What the Eagles should do at wide receiver

Eagles roster outlook: position-by-position.

The 2019 NFL offseason has begun for the Philadelphia Eagles, which means Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson will spend the next couple of weeks evaluating the 2018 roster. It’s time to start figuring out what this team needs to do to get back to the Super Bowl. Today we’ll continue this roster outlook series by looking at the wide receiver position.

THE PLAYERS

NELSON AGHOLOR

Regular season stats: 982 snaps, 97 targets, 64 receptions, 736 yards (11.5 average), 4 TD, 3 rushes for 32 rushing yards, 1 passing attempt for 15 passing yards, 1 fumble

Playoff stats: 9 targets, 4 receptions, 38 yards (9.5 average), 1 rush for 12 rushing yards

Review: Agholor really stood out to me during the offseason. He simply looked faster than I ever remember, routinely burning corners deep during practice. I was thinking he was really going to build off his turnaround 2017 season. That never really happened, though, as he finished the 2018 season with volume numbers similar to last year. He was worse in efficiency, however, with four fewer touchdowns and a decrease in yards per reception.

Outlook: It’ll be really interesting to see how the Eagles handle Agholor this offseason. The 2015 first-round pick is currently under contract at a $9.4 million cap figure for 2019. None of that money is currently guaranteed, though, since it’s a fifth-year team option. I really can’t see the Eagles being fine with keeping Agholor at that number. I would guess they’ll try to sign him to a team-friendly contract extension, citing Agholor’s massive struggles over his first two years as why the team can’t pay market price for him. If the Eagles and Agholor can’t agree to an extension, they might just have to move on. That would stink for the Eagles because he wouldn’t factor in to their compensatory pick formula when he signs elsewhere. Again, this is a tricky spot for the Eagles. It would be nice to not have to add slot receiver to the list of Philly’s needs this offseason but they shouldn’t overpay to keep Agholor around.

ALSHON JEFFERY

Regular season stats: 770 snaps, 92 targets, 65 receptions, 843 yards (13.0 average), 6 TD, 1 fumble

Playoff stats: 17 targets, 11 receptions, 145 yards (13.2 average)

Review: Due to recovering from a torn rotator cuff, Jeffery didn’t play his first game until Week 4. He started strong out of the gate with 25 receptions for 306 yards and four touchdowns in his first four starts. All of those games were with Carson Wentz starting, by the way. Jeffery’s effectiveness decreased after the Eagles acquired Tate, which probably isn’t just a coincidence. He then saw a boost in productivity with the Eagles getting away from an ineffective 11 personnel package, which also coincided with Nick Foles filling in for an injured Wentz. One key difference with Foles under center is that Jeffery was seeing more shots down the field, as represented by the 16.5 yards per reception he averaged with Foles compared to the 11.1 mark he had with Wentz. Jeffery came up big for the Eagles against his former team in Chicago before ultimately having the season go right through his hands during Philly’s final offensive drive in New Orleans. Just bad luck. Really hard to be super mad at Jeffery for that play considering he was playing through broken ribs and he played through an injured shoulder en route to the Eagles’ Super Bowl win last year.

Outlook: Wentz and Jeffery haven’t ever really had a ton of offseason time to work together. In 2017, Jeffery missed a lot of practice time as he was resting from the shoulder injury he suffered. Last year, neither Jeffery nor Wentz participated in camp. Here’s hoping both players can get on the same page more in 2019. It’d be nice to see Wentz make some more “trust throws” to Jeffery in order to give him some jump ball opportunities.

JORDAN MATTHEWS

Regular season stats: 346 snaps, 28 targets, 20 receptions, 300 yards (15.0 average), 2 TD

Playoff stats: 2 targets, 1 reception, 37 yards, 1 TD

Review: Matthews signed with the Patriots in the 2018 offseason but they moved on from him after he continued to deal with injury issues. The Eagles then brought JMatt back into the fold when they desperately needed more bodies at receiver. Unlike Matthews’ first stint with Philly, he was an effective role player this time around. That role much better suited him than being a force-fed volume target that the entire offense ran through.

Outlook: The Athletic’s Bo Wulf noted that Matthews seemed to think he’ll command serious attention in free agency now that he’s healthy again. It seems like he’ll be seeking a bigger role/contract than what he’ll be offered from Philly. I wouldn’t mind having him back on a cheap deal if his market isn’t what he expected it to be.

GOLDEN TATE

Regular season stats (with Eagles): 240 snaps, 44 targets, 30 receptions, 278 yards (9.3 average), 1 TD, 4 rushes for 34 rushing yards, 2 fumbles

Playoff stats: 13 targets, 7 receptions, 64 yards (9.1 average), 1 TD

Review: The Eagles sent their 2019 third-round pick to the Lions in exchange for Tate prior to the 2018 NFL trade deadline. It was a curious addition for Philly considering Tate did not address the team’s lack of vertical speed. Tate’s elite ability to generate yards after the catch seemingly made sense for an Eagles team that needed a play-maker, however. Unfortunately, the Eagles were never really able to smoothly incorporate Tate into the offense. His targets usually felt forced and not at all organic. Tate did have some good moments; his game-winning touchdown against the Bears in the playoffs was obviously big. Of course, he also didn’t even realize he was supposed to be running a route on that play until he turned around and saw it wasn’t a run.

Outlook: Unless the Eagles plan to move on from Agholor, I just can’t see them re-signing Tate. Some free agent rankings have him as the top receiver available. I don’t think the Eagles, who are working with limited cap space, will be rushing to pay him a big contract. Then again, Howie Roseman called the Tate trade a success, so maybe they’re interested in keeping him around? I’d guess Tate won’t be back in 2019. I think he signs elsewhere and the Eagles likely earn a fourth-round compensatory pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

KAMAR AIKEN

Regular season stats: 131 snaps, 7 targets, 6 receptions, 53 yards (8.8 average)

Review: The Eagles signed Aiken right before training camp. Honestly, he was one of the worst players I remember seeing all summer. He dropped a lot of passes and just generally failed to impress. Then he suffered an injury that caused him to miss the final two preseason games. Despite this, the Eagles re-signed him when they found themselves desperately needing receiver bodies. Aiken got a lot more playing time than he should’ve received before ultimately being cut in mid-October.

DEANDRE CARTER

Regular season stats: 83 snaps, 2 targets, 2 receptions, 21 yards (10.5 average)

Review: Carter only signed with the Eagles as training camp was already taking place. Those signings are typically just camp bodies but Carter proved to be more than that as he ultimately found a way on the 53-man roster after having a strong preseason. Carter even made a significant impact in Week 4 when he had a 42-yard punt return to set the Eagles up with good field position on a drive that sent the game into overtime. The Eagles waived Carter in early November to make room for defensive tackle “T.Y. McGill.” Philly likely hoped to put Carter back on their practice squad but the Texans claimed Carter on waivers. Losing Carter clearly wasn’t a franchise-altering move but it was annoying to see a fan favorite get cut for some random DT who didn’t even stick with the team.

MIKE WALLACE

Regular season stats: 73 snaps, 3 targets

Review: Wallace seemed like a shrewd free agent signing by Howie Roseman. The Eagles creatively worked his contract so that he wouldn’t count against Philly’s compensatory pick formula. Wallace wasn’t overly impressive in the offseason but he did have moments where he showed he could take the top off a defense. Unfortunately, Wallace suffered a fractured fibula in Week 2 and was placed on injured reserve. The Eagles activated Wallace off IR leading up to Week 17. He was only a limited participant in practices leading up to the Divisional Round, however, when the Eagles were eliminated from the playoffs. Had the Eagles advanced to the NFC Championship Game, Wallace might’ve been able to return.

Outlook: I don’t hate the idea of bringing back Wallace on a one-year, vet minimum type deal. It’s not like he’s injury-prone; Wallace only ever missed two games over nine seasons before missing 14 in 2018.

SHELTON GIBSON

Regular season stats: 64 snaps, 3 targets, 1 reception, 48 yards

Review: Gibson impressed in the preseason as he led Philly with nine receptions for 195 yards (21.7 average) and two touchdowns. That ultimately meant nothing, however, as the coaching staff clearly did not trust him to play even when the Eagles were missing three of their top four receivers early in the season. It was frustrating to see that Gibson couldn’t get on the field over Aiken, who was pretty worthless. Gibson’s sole catch came on an explosive play against the Vikings in Week 5. He was only active for special teams purposes the rest of the season. Even then, he was kept as a healthy scratch in Week 17.

Outlook: Maybe Gibson will have earned more trust from the coaching staff as he enters Year 3? I don’t know. I’ll believe it when I see it.

MARKUS WHEATON

Regular season stats: 2 snaps

Review: Wheaton missed most of the preseason due to injury. The Eagles inexplicably guaranteed his entire 2018 salary by having him on the roster for Week 1 before ultimately cutting him prior to Week 2. Bizarre.

MACK HOLLINS

Review: With Jeffery recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, Hollins received a lot of practice time with the Eagles’ first-team offense. He never really showed signs of making a second-year leap after having some solid flashes as a rookie, however. It was later discovered that Hollins’ lackluster camp might have been due to the fact he was recovering from a sports hernia surgery. Hollins was expecting to play in the Eagles’ season opener but Doug Pederson said he suffered a “minor setback” that wouldn’t allow him to play. Then, just hours before that Thursday night game, the Eagles placed Hollins on injured reserve. At the same time, it was said that there was an expectation that Hollins would eventually be activated from IR ... but that never happened. And so Hollins didn’t play at all in 2018.

Outlook: Hopefully Hollins is healthy enough to have a full offseason to prepare for 2019. Perhaps he can be a solid role player (or even more?) in this offense. He was a very efficient target as a rookie (22 targets for 16 receptions, 226 yards, 1 TD) and as a college athlete (81 receptions, 1667 yards, 20 TD). I don’t know if he’ll ever be a volume target but it seems like he can at least contribute in a rotational role.

BRAXTON MILLER

Review: The Eagles signed Miller to their practice squad after Week 1.

Outlook: It’ll be mildly interesting to see if the 2016 third-round pick can play his way onto the Eagles’ 2019 roster.

DORREN MILLER

Review: The Eagles signed Miller to their practice squad after Week 1.

Outlook: The 2018 undrafted free agent is likely a camp body.

JOHNNY HOLTON

Review: The Eagles signed Holton to a reserve/future contract after the 2018 season ended.

Outlook: Holton’s career 22.9 yards per reception mark suggest he’s capable of stretching the field. The Eagles will give him a shot to see if he’s worth keeping around.

MARKEN MICHEL

Review: The Eagles signed Michel to a reserve/future contract after the 2018 season ended.

Outlook: Michel proved himself to be a deep threat in the CFL. The Eagles will give him a shot in camp.

CARLTON AGUDOSI

Review: The Eagles signed Agudosi to a reserve/future contract after the 2018 season ended.

Outlook: Agudosi is likely a long shot but the Rutgers alumnus offers intriguing size at 6-6, 205 pounds.

FREE AGENCY OR TRADES

I don’t think the Eagles will be looking to spend big at the receiver position in free agency. I do think they’ll be looking at guys who can offer speed.

Tyrell Williams of the Chargers fits that profile but the 27-year-old could be out of the Eagles’ price range. John Brown is another burner type coming off a solid season in Baltimore.

The Eagles reportedly showed interest in Breshad Perriman during the 2018 season before signing JMatt instead. Perriman ended up with the Browns, where he had 16 receptions for 340 yards (21.3 average) and two touchdowns. Perriman, a former Ravens first-round draft pick (Joe Douglas connection alert), could be worth taking a risk on as he likely wouldn’t cost much. He’s still only 25 years old.

DeSean Jackson is currently under contract for 2019 but his $10 million salary contains zero guaranteed money. The Eagles have been rumored as a potential landing spot for DJacc if the Bucs look to move on from him. Signing Jackson would give the Eagles a much-needed vertical threat and it wouldn’t count against their compensatory pick formula.

NFL DRAFT OPTIONS

In keeping with the theme of speed, Philadelphia might be enamored by Oklahoma’s Marquise Brown. Eagles senior director of player personnel Tom Donahoe attended the game where Brown had 11 receptions for 243 yards and two touchdowns. He could make sense as a Day 2 pick given the Eagles have two second rounders to work with.

Andy Isabella is projected as a slot receiver but he’s very much a vertical threat. According to Pro Football Focus, Isabella had 14 catches for 705 yards and nine touchdowns on plays where he was targeted at least 20 yards down the field. That’s insane. Isabella claims he can run a 4.26 40-yard dash.

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