By Peter Gleason
The Eagles won’t play their first regular season game until Sept. 13, when they travel to Washington to play the Redskins.
And, as usual, the national media are underestimting the Birds:
Sports Illustrated (13th): Carson Wentz passed for 4,000 yards with 27 touchdowns and only seven interceptions despite a lack of playmakers on the flank. His top two receivers were tight ends and his No. 3 receiver was a running back. And the Eagles still won the NFC East. The offseason goal was to put some speed on the flank and Philly accomplished that this offseason, trading for Marquise Goodwin and drafting Jalen Reagor in the first round. Pro Bowl CB Darius Slay bolsters a Top 10 defense.
Peter King for MMQB (15th): What a hard-to-read team. So many “yeah, buts.” The biggest: Eagles were 5-7 last year and needed to win four in a row to ensure a playoff spot—and did . . . but the beat-up offense scored 10, 9 and 9 points against playoff teams in the last eight games. Everything was a struggle last year. But quarterback Carson Wentz had a mostly redemptive season, playing all 17 games after missing the ends of the previous two years with injuries. Wisely, GM Howie Roseman decided to stock up to help the offense, drafting wideout Jalen Reagor, who needs to be impactful from day one, and quarterback Jalen Hurts, who needs to be impactful in season one. For five years, the Eagles kept hoping Nelson Agholor would be something more than a complementary piece, but he never was. He’s gone, and now Reagor needs to show up from day one.
ESPN: (6th)… Projected to have 9.1 wins, 66% chance of making the playoffs
