The Eagles added a potent weapon to their offensive arsenal this offseason, acquiring wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Titans. The Ole Miss product had more than 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons and had 869 yards even with four games missed last year, as the Eagles try to give an adrenaline shot to their passing game.
Brown is joining quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver DeVonta Smith in Philadelphia, who provided a formidable one-two punch themselves in Smith’s rookie campaign. Smith caught 64 passes for 916 yards last year, but the Eagles’ offense was predicated on the running game. While the Eagles led the league in rushing in 2021, they were 25th in passing with 3,404 yards.
The Eagles are also hoping to get more out of Miles Sanders this season after he had a frankly baffling zero touchdowns last year. Quez Watkins, Zach Pascal and Jalen Reagor are the other notable names on the receiving depth chart. In other words: There’s a lot of pressure on the top two.
While the Eagles don’t have to completely move away from their identity last season, Brown’s acquisition means more targets should be available for Hurts in the passing game. They didn’t acquire him to not throw to him, after all.
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What did the Eagles offense look like in 2021?
In Nick Sirianni’s debut season as head coach of the Eagles, their offense wasn’t entirely dissimilar from the rest of the NFL. They lined up in 1-1 personnel nearly 65 percent of the time, so they often had three receivers on the field. The numbers, however, don’t bear out well for them.
Dallas Goedert was the team’s No. 2 receiver last year behind Smith, with Watkins checking in at No. 3. Watkins should be able to live in his home in the slot with Brown in the fold, who played in the slot about 33 percent of the time last season. Watkins was in that spot over 70 percent of the time, whereas Smith was there just over 10 percent.
With the Eagles lining up with three receivers so often, Reagor was often dead weight on the field. He had 33 catches for 299 yards last season, and never seemed to gel with Hurts or what he was doing. Ultimately, a 7-on-7 roster of Hurts, Sanders, Smith, Reagor, Watkins, Goedert was hardly inspiring fear in the hearts of defenses.
The Eagles made up for that with an impressive ground game. In fact, they weren’t just first in the league in rushing yards per game. They were first by a lot. They led the Colts by over 10 yards per game last season at 159.7 YPG, with a lot of that being helped along by Hurts. Don’t expect to see the Eagles move completely away from that, but they should be more well-rounded this season.
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Eagles 2021 WR stats
| Player | REC | YDS | TDs | Catch% |
| DeVonta Smith | 64 | 916 | 5 | 61.5% |
| Quez Watkins | 43 | 647 | 1 | 69.4% |
| Jalen Reagor | 33 | 299 | 2 | 57.9% |
What will A.J. Brown add in 2022?
Brown brings a dynamic threat to the fold for the Eagles, a player with true burner potential who will force defenses to respect all three receivers on the field when Brown, Smith, and Watkins are on it. Them mixed with Goedert and Sanders already makes for a significantly more formidable 7-on-7 lineup.
Brown also brings a terrific complement to Smith. Both players had an average depth of target of over 12 yards, and Brown is outstanding downfield.
In fact, the biggest concern surrounding Brown will be his health. He has been dinged up, but he often plays through it.
In addition to Brown, Zach Pascal brings another slot option alongside Watkins to spell him. Ultimately, Reagor — who Sirianni said is fighting for a roster spot — may be the odd one out in that receiving room.
| Player | REC | YDS | TDs | Catch% |
| A.J. Brown | 63 | 869 | 5 | 60% |
Will the Eagles offense look different in 2022?
It’ll have to — the Eagles didn’t trade for Brown for nothing.
The NFL as it stands needs quarterbacks to reliably make accurate throws, so there will be more pressure on Hurts this season. Hurts has become a preseason MVP darling because of the increased spotlight on the Philly QB spot this season.
The Eagles may try to incorporate a lot of RPO this year, so it’ll fall on Hurts to make the right read. Brown does some of his best work between 10 and 20 yards, so Hurts will have plenty of opportunities to find him.
Brown’s effectiveness and size should also make him a viable red zone threat. The Eagles were already good in the red zone in 2021, but they would undoubtedly like to see Sanders in the end zone at least once this season.
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