Taking stock of the Eagles’ running back situation heading into the 2019 offseason

During the end-of-the-season press conference on Tuesday, Eagles EVP of football operations Howie Roseman talked about areas of interest in the upcoming NFL Draft, and he identified that it could be a historic class for defensive ends and tackle. Interestingly, he also said that it was a bit weaker in terms of top-tier quarterback and running back prospects.

With injuries plaguing the running back position for the Eagles throughout the 2018 season, and the uncertainty of Darren Sproles’ retirement and Jay Ajayi’s upcoming free agency, it’s definitely a position that could use some depth in 2019. And it doesn’t look like 2019 is the year to need to add rushers to your roster.

Already a young RB group

There was some promise shown by the younger guys on the roster at times this season, including four guys still playing on their first and/or rookie contracts.

• Wendell Smallwood is heading into his fourth and final year on his rookie deal.
• Corey Clement was undrafted in 2017, but signed to a 3-year deal with the Eagles.
• Donnel Pumphrey was drafted by the Eagles in 2017, but has been on and off the team’s practice squad since and has battled through a couple injuries already. He did, however, recently sign a reserve/future contract with the team.
• Josh Adams was an undrafted rookie for the team in 2018, and will be an ERFA in 2020.

While Roseman said they weren’t interested in creating a youth movement for the team, it certainly seems at running back that they’ve got few other options.

Jay Ajayi was a big contributor in the Super Bowl run in 2017, which makes it easy to forget that he was set to play on the final year of his rookie contract in 2018 before being placed on IR. So really, that’s five of the team’s six rushers with four or fewer years of experience, not to mention Ajayi is an unrestricted free agent this year, and the one veteran (Darren Sproles) may or may not retire.

That’s not exactly a deep group.

Free agent market

According to the fine folks at Sportrac, here’s a list of the top UFA running backs available this spring — aside from Ajayi and Sproles. There are some obvious veterans who may also decide to retire this offseason, but proven leaders like Frank Gore, LeGarrette Blount and Marshawn Lynch will be on the market.

Some other interesting names include Tevin Coleman, and familiar face Kenjon Barner, and of course you’ve got a guy who is certainly divisive, Le’Veon Bell.

All of this is to say, I wouldn’t be surprised if Roseman dipped his toe in the free agent pool this offseason as he tries to add some depth at running back. Especially once we learn the fate of Sproles and his seriousness in returning.

Upcoming Draft Class

As Howie alluded to on Tuesday, the running back class for this year’s draft isn’t nearly as stacked as prior years. The Eagles probably have other priorities, which means they wouldn’t even look to take a rusher until Day 2 or 3, which further limits their options of getting a top-tier, Day 1 ready player.

Bryce Love out of Stanford was a very interesting option, but we recently learned that he tore his ACL in the final game of his collegiate career, which causes it’s own level of concern.