The Eagles just went 16-3 when you count the playoffs, culminating, of course, with Sunday’s Super Bowl victory over New England. They basically dominated the NFL start to finish. They were brilliant, talented, and ultimately the best team in the league when the dust settled.
It’s not like the Bay Area didn’t get a front row seat to watch the Eagles brilliance, either. The 49ers and Raiders lost by a combined 52-20 during the year in the City of Brotherly Love.
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How did Philadelphia do it?
How did the Eagles build this team? How did a team that lost its starting quarterback still rattle off three victories in the playoffs? It truly was a remarkable run and I promise you one thing, the other 31 teams in the NFL are studying how to copy them right now.
There are a lot of factors, some obviously include luck, but building a championship roster is not rocket science. The Eagles mapped out a blueprint that could give any team a chance to compete, especially if you have your quarterback, which both teams in the Bay Area possess. Here are some elements of the Eagles’ run the 49ers and Raiders should follow moving forward.
1. Trade draft picks for veteran players
It’s one of the new market inefficiencies in the NFL. Both Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and the Patriots’ Bill Belichick are notorious for this move. Trade a draft pick for a player who is out of favor on another roster and is still on a rookie contract, getting a cheap starter for a draft pick. Sounds easy, but most teams view picks as gold and are too often unwilling to barter with them. Bottom line: the best teams are not afraid to part with picks.
The Eagles made two massive moves in 2017 that changed their future. First, they traded wide receiver Jordan Matthews and a third-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for a starting corner in Ronald Darby. Matthews will be a free agent this offseason and the Eagles had no intention of re-signing him. Darby was a former second-round pick and a legitimate starter who was also still on a rookie contract. That is the key — Darby was cheap and could play.
But like any team with a new coach and administration, Darby didn’t fit the new scheme in Buffalo, which created an opportunity for every team in the league. Darby is a man-to-man corner and the Bills now run a zone scheme. The Eagles pounced. He made slightly over $800,000 this season. He’ll cost slightly over $1 million in 2018. As of right now, he’d be the 66th-highest paid corner in 2018, according to spotrac.com. That’s what I call value.
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The Eagles also traded a fourth-round pick to Miami for a starting running back in Jay Ajayi. Like Darby, the key to this deal is that he is cheap. Ajayi’s salary is under $1 million until 2019, when his contract runs out. At $705,000, his salary for 2018 currently ranks 53rd among running backs under contract for next season. That’s the key — the Eagles traded for players on rookie contracts. So, unlike free agency, even if you miss on the player, it’s not a major sunk cost.
Even New England’s best defensive player in the Super Bowl was acquired in a similar fashion. Kyle Van Noy, a former Detroit Lions second-rounder, was traded to New England for a seventh-round pick. Less than a year in, Belichick liked him so much he extended him for $5.5 million guaranteed.
Both the 49ers and Raiders should take more chances like this in the trade market. Especially by trading later-round picks. Even if you miss on the player, it doesn’t cost you much money. Plus, the likelihood of hitting on guys in those late rounds are so slim. When you can acquire a starting player who fits the scheme on a rookie contract for anything later than a fourth-rounder, it’s a no-brainer move.
Obviously, the premium positions like pass rusher, cornerback and offensive tackle cost more. But the Eagles wouldn’t even hesitate to do that Darby deal again. Look at the 49ers — one of the best deals they’ve ever made was trading a second-round pick for Jimmy Garoppolo.
My advice to both teams this spring: trade picks for starters on rookie deals. Don’t worry about the perceived value of the draft pick. Take the sure thing, especially if you like the player. There are zero guarantees in the draft.
2. Coach aggressively 24/7/365
The Eagles approached this fourth-and-goal play late in the second quarter like it was September, not the Super Bowl, and were rewarded with a championship ring because of the mindset.
WHAT. A. PLAY.@Eagles throw up the trick play to Nick Foles for the touchdown… ON FOURTH DOWN!
Incredible.#SBLII | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/FYHjhl6knX
— NFL UK (@NFLUK) February 5, 2018
Doug Pederson put on a clinic in the Super Bowl. He played to win, never taking his foot off the gas pedal, and kept going for the jugular. This didn’t just start in January, it was a season edict by Pederson. The Eagles were second in the NFL in fourth-down attempts in 2017; only Green Bay went for it more often. Pederson’s Eagles hung their hat on aggression.
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How will Jon Gruden be with the Raiders when the 2018 season starts? No one can honestly say they know. Will he be aggressive? Will he be conservative? Only time will tell, but if Gruden can copy one thing Jack Del Rio did, it would be this aggressiveness. The Raiders were third in the NFL in 2017 in fourth-down attempts, and it was one of the highlights of his three seasons in the East Bay. When all else fails, go for it.
Kyle Shanahan is an aggressive coach by nature. The 49ers already have this box checked. Sometimes, coaches lose this edge as they age. Luckily for the team, Shanahan is still young and has a lot to prove. I’m confident in his ability to rely on his swing-first nature. If you want to win in 2018, you have to coach aggressively. The game has changed, and the rules even promote it. So, in a league founded on its conservative nature, times have clearly shifted in the opposite direction. Coach to win or go home a loser.
3. Invest in a tight end
Zach Ertz has been a difference maker for the Eagles for years. My last draft in Philadelphia, we drafted the Bay Area product in the second round, and he has more than lived up to the hype. He caught 35 balls and two touchdowns in the six games (playoffs included) after Carson Wentz went down. He is the modern prototype for the position — a player built like a tight end but who operates like a glorified wide receiver. He was just spectacular this season.
Most of the best tight ends in the NFL go high in the draft. You are not finding these guys in the later rounds. Tyler Eifert went in the first round, Rob Gronkowski went in the second, and Travis Kelce went in the third. These guys don’t last on the board long. Plus, the only reasons Gronk and Kelce lasted past the first day were injury and character questions, respectively. Both were viewed as first-round talents. You want this premium position, you better invest draft capital.
The 2018 draft is loaded at the tight end position. There are three to four guys who could easily come off the board before the end of day two. Hayden Hurst of South Carolina, Mark Andrews of Oklahoma, Mike Gesicki of Penn State and Troy Fumagalli of Wisconsin are some names that should be in play for either team in the Bay.
To give Garoppolo and Derek Carr the best chance to win moving forward, their teams must invest in this position. The Raiders tried with Clive Walford, but completely whiffed, and George Kittle is not the long-term answer for the 49ers. To get a big-time tight end, you have to invest a high pick. My recommendation to both franchises would be find a way to use a second-day pick on one of these players.
The tight end is basically the NFL’s version of the small-ball center in the NBA. If you have one, you can take advantage of your opponent. If you don’t, you are not going to win big. In 2018, they are a must have.
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4. Invest in the trenches
The Eagles lost one of the best players in franchise history in Week 7, left tackle Jason Peters, and never skipped a beat by the time the playoffs came around. Not sure many teams could have pulled that off. The Eagles have invested heavily in their offensive line. They had the sixth-most expensive line in the league in 2017 (the Raiders, at second, were among the teams ahead of them).
The Eagles were also fifth in the NFL with money spent on their defensive line. It’s been their point of difference all season. It’s an old cliché, but so true — football is won in the trenches.
Now, their numbers can be a little skewed because the Eagles spent less than 5 percent of their salary cap on quarterbacks thanks to relatively inexpensive deals for Carson Wentz and Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, but it’s clear that the organization values the trenches. It always has.
It’s tougher for the Raiders, who already have invested in their offensive line and pay Carr a premium, and the 49ers, who are about to pay Garoppolo, but it’s clear both teams need to improve up front.
The 49ers’ offensive line is terrible. They need to buy and draft players to protect their new franchise quarterback. I know they rattled off five wins to end the season, but that’s not sustainable without better protection in 2018. They’ve invested a lot into the defensive line draft-wise, and their young players should continue to improve on that unit. They are headed in the right direction on that side of the ball, but the offensive line must be upgraded.
For the Raiders, it’s the opposite. They have spent huge money on the offensive line, and have benefited from a solid unit the past two seasons. But their defensive line is not good en0ugh. Beside Khalil Mack, and flashes of Bruce Irvin, the unit is below average. Their defensive tackles are pedestrian, and they don’t have any backup pass rushers who can play. One problem: Mack’s contract is due to be extended for an enormous amount of money, so using that first-round pick on a dominant defensive tackle should be in heavy consideration.
The Raiders and 49ers have franchise quarterbacks, the hardest thing in the NFL to find. It’s now on management to build the lines up to a championship level if they plan on competing with the Eagles.
(Top photo: Rich Schultz/Getty Images)