Post-Draft Position Breakdown: Wide Receiver

What the Eagles did: The Eagles love to load up on wide receivers in the offseason, mainly (I assume) to take up all the tiring practice repetitions running up and down the field, working on routes with the quarterbacks. Right now they have 14 wideouts on the roster, most of whom we probably don’t need to worry about learning their names.

There are really only six receivers who, barring injury, are competing for regular season jobs, and the top three are already set. Dave Spadaro reports that DeSean Jackson is acting Iike a totally different man at the NovaCare complex now that he has a new contract. Prorated over the three games he missed due to injury, Jeremy Maclin would have had 78 receptions for 1,057 yards and 6 TDs last year. Hopefully a healthy offseason will allow him to top those numbers. Meanwhile, Jason Avant posted his best numbers at age 28 last season, so you can pencil him in the slot once more.

However, this great core group of wide receivers still has a major weakness: red zone production. All three are at their worst in that area of the field — which is why, not for the first time, we’re looking to some bigger wideouts to step up in that area.

First up is the holdover Riley Cooper. Due to injuries, the Eagles actually gave Cooper a lot of snaps last year, 330 according to Pro Football Focus. Yet ‘Sunshine’ did little to justify those extra looks. So in the draft this year, Howie Roseman added some competition for that big receiver job we’ll affectionately call the honorary Hank Baskett role. Marvin McNutt, the Eagles sixth round pick out of Iowa, has a similar build and athleticism as Cooper. It will be interesting to see if he can displace the other big man.

What I would have done: Bringing on another big wide receiver was necessary, considering Michael Vick’s strengths and Cooper’s lack of production. But I would have also liked to see the Eagles draft a multidimensional threat to supplant the bland Chad Hall. Hall has value on this team as a trick play threat and backup kick returner, but the team could have found someone with more speed and explosiveness to fill that role. Brandon Boykin will have a lot on his plate at cornerback in his rookie year, but I wonder if he could fill in on offense as well, like he did in college.

Way-too-early prediction: The Eagles might be able to stretch their roster to accommodate six receivers, as they did last year due to injury. If not, I’m unsure which of the three backups could see the door. McNutt would certainly have trouble being worse than Cooper as a wide receiver, but he’ll have to replace him on special teams as well, which might be harder to do. Then there’s Chad Hall, whom Andy Reid just can’t seem to cut loose. My prediction would be that Cooper is let go, but that’s not one made with very much confidence.

Jets at Eagles: The Big Question

However, tonight, when the Eagles take on Rex Ryan’s brash and bold style of New York Jets, we won’t really be able to judge the offensive line, or any other starting unit for that matter — because only second and third team players will be out on the field for this game. So the big question for this week:

Which Player is Going to Make Himself the Hardest to Cut?

Soon enough the Eagles will have to cut down their roster from 75 players to only 53. Many of these decisions have already been made, but this game provides one last chance for bubble guys to prove they belong. Let’s see where there’s still competition…

Young Receivers Show Bright Future for Eagles Offense

On Monday we looked at the changing nature of the Eagles’ passing game over the last six years, determining that — both because the backs are worse and the receivers are better — fewer passes are going to running backs.

But of the passes intended for wide receivers, where are they going? That is the focus of today’s post.

Maclin's Knee Injury Raises Questions About Wide Receivers

At the end of practice today, Jeremy Maclin suffered a left knee injury and had to be carted off the field into the locker room. At the moment, word out of Lehigh is that Maclin’s knee is only hyper-extended, not anything more serious like a ligament tear.

Friday Figures: Eagles Offensive Play Count Stats

Not a lot of complexity to this post. Just some stats and (hopefully) a few interesting observations. Let’s jump right in.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 Eagles offensive player play counts, broken down by run/pass, courtesy of PFF:

So about 40% of the Eagles’ offensive plays were runs last year. When some of these players were on the field though, one could make a pretty good guess that a run was coming. Take Mr. Eldra Buckley for example. When he was in the game the Eagles were over two times more likely to have Donovan hand the ball off.

The embattled wildcat quarterback, the second/blocking tight end, and the fullback, all also signaled to the defense that a run was on the way. Brian Westbook on the other hand? Not so much.

Let’s take a gander at 2008 for comparison’s sake:

Basically the same team run/pass ratio, but it gives us a few more data points and intriguging spots to look.

• Eldra Buckley is apparently Kyle Eckel part 2. Not good for Eldra’s chances of making this team — the Eagles can easily use Charles Scott for those 30-40 plays.
• Speaking of which, notice how almost all of the guys who heavily skew to rushes tend to get replaced: Eckel, Klecko, Schobel, Baskett, (Alex) Smith. If you can’t be multidimensional in Andy’s offense, you’re going to have a hard time sticking around.
• Hank Baskett is a tight end in wide receiver’s clothes. Meaning Riley Cooper better work on blocking if he wants to supplant Baskett as the #4 guy off the bench.
• Actually there is a pretty clear correlation. The further down the depth chart a player is at wide receiver, the more run blocking he’ll be required to do.
• Brent Celek played almost every offensive snap. What a beast.
• Brian Westbrook became much more pass-centered last year. Might be part of how the coaches tried to shield him from a big workload.
• Andy Reid must feel much more confident in Kevin Kolb now than a year ago. Back in 2008 he was helping Kolb out by calling runs more than half the time. In the two games in 2009, however, Kolb passed about as much as McNabb.