Sunday Problems with Saturday Solutions: Eagles offensive reboot doesn’t end at wide receiver

For what seems like the millionth week in a row, the Eagles offense looked like an anemic, boring mess. Lack of dependability and consistency at the skill positions, no explosive plays, horrid play calling and mediocre blocking turned into another painful loss for Philly. It’s clear the offense needs a total overhaul to make sure the Eagles don’t waste Carson Wentz’s prime with a terrible supporting cast.

It’s clear Wentz was off in the Seahawks game. However, the fact that Wentz needs to play a perfect game to elevate the mess the Eagles have around him in order to give the offense a shot is not good. Quarterbacks need to elevate surrounding talent, sure, but there needs to be a level of symbiosis or the team will fail. Asking Wentz to regularly carry the team to big wins (like his perfect performance against Green Bay) is not a sustainable model.

Enough has been made about the quality (or lack thereof) of Philly’s receiver corps and how it will need refurbishing in the coming offseason. However, there should be some attention given to continuing the youth movement on the offensive line.

The Seahawks game forced the Eagles to dip into their offensive line depth as injuries and poor play marred the group: showing you can never have enough quality and versatile linemen.

Andre Dillard is the left tackle of the future and is set to fully take over the position next year. Lane Johnson is still a top tier player at right tackle. At center, Jason Kelce is steady as always but has hinted that retirement has been on his mind. Brandon Brooks is one of the best linemen, period, in the NFL and recently signed an extension. However, his health issues, while rare, do require players to step up in his absence as seen on Sunday. The final guard position is the one with the least solid outlook. Isaac Seumalo is an okay starter and while the team seems to like Matt Pryor as a backup, he is far from a sure thing.

This offensive line class has been overshadowed by depth at positions like wide receiver and pass rusher, but there are tons of blockers in this class who could bring even more juice to the Eagles offensive line. Damien Lewis has been a stud on the inside of the LSU offensive line and deserves due for their offensive supremacy this season. The 6’3”, 330 pound steam roller has been excellent for the Tigers and would bring a lot of physicality and high level run blocking to Philadelphia. Another, more high profile name is Tristian Wirfs. The Iowa tackle has been playing at an elite level the last few weeks and looks like one of the best players in the country. Wirfs is a true offensive tackle so might be a bit of a luxury for the Eagles, but that doesn’t mean he should be above consideration if he is on the board for Philly in the spring.

The Eagles might be playing the value game heading into the 2020 NFL Draft. With such a deep class of wide receivers, they might opt to take a more high value position in the first round by grabbing another offensive lineman and then drafting playmakers in the second round. With some of the offensive line play available, it would be hard to blame them.