Birds show Texans how to fly
Strong drafts, smart free agent acquisitions led the Eagles from last place to the brink of a title
Three years after winning their first Super Bowl title, the Eagles hit rock bottom in 2020.
They finished 4-11-1, last in the NFC East. Then after the season, they fired head coach Doug Pederson and traded away their former Pro Bowl quarterback Carson Wentz for draft picks.
Now, a little more than two years later, the Eagles are back in the Super Bowl, playing the Chiefs on Sunday, and seeking their second title in four years.
On paper, the Eagles look like a complete team. They have six All-Pro players, including quarterback Jalen Hurts, who was a finalist for the NFL’s MVP award, and were coached by Nick Sirianni, a finalist for the the AP Coach of the Year award. They ranked second in the NFL in total defense and third in total offense. They have one of the best offensive lines and one of the best defensive lines in the league.
Credit general manager Howie Roseman, whom the Eagles decided to keep despite firing Pederson and trading Wentz.
But what the Eagles have done in just a few years shows that if teams build correctly, turning a franchise around in a short amount of time is attainable. Especially for a team like the Texans, who haven’t had a winning season since 2019. The Texans are flush with draft picks over the next two years. They have 11 picks in the 2023, including the No. 2 overall selection and No. 12. They also have two first-round picks in the 2024 draft. And if they can hit on the majority of those selections and make smart signings in free agency, they can turn things around.
“This is a young team,” new Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, who was hired earlier this month, said at his introductory press conference. “We’re on the cusp. We have to add some pieces to what we’re doing here, but I’m so excited to get started.”
That’s what the Eagles did. They drafted young talent, and added more pieces to go along with the draft.
If you look down Philadelphia’s depth chart, 10 of its 11 offensive starters are their own draft selections. The defense is filled with a lot of offseason signings.
From Hurts to wide receiver DeVonta Smith, running back Miles Sanders and center Jason Kelce, all of those players are homegrown. They range from first- to seventh-round picks. Hurts was drafted in the second round in 2020 and remains on his rookie contract, counting only $1.6 million against the team’s salary cap during the 2022 season. His cap number will increase to only $4.79 million in 2023, which will be the final year of his rookie deal, unless the Eagles sign him to an extension.
Getting high level play from your rookie quarterback while he remains on his rookie deal is the ideal scenario. Great quarterbacks are the highest-paid players and can take up the majority of a team’s salary cap, like Patrick Mahomes for the Chiefs. When that happens, teams are constantly having to churn their roster and add new players to fit around the top guy.
But that Hurts is on his rookie deal has allowed the Eagles to sign players like linebacker Haason Reddick and cornerback James Bradberry. Both were voted second-team All-Pro in 2022.
Reddick has been a menace in the playoffs. He’s had 3½ sacks and a forced fumble in two playoff games.
The Eagles were also able to trade for A.J. Brown — the only offensive starter not drafted by Philadelphia — and sign him to an extension. That gave Hurts an additional weapon to pair with Smith, who was drafted with the 10th pick in 2021. It has done wonders to help elevate Hurts’ career.
In last year’s draft, the Eagles took defensive tackle Jordan Davis, who also looks to be a hit for them, with the 13th pick.
The Texans can do something similar. If they can draft a franchise quarterback, whether that’s Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud or Will Levis with the No. 2 pick, and give him a talented wide receiver with the 12th pick, they can jump start that process, having both players on rookie deals for at least three years.
They also have the fourthmost salary cap space in the league and can potentially sign Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil to an extension. They can also look for a defensive tackle or a pass rusher in free agency to help shore up their run defense, which was the worst in the league in 2022.
Or they could draft one with one of their two first-round picks in next year’s draft. The good news is, is that it appears the Texans have hit on players like cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., safety Jalen Pitre and linebacker Christian Harris. Offensive guard Kenyon Green, who was drafted 15th overall, had a promising start, but needs to be consistent and continue to develop.
Now the Texans have to continue that trend of drafting players who can make impacts.
“Yes, we want a great quarterback, but no, we need a great offensive line to protect the quarterback,” Ryans said. “We need great running backs, great tight ends, great receivers. We need a great defense, special teams. We all play together. That’s the awesome part about football is it’s not on one guy’s shoulders to go out there and win the game for us. It’s all about building around each other and playing together.”
The Eagles are a great case study in how that can happen for the Texans. And maybe in three or four years, they can be playing in the Super Bowl.