Why Aaron Moorehead is the least of concerns and more here in Roob's latest random Eagles observations.
Barrett Brooks and Michael Barkann react to A.J. Brown’s comments on Micah Parsons’ podcast at the Super Bowl. This is the worst time of year. Football season is over, and training camp is still 5½ months away.
What are we supposed to do until football starts up again? This is torture! At least we do have a weekly dollop of Roob’s Random Eagles Offseason Observations to help us grind through these next 5½ months. We’ll never run out of observations! There seems to be a rather significant segment of Eagles fans who didn’t want wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead back for 2026 because as I keep reading on social media, “He hasn’t developed any wide receivers. A.J. and DeVonta were already good when he got them.” Moorehead, who’s been here since 2020 under Doug Pederson, is one of a handful of offensive coaches who will return in 2026 under Sean Mannion, and I can’t help wondering who are all the promising young wide receivers the Eagles have had since 2020 who haven’t developed. Jalen Reagor? Travis Fulgham? Johnny Wilson? J.J. Arcega-Whiteside? John Hightower? Ainias Smith? Exactly what did any of them achieve after leaving the Eagles? Nothing. The Eagles haven’t even drafted a WR in the first four rounds since Smith in 2021. So where exactly did Moorehead fail? Who did he fail with? Where are all the WRs he didn’t develop who went on to contribute to other teams? There are none. And it’s also incredibly disingenuous to dismiss what Brown and Smith have done as “They were already good” and not give Moorehead any credit whatsoever for their success. Brown has had his best years under Moorehead, and Smith has become one of the NFL’s most exciting and consistent receivers in his five years with Moorehead, his only NFL position coach. You can’t blame Moorehead for JJAW or Reagor and then just arbitrarily decide not to give him any credit for two of the best WRs in the NFL. Would it have been the end of the world if Mannion replaced Moorehead? Nah. But he’s just about the least of my concerns heading into the offseason.We wrote last week about how Dallas Goedert is probably the greatest tight end in NFL history to never make a Pro Bowl. How about this: DeVonta Smith’s 5,684 career yards are most ever by a WR in his first five years without a Pro Bowl. The only other receivers over 5,000 yards in their first five seasons without a Pro Bowl are Brandin Cooks , Marques Colston , D.J. Moore , Jaylen Waddle and Darrell Jackson . And while you’d love to see the Eagles figure things out with A.J. Brown, I have full confidence that Smith would be a top-5 wide receiver if he were WR1. He’s a top-10 receiver now.My favorite Jeff Stoutland stat: In his 13 years with the Eagles, 10 offensive linemen started at least 25 games: Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Jason Peters, Brandon Brooks, Isaac Seumalo, Jordan Mailata, Cam Jurgens, Allen Barbre and Evan Mathis. Of that group, Barbre is the only one who’s never been a Pro Bowler or all-pro. That’s insane.Who remembers a guy the Eagles drafted out of Michigan in 1965 named John Henderson? He’s significant for one fascinating reason. Henderson was the Eagles’ 5th-round pick 62 years ago but couldn’t agree to a contract, and the Eagles wound up trading his rights that summer to the Lions. He played three years for Detroit before landing with the Vikings with coach Bud Grant in 1968. The next year, the Vikings reached Super Bowl IV at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, where they lost 23-7 to the Chiefs. Henderson was their leading receiver in that game with seven catches for 111 yards. And that’s the most receiving yards any Eagles draft pick has ever had in a Super Bowl. The funny thing is that seven Eagles draft picks have had 75 yards in a Super Bowl and three of them – Nelson Agholor , Todd Pinkston and Mack Hollins – are generally viewed as three of the Eagles’ most disappointing WR draft picks. Henderson played eight seasons and caught 108 passes for 1,735 yards and 10 TDs.Bud Grant was also an Eagles draft pick, a 1st-round pick out of Minnesota in 1950. He only played two seasons but had 997 receiving yards in 1952 before retiring and embarking on a Hall of Fame coaching career.How about that Josh Jobe last Sunday in the Super Bowl? The former Eagles undrafted free agent corner, now in his second year with the Seahawks, was targeted 11 times by Drake Maye and allowed just four completions for 20 yards. That’s astonishing pass defense. Jobe allowed 1.8 yards per target and that’s the fewest yards per target in a Super Bowl since Stathead began tracking yards per target in 2019. His 36.4 defensive completion percentage is 2nd-lowest on record in a Super Bowl behind only Charvarius Ward’s 33 percent on 1-for-3 for 16 yards for the Chiefs in their Super Bowl LV loss to Tampa. Jobe’s 44.9 defensive passer rating is 4th-lowest on record and his 5.0 yards per completion is 3rd-lowest.The four-fastest 200 runners who spent time with the Eagles are Michael Timpson , Devon Allen , Raheem Mostert and Kary Vincent Jr. . That adds up to 1:22.11. For the record, the fastest time in the world this year is 1:25.12 by German LG Stadtwerke München in Munich last month. Eagles win.Allen is still the 3rd-fastest hurdler in world history with his 12.84 at Icahn Stadium in New York in June 2022. Allen played two games for the Eagles in 2023 but tore his right ACL in a practice at the NovaCare Complex in December, never played football again and has had at least two surgeries on his knee since. He hasn’t officially retired from track, but he’s 31 now and hasn’t raced since since July 13, 2023, when he pulled up with a calf injury in the semifinals of the 110-meter hurdles at the U.S. Championships in Eugene, Ore. Would love to see a healthy Devon Allen hurdling again this spring. One of the best ever.The Eagles are 24-8 since 2022 when Hurts throws for fewer than 200 yards. This year, the Eagles were 2-5 when Hurts threw for at least 200 yards and 9-1 when he didn’t.I’ve seen some projections for Jaelan Phillips’ next contract as high as $27 million per year, which would make him one of the 10 highest-paid edge rushers in the NFL. I just don’t see it. I don’t expect him to get anywhere close to that. You never know. It only takes one team to overpay a guy, and I sure never thought Milton Williams would get $26 million per year. But Phillips has never had double-digit sacks in five NFL seasons and he’s averaged 5½ sacks per year. And while he played in 17 games this year, he only played in 12 in 2023 and 2024, so he’s got that injury history. Phillips’ best two seasons were his first two – 8½ sacks as a rookie in 2021 and 7.0 the next year. In his five seasons as a pro, his 28 sacks rank 50th in the league. Phillips played well after Howie Roseman acquired him at the trade deadline from the Dolphins. He’s tough, physical, sets the edge, makes the guys around him better, gets steady pressure. This is clearly a better defense with Phillips than without him. But close to $30 million per year? He’s not that kind of player. I think he’ll wind up closer to $15 million per year and I wouldn’t hesitate to lock him up if the number is reasonable. I’d love to see him back, but he’s not a guy I’d overpay for.I don’t know what Lane Johnson is planning to do in 2026, but I’d be shocked if he decides to retire solely because of Stoutland’s departure. Johnson is a proud guy and it’s hard for me to imagine him stepping away from the game he’s played at such a high level for 13 years if he’s healthy enough to play and still has a love for the game. He’ll walk away when he knows it’s time, and he’ll do it on his terms. I’d be surprised if he wants his career to end on Injured Reserve. He was playing at an all-pro level when he suffered that foot injury, and nobody wants to go out sidelined. He’s a guy who’s very aware of his legacy – two Super Bowl championships, two 1st-team all-pros and three more 2nd-team all-pros, six Pro Bowls – and he knows it can’t hurt to add to his Hall of Fame resume. I know Lane will miss Stout tremendously, and I’m sure he’s disappointed he’s no longer here. That’s the only NFL position coach he’s ever had. But I don’t think we’re giving him enough credit when we just assume he’s going to retire just because Stout is gone. Maybe I’m wrong on this one, but I’ve been around Johnson a long time, and I’d think he’ll walk away when his body, his heart and his mind say it’s time.I will never understand why Hurts engenders so much negativity. All the dude has ever done is work his ass off, show respect to the fans and his coaches and teammates, inspire the people around him, never get in trouble, take his team to the playoffs five years in a row, play lights out in two Super Bowls and win MVP in one of them. He’s started 82 games and won 57, and only seven quarterbacks in history have won more games after 82 starts. He’s carried himself like a pro since he got here and respresented this city with class and dignity while going to multiple Super Bowls.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Louisiana-Monroe’s Shooting Too Much for Lady EaglesULM’s torrent shooting proved to be too much for Southern Miss.
Read more »
No. 3 Boston College Women's Lacrosse Suffers Loss to No. 16 Notre Dame in ACC OpenerA fourth quarter comeback propelled the Fighting Irish past the Eagles on Friday evening.
Read more »
The 10-Year Anniversary of The Night Aaron Gordon and I got RobbedThe Basketball Gods can be ironic
Read more »
Eagles Face Offseason-Defining AJ Brown DecisionWhat are the Philadelphia Eagles going to do when it comes to AJ Brown?
Read more »
Woman charged in alleged Eagles Autism Foundation ticket scam in Montgomery CountyInvestigators identified the suspect as Kaityn Faust. Authorities say Faust offered fans discounted tickets that she claimed would support the Eagles Autism Foundation, but never provided the tickets.
Read more »
Eagles offseason checklist: 10 moves to contend again — beginning with a franchise-altering tradeThe Eagles have a ton of work to do this offseason to get back on track. Here are 10 things they must do.
Read more »