Eagles Mailbag: Trying to Predict the Team in Five Years

We got to the first batch of your questions (including my confidence level in Carson Wentz) Saturday (see story), but we have plenty more to get to.

Let's hop in:

That means in February of 2024, so we're through the 2023 season, which sounds like it's about 50 years in the future. Will there be flying cars yet?

Anyway, here's my answer: Carson Wentz, Derek Barnett, Fletcher Cox.

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Wentz was the easiest one. He's going to get a mega deal this offseason or next offseason and if he's as good as the Eagles think he's going to be, he's not going anywhere for a long time. Don't even worry about the contract. If he's an MVP-level player, the Eagles will pay.

Barnett might be an interesting answer, but his contract runs through the 2020 season and since he was a first-round pick, he'll have a fifth-year option for 2021. Then I'm kind of assuming the next contract extension would get him to this target date.

And Cox is under contract through the 2023 season, although he'd probably need to extend before then. He's 28 but just had the best season of his NFL career in 2019. His cap number goes kind of crazy over the next three years, but the Eagles can't afford to lose him.

(I thought about Zach Ertz or Dallas Goedert but decided to stay away from both of them because even though Ertz is suddenly on pace to possibly become a Hall of Famer, the Eagles might eventually have to choose between them. So I just stayed away from both.)

Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor and Mack Hollins are the ones I'm most confident in. I still think there's a chance they bring back Mike Wallace on the cheap and then look for another free agent to pursue. Shelton Gibson is under contract, but he's anything but a given. I don't see Golden Tate or Jordan Matthews returning, but if I had to guess on one, I'd say Matthews because he'd be cheaper and has a connection with Wentz.

I got into this question in a little more depth earlier this offseason, when I listed five on defense (see story) and five on offense (see story).

I think the most likely position they'll get in the offseason is a receiver. They need to round out that unit and they've been doing that for the last couple offseasons.

I think there's a chance the Eagles sign a running back, but I don't think either of those guys will be it for different reasons. I could see the Eagles bringing in a running back, but I can't see them spending a ton of money to do it. It's also possible they leave the draft with one in a mid-round.

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