5 Eagles thoughts: Dallas Goedert's place in the offense, Jahan Dotson's usage and more
After a crushing loss on Monday Night Football to the Falcons, the Eagles are on to New Orleans to take on the Saints. Before then, here are five thoughts I currently have about the Birds...
Is Dallas Goedert still a top-tier tight end?
Dallas Goedert was once considered an unquestioned top-five, or better, tight end in the NFL. He's still a force as a blocker for the Eagles' successful run game, but after uber-efficient 2021 and 2022 seasons, he hasn't been the same factor in the Birds' passing attack.
Look at his yards per route run, per RotoWire , and where those figures rank among the league's tight ends the last few seasons:
He went from averaging more yards per route run than the likes of Tyreek Hill and Mike Evans in 2021 to, in the small-sample size of this season, to averaging fewer than 33-year-old Zach Ertz and Tyler Conklin.
Goedert has been targeted only nine times through two games. They're missing A.J. Brown, their best player and a top-three wideout in the sport. Their offense isn't humming at the same level without him, but even back in 2021 with no Brown and Jalen Hurts under center, Goedert was a beast. Can he still be that player at 29 years old?
What's next for Jahan Dotson?
The early returns through two games for Jahan Dotson are not great. Sure, it's simply two games and Dotson was acquired late in August, but he has the talent to be a factor in Philly. Dotson could eschew his first-round pick background here, sliding in as a role player behind Brown and DeVonta Smith as the No. 3 receiver and potentially step up in case of injuries.
Well, that unfortunate turn of events is here with Brown sidelined with a hamstring injury that will keep him out for an indefinite period of time. Brown sat in the Eagles' Monday night loss to Atlanta. Dotson was targeted just once in that game though, totaling six receiving yards. That's clearly not enough as the No. 2 wideout to sustain a high-level passing offense.
Is this an issue where the coaching staff isn't implementing him quickly enough, Hurts doesn't trust him or the skill level isn't up to par? The answer to questions like that is usually a little bit of everything. It's a bad sign for Dotson's role when undersized veteran returner Britain Covey is a frequent red zone target in comparison.
General manager Howie Roseman's move to make a deal for Dotson was a draft capital risk worth taking. How it actually pans out could be wildly different though.
A pathetic pass-rush
The Eagles' three sacks through two games are their lowest total in that span since the beginning of the 2021 season. Those numbers are even worse under the surface. Off-ball linebacker Zach Baun had two in Week 1, including on a game-ending Hail Mary-style play. Just one has come from an actual defensive lineman: Milton Williams against the Falcons. Josh Sweat, Bryce Huff, Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis? Goose eggs. 36-year-old Brandon Graham has been their best rusher through two weeks.
The Eagles aren't serious contenders if this continues.
Is Jalen Hurts back as a runner?
Sure, that loss to the Falcons was a disaster, but in terms of looking for positives that could guide the Eagles to success, Hurts looking spry as a runner is certainly one.
On a night where Hurts rushed for 85 yards (6.5 yards per attempt) and the team ran for 186, it felt like a 2021 throwback. The passing game wasn't great, Brown wasn't out there to be as reliable as anything and Hurts showcased a type of burst as a scrambler that was absent in Week 1 and the entirety of the 2023 season. His 85 rushing yards were more than he had in any game in 2023. They were his most since he went for 157 yards against the Packers in November 2022.
Now, a lot of those came on scrambles rather than true runs, but perhaps that's a lesson for the Eagles' coaching staff. Leave the designed runs for Saquon Barkley. Let Hurts try to beat teams through the air like he did in 2022. When things are in doubt, however, maybe he could still beat some teams on the ground.
The Superdome has been a super problem for the Eagles
Yes, players and coaches have changed over the years, but ask any Eagles fan... how confident are you when you see the Eagles make the trip to the Big Easy? The answer likely isn't much. The last time the Eagles won on the road against the Saints was Week 16 of the 2007 season. I was in eighth grade. That doesn't even take into account the team's crushing playoff loss in the Divisional Round the previous January. Who can forget that painful 2018 playoff loss that ended a quest for back-to-back Super Bowls, too?
House of horrors stuff, but, hey, Hurts is 2-0 against the Saints in his career with current head coach Dennis Allen running the defense both times at least!
