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2022 Philadelphia Eagles Betting Preview: Picks And Predictions

Nick Galaida Wed 8/24 11:51am PT
Our NFL betting experts are backing one side of the Philadelphia Eagles' win total posted to Vegas oddsmakers.
Image Credit: Imagn

NFL betting expert Nick Galaida takes a look at the 2022 Philadelphia Eagles and offers a free betting pick on their season win total.

The Philadelphia Eagles were, arguably, one of the most under-achieving teams in the entire NFL in 2021. The Eagles won only two of six games decided by one score, and finished the season with a +59 point differential, despite being outscored by 25 points in a meaningless Week 18 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. 

In the offseason, Philadelphia made a number of key moves – notably, adding A.J. Brown and James Bradberry to the roster.. Let’s take a look at the Eagles unit-by-unit to see if they are capable of winning double-digit games for the first time since they won the Super Bowl in 2017.

Philadelphia Eagles 2022 Team Preview

Quarterbacks

Depth Chart: Jalen Hurts, Gardner Minshew, Reid Sinnett

Jalen Hurts led the Eagles in both passing and rushing in 2021, one of only two quarterbacks to accomplish such a feat. Yet, Hurt’s performance in the passing game left much to be desired for the Philly faithful. Hurts ranked 33rd in turnover worthy play percentage when kept clean, and he struggled to a below league average passer rating against the blitz.

Perhaps most notable, Hurts had a 61.5 passer rating on throws 20+ yards down-the-field, which was significantly worse than the league average – 92.7 passer rating. Entering his third year as a professional, the former second-round draft pick will need to take a noticeable step forward if he wants to be a part of the future in the City of Brotherly Love.

Running Backs

Depth Chart: Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott, Jason Huntley

Hurts led the team in rushing yards last fall, but it was not due to a lack of capable running backs. Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard both averaged 4.7 yards-per-carry or more, but were limited to a combined 19 games played due to injuries.

Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell each averaged 4.3 yards-per-carry as dependable options in the backfield, combining for 664 rushing yards. Sanders, Gainwell, and Scott return for 2022 to run behind an elite offensive line. This unit is set up for success once again, following a year during which they ranked 4th in rushing yards per play.

Wide Receivers

Depth Chart: A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, Dallas Goedert

The major weakness for Philadelphia’s offense in 2021 was undeniably the passing game, ranking only 14th in passing yards per play, with Hurts finishing the year ranked 21st in passing yards and 23rd in passing touchdowns among quarterbacks. In the offseason, the Eagles upgraded their wide receiver room in a big way – adding A.J. Brown to the mix. In Brown’s first three seasons, he has totaled 2,995 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns. Brown has played only 27 games across the last two years, but figures to be a much-needed addition to this passing attack when he is on the field.

Opposite of Brown, Philadelphia has the 10th pick from the 2021 draft – DeVonta Smith, who nearly had a 1,000–yard campaign in his rookie season, despite playing in one of the most run-heavy offenses in football.

He is positioned to take a major step forward in Year 2 after the addition of Brown to the offense. In addition to one of the most dynamic wide receiver duos in the league, Philadelphia also has Dallas Goedert as a pass-catching option as a security blanket for Hurts. Goedert was the most targeted member of the Eagles receiving corps in 2021 when the quarterback was under pressure. Philadelphia has some of the most talented skill position players in the NFL – if Hurts struggles again in 2022, it will not be due to a lack of talent around him.

Offensive Line

Depth Chart: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo, Lane Johnson

There are no discernable weaknesses in the Eagles offensive line, assuming full health. Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson form, arguably, the best tackle duo in the entire league. Jason Kelce finished as PFF’s 3rd-best center in 2021 – his fourth top-3 finish in the last five years.

Landon Dickerson is an above average run-blocker and a capable option in pass protection. Isaac Seumalo has been mostly excellent during his six year career, and figures to have another strong season playing next to some of the most talented lineman in football. Philadelphia is poised to dominate the line of scrimmage in 2022. 

Base 4-3 Defense

Defensive Line

Depth Chart: Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat

Though the Eagles defensive line is not quite as good as their offensive line, this unit is far from a liability. Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, and Josh Sweat combine to form one of the best defensive line threesomes in the entire NFL.

The front office also understood the importance of adding depth to a unit that features two key members who are over the age of 30, drafting Jordan Davis in the first round out of Georgia. Davis fell to the 13th overall selection, perhaps due to workload concerns on his college resume.

However, he played 378 snaps in 2021 for Georgia, per Pro Football Focus, and figures to be an extremely valuable rotational member of this group – even if his conditioning is not in the 99th percentile. Philadelphia has an abundance of talent on this line, and figures to make life difficult on opposing offenses this fall.

Linebackers

Depth Chart: Kyzir White, T.J. Edwards, Haason Reddick, Nakobe Dean

Defensive coordinator, Jonathan Gannon did an admirable job piecing together a competent defense in 2021, considering the holes at each level on this side of the ball. In 2022, Gannon will have significantly more talent to work with, including new additions Kyzir White and Nakobe Dean. White is a plus-tackler, and has proven capable of getting after the quarterback – posting 8 hurries last season with the Los Angeles Chargers.

White gives Gannon a number of different options to maximize the situational effectiveness of this defense. In addition to White, this linebacker corps features the underrated T.J. Edwards, who finished last season, graded as PFF’s 9th-best linebacker against the run. Nakobe Dean is debatably 6’0’’ tall, but he is an incredibly intelligent player, who can make up for being undersized physically with an oversized brain. Philadelphia’s linebacker corps was an area of weakness in 2021, but has an opportunity to be a major strength in 2022.

Secondary

Depth Chart: Darius Slay, Marcus Epps, Anthony Harris, James Bradberry

From 2014 to 2018, there were few cornerbacks better than Darius Slay. Following a two-year regression, Slay bounced-back in a big way in 2021 – finishing as the 3rd-best cornerback in the NFL in coverage, per Pro Football Focus. Philadelphia is hoping that they see a similar resurgence from the newly-added James Bradberry, who was elite in 2020, but took a significant step backwards in 2021.

The former second-round pick could benefit from a better structure in Philadelphia than what he had with the New York Giants last year. Marcus Epps and Anthony Harris do not form an elite safety tandem, but neither should they be a liability. Epps has been a solid contributor in back-to-back seasons, and Harris is only two years removed from being one of the best secondary players in football. If everything goes right for this group this fall, this unit could be elite. However, the range of potential production is quite large for this level of the defense for the Eagles in 2022.

2022 Philadelphia Eagles Outlook And Betting Pick

Per Pro Football Focus, from Week 8 to the end of the regular season last fall, the Eagles ran more quarterback-designed runs or option plays than any other team in the league. The result was a 6-3 finish to the year, with two of those losses coming by a single score, and the other loss being a meaningless Week 18 contest against the Cowboys.

Facing inferior competition, Philadelphia has enough talent on the offensive line to win games with an extreme emphasis on the ground. However, this offense will need Hurts to improve his accuracy over the middle of the field if the Eagles want to have an opportunity to win this division.

If Hurts continues to struggle through the air, more teams will likely play with low safeties against Philadelphia, which will make it difficult to find room to run the football. Nevertheless, Hurts does not need to be elite with his arm for this team to win 10 games. He only needs to improve enough to keep the defense honest. The over is the smart lean here.