The offensive line: The best teams in the NFL almost always have excellent play along the offensive line. In a league that is built around passing the ball, having a high-quality offensive line is basically a requirement to compete for a Super Bowl. The Eagles meet that requirement in a major way. The team returns an offensive line with four players on it in — Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks and Jason Peters — that have all made the Pro Bowl at one point in their career. Many will point to Peters' age, but he played far better last season than he is being given credit for, and one full season removed from a torn ACL, it would not be surprising to see him have a bounce back season.
What makes the offensive line so special is the depth. The return of Stefen Wisniewski is a big deal, as it gives the team a high-quality backup at all three interior offensive line spots. At tackle the Eagles might have the best set of three backups in the league in Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Andre Dillard and Jordan Maliata. All three have their flaws, but in a league where not many team even have quality starting tackles, the Eagles have a very interesting and talented group of backups.
The receivers: Not many, if any, quarterback will go into next season with a better starting trio of receivers than the group Carson Wentz will have to work with. The Eagles' group fo starting receivers fit together like a puzzle on paper, as Alson Jeffery, DeSean Jackson and Nelson Agholor all appear to compliment each other perfectly. Wentz shied away from throwing up 50/50 balls in 2018, but if he gets back to it in 2019, he has one of the best in the NFL at winning them in Jeffery. Opposite Jeffery is the best deep threat in the NFL in Jackson, who despite being 32-years old, led the NFL in yards-per-catch last season. In the slot Wentz has Agholor, who has totaled 106 catches, 1,504 yards and 12 touchdowns over the last two seasons.
Add in tight end Zach Ertz, who is arguably the best in the NFL at his position, and there is no excuse for this Eagles offense to ever finish a game in the teens — and should finish the majority of their games in the 30's.
Wentz is healthy: For the first time in roughly 17 months, Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz can say he is waking up without dealing with an injury. His back will always be something to monitor, but Wentz is now able to practice without limitations, without a knee brace on and without having to worry about his latest injury — at least for now. Wentz has shown that when healthy, and when given a full offseason to work on nothing but his game, he will improve. That happened in a major way from 2016 to 2017, the last time Wentz had a full offseason to work. As of now, that is happening again — and that could be the first sign that he is about to have a bounce back season in a major way.
Doug Pederson: The days of both people around the league — and Eagles fans — laughing at the hire of Pederson are long gone. Now, there aren't many head coaches in the NFL you would want running your team instead of Pederson. In his three years on the sidelines Pederson has proven to be one of the best play callers in the NFL, and has at times produced points despite poor quarterback play, injuries or a lackluster set of skill players. That shouldn't be the case this season. Many of the reasons listed above — the strong offensive line, the receivers, a healthy Wentz — it wouldn't matter if the Eagles didn't have the right head coach to tie them all together.
With Pederson on the sideline, the Eagles have a chance to have the best offense in the league. Add in the fact that he has shown he knows how to win games in the NFL, and get his team to play hard, and the Eagles will always be contenders with Pederson running the show.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
