The Eagles rumor mill is running full steam ahead. Fresh off a monumental victory at Lambeau, Philadelphia has some work to do. Going into the game, it was well known that the Eagles struggled in coverage. This was quickly highlighted by the fact that Davante Adams breached the 100-yard mark before the first quarter ended. With Sidney Jones leaving the game with a hamstring injury and Avonte Maddox carted off with a concussion/neck injury, Philadelphia is even more desperate. The Eagles are well aware that they are in their Super Bowl window. They know that they need better play from their corners if they are going to make another deep run into the postseason.
Securing a game-changing corner not only increases the Eagles Super Bowl hopes, but it also takes some pressure off of Wentz. Before Thursday’s game, the Eagles were playing in a way that forced Carson to try and be superman. Now, I’m not saying that Wentz can’t be superman, I just don’t think it’s fair to require it regularly. With that being said, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Should Philadelphia trade for Jalen Ramsey?
Acquiring Jalen Ramsey
Monday morning, Michael Lombardi of the Athletic wrote: “The Eagles will spend the new few days trying to pry Jalen Ramsey from the Jags.” This comes off the heels of what Anthony Gargano said on the Will Cain show late Thursday afternoon. Gargano confirmed that Philly had already offered a first and a second-round pick for Ramsey, even thinking they had a deal in place with Tom Coughlin and the Jaguars. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, the Jaguars owner stepped in and publicly said he wants to try and work things out with Ramsey.
Ramsey, however, on the Uninterrupted podcast Ramsey said: “I’m not sure if I’ve played my final game for the Jags yet or not but my trade request still stands.” Jalen Ramsey has been very clear on this, once the mutual respect between a player and the organization is broken, it’s time to move on. That is what Jalen is trying to do. Jalen wants to win, and Philadelphia would love to help him with that desire. Looping back to what Gargano stated on the Will Cain show, we didn’t get any more details beyond that. We don’t know if these picks were in the same year or not. We don’t know if that was all that was involved in the offer. What we do know is that Philadelphia is serious about acquiring Ramsey.
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The Price
Would a first and second-rounder be too much for Ramsey? I don’t think so; I would even be comfortable with sending two firsts to finish this deal. Jalen Ramsey has been in the league for three years, but already has nine interceptions and 44 pass deflections. He’s a two time Pro Bowler and All-Pro. Jalen Ramsey is the real deal. Take a look at what the Bears traded to get Khalil Mack. A 2019 First-rounder, a 2020 first-rounder, a 2020 third-rounder and a 2019 sixth-round pick; All for one player. Jalen Ramsey can alter entire game plans, just as Mack does.
These players don’t become available very often, so when they do, you have to pounce on them. Have doubts about his ability to alter game plans? According to George Chahrouri, Jalen Ramsey was targeted 120 times while covering AB, TY Hilton, Tyreek Hill, Odell Beckham, and DeAndre Hopkins. He only allowed a 69 passer rating, while the rest of the NFL allowed a 104 rating while covering that same group. The rest of this year the Eagles still face Amari Cooper x2, Josh Gordon, Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Allen Robinson and Tyler Lockett this year. Add Jalen Ramsey to the secondary, and that list is a lot less daunting.
Instant Impact
Reinforcing the secondary would do worlds for Philadelphia. The corners we currently have are not bad. They simply aren’t meant to be number one corners. Take the Seattle Seahawks for example. Byron Maxwell wasn’t a number one corner, but the play of Richard Sherman locked down that secondary. If you have one guy who can lock a receiver down, it makes your other corners jobs immensely more manageable. With better coverage in the secondary, Philadelphia would also have more time to get to the quarterback. Their defensive line is currently banged up, but that becomes less of an issue with better coverage.
The Eagles gave up 422 passing yards last night to Aaron Rodgers. You just aren’t going to win many games like that. With injuries to Avonte Maddox, Sidney Jones, Ronald Darby, Jalen Mills, and Cre’Von LeBlanc, the Eagles only have two healthy corners. One of those two corners is from the practice squad. Today they re-signed Orlando Scandrick, whom they had earlier in the year. He should be able to get up to speed fairly quickly, but more help needs to be on the way. It’s time for you to seal the deal, Howie.
Jalen Ramsey, we’d love to welcome you to Philadelphia.
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