NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The Philadelphia Eagles are 7-0 after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday afternoon. It will be a short week for them as they will travel to Houston to take on the Houston Texans Thursday night. However, what the Eagles must focus on despite their undefeated record is improving. Their first place to fill in the gaps should be at the running back position.
Miles Sanders is having a great year with 114 carries for 563 yards and 4 touchdowns but can he handle the load for the entire season? This offseason, it was supposed to be a two-back backfield with Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell but so far, Gainwell hasn’t been a major part of the Eagles’ plans. With that said and the NFL trade deadline approaching, it’s time for Howie Roseman to work his magic once again and get the Philadelphia Eagles an insurance back.
We’re still talking about a team that ranks 2nd in Rushing Attempts, 6th in Rushing Yards, and 1st in Rushing TDs. However, they also rank 21st in Rushing Yards Per Attempt. The Eagles need someone to keep the defense on their heels which will improve their RPO. Maybe it’s a case of the rich getting richer but it’s also a case of having the desire to keep winning.
For his career, Sanders has never rushed the ball more than 179 times in a season, he’s already at 144 with half the campaign left. The Eagles must find a way to keep him fresh. And the same goes for Jalen Hurts. No need to put your franchise players in a position where their bodies will take unnecessary hits.
Will that be another running back to start over Sanders? No. But they do need a player whose production does not drop off once Sanders is taken out. There are a few names floating around. Christian McCaffrey is gone and so is James Robinson. But in the last few days, the Eagles have been linked liked to Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints and Kareem Hunt of the Cleveland Browns.
What may hurt the Philadelphia Eagles is that they gave teams an extra week to evaluate players. For instance. If the Saints were remotely thinking about trading Kamara, after what he did in their Week 8 game against the Los Angeles Raiders, may have them thinking twice about trading their feature back. Kamara scored 3 TDs while rushing for 62 yards coupled with 9 receptions for 96 yards.
On the other side of the coin is Hunt. The Browns play Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals and even sharing time with Nick Chubb, Hunt has still been productive with the Browns this season with 263 yards on 66 carries. But he has stated that he wanted a trade this offseason. As of now, the Browns have scoffed at that but with Hunt becoming a free agent after this season, it may be wise for the Browns to get something in return for him before he leaves and they left with no return.
Roseman is a magician when it comes to the salary cap. Hunt is a cap hit for $6.2M and Kamara hits at $6.1M but is due to make $16M next season. The Eagles may want to act fast but sitting at 3-5, the Saints are only .5 games behind the Atlanta Falcons for 1st pace in the NFC South.
Who Should The Philadelphia Eagles Target?
Cam Akers of the Los Angeles Rams is another player to keep a close eye on as he’s fallen out of the Rams’ RB rotation. He’s a Super Bowl winner and will add another veteran presence to the team. And with his history of injuries, sharing the load with Sanders and Gainwell may just be what Akers and the Philadelphia Eagles need to solidify that backfield for the stretch run.
Hunt, Kamara, and Akers will mesh well with the RPO in which the Eagles run on offense. Kamara is more of a bruising back and will give the Eagles that tough runner needed for short yardage plus he can catch the ball. Hunt is in the same mold as Sanders. They’re both speedy backs and have hands but if given a choice, it would have to be Kamara or Akers due to their consistent playmaking ability at the position in which the Eagles are lacking.
The Philadelphia Eagles are rolling as the only undefeated team in the NFL but there is nothing in the rule books that states they can’t improve. And it all starts with making a move to find another running back.
