the longest. Brandon Graham, too, has been there for a long time. They're okay with letting a guy like Nam can sue walk because she was again just a midseason acquisition. Javon Hargraves might be on the way out, but losing all that talent, these guys are all talented and you're just not going to be able to pay them all. That's going to hurt. Like, I don't know how much it hurts. I think that when I look at the composition of the NFC East, okay, so the Giants, they were a nice little surprise this year. Will the Giants be better next year? The Cowboys, I think they'll still be good. The commanders still kind of like in limbo right now. But they did beat this Eagles team last year in a regular season game. So if this Eagles team starts becoming less talented because that's was their main advantage over the NFC entirely this year as top to bottom, they had the most talented roster. If this roster is no longer the most talented roster, then what is this Eagles thing? [00:03:57][87.3]
Speaker 2: [00:03:58] This is why it's so hard to remain sustainable in the NFL. And the good news for the Eagles. Like I know it sounds doom and gloom when we list 19 players, nine of them who started in the Super Bowl, if you count T.J. Edwards as the 12th guy in that linebacking corps and gardner-johnson as a slot corner, like nine people who started in the Super Bowl. While it does sound doom and gloom, they have so much draft capital stored in their back pocket to be able to work with not just having the Saints pick this past year, but like the two best players in college football in 2021 are on the Eagles and didn't play at all in the Super Bowl. We're talking about Jordan Davis and Kobe Dean. They are betting on those dudes being high caliber NFL players. And so that's the thing that could help them remain sustainable. It's just it's a daunting task that like even the 40 Niners messed up they were bad for a couple of years in there and then they got back to you know, we win ten games to end the regular season and go to the NFC championship and lose. But they were bad for a couple of years in there. So like it's just really hard to remain sustainable, especially when I mean Brandon. Graham and Fletcher Cox were talking about pre-game of the Super Bowl. Like, we fully anticipate this could be our last game in Philadelphia after being there for a decade. [00:05:06][68.8]
Speaker 1: [00:05:07] So if you're the Eagles going into this draft, you have three picks within the top 62. You have the number ten overall pick you mentioned from the Saints. And then you have your own pick. You have your 30th pick. They don't have any picks in rounds four, five or six, but they do have two seven. So that's currently what the Eagles have draft wise. Given that you do have to reload at so many different positions with that number ten overall pick. Do you stay at that pick or do you consider trying to trade down and get more assets to fill in the holes in your roster that you're going to have after this offseason? [00:05:42][35.1]
Speaker 2: [00:05:43] They've done it twice now. They just keep it back. They traded back from 6 to 12 to get Devonte Smith and the Dolphins could get Jaylen Waddle. They took that first round pick and they trim back again with the New Orleans Saints last year. So they have this pick because they've traded back each of the last two drafts. And if the right offers on the table, sure, trade back. People spend way too much money on their top draft picks because like in the Saints case, they gave up two first round picks for Chris Galloway. Love Chris Galloway. Don't think he's worth giving up two first round picks for even on the rookie contract. So whatever the situation is, I'm sure Howie Roseman has earned the benefit of the doubt in that circumstance. And the thing that happens when you subtract those players and you get younger is more of the burden falls on the stars. And in this case, the stars is one particular star, which is Jalen Hurts. And I mean, as great as we think Jalen hurts is we we recognize that that that growth that Jalen hurts saw this past year was a byproduct of a lot of talent being around him the right offensive system to his skill set and putting him in positions to succeed so that he could put up one of the great Super Bowl performances of all time, which I point out. Nick Foles in his Super Bowl had 373 yards, four touchdowns, one turnover. Jalen hurts in this Super Bowl 374 yards, one more yard than Nick Foles, four touchdowns, one turnover They basically played exactly. [00:07:07][84.3]
Speaker 1: [00:07:08] Okay let's ease up on the Nick Foles Jalen hurts comparisons beyond that they are not the same player. [00:07:14][6.7]
Speaker 2: [00:07:15] No, not at all. [00:07:16][0.8]
Speaker 1: [00:07:16] So yeah, Nick Foles great season. Jalen hurts. I expect him to have future great seasons, especially because I think the thing with Jalen hurts that we obviously all talked about was coming into the year he struggled to complete basic passes that was not as much of a problem this year. The fact that he was a high 60, 70% completion guy was a revelation to his ability to be a franchise quarterback like the Eagles are prepared to make him. We're starting to see that a lot more. Obviously, Josh Allen was another guy that struggled to complete basic passes and the Bills made him into a super star quarterback. Jalen Hurts When you look at the current composition of the NFC, he is the best quarterback. I mean, I don't look at any other quarterback currently in the NFC. What like an injured Matthew Stafford Dak Prescott the definition of mid we'll see what happens. Kirk Cousins actually Kirk cousins probably like he has his whole photo next to mid in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. [00:08:20][64.3]
Speaker 2: [00:08:22] You know Kirk cousins Kirk cousins definition of purgatory and that's a that's a purgatory quarterback. [00:08:27][5.1]
Speaker 1: [00:08:28] Guys that we used to think that were of a higher tier like Kyler Murray who the hell knows at this point. Yeah like Jalen hurts stands above everyone else growing in the NFC and that could change fast. But for the most part, I think even if he does fall off a little bit, I think he'll still remain as a top three two top five quarterback in that conference. [00:08:47][19.2]
Speaker 2: [00:08:48] You mentioned the perfect comparison for where the Eagles actually are, because I want to at off the top bring up like five years ago they were in this exact same situation where they had to extend the rookie quarterback and it meant that they lost some pieces and they went to the bottom and built it back up. The perfect comparison for where the Philadelphia Eagles are right now is the Buffalo Bills after that first AFC championship where Kansas City just blew them out, the building was like 31 to 7 in the fourth quarter. That is the perfect comparison for where the Eagles are right now because you've got two years with the current core of this team. After two years, you got to rethink everything because Jalen Hurts is going to be making $50 million against the cap. AJ Brown is going to be making $25 million against the cap. Those two players combined making $75 million versus what they are right now, which I believe is roughly about 20 million between the two. So you have to rethink everything after that point, when Buffalo lost in 2020, Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs were making a combined $15 million per year against the cap this last year. Two years later, they were only making $27 million against the cap in 20. 23. They'll be making a combined as it stands right now, $51 million against the cap. The margins fall apart. At some point you have to find value within the margins. And the reason the Buffalo Bills have lost in the second round of the playoffs other than scheduling breakdowns where they had to play Kansas City in the second round instead of the AFC championship the year before is Buffalo has not drafted a Pro Bowler in four seasons. The Eagles are in a position where they have the excess of draft capital and they're going to have to start planning for what two years down the road is going to look like while also trying to go all in on winning championships because, you know, you have a championship caliber roster right now and threading that line is something that I mean, at the end of the day, we can kind of say Buffalo didn't succeed at they had two year run with rookie Josh Allen and after they made that AFC championship, they lost to Kansas City and then lost to Cincinnati at home in the playoffs. Those feel like disappointments given the level of talent they had. So the Eagles right now are in the position of Buffalo two years ago and I think following that trend is going to be interesting to watch as the Eagles replace coordinators to make roster decisions and try and draft young players to complement Jalen Hurts. [00:11:10][142.4]
Speaker 1: [00:11:11] And I guess I should not underrate the coordinators lost Steichen had to have a huge hand in whatever development Jalen hurts had this past offseason and the fact that they're going to move on. We'll see Sirianni Obviously he's a guy who cut his teeth offensively, although he was not calling plays. I'd like to think that he had some involvement as the head coach into the offensive playcalling, so hopefully Sirianni could just kind of pick up the pieces where they left off. Didn't really work too well for his mentor though, right? Compare this to the 2017 Eagles. Whenever Doug Peterson lost Frank Reich, it became harder for him, even his offensive minded head coach. So we'll see if Sirianni in losing. Steichen will have that same issue that Doug Peterson, his predecessor, had. Anyway, guys, going to leave it up to you in the comments section, How do you think this year's Philadelphia Eagles would do coming off an offseason that they're bound to lose some talent? Like to hear your thoughts. Leave it like on the video. Subscribe to the channel files on all our social media scrum Juju and Kyle. Stay safe, happy and healthy and we will see you next time. [00:11:11][0.0]
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