Philadelphia Eagles: Can Rueben Randle find consistency?
By Nick Ziegler
The Philadelphia Eagles have made a move that they hope will upgrade their offense as they signed Rueben Randle.
This isn’t the first time this offseason the Philadelphia Eagles have expressed an interest in a member of the New York Giants, as they brought in Tom Coughlin for an interview after he and the Giants parted ways after 2015.
Unlike the meeting with Coughlin, their meeting with Randle obviously went much better, as he accepted a one-year, $1.025 million dollar contract. The deal, via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, is a very reasonable one for Randle, but he does have the opportunity to earn more than $3 million in incentives.
The #Eagles reach a 1-year deal with WR Rueben Randle. Agent Vincent Taylor of Elite Loyalty says it's worth more than $3M, $500K guaranteed
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 23, 2016
Randle will be joining a wide receiving corps that includes Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor, as he won’t be asked to be the No.1 option for Sam Bradford, as Matthews will continue to be the go-to guy.
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The Giants selected Randle in the second-round of the 2012 NFL Draft from LSU, and it was noticeable right away that he was going to be a bit of a project. In his rookie season, Randle totaled 19 receptions, 298 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns. It was a disappointing rookie campaign for Randle, as 19 receptions for a second-round pick in his first year is not very good.
In his sophomore season, Randle did improve, as he totaled 41 receptions, 611 receiving yards, and six receiving touchdowns. The jump from his rookie to sophomore season in the NFL was certainly a good sign for the Giants, and Randle continued that improvement in his third season. In 2014, Randle had his best season with the Giants, as he totaled career-highs in receptions with 71 and receiving yards with 938. As Odell Beckham Jr. made his name known as a rookie in 2014, Randle finally looked like he was on his way to becoming the wide receiver that the Giants hoped he would be when they drafted him.
Last season, there was a lot of expectations for the Giants’ offense, as they were loaded on paper with Eli Manning, Victor Cruz, Beckham, and Randle. Unfortunately for the Giants, their offense did not live up to the expectations, as Cruz never stepped on the field in 2015, and Randle had a down season in his contract year. In 2015, Randle totaled 57 receptions, 797 receiving yards, but he did have eight receiving touchdowns.
Randle has a unique frame for a wide receiver at 6’4” and over 200 pounds, as we did see him become more of a factor in the red zone last season. The biggest knock on Randle in New York was his consistency, as he had five games last season in which he totaled fewer than three receptions. Route running is still something that is a weakness of Randle, as he did cost Eli Manning a few interceptions over the past few years because of mental errors.
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The Eagles have undergone a major change in philosophy this offseason, as Chip Kelly is no longer the head coach, and they have been ridding themselves of players that Kelly brought in to fit his system. The deal to acquire Randle is certainly a good one for the Eagles, as they got a solid wide receiver at a very cheap price. If Randle can become more consistent in 2016, the Eagles will have made a great move by signing him.