Do Eagles need elite receiver to win the Super Bowl?
There's a saying in NFL circles that goes something like, "If you want to win a Super Bowl make sure you don't have a great wide receiver."
There's a saying in NFL circles that goes something like, "If you want to win a Super Bowl make sure you don't have a great wide receiver."
It's a new-age axiom because the Jerry Rices, Michael Irvins, and John Stallworths of past champions would have something to say about that line of thinking. But the list of Super Bowl winners with a receiver who led the league in receptions doesn't extend beyond the number zero.
The only player to ever lead the NFL in catches and win a Super Bowl was Todd Christensen, and he was a tight end. In terms of receiving yards, only Rice and Drew Pearson finished atop the league and ended the season with a title. But that hasn't occurred in more than 20 years.
The game has changed, and while there have been good, and even great receivers, on Super Bowl winners over the last two decades, there are seemingly more important positions to emphasize if you want to increase your chances in the postseason.
Which brings us to the receiver-barren Eagles - with apologies to slot Jordan Matthews. Four games in, it's difficult to gauge their contender status. But with quarterback Carson Wentz apparently the real deal, the Eagles have as much reason to think Super Bowl now or in the near future as they have in more than a decade.
And the most glaring weakness on the roster is at receiver - particularly on the outside. The history noted above suggests the Eagles don't need a Julio Jones or A.J. Green to build a champion. The last decade implies as much. But they will likely need more than what Nelson Agholor, Dorial Green-Beckham, and Josh Huff have produced if they are to capitalize on Wentz's gifts.
Matthews has lined up more on the outside this season, but his best position is inside, and that will likely be where he remains. All four receivers are 25 or younger, so there is time for improvement. But Agholor, Green-Beckham, and Huff, at least, have shown little to suggest they can develop into premier receivers.
"I think with the receivers, you always want more," offensive coordinator Frank Reich said Thursday. "But we've made some plays. Carson is completing a very high percentage of his passes. We've had a few drops, but so has every NFL team. It's unacceptable, and you can't stand for it. But it happens."
The three have combined to catch 31 passes for 279 yards (9.0 avg.) and two touchdowns. They have about six drops among them. Matthews has a couple of drops as well, but he leads the team with 19 receptions for 269 yards and two touchdowns. In some ways, it's remarkable how Wentz has performed in his first four NFL games.
The rookie deserves credit, but will he definitively need elite outside receivers? At some point, conceivably, his salary will restrict the Eagles from spending top dollar on each skill position. But there is still time if they want to sign a free agent next offseason.
DeSean Jackson left open a return to Philly when he was asked about the possibility during a Wednesday conference call with Eagles beat reporters. The Redskins receiver should be available, but he'll also be 30, and there will be other options (maybe Alshon Jeffery or Kendall Wright).
The Eagles should be wary of trying to recapture the past, but there is unfinished business. Jackson and Jeremy Maclin had some very good years with the Eagles, but they never had an elite quarterback. Donovan McNabb was at the end of his career, and the succession of Kevin Kolb, Michael Vick, and Nick Foles fell short.
It would be impossible to look at the unfortunate state of the Eagles receivers, of course, without mentioning how they found themselves in this predicament. It would have been difficult to keep Jackson and Maclin, but Chip Kelly led the charge to release the former, and he didn't re-sign the latter when he was in charge of personnel.
Matthews was drafted during Kelly's tenure - although Howie Roseman was general manager at the time - but Agholor falls on Kelly's shoulders. The Eagles' 2015 first-round pick was immediately slotted into Jackson's and Maclin's old spot as a rookie, and he has failed to fill those shoes.
"Those are two special football players," Agholor said. "I wanted to emulate as best as I could what they did at a young age. But life ain't fair. I don't care if someone thinks that I'm supposed to do it right off the bat. I know that I want to catch up, and I think it's going to happen. I don't 'think.' I know."
Agholor has made marginal progress, but he lacks one definable above-average skill. He still struggles with basic concepts. For instance, last week against the Lions, Wentz threw a fade to the goal-line pylon, but Agholor had his body turned inside when the route clearly called for him to turn outside.
He caught a 35-yard touchdown pass in the opener against the Browns, but his tracking of deep balls - as evidenced by his attempt on Wentz's late-game heave against the Lions - has been dubious.
"In Chicago, I could have went for almost 200 yards with almost two deep-ball attempts," Agholor said. "If I come down with those, it would be a different conversation. It would be, 'Man, you guys are throwing the ball deep.' "
But the Eagles aren't even trying to throw deep very often. Only seven teams have attempted fewer passes for more than 15 yards per game than the Eagles and their 5.5 average. They are the Cowboys (4.6), Broncos (4.6), Chiefs (4.8), Seahawks (4.8), New York Giants (5.0), Rams (5.0) and Vikings (5.2). Wentz has completed 12 of the 22 such passes for 319 yards.
"I've always likened it to a boxing match in that you're throwing jabs. You're throwing combinations, and you're looking for the right opportunity to get the big left hook," Reich said of deep passes. "If you just come out throwing big haymakers, usually what happens is you end up getting knocked out."
Wentz, though, has a gunslinger reputation. It would probably serve the Eagles in the long-term to find a game-breaker to take advantage of not only his arm but his mentality.
Green-Beckham isn't especially quick, but he has favorable size (6-foot-5, 237 pounds) to outjump defensive backs on deep balls. But given the chance on an end zone fade against a Lions cornerback who was eight inches shorter, Green-Beckham failed to pull in Wentz's pass.
"When you're throwing to a big, strong guy like that," Reich said, "you've heard people say this before, but as a quarterback, you can't cover him. He's never covered."
Jackson's speed is what makes him feared, but it wouldn't matter if he weren't adept at tracking balls in the air. But his value - or any top receiver for that matter - is up for debate when measured against other positions.
The Broncos had two plus-receivers in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, but they won the Super Bowl in February because of their defense. The Patriots have won four Super Bowls, including two years ago, in spite of not having elite receivers. The same could be said of the 2013 Seahawks and the 2012 Ravens.
It's not a necessity, but the Eagles would still likely prefer an upgrade at outside receiver. They just have to catch one now.
@Jeff_McLane