The Philadelphia Eagles made a power move on Wednesday with the signing of running back LeGarrette Blount. Blount played last season with Tom Brady and the defending champions New England Patriots. Blount was only signed to a one-year deal worth $2.8 million. The short-term deal shows the Eagles want to see how Blount performs before they invest into a long-term contract with him. Adding Blount provides the Eagles with size at the running back position that they need considering all their other backs provide mostly speed.
What can Blount bring to the table
LeGarrette Blount has the tremendous size for his position. He led the NFL this past season with 18 total rushing TDs. More importantly, he helped Tom Brady and Bill Belichick win their fifth Super Bowl title together while playing for the New England Patriots this past season. He gave the Patriots a much-needed power style of running that opened up their pass game when Tom Brady needed to make huge completions.
The Philadelphia Eagles have a young talented core that got off to a fast 3-0 start but failed to make the playoffs at the end of the season due to lack of balance on both sides of the football. Although they had talent, they still had some holes that needed to be filled this off-season to become a playoff team in the NFC.
One of those areas they needed assistance was at the running back position. It is too early at the moment to determine the level of production that Blount will bring for the Eagles this season, but adding him along with the young talent they have will provide them with a Super Bowl winner with experience.
2017-18 season for Eagles
Carson Wentz had a very impressive rookie year for Philly this past season. Carson showed he could play quarterback at the NFL level with his precision and accuracy. However, he lacked the right amount of weapons to spread the field the way fans would have loved to see.
The 2017 NFL Draft gave the Philadelphia Eagles the opportunity they needed to add better talent around young Carson Wentz.
Veteran running back Darren Sproles will be back with the team this coming season. Since Sproles has been a member of the Eagles the team as benefited a lot with the use of his laser-sharp speed. However, with his age and size, Sproles won't be able to be their go-to playmaker for much longer.
The addition of LeGarrette Blount will ease the heavy load that Darren Sproles had to carry on the ground for the Eagles last season. Blount's league leading 18 TDs this past season should also help improve the Eagles goal line offense that caused them to lose the bulk of their games last season.
