In Roob’s Eagles Observations: How many touches make sense for Saquon Barkley? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
What’s the ideal number of touches for Saquon Barkley? Who remembers when the Eagles had an international game cancelled three days before it was supposed to be played? And an appreciation of unheralded all-time Eagles great Pete Pihos.
This week’s Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Observations covers a lot of ground, and because the Eagles play their opener on Friday instead of Sunday that means you get two editions of 10 Obs in six days. Lucky you!
1. It’ll be fascinating to watch how the Eagles use Saquon Barkley, how many touches he gets, how often he gets spelled by Kenny Gainwell or Will Shipley and what he’ll look like when he’s not the only weapon on the field for the first time since his rookie year. Not counting 2020, when he missed almost the entire season, Barkley averaged 20.3 touches per game with the Giants, with a high of 22 touches per season in 2018 and 2022 and a low of 15.6 in 2021. If you’re Kellen Moore you’re looking for the perfect balance between protecting Barkley and doing everything possible so he’s healthy come December and January and also trying to maximize his ability. I think 22 is way too high. Considering wear and tear and injuries and a desire to keep him healthy all year and also considering the other weapons Moore has at his disposal, I feel like somewhere around 18 per game makes the most sense. Miles Sanders and D’Andre Swift both made the Pro Bowl the last two years at around 16 ½. Barkley is more of an every-down back than them, so he needs to be higher, but anything beyond 18 and you’re probably going to get diminishing returns. The number will fluctuate, but based on his career average of 5.3 yards per touch, 18 touches gets him to run around 95 scrimmage yards per game. And with the other weapons on this offense and the best o-line he’s ever played behind? He should surpass that 5.3 figure if he stays healthy. Now you’re looking at about 1,700 scrimmage yards, which only Christian McCaffrey hit last year. The Giants had to over-work Barkley because they didn’t have any other threats. They had no choice. He was their only hope. The Eagles don’t have to worry about that. A.J. and DeVonta have to get their seven or eight targets per game, Dallas Goedert needs four, Gainwell will get a handful too, and you’d like to see Jahan Dotson involved as well. Moore loves spreading the ball around and with these skill players there’s no reason not to. There’ll be plenty of opportunities for Barkley to shine. And just as importantly, plenty of opportunities for him to recover.
2. If Quinyon Mitchell starts vs. the Packers Friday, he’ll be the first Eagles rookie to start on defense on opening day since Mychal Kendricks and Brandon Boykin vs. the Browns in 2012. Fletcher Cox did not start that game (Cullen Jenkins and Derek Landri did).
3. If you’re thinking this whole Brazil thing is a huge mistake, and it sure feels like it, there is precedent for an NFL international game to be cancelled, although that won’t happen in this case. It was 56 years ago, and the NFL scheduled a preseason game between the Eagles and Lions in Mexico City. The game was supposed to be held Aug. 11, 1968, but on Aug. 8 – three days beforehand – Mexican officials cancelled the game in light of violent college student protests in the area over allegations of police brutality … as well as a lack of ticket sales at the 106,802-seat Aztec Stadium. The game was moved to Franklin Field, where 12,176 fans watched starting quarterback Norm Snead suffer a broken ankle on the first play of the game while trying to tackle Lem Barney on an interception return. Guess Joe Kuharich shouldn’t have played his starters. The Lions won 20-3.
4. On Friday, Mekhi Becton will become the Eagles’ 20th starting right guard since 2011: Brandon Brooks (65 starts), Todd Herremans (23), Isaac Seumalo (19), Danny Watkins (18), Matt Tobin (15), Nate Herbig (12), Cam Jurgens (11), Andrew Gardner (10), Jack Driscoll (9), Jake Scott (7), Matt Pryor (6), Sua Opeta (6), Dennis Kelly (4), Jason Peters (2), Jack Anderson (1), Jamone Brown (1), Landon Dickerson (1) and Tyler Steen (1). During the same span, the Eagles used three centers: Jason Kelce (193), Dallas Reynolds (14) and David Molk (4). The Eagles’ last opening-day center other than Jason Kelce was Jamaal Jackson in 2010.
5. LeSean McCoy is one of only three players since 1988 to score a touchdown in the first nine games of a season. Shady did it in 2011, when he led the NFL with 17 touchdowns. He scored 12 TDs in those nine games – 10 rushing, two receiving. The only other players to score a TD in their team’s first nine games in the last 36 years are Arian Foster in 2012 and Todd Gurley in 2018. O.J. Simpson set the record with a TD in all 14 of the Bills’ games in 1975. Shady’s nine-game streak to open a season with a TD broke the Eagles’ record of five set by Mel Bleeker in 1944 and matched by Steve Van Buren in 1945 and 1949, Jack Ferrante in 1945, Pete Pihos in 1950 and 1953, Billy Ray Barnes in 1958, Tommy McDonald in 1960, Erl Gros in 1965, Harold Carmichael in 1975 and Terrell Owens in 2004.
6. To get an idea how special Quinyon Mitchell is, the last Eagles rookie who was a full-time starting cornerback was Bobby Taylor in 1995. B.T. replaced Derrick Frazier in Week 5 and was a starter for most of the next decade when he was healthy. Before that, it was Roynell Young in 1980 and Eric Allen in 1988. We still don’t know officially that Mitchell will be starting outside when the season begins, but my guess is that he and Darius Slay will be the outside starters in base and then Mitchell will swing outside in nickel, with Isaiah Rodgers playing outside with Slay. That versatility makes Mitchell’s progress even more impressive. He’s still got to go out and do it. He’s still got to show that coverage ability, physicality and confidence that he showed all summer. You never truly know about rookies, but I’ll be really surprised if he doesn’t develop into an elite cornerback
7. Hall of Famer Pete Pihos, who spent his entire nine-year career with the Eagles, led the NFL in catches in each of his last three seasons – 1953, 1954 and 1955 – and led the league in receiving yards in 1953 and 1955. In his last three seasons, he caught 185 passes for 2,785 yards, 27 touchdowns and a 15.1 average. He’s the only player in NFL history to put up those numbers in their last 36 NFL games. To this day, 69 years after he retired, Pihos ranks seventh in Eagles history with 373 catches, sixth with 5,619 yards and tied for third with Mike Quick with 61 touchdown catches.
8A. DeVonta Smith is the only wide receiver from the 2021 Eagles that’s currently on an NFL roster. The Steelers released Quez Watkins, the Patriots released Jalen Reagor, the Colts cut Greg Ward, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside retired earlier this year after playing in the CFL and John Hightower hasn’t played since 2021. No WRs from the 2020 team are still in the league (Travis Fulgham, Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, Reagor, Ward, Hightower, Watkins, JJAW, Deontay Burnett, Hakeem Butler). Reagor is on the Patriots’ practice squad.
8B. Now that JJAW has retired, one quick stat to put his career in perspective: Arcega-Whiteside played in 40 NFL games – all with the Eagles – and caught 16 passes. Only two other players in NFL history taken in the first or second round have played in 40 or more games and caught 16 or fewer passes. And both played in the 1960s. Bobby Crespino was drafted 10th overall by the Browns in 1961 and caught 13 passes, and Fred Hyatt was taken 40th in the second round by the Cards in 1968 and caught six passes.
9. Jordan Matthews has to be the unlikeliest guy to make a 53-man roster this year. Matthews, now with the Panthers, has been released nine times since the Eagles traded him to the Bills for Ronald Darby seven years ago. He hasn’t caught a pass in five years – since a 10-yarder from Carson Wentz in the fourth quarter of a 17-9 loss to the Seahawks in November of 2019 in his third stint with the Eagles – and his last TD was from Nick Foles in the playoff loss to the Saints in 2018. He’s played in seven games since opening day 2019. Matthews caught 225 passes in his first three seasons – as of 2016 that was the 11th-most catches ever by a player in his first three seasons (it’s now 21st-most) – and he has 49 catches in parts of the last seven seasons. He’s 32 now, he’s a tight end and he’s on the worst team in the NFL. You’ve got to admire that he’s still grinding. How do you not root for this guy?
10. Once upon a time, practice squads existed for the sole purpose of developing young players with little or no NFL experience. As the rules governing who’s eligible have been relaxed (and essentially eliminated), the Eagles have really begun using it equally for stashing experienced veterans. They’ve got five guys 27 or older on their current practice squad (Will Grier, Nick Gates, Brett Toth, Parris Campbell) – it was six before they moved Oren Burks to the 53. Heck, they’ve only got 13 guys on the 53-man roster who are 27 or older. So a third of their players under contract who are at least 27 were on their original practice squad on Wednesday. Of course, the Eagles are responsible for the oldest practice squad player in NFL history – Josh McCown was 41 when he was on the Eagles’ practice squad in 2020.
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