After plunging down the stretch of last season and getting blown out in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Philadelphia Eagles have made some significant changes this offseason.
Defensive coordinator Sean Desai and offensive Brian Johnson have been replaced by Vic Fangio and Kellen Moore, respectively. The team made a big splash in free agency by nabbing star running back Saquon Barkley from the NFC East rival New York Giants, while it also used its first two draft picks on Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, both of whom are intriguing cornerbacks.
The risk Philly is taking with Barkley is that he is injury-prone. He has appeared in at least 16 games in a season just twice in his six-year career, and although he played well in 2023, he suffered a sprained ankle that forced him out for three games and continued to hamper him for weeks afterward.
That seems to be why Patrick McAvoy of Eagles Today suggested the team go after free agent running back Kareem Hunt.
“He could be an intriguing option to have behind Barkley because of the fact that he is very strong as a receiver and has had plenty of success throughout his career so far,” McAvoy wrote. “Barkley has dealt with a handful of injuries throughout his career so it wouldn’t hurt to have a veteran depth option behind him who could take over the bulk of the rushing load if an injury popped up.”
Does Kareem Hunt have anything left in the tank?
When Hunt broke into the NFL as a third-round draft pick in 2017, he took the league by storm. He ran for a league-high 1,327 yards while scoring 11 total touchdowns from scrimmage and getting named to the Pro Bowl.
But injuries and poor off-the-field behavior slowed him down afterward, relegating him to more of a depth piece than a featured every-down back.
For the last five seasons, Hunt was a member of the Cleveland Browns, and he provided an excellent change-of-pace option behind perennial Pro Bowler Nick Chubb. After Chubb suffered a severe, season-ending knee injury in Week 2 last year, Hunt finished the year with 411 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.
Hunt isn’t quite as explosive as he was when he was a rookie with the Kansas City Chiefs, but he could be a nice insurance policy behind Barkley.
Right now, Philly’s RB2 is Kenneth Gainwell, who has never reached as many as 400 rushing yards in a single season. Perhaps it should strongly consider signing Hunt to a one-year deal in order to ensure it has the depth and talent to compete with NFC heavyweights such as the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers.
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