Two reasons the Eagles should target an offensive playmaker in the NFL draft, and one guy who fits the bill

The sentence you are about to read is one that only a spoiled child could write.

It is obnoxious.

It is entitled.

It is the star-bellied sneetch of sentences.

It’s also true.

The Eagles could really use another offensive weapon.

I know, I know. Tell that to a Giants fan and watch their brain turn into a delectable pate. As far as the rest of the league is concerned, the Eagles need another weapon like Jupiter needs another moon. They have the best running back in the league, the best offensive line in the league, one of the best receiving tandems in the league, and a quarterback who was just named MVP of a Super Bowl in which the Eagles scored 40 points. If they need another weapon, everyone else needs another drink.

Fair points. We’re probably stretching the bounds of necessity if we say the Eagles need a weapon. Or if we say they need anything, really. Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni have already cemented themselves as Super Bowl favorites by re-signing Zack Baun. Their roster has more talent than any team can reasonably hope for in the salary cap era. They are going to be more than fine.

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But, hey, hear me out. There’s a wide receiver in this year’s draft class who has a skill set that would add a whole new dimension to this Eagles offense, and the current mock drafts say that he could be on the board at No. 32.

Luther Burden III isn’t the most physically imposing player in this year’s draft class. Standing an even 6 feet tall, the former Missouri star has neither the height nor straight-line speed to rank among prospects like Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan or Texas’ Matthew Golden. But Burden is neither small (206 pounds), nor slow (4.41 second 40-yard dash at the combine). In fact, he’s electric.

You don’t have to watch too much tape to see Burden’s ability to make people miss. That includes before the catch and would-be tacklers after it. Two years ago, he ranked third in the FBS with 724 yards after catch, according to Pro Football Focus. The two guys who ranked immediately behind him among major conference receivers at least 6 feet tall: Malik Nabers and Xavier Worthy. Burden’s 86 catches and 1,209 yards ranked top 20 nationally that season.

Burden’s receiving numbers didn’t pop in 2024: 61 catches, 676 yards, six touchdowns. But he also rushed nine times for 115 yards and two touchdowns. You don’t have to squint to see shades of Deebo Samuel.

You can argue the Eagles have more pressing needs. Edge rusher. Defensive back. Tight end. But drafting for need will get you in trouble, especially at the bottom of the first round. Besides, there is a long list of reasons a playmaker in the slot might be exactly what the Eagles offense needs.

1. The passing game wasn’t exactly the Greatest Show on Turf this season.

Only three teams in the NFL threw for fewer yards. Two of them had rookie quarterbacks (Bears and Patriots), and the third had Bryce Young and Andy Dalton. The Giants threw for more yards, for crying out loud. True, a lot of that was the function of Saquon Barkley-centric playcalling. But the Eagles ranked outside the top 10 in net yards per attempt. Besides, can the Eagles really count on 345 carries and 2,005 yards from Barkley every season?

2. The Eagles need a third option in order to take advantage of all the attention paid to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

Think back to 2022, when Jalen Hurts averaged 246.7 passing yards a game, 53.2 more than he averaged this season. That offense had three pass-catchers who averaged more than 58 receiving yards per game. Brown and Smith had career years, but so did Dallas Goedert, who would have flirted with 1,000 yards if he hadn’t missed five games because of injury.

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Now, Goedert potentially is on the way out. The Eagles will be unlikely to reproduce his production for cheap. They’ve added veterans Kylen Granson and Harrison Bryant on low-cost deals to join Grant Calcaterra. Maybe one of them can give the team what Goedert did last season, when he caught 42 passes for 496 yards in 10 games. But none are going to replicate what Goedert did in 2022.

The answer could lie in the slot. Jahan Dotson wasn’t much of a factor as WR3 in 2024, catching 19 passes despite playing close to 60% of the Eagles’ offensive snaps. Imagine replacing him with a Ladd McConkey type. The Chargers’ second-round pick caught 82 passes for 1,149 yards while playing 73% of his team’s snaps as a rookie in 2024. Imagine what he would have done working out of the slot with Brown and Smith.

Burden is a different player than McConkey: denser, tougher to bring down. Still, the point stands. The Eagles shouldn’t hem themselves in to finding a tight end to replace Goedert. If not Burden, then maybe TCU wide receiver Jack Bech, who brings a ton of strength and blocking ability with his route-running prowess (Bech is the brother of the late Tiger Bech, the Princeton alumnus who died in the New Orleans terror attack on New Year’s Day).

Do the Eagles need another playmaker? Maybe not by the strict definition of the word. That said, you don’t hear many rich people complain when they get richer.