When the Philadelphia Eagles shocked the world by shipping their top-tier running back to the Buffalo Bills for a linebacker coming off a severe knee injury that cost him his second season in the league, it marked the ultimate evidence of the devaluation of the position. The fact that LeSean McCoy, who finished third in the league in rushing last season, could be sent away for uncertainty led to uproar about Chip Kelly’s system-first team building style and about the direction he is leading his team.
What is their plan? How is McCoy expendable? Who could replace him?
These are questions we simply cannot answer with any certainty—Kelly’s plan is kept between him and his confidants—but what at first seemed like a ludicrous, asinine, harebrained trade may hold more sanity than expected.
So much has been made about the departure of McCoy, and justifiably so, but he was not sold of for a mere pittance. Instead, the Eagles receiver Kiko Alonso, a man who two short years ago was not only one of the best young linebackers in the league, but one of the better overall linebackers in the league.
In just his rookie season, Alonso proved dominant and well rounded, amassing 159 tackles, two sacks, and four interceptions. He comes to Philadelphia with experience in Kelly’s 3-4 defense, and fills one of the team’s major holes. Rare is the linebacker that blitz, play the run, and play in coverage. Rarer still is that player found under the age of 25. Factor in two more years on a rookie contract that will not exceed $2 million total—$15 million less than McCoy over the same span—and stealing Alonso for cheap is a great deal.
Meanwhile, the newly freed up cap space can go to work fixing a mediocre secondary, adding a pass rusher, or even adding a top free agent running back to replace some of the productivity lost in McCoy.
But there is need to temper excitement. Alonso is coming off his second knee injury (the first coming in 2010 as an Oregon Duck beneath Kelly), and can get swallowed up by linemen on occasion. By all reports, his rehab is coming along well, he was running in December, but it is of grave concern.
Still, the fact that one of the league’s premier running backs was part of a rare player-for-player deal is surprising. Surpassing the 1,000-yard benchmark in all but two of his six seasons, McCoy has run for 6,792 yards and 44 touchdowns in his career.
By now we are all familiar with the mortality of running backs, we have watched the sand drain on their careers. Look no further than freshly retired Maurice Jones-Drew, who looked to be nothing more than a decrepit shell of what he was by the time he retired. He had not even reached the fabled 30-years-old, the age most running backs falter.
McCoy will turn 27 before this season starts, and already has 1,761 touches. As he approaches the twilight of the sliver of a career afforded to running backs, his price tag would have handicapped the Eagles as his play declined. This is not to say McCoy will not retain his premier status and productivity, it is simply saying those years are numbered.
Replacing such a talent will be no easy task. But with quality running backs being unearthed in the middle-to-late round of the draft, it is doable. Last season, only three first round picks finished in the top 20 in rushing. There were more undrafted free agents (4) on that list than there were first round picks. The average spot of those drafted was 76 overall, a third round pick. In a running back class as deep as any in recent memory, the chances of finding talent on a cheap, rookie, deal is extremely high. Oh, and the Eagles do return Darren Sproles and Chris Polk, so the cupboards are not completely bare.
Few running backs can replace the pure talent of McCoy. But there are options to replace his productivity. The team could turn to one of the plethora of veteran running backs in free agency such as Frank Gore, Ryan Mathews, Mark Ingram, Reggie Bush, or Knowshon Moreno would all be solid fits at affordable prices that would be offset by the cap freed up from McCoy’s departure.
In an exceptionally deep running back class, there are many options with enormous promise just waiting to hear their names called. Melvin Gordon and Todd Gurley are the top-two names, and both would be excellent fits for an Eagle’s team that wants a north/south runner, but they should hear their names called early. Unless the team wants to invest a first round pick in the position, they will likely have to look elsewhere. Jay Ajayi, and Ameer Abdullah have both been named as excellent fits, while Duke Johnson and T.J. Yeldon would also be good fits in the first half of the draft. David Cobb, Malcolm Brown, Josh Robinson, and Karlos Williams could be late-round options.
Running back has been made expendable, and the McCoy trade is clear evidence of this shifting culture. By adding Alonso and freeing up cap space to fill additional holes, the Eagles have solved their greatest needs. Though the ultimate success of this trade will be determined in time, the Eagles acquired more than expected on first glance.
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