Eagles-49ers snap counts analysis: A case for more Quez Watkins, less Jalen Reagor – Bleeding Green Nation

Frustrating one for the Eagles on Sunday given all the missed opportunities. Now it’s time to analyze Philadelphia’s snap counts from their Week 2 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

• For the second straight week, DeVonta Smith led all Eagles skill players in snaps (49) and targets (7). Smith only had two receptions for 16 yards but Jalen Hurts underthrew him on multiple deep shots. Smith also drew two pass interference penalties.
• Jalen Reagor saw the second most targets with five. He logged two receptions for a mere five yards, dropping his early season yards per reception mark down to 6.8. Reagor obviously would’ve had better numbers if he didn’t step out of bounds to negate a deep touchdown. Some argued Reagor wasn’t at fault for getting pushed out but even Nick Sirianni admitted Reagor needed to do a better job on that play.

• 13 carries and 55 yards (4.2 average) for Miles Sanders. Also had one reception for four yards. He was fine.
• Whereas Dallas Goedert played 11 more snaps in Week 1, he saw nearly identical playing time to Zach Ertz in Week 2. Each tight end was only targeted twice. Goedert had two grabs for 24 yards while Ertz had one catch for six yards. It’s early but Goedert would probably like to up his volume as he’s playing in a contract year. As for Ertz, the veteran has the second-highest cap number on the team and he has 40 total yards through two games. Ample time for things to change but he’s currently not justifying the $8.5 million the Eagles could’ve otherwise saved by moving him.
• Landon Dickerson came in to replace Brandon Brooks at right guard after the veteran suffered a chest injury. Dickerson got pancaked into Hurts on his first snap and allowed five total pressures. For perspective, no other Eagles offensive lineman allowed more than two. It was Dickerson’s first game after having no training camp so it’s understandable he’d be rusty.
• Quez Watkins caught his only two targets for 117 yards. The 91-yard reception was obviously the highlight but he also ran a sharp route to get open for a 26-yard gain on 3rd-and-7. Watkins consistently outshined Reagor in training camp/preseason and he’s been the better player through the first two games. He should be seeing some more playing time. At the expense of Reagor, if necessary.
• PFF graded Brandon Brooks as the Eagles’ worst offensive player; the veteran allowed two pressures on just 13 pass blocking snaps. Brooks left the game early with a chest injury and was later ruled out.
• Greg Ward has yet to see a target through two games but he does have a pass attempt. Unfortunately for him and his teammates, the Philly Special recreation didn’t work. The incompletion dropped Ward’s career passer rating from 118.7 to 75.0.
• Kenny Gainwell wasn’t efficient as a runner with six carries for just 14 yards. In fairness, PFF noted he was contacted in the backfield on half of his rushing attempts. Gainwell caught two passes for 18 receiving yards.
• JJAW continues to contribute as a blocking WR and ST guy.
• A little interesting to see Jack Stoll has a role in the offense, albeit a small one. He came up big by recovering a Nick Bosa strip-sack on Hurts.
• Andre Dillard saw a couple snaps as an extra blocker in jumbo packages.

• Anthony Harris was the only defender to play the entire game. His highlights were dropping a pick and committing pass interference in the end zone.
• Alex Singleton missed five tackles, according to PFF. Not great.
• After playing 57% of the snaps last Sunday, Fletcher Cox saw an uptick this week. He did not record a tackle for loss, quarterback hit, or sack, however. PFF actually had him graded 16th out of 21 Eagles defenders.
• Javon Hargrave continues to look good.
• Eric Wilson led all Eagles linebackers in playing time (85%) Week 1. He saw a nice decrease in Week 2 (69%).
• After ranking fourth out of four defensive ends in playing time last week, Derek Barnett led all Eagles edge rushers this week. It makes sense that he saw an increase with Brandon Graham getting hurt but the jumbled order is curious.
• K’Von Wallace got the start in place of Rodney McLeod. He split playing time with Marcus Epps. Neither player stood out in a great way.
• Genard Avery actually finished as PFF’s top graded Eagles defender, making seven tackles and missing none.
• Ryan Kerrigan oddly saw more playing time than Josh Sweat, who recently signed a contract extension. There was a key play where the 49ers were facing 3rd-and-7 from their own 41-yard line and Kerrigan was in instead of Sweat. Why? Fatigue doesn’t feel like a good excuse considering it was coming off a break as the first play of the fourth quarter. Kerrigan has failed to log a stat in 66 snaps this year.
• Weird that Sweat only played 28 snaps. His playing time decreased from 54% in Week 1 to 40% in Week 2. And in a game where Graham got hurt. Sweat did have a quarterback hit that could’ve forced a pick if Harris didn’t drop it.
• Not as much nickel defense in this game with Avonte Maddox seeing a decrease from 62% to 30%.
• The Eagles bumped up Patrick Johnson’s playing time from 10% to 19%. Perhaps a sign they’re liking what they’re seeing from the rookie.
• Tarron Jackson saw some snaps due to the Graham injury but he didn’t make an impact.
• Davion Taylor saw nine snaps in his first game of the season. He looked OK out there before leaving early with a calf injury. Seems like the same issue that’s been bothering him dating back to training camp.

• Andre Chachere continues to flash as a gunner on punt coverage. He almost helped pin an Arryn Siposs down deep in 49ers territory before Zech McPhearson knocked the ball into the end zone for a touchback.
• No defensive snaps for Shaun Bradley after he played nine in Week 1. The return of Davion Taylor didn’t help him in that regard.
• Boston Scott has yet to play an offensive snap this season. I get he’s RB3 but it’s at least a little weird after he had a pretty good camp and preseason.

INACTIVE: Rodney McLeod, Gardner Minshew, Brett Toth, Marlon Tuipulotu, Mac McCain

ACTIVE: Joe Flacco