Philadelphia Eagles: 3 Statistics to improve on in 2017
By Jeremy Klump
If the Philadelphia Eagles are going to improve in 2017, they need to improve on these three statistics.
The Philadelphia Eagles finished 7-9 last season, so they obviously need to improve in some areas. For starters, they needed to improve their roster. After trading up in the 2016 NFL Draft to select franchise quarterback Carson Wentz, the Eagles have a clear plan of building around him. But, that process will not happen in one season, and 2016 was a rough one for Philadelphia. Luckily they have some good decision makers in place, with Howie Roseman and Joe Douglas running the show in Philly.
Both Roseman and Douglas have worked together like peanut butter and jelly this offseason as they have built the roster up and improved it on paper. It all started with signing free agent wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith. Jeffery will give Wentz the No. 1 receiver he lacked in his rookie season while Smith will help the vertical offense. Philly also added Mack Hollins and Shelton Gibson in the 2017 NFL Draft.
It wasn’t just about the wide receiver position; they also added running back LeGarrette Blount. The addition of running back Donnel Pumphrey in the draft will help as well.
On defense, the Eagles tried to fill their cornerback hole, but it looks like the hole will still be there until 2018. Former Washington Huskies cornerback Sidney Jones was the best cornerback in the 2017 NFL Draft class, though, a torn Achilles tendon may take away his rookie season in Philadelphia. They did draft Rasul Douglas in the third. But the former West Virginia Mountaineer will take some times to become a legitimate starter.
It was the defensive line that improved the most. Philly lost defensive tackle Bennie Logan, but they replaced him with Timmy Jernigan, who is even better. They then used their first-round pick on former Tennessee defensive end Derek Barnett.
All of these improvements look good on paper, but the Eagles also need to improve in some key areas of the stat sheet. Here are three statistics the Eagles need to improve on in 2017.