Victims of depth
Too many WRs, only one football
PHILADELPHIA — Fourth in a series.
As with many other position groups, the Philadelphia Eagles are looking at major changes to their wide receiver rotation.
That’s what happens when you trade to reacquire DeSean Jackson, get Mack Hollins back after he was forced to sit all of last season with a hernia, draft JJ Arcega-Whiteside and sprinkle some intriguing newcomers like Charles Johnson and Marken Michel into a group that returns accomplished performers Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor.
Greg Ward also has made strides toward making the roster after spending parts of the last two seasons on the practice squad.
Braxton Miller, who like Ward was a quarterback in college, has had his moments on the practice field as well, along with Shelton Gibson, Carlton Agudosi and rookie DeAndre Thompkins out of Penn State.
It’s been a good group that gave the coaching staff a lot to ponder over the extended break between mandatory minicamp and training camp, which opens Thursday at the NovaCare Complex.
And it promises to do more of the same throughout the preseason, after which many qualified players will become victims of solid depth.
Figure on the Eagles keeping no more than six. Also figure on Jeffery, Agholor, Jackson, Hollins and Whiteside surviving the final cuts, which would leave, at the most, one opening.
Regardless of how it all shakes out, quarterback Carson Wentz figures to have plenty of options and already has seemed to develop rapport with Arcega-Whiteside, the second of their two second-round draft picks
Arcega-Whiteside will have to continue to prove himself, though, because of the sudden presence of Jackson, who won’t be a high-volume
receiver but will keep the safeties at a safe distance with his ability to get open deep down the field.
Hollins and Agholor also figure to have something to say about the promising rookie’s playing time and number of times he’s actually targeted this year.
Actually, Wentz’s favorite target isn’t even a wideout; it’s Zach Ertz, who last season broke the NFL’s single-season record for receptions by a tight end, with 116.
So many hands, just one football.
Of all the bubble candidates, Johnson clearly has the most impressive resumè. He played three years for the Vikings from 2014 through 2016, catching 60 passes for 834 yards and an impressive average of 13.9 yards per reception. He also went down in history as the AAF’s all-time leading receiver before the league folded shortly after it began.
Playing for coach Steve Spurrier’s Orlando Apollos, Johnson caught 45 passes for 687 yards in just eight games.
“It was no politics involved,” he said. “… The best players are going to play.”
Needless to say, the competition will be more intense this summer. But Johnson is up for it.
And so is everyone else, based on the results we saw from the offseason camps.
Before the Eagles broke minicamp, offensive coordinator Mike Groh acknowledged the team’s plans to be more balanced when necessary and that there likely will be more two-tight end formations, which means one less wideout on the field.
“They understand that by having a lot of good players it makes you hard to defend and that they might have to share the football,” Groh said.
The personnel decisions at wide receiver are going to be excruciating, even though they probably feel they can’t go wrong no matter what players they keep. Next installment: Linebacker.