What a difference a year makes. The Philadelphia Eagles went from a suspect receiving corps in 2021 to one of the most buzzworthy groups in football this season. The trio of A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert could be the next Greatest Show on Turf.
Pump the brakes, right? Don’t jinx it. Don’t raise the bar too high. While it’s way too early to be slapping pressure-inducing monikers on the group, the talent is there. It’s undeniable. Those three players accounted for 14 total touchdowns last season.
“It’s awesome. You know when those guys can touch the ball, they can score it at any point because they’re so explosive,” offensive coordinator Shane Steichen told reporters. “To have three of those guys, I’ve been around some good ones, but those three are really impressive, so to have three of those guys on your team is really good for us.”
And the excitement level gets raised even more when Quez Watkins gets thrown into the mix. He is the fastest guy on the roster (maybe in the NFL) and looking to improve on a sophomore season where he caught 43 balls for 647 yards and a score.
According to Steichen, the biggest thing he wants to see when the offense takes the field in Detroit is execution. That includes doing it at an incredibly high level on a consistent basis — turning those camp reps into meaningful snaps.
“You live in the moment, and you take one day at a time, and you go from there,” Steichen said. “It’s just execution and consistency. That’s what I want to see.”
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Jalen Hurts Playing with ‘Smoothness, Confidence’
The man tasked with getting those playmakers the ball is Jalen Hurts. He’s being treated as the team’s biggest question mark – rightfully or wrongfully – heading into the 2022 campaign. That’s the perspective from outside the building.
Inside, the Eagles coaching staff has noticed a big jump out of Hurts from Year 1 to Year 2 as he continues to stack days in their system.
“I think it’s just the confidence and the smoothness of everything he’s doing,” Steichen said. “Like I said, it’s year two in the system. I think with anything you develop some confidence being in year two in that same system. So, you can see by the way he’s playing, the way he’s going through his reads, all those things we’ve said before. It’ll be exciting to see on Sunday. I’m looking forward to it.”
New Weapon in the Running Backs Room
The Eagles scooped up Trey Sermon off the waiver wire after the San Francisco 49ers released him. The former third-round pick accounted for nearly 3,500 yards of total offense during an electric college career. Sermon will start the year buried behind starter Miles Sanders — and backing up Kenny Gainwell and Boston Scott — on the running back depth chart.
He’ll have to stick his nose in the playbook and get up to speed quickly. But Sermon could have a significant role if he listens to the coaches, particluarly Jemal Singleton.
“He was a really good player coming out of college. Did a lot of really good things in San Francisco, as well, so excited to add him to that room,” Steichen said. “Like I said, Miles [Sanders] is our guy. We feel really good about that group, but to add another talented player like that, it’ll be good for us.”
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