Edge Rusher Would Make Sense For Eagles At Trade Deadline

The NFL Trade Deadline is fast approaching. We have already seen some players like Davante Adams, Amari Cooper, and DeAndre Hopkins move to new teams. Teams have until Tuesday, November 5th to make a move, giving them a couple more weeks. But will the Eagles make a move to improve their odds this year?

Howie Roseman does love to make moves. They do not always work out though. Last year they added Kevin Byard and got little out of him. They added Robert Quinn a couple of years ago, and it didn't work. Back in the Super Bowl year though, he acquired Jay Ajayi, and that move worked out well. So there is some good and bad there.

What will he try and do this year though? Tim McManus joined The Best Show Ever, and they asked him what they might do at the trade deadline. Tim has a position in mind that they might target and also gave us a name they might be trading away.

"I felt like edge rusher would be the position. We know that there's been some progress on that front the last couple of weeks where Nolan Smith is starting to produce a little bit. Bryce Huff contributed. But if the Eagles want to ensure that the edge rusher is going to produce and that they have the right amount of personnel to get the job done. Maybe they want to look on the outside there.

I don't know that they would spend big capital on an edge rusher, but if you can get somebody that's not going to cost a ton and isn't going to also cost a lot of draft capital, then I can see edge rusher making some sense for them."

That checks out. Edge Rusher is a place where they could maybe get a bit better. Nolan Smith and Bryce Huff have played better lately, but in 6 games, they have had more unproductive games than productive ones. Do the Eagles want to bank on them keeping this up?

Josh Sweat has been good all season, and Brandon Graham still has something in the tank, but some depth there would not hurt.

Will they go make a big splash and get someone like Maxx Crosby? Maybe not. That will cost serious draft capital, and put them in a tight cap position. But another rotational guy could be a big help, not just to ensure they have someone in case Huff and Smith disappear again, but to keep everyone fresh.

A name like Emmanuel Ogbah could make sense. He is in the last year of his deal, doesn't cost too much, and is perfect for a rotational piece. We saw the benefit of a deep D-Line in 2022, it would pay off to have that luxury again.

There was one name Tim McManus gave us though that he suggested could be on the move. Eli Ricks.

"Basically because there's an excess of quarterbacks on the Eagles roster and Eli Ricks has shown some promise. He played some last year, and had a good completions-against rate, but hasn't been able to see the field. We know they added some depth to the cornerback spot this year with Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper Dejean, and Isaiah Rodgers. Kelee Ringo is there.

There's just not a whole lot of pathways there. So I felt like if there was a team that was out there looking for some corner help, the Eagles say, you know, we have an extra cornerback or two maybe there's a deal to be had."

That also makes sense. Eli Ricks is not going to see the field here unless there are multiple injuries. I don't know how much you get more of him, but there is some interest in him. He is a young corner with promise. You got him as a UDFA, anything you get back is a gain, and he is giving you no value on the bench.

Trading him could help restock the shelf a bit after whatever trade you make for an Edge Rusher, provided they do that.

The Eagles badly needed a convincing win. It felt like for the past 365+ days, every Sunday, or sometimes Monday, Thursday, and 1 Friday, had been stressful, even when they won. They haven't beaten up on any team in a long time. So for them to go up to North New Jersey, and beatdown the Giants, felt good.

Related: Saquon Barkley and The Eagles Run All Over The Giants

Yes, it is the Giants. But the Eagles haven't beaten up a bad team in a while. They got the Giants twice last year, and only eked out 1 win, and lost the other. The Cardinals and Jets beat them last year. Just a week ago they snuck away with a win over the Browns. This was a new thing for this Eagles team. They faced down a bad opponent and crushed them the way they should.

A convincing 28-3 win was just what we all needed. The fact they could pull the starters in the 4th quarter was even better. For a week, everyone gets to feel good about the Eagles. It is a week with next to no negative storylines and only good vibes.

But what can we take away from it? Even if the opponent was poor, can we still take away good things? Are there things about the Giants that may be more impressive than you would think just looking at their record? Did Nick Sirianni redeem himself with some of his decision-making on Sunday?

Let's break down some of the numbers. You might think this was "Just The Giants," but that is not giving the Eagles enough credit. The Giants' offense might stink, but their defense has ranked in the top 10 this season in most stats, and the Eagles' offense scoring on them should not be discounted.

Let's start with the guy who spent the last week getting roasted by everyone around the NFL, Nick Sirianni. He more than anyone needed a good week. He got it. On 3 separate occasions, he made the bold choice to go for it on 4th down. Not only did they convert all 3, but all 3 led to TDs. His tendency to go for it on 4th down has been a sticking point for fans. Many scream, take the points, or punt it, every time he gets to 4th down. But thankfully, Nick stayed true to being aggressive, and it paid off.

If he didn't go for those 4th downs, they would have kicked 2 FGs, and punted 1 more time. The 28-3 win, would have been 13-3. 15 fewer points than they ended up with. Instead of everyone pulling their starters, the game may have come down to the wire. Instead of a convincing win, we would be talking about another unimpressive offensive performance. Give Nick credit. His aggressiveness made a massive difference on Sunday.

Sticking with the offense, dont discount the fact they scored 28 points on this team. Their defense is good. Coming into the week, they gave up just 20.1 pts per game, the 10th-lowest number in the league. They scored 7.9 points more than the average NFL team.

If that doesn't seem like a big difference, consider this. 20.1 points per game as we said is 10th in the league. 28 points would be the 2nd worst number in the league. And it is not like they have played bad offenses. Vikings, Commanders, Bengals, and Seahawks are all top 10 offenses so far this year. Only the Vikings of that group scored more than 21 points.

We gave Nick credit where it is due, so let's do the same for another embattled Eagles. bryce Huff has gotten a ton of heat for how unproductive he has been this season. But maybe being back in his old stomping grounds reminded him he is supposed to be an elite pass rusher. He was all over Daniel Jones on Sunday. 5 pressures and a sack. 

Not only was it his 1st week with the Eagles with multiple pressures, but he only had 2 total pressures before this week. If they get that guy, the guy who was near the top of the league in pass Rush Win rate last year with the Jets, this defense can be great.

It was not just him either. Nolan Smith is suddenly all over the place. In just 15 pass rush snaps he had a sack and 3 pressures. Jalen Carter got 2 sacks. Nakobe Dean had 2 sacks. Josh Sweat now has a sack in 3 straight weeks. They played 2 bad O-Lines in the last 2 weeks. But they played some bad O-Lines earlier in the season and didn't show up. So seeing the D-line dominate bad O-lines certainly feels good.

After years of ignoring Cornerback in the draft, the Eagles went heavy there this year. So far, it is paying off. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean both started on Sunday, Mitchell outside and DeJean in the slot. They allowed a combined 18 yards on 7 targets. Keep in mind, that Mitchell was covering Malik Nabers a decent amount.

Both have been nothing short of fantastic early in their career. Mitchell has drawn several tough matchups and didn't blink. Dejean has only played 2 weeks, and vs two bad offenses, but watching him play makes you think he is going to hold up against tougher competition. Those 2 currently look like a dangerous combo, who they could have out there for a while to come. Slay by the way has also been fantastic. He might be getting up there for a corner, but he is still playing at a very high level, and like Mitchell went up against Nabers and mostly shut him down.

We will give you 1 negative stat. As impressive as the offense was overall, they still struggled with the scripted plays at the start of the game. They have now played 6 games, and have 0 points in the 1st quarter. The first two drives of any game should be your best stuff. But for the Eagles, it has been their worst stuff. It is not until they get into the game and adjust to the defense that they start scoring. They average just 10.25 yards per drive in the first 2 drives of the game this season. Barely a first down per drive. They have 4 turnovers and 8 punts in those 12 drives.

The maddening part is, in quarters 2, 3, and 4, they are elite. They average 22.3 pts per game in those 3 quarters. If they scored in the 1st quarter the way they do in the final 3, they would average 29.7 points per game, the 2nd most in the NFL. Even if they played half as well as they did in those other quarters, they would improve to 8th. Instead, they are 17th in the league in pts per game, despite playing better than nearly every other offense in the final 3 quarters.

They need to figure that out. vs good teams with good offenses, they might dig themselves into holes by starting this slow. You saw it play out like that in the Bucs game,

After knocking the Eagles offense, let's praise it. No offense has been as explosive as them. Despite already having the bye week, they lead the NFL with 10 plays of at least 40 yards. 3 of those came on Sunday, 2 by Saquon Barkley, and 1 by AJ Brown.

It was Brown's 3rd such catch. Despite playing in just 3 games. The most any player has is 5, and everyone ahead of him has 3 or 4 more games played than him. Saquon now has 4 carries of at least 40 yards. Dallas Goedert has 2 40+ yard catches, tied for the league lead for TEs, despite playing in only 5 games. Devonta Smith has 1. This offense, despite some struggles, is explosive. They have 4 players who can take it the distance at any moment. That is something worth being excited about.