September 30, 2026
Bill Steicher/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Do the Eagles have the right kind of players for new OC Sean Mannion's scheme?
Right now, the Eagles are an average team with above-average talent.
Look at their roster and count the number of All Pros and Pro Bowlers, then compare that to any other NFL team. Look at the roster and add up the guaranteed money on their biggest contracts, then compare that to any other NFL team.
The Eagles are 2-1 mainly because their upper echelon talent has compensated for some serious issues deep from within – from scheme change, to depth at key areas, to aging, and more.
Jalen Carter blocked a kick in a tight game against Washington. Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith schooled Tennessee's defense in the waning moments of a last-second win.
But they're also 2-1 with a 20-point loss on prime time and two narrow wins over below-average opponents because they have issues that need to be resolved before they can become above average again.
One of their long-term concerns is the identity of their offense and if they have the right personnel to execute the basic principles new OC Sean Mannion has implemented.
The Eagles hired Mannion to refresh their decaying offense with his modernized West Coast scheme. So far we've seen bits and pieces with more under center formations and more wide zone runs. But they've had trouble gaining yards on runs to the edges and their screen game is (still) atrocious.
One of the keys to these concepts is perimeter blocking. Other teams that run this offense – the Niners, Packers and Rams, for example – have tight ends and receivers that can block and catch. This helps marry their run and play action game. Defenses can't be sure what's coming because they call run and pass plays from the same formations.
The Eagles have talented players at both positions but not enough two-way blockers/pass catchers like George Kittle, Davante Adams, Tucker Kraft, Puka Nacua and so on.
Johnny Mundt is a good inline blocker but offers little in the pass game. Dallas Goedert's blocking has fallen off recently and he's hurt. DeVonta Smith plays bigger than his 170-pound frame would suggest in contested catch situations but he shouldn't be asked to lead block.
Rookie WR Makai Lemon has a study frame for a small slot guy but is still getting his feet wet, hasn't blocked well, and he is the receiver they're trying to spring on screens. Tay Wicks is the only Eagles receiver who can consistently leverage his bigger body on the edge and also be a weapon in the passing game.
Here's an example of what the Eagles can do when Wicks is blocking on the edge:
Barkley picked up about 7 extra yards on that run thanks to Wicks sealing off Bears CB Jaylon Johnson.
If the Eagles could run that exact play every time, great. Unfortunately for them, that would be the biggest tell of all time.
Here's another stretch zone with DeVonta as the lead blocker:
It's hard to tell in real time, but if you freeze the video at 0:04 you'll see Barkley tripping over Smith's right foot as the receiver is being driven back. A better block would've allowed Barkley to cut up the sideline – and maybe even outrace the post safety for an even bigger gain or touchdown.
Here's an example of Barkley getting hit too soon on an inside zone run by the safety that Lemon was supposed to block:
Commanders S Nick Cross easily shoved off Lemon then came through to stop Barkley after a very short gain. At the end of the video, Lemon is just standing there, looking at Barkley on the ground with Cross on top of him. I imagine Lemon thinking, 'What have I done?"
Despite a hike in under center formations to 31 percent – up from 22 percent last year – the Eagles rank just 22nd in pass percentage from under center (27.8%), well behind the second-ranked Packers (41.4%), ninth-ranked Rams (34%) and 15th-ranked Niners (32.3%).
They also have the lowest percentage of play action in the NFL, at 15.6 percent. It's as if the old offense and new offense are fighting each other in real time.
The transition was always going to require patience. But it also needs the right players in the right places for the offense to succeed.
Mannion has tried to incorporate screens off motion, but nearly each one has failed spectacularly.
Here's one to Barkley that had great potential – if only Goedert could've blocked Cross:
Goedert was once a good blocker, but he just isn't that guy anymore. Barkley had a chance to cut outside Goedert and get up the sideline with Wicks putting a really good block downfield on the Washington CB.
Screens are frequently used by teams that run the same kind of offense that Mannion is bringing to Philly, especially to combat pressure or looks that crowd the line of scrimmage, like the Bears often did Monday night. You can get a mathematical blocking advantage on the perimeter.
But if you can't make a simple block on the guy in front of you, that advantage disappears and takes an important play call off the sheet.
The infamous orbit motion screen to Lemon that got blown up Monday night by Zach Ertz's failed lead block was the third time this season they've tried to execute that play – they're now 0-for-3.
Even Wicks isn't perfect, as he was responsible for the first failure:
The Eagles have time to figure things out. They aren't the only team adjusting to a new play caller and scheme on offense or defense. Growing pains are all part of the process.
But with some of their offensive issues, it's fair to question if growth and experience is the real issues or if personnel and scheme fit are a larger problem.
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