While any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. THE 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.
INJURIES happen and football isn’t a safe sport. That said, maybe we shouldn’t have our top two WR’s, running lots of routes which take them inside the numbers painted on the field. While we can’t be skittish about playing them, routing them through S’s and LB’s, is a lot like dancing in front of tigers with handfuls of steak. Eventually it ends badly.
So let’s do less of that in 2023. I didn’t say let’s not do it, just do it less. I mean this especially about Brown, because he’s the one who does it more.
Taken as a pair, WRs A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith, not QB Jalen Hurts, are the straw that stirs the Eagles Offense. Defenses having to respect two full service receivers at all levels (shallow/intermediate/deep), is what opens up the field for the run game. Adding Hurts slows opposing defense’s reaction time vs the run, as they have to also account for him.
That’s not saying that Hurts is unimportant. It’s saying that he was a different QB before Brown got here, and we don’t have much depth at WR. Let me put it in plain English: If Brown goes down, WR Quez Watkins is the starter opposite Smith again. Like 2021 when we went 9 – 8, stumbled into the playoffs and were quickly dismissed, with our illiterate QB.
Now Hurts was clearly better in 2022, but I don’t want to find out that he’s largely “Brown dependent”. Better to keep Brown healthy, and the rest of the NFL scratching their heads over how Hurts got so good, so fast.
If we had more depth at WR, or if Quez hadn’t been a disaster in 2022, I wouldn’t be as worried about health at this position. However, knowing how and why the Eagles Offense works, I also understand how fast it can all unravel. So let’s be more careful with our top two WR’s.
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