The Philadelphia Eagles have several needs to address during the offseason, with plenty of salary cap space to navigate.
Wide receiver is a position of need for Philadelphia and with Nelson Agholor unlikely to return, his departure could free up another $9 million in cap space to utilize in free agency or via trade.
Jay Glazer dropped a bombshell on Sunday when he revealed that Odell Beckham Jr. has started to voice his displeasure with the Browns. In Glazer’s report, Beckham Jr. has reached out to opposing players and friends around the NFL about getting out of Cleveland sooner, rather than later.
Quite an interesting report from Jay Glazer about Odell Beckham Jr. pic.twitter.com/LHU5AJUWvC
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) December 8, 2019
Glazer successfully predicted Beckham would be on the move last year, and although the wide receiver was cordial in accepting the trade, Cleveland certainly wasn’t his city of choice.
Cleveland traded Jabrill Peppers, a first-round pick and a third-round pick to the New York Giants for him, and Beckham is still under contract with the Browns gave him some new money to appease the move.
Beckham has struggled this season, hauling in 57 catches, for 805 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 12 games. A change of scenery could reinvigorate Beckham Jr. but with the most talented crop of wideouts in recent history set to enter the NFL, should the Eagles or any other team forsake a future NFL star for a proven commodity.
There are at least 8 potential first-round picks in a loaded 2020 draft class that could see as many as 9 wideouts go in the top 100 picks.
1. Jerry Jeudy, Alabama
2. CeeDee Lamb, Oklahoma
3. Laviska Shenault Jr., Colorado
4. Henry Ruggs III, Alabama
5. Tee Higgins, Clemson
6. Jalen Reagor, TCU
7. Tyler Johnson, Minnesota
8. Michael Pittman Jr., USC
Sage Surratt (Wake Forest)
Justin Jefferson (LSU)
Tylan Wallace (Oklahoma State)
Devonta Smith (Alabama)
When healthy, Beckham Jr. is a weapon that could take the Eagles over the top and could pair with DeSean Jackson to form a dynamic duo, capable of burning teams deep from the outside, or the slot. Add in Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Alshon Jeffery and a second-year vet in JJ Arcega-Whiteside, and you have the potential for an efficient and explosive offense.
The downside of adding Beckham Jr. comes with his mercurial personality and the tons of media scrutiny that he’d bring to an already sensitive and ornery locker room. If it works, the Eagles are an NFC power for years to come, but not getting Beckham Jr. on the same page with Wentz or an already established locker room could bring back scenes from the “Dream Team” that imploded in one disastrous season.
The wild card in the entire scenario is Howie Roseman’s penchant for hitting and missing on draft picks over the past few seasons. Roseman is shrewd and one of the best when it comes to the salary cap and key free-agent deals.
His Achilles heel lies in his inability to always get the draft process correct.
Roseman and the Eagles haven’t had many home runs in the bottom half of the first round, and Derek Barnett’s struggles this season, along with Mack Hollins highlight concerns going back as far as 2011.
Roseman did great with Fletcher Cox, Mychal Kendricks, and Nick Foles, but can you imagine if he put a higher grade on Russell Wilson and selected him late in the second round instead of Vinny Curry?
In 2013, Roseman’s first year working alongside Chip Kelly, the Eagles landed Lane Johnson and Zach Ertz with their first two picks. Roseman lost his draft privileges in 2014 and 2015 but returned in 2016 to draft Carson Wentz, Isaac Seumalo, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, and Wendell Smallwood.
Jalen Mills might be the highlight of the 2016 class, as he was selected in round seven. In 2017, the Birds Super Bowl season, Roseman took Barnett, Sidney Jones, and Rasul Douglas.
He also selected several Eagles who are no longer with the team, such as Mack Hollins, Donnel Pumphrey, Shelton Gibson, while hitting on Nate Gerry late in the draft.
Roseman drafted Dallas Goedert and Avonte Maddox, two productive starters in 2018, and then hit on the draft’s top left tackle last April, with Andre Dillard. He’s taken criticism for JJ Arcega-Whiteside’s struggles, but for the most part, Roseman hasn’t been a bad judge of talent.
In acquiring Beckham, Roseman can provide Carson Wentz with the show-stopper he deserves on the outside, while still having Arcega-Whiteside, DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery on the roster as well.
Throw in the Eagles current struggles with player development, and already prime and developed Beckham Jr. would make even more sense.
If it’s not Jeudy or Lamb, do you risk using a first-round pick on a wideout, when there could be a greater need for CB help if they move on from Sidney Jones or lose Ronald Darby in free agency?
With the draft being so deep at wide receiver, Roseman could still target a wide receiver in the second or fourth round, while utilizing one of the compensatory picks he’s stashed away for further wheeling and dealing could land a cornerback as well.