Pederson seems convinced WRs won’t drop the ball in 2017

PHILADELPHIA » The way Doug Pederson embraced the question you just knew he believed the Eagles have turned the corner.

The team that ranked seventh in the NFL with 27 mostly brutal drops in 2016 was guilty of only a small fraction of those flubs through OTAs and minicamp, Nelson Agholor included.

Just a handful of grabs instead of drops and the Eagles have a winning record. The head coach didn’t need the exact numbers in front of him to claim victory.

“I think you’re seeing that this offseason, the times you’ve had a chance to watch us practice that the drops are down obviously this year,” Pederson said. “But the one thing that’s been a little more impressive are the contested catches when the defenders kind of — those bang-bang plays — we’ve been able to catch a few more of those, which is good to see and you’re going to have to do.”

While the Eagles changed wide receiver coaches, the improvement is more a product of importing talent than replacing Greg Lewis with Mike Groh.

In free agency the Eagles signed the 6-3 Alshon Jeffery, who has 34-inch arms and enormous hands that catch everything in his area code.

“His catch radius is unbelievable, so having a guy like that you know if he’s covered, if you’re confident and on the same page, you can just give him a chance,” quarterback Carson Wentz said. “We’re continually working through that. It’s still a work in progress but he’s been great. Having that big body out there has been pretty fun.”

Free agent addition Torrey Smith has excellent hands. Ditto tight end Zach Ertz. Fourthround draft pick Mack Hollins has solid hands. Agholor has gotten so open on deep balls he hasn’t had to make contested catches.

The Eagles topped the NFC East in dropped passes last year. The Cowboys dropped a leaguelow eight passes en route to a 13-3 record. The Redskins were 8-7-1 with just 11 drops. The Giants flubbed 22 passes, 12th in the league, but rolled to an 11-5 mark.

Jordan Matthews led the Eagles with six dropped balls while Agholor, Dorial Green-Beckham and Darren Sproles had four each.

The only other division team with multiple players in drops among the top 20 in the NFC was the Giants. Odell Beckham dropped six, Sterling Shepard four. Beckham had 169 targets, 101 receptions and 10 touchdowns.

The drops frustrated Wentz, Pederson and the front office.

Whether it was routine balls or contested plays, the increase in catches is easily the biggest take-away from the recently concluded minicamp. Among other observations: ∙ First-round pick Derek Barnett has impressed teammates with his motor, technique and size.

Barnett tips the scales at 260plus pounds. He’s made life difficult for blockers although in all fairness he still doesn’t know how to practice in the non-contact settings of OTAs and minicamp.

Give Barnett a few preseason games before you send him to Canton.

∙ Rookie running back Donnel Pumphrey is anything but the second coming of Sproles.

Pumphrey is three inches taller than Sproles. He lacks almost all of the lower body power of Sproles.

Pairing Pumphrey and Sproles in the backfield in 21Pony packages may never work. Neither of them are big enough to block and there’s only so many things you can do out of the motion the Eagles use to bring one or the other across the formation. Seeing them both in the game is an invitation to blitz.

∙ LeGarrette Blount is strictly a runner. When the 250-pound veteran turns for a pass he looks like the turret on a Sherman tank spinning around.

Blount doesn’t have much of a burst, either, so the Eagles basically will have to let him pound between the tackles or get upfield on draw plays. On the plus side, his bulk will help handle blitzes.

∙ Cornerback continues to be the major weakness on defense.

Jalen Mills and rookie thirdround pick Rasul Douglas are battlers. They’ll look better when they’re allowed to get physical at training camp.

The bottom line is they are a year or two away. Safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod again are going to have to help out in coverage. Fewer defenders in the box enables the opposition to run. The Eagles already are missing run-stoppers Bennie Logan and Connor Barwin, who they basically disposed of.

In essence it looks like the Eagles will have the capability to score a lot of points … and to give up a lot of points.

∙ Finally, the last thing the Eagles want to do is even think about damaging the confidence of Wentz, should he suffer from the dreaded sophomore jinx or injury.

Wentz played all 16 games last season despite almost weekly changes on the offensive line due to the suspension to Lane Johnson and injuries.

No Eagles quarterback has started every game in back-toback seasons since Donovan McNabb in 2003-04 (he was healthy enough to start the ’04 finale but was rested for the playoffs).

If Wentz gets dinged to the point his performance is affected, does Nick Foles play?

Anyone else see a quarterback controversy developing if Foles steps in and leads the Eagles to the playoffs? Stuff happens.