NFL Coaching Matters: 2022 Philadelphia Eagles Offense and Coaching Staff Preview

July 30, 2022

Eli Grabanski breaks down the 2022 Philadelphia Eagles' coaching staff in search of buy-lows, fantasy football sleepers, and risers based on play-calling and historical data.

After every NFL season, NFL teams take the time to evaluate not only the players but also the coaching staff and front office as well. While many teams choose to retain the same head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator, a few other teams opt to go in a new direction with their coaching staff.

One team that will retain the key members of their coaching staff is the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles will once again have Nick Sirianni serve as the team's head coach, Shane Steichen as the team's offensive coordinator, and Jonathan Gannon as the team's new defensive coordinator.

This article will look at the potential impact this coaching staff will have on the players and try to pinpoint the Eagles players' fantasy values in it.

The Baseline

To get a better understanding of the value the Eagles coaches help bring to this team, we can look at the NFL league averages in each of the past two years in a variety of statistical categories and then compare them to the averages achieved by the Eagles' coaches. Here are 'The Baseline' NFL league averages over the past couple of years:

QB Impact

RB Impact

WR Impact

TE Impact

Defense Impact

2022 Offense

2022 Head Coach: Nick Sirianni

Nick Sirianni has been the Philadelphia Eagles' head coach since 2021. Prior to joining the Eagles, Sirianni spent three years as the offensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts (2018-2020). Given his offensive background, let's dive into some offensive statistics from Sirianni's experiences in an offensive coordinator role to get a better understanding of how the Eagles may utilize their offensive players in 2022.

QB Impact

RB Impact

WR Impact

TE Impact

Nick Sirianni Takeaways & Expectations

Over the course of Nick Sirianni's 65-game career as the Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator, his offense averaged 33.89 passing attempts per game. In recent years, the usage has been a little lower than that with the Eagles attempting 29.06 passing attempts in 2021. Based on this information, Jalen Hurts most likely will end up with below-average passing numbers in 2022.

Besides passing, it is also important to look at the rushing usage of Sirianni's quarterbacks over the course of his career as an offensive coordinator. Over the course of his career, Sirianni's quarterbacks have averaged 4.62 carries per game.

These career numbers are slightly above-average and Sirianni can thank Jalen Hurts's 2021 performance for that. Because Sirianni will once again work with Jalen Hurts in 2022, we can again expect a high level of rushing usage from the quarterback position. Based on all of this information, Hurts will have a great opportunity to once again finish as a QB1 in fantasy football leagues.

Looking at the running back position, Nick Sirianni has been pretty great in utilizing the group. Over the course of his career, Sirianni's running backs have averaged 23.8 carries, 110.32 rushing yards, and 0.85 rushing touchdowns per game on the ground.

Clearly, we can expect Sirianni to feed his backs on the ground. This is very encouraging to see if you are rostering one of the Philadelphia Eagles' running backs in your fantasy league for the 2022 season.

Besides the amount of volume (carries) on the ground that Sirianni has historically provided, we also need to consider how that volume has been distributed over the course of his career – is Sirianni's offense typically rolling with a bell-cow or a running back by committee approach?

Looking at the data, until last year Nick Sirianni's lead back on the season had seen a decent amount of work on the ground each year – 195 carries in 2018 (Marlon Mack), 247 carries in 2019 (Marlon Mack), and 232 carries in 2020 (Jonathan Taylor). Based on this, it's likely we see a bounce-back season in terms of usage for Miles Sanders in 2022.

The final aspect we should look at regarding Nick Sirianni's running backs is how much he has traditionally utilized them as pass-catchers. Over the course of his career, Sirianni's running back room has averaged 7.03 targets per game – which is slightly above average.

Nick Sirianni's offenses have been very good at utilizing their running backs, with him providing an above-average number of opportunities provided on the ground and through the air. Based on all of this information the Eagles' lead running back, Miles Sanders has a great shot of a bounce-back season and Kenneth Gainwell may also be worth a look late in fantasy drafts for PPR formats.

Looking at the wide receiver position, Sirianni's offense has provided his wide receivers with 17.09 targets per game over the course of his career as an offensive coordinator.

This usage is below-average relative to other NFL play-callers. Based on this information, it seems likely that at least one of A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith doesn't live up to expectations in 2022, so be careful when deciding whether or not you'd like to invest in an Eagles wide receiver at their current ADP.

Finally, Sirianni's historical usage of tight ends is pretty great. Over the course of his 65-game career, Sirianni's tight end room averaged 8.42 targets per game.

This usage is encouraging to see and makes it clear that the Eagles will continue to utilize their tight ends in the passing game in 2022. Based on this information, Dallas Goedert looks to be a strong TE option in fantasy leagues after the big five tight ends are gone – Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, George Kittle, Kyle Pitts, and Darren Waller.

2022 Offensive Coordinator: Shane Steichen

Shane Steichen joined the Philadelphia Eagles coaching staff in 2021 after spending 24 games as the Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2020. Given his offensive background, let's dive into some offensive statistics from Steichen's experiences as an offensive coordinator to get a better understanding of how the Eagles may utilize their offensive players in 2022.

QB Impact

RB Impact

WR Impact

TE Impact

Shane Steichen Takeaways & Expectations

Over the course of Shane Steichen's 41-game career as an offensive coordinator, his offenses have averaged 34.44 passing attempts per game. This passing volume is around the NFL league averages the past few years and suggests that Steichen's presence will lead to an average or below-average number of passing opportunities for Jalen Hurts in 2022.

Besides passing, it is also important to look at the rushing usage of Shane Steichen's quarterbacks over the course of his career as an offensive coordinator. Over the course of his career, Steichen's quarterbacks have averaged 5.39 carries per game.

Prior to getting the opportunity to work with Jalen Hurts, Shane Steichen's quarterbacks averaged a mediocre number of rushing attempts. But after getting the opportunity to work with Jalen Hurts, his career averages for quarterback rushing attempts are well above average the league averages. The bottom line is that as long as Jalen Hurts is the team's starting quarterback, there will be a lot of rushing attempts from the position regardless of whether Nick Sirianni or Shane Steichen is calling the plays.

Looking at the running back position, Shane Steichen has been fairly effective in utilizing the position. Over the course of his career, Shane Steichen's tailbacks have averaged 23.63 carries, 103.88 rushing yards, and 0.68 rushing touchdowns per game on the ground.

The number of carries per game is above the league averages the past couple of seasons and clearly shows that Steichen will feed his running backs on the ground. This is great news for anyone rostering one of the Eagles' running backs in 2022.

Besides the amount of volume (carries) on the ground that Steichen has historically provided, we also need to consider how that volume has been distributed over the course of his career – is Shane Steichen typically rolling with a bell-cow or a running back by committee approach?

Looking at the data above, for the most part early in his career it appears that Shane Steichen's offenses have leaned towards running back by committee approaches. Keep this in mind when deciding where to draft Miles Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell in fantasy leagues for the 2022 season.

The final aspect we should look at regarding Shane Steichen's running backs is how much he has traditionally utilized them as pass-catchers. Over the course of his career, Steichen's running back room has averaged 8.54 targets per game.

This is one of the better marks in the league among offensive-minded head coaches and offensive coordinators with previous NFL experience and suggests that the Eagles' primary pass-catching back is a player worth monitoring in your fantasy league(s). Because of this Kenneth Gainwell may have some sleeper appeal late in drafts for PPR leagues.

Looking at the wide receiver position, Steichen has seen his wide receiver room average 16.85 targets per game over the course of his career as an offensive coordinator.

Clearly, if Steichen is calling the plays we should expect the Eagles to be slightly below average to average in providing their wide receivers work. Based on Steichen and Sirianni's data, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith may have more of an uphill battle in living up to fantasy expectations in 2022.

Finally, Steichen's historical usage of tight ends is slightly above average. Over the course of his career as an offensive coordinator, Shane Steichen's tight end room has averaged 7.44 targets per game.

It appears that regardless of who the primary play-caller is between Nick Sirianni and Shane Steichen the tight end position will be a key point in the passing game for the Eagles. This is a great sign if you are rostering Dallas Goedert, and makes him a solid investment in your fantasy football league(s).

Fantasy Relevant Players: Jalen Hurts, Gardner Minshew, Carson Strong, Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott, Jason Huntley, A.J. Brown, Zach Pascal, Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward, Quez Watkins, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Jack Stoll, Tyree Jackson

2022 Defense

2022 Defensive Coordinator: Jonathan Gannon

2022 will be Jonathan Gannon's second season as a defensive coordinator at any level. Prior to taking the job as the Eagles' defensive coordinator back in 2021, he previously served as a defensive quality control coach for the Atlanta Falcons (2007) and Tennessee Titans (2012-2013), an assistant defensive backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings (2014-2017), and as a cornerbacks coach for the Indianapolis Colts (2018-2020). Above are some statistics from his career thus far as a defensive coordinator.

Other Notable Assistants

Special Teams Coordinator: Michael Clay - Michael Clay initially became the Eagles' special teams coordinator in 2021. He has previously worked for the Philadelphia Eagles as a defensive quality control coach (2014) and assistant special teams coach (2015), as well as for the San Francisco 49ers as an assistant strength and conditioning coach (2017) and assistant special teams coach (2016, 2018-2020).

QB Coach: Brian Johnson - Brian Johnson will again serve as the Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach in 2022 after spending most of his coaching career at the college level. Previously Johnson has served as a quarterbacks coach for Utah (2010-2013), Mississippi State (2014-2016), Houston (2017), and Florida (2018-2020).

RB Coach: Jemal Singleton - Jemal Singleton joined the Philadelphia Eagles as a running backs coach in 2021. At the NFL level, he has previously served as a running backs coach for the Indianapolis Colts (2016-2017), Oakland Raiders (2018), and Cincinnati Bengals (2019-2020). He will also serve as the team's assistant head coach.

WR Coach: Aaron Moorehead - Aaron Moorehead has been the Philadelphia Eagles wide receivers coach since 2020. He has previously served as a wide receivers coach for Virginia Tech (2013-2014), Texas A&M (2015-2017), and Vanderbilt (2018-2019). Moorehead also played wide receiver at the NFL level for the Indianapolis Colts from 2003 to 2007.

TE Coach: Jason Michael - Jason Michael was hired as the Philadelphia Eagles tight ends coach in 2021. He has been coaching football since 2003, previously working as a tight ends coach for the New York Jets (2007), San Diego Chargers (2011-2013), Arizona Cardinals (2018), and Indianapolis Colts (2019-2020). He also served as the Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator from 2014 to 2015.

OL Coach: Jeff Stoutland - Jeff Stoutland has been the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line coach since 2013. He's been coaching football since 1984. He is the Eagles' longest-tenured coach and has also served as the Eagles run game coordinator since 2018.

DL Coach: Tracy Rocker - Tracy Rocker became the Philadelphia Eagles defensive line coach in 2021. He has been coaching since 1992 primarily at the college level, but also previously served as the Tennessee Titans' defensive line coach from 2011 to 2013.

LB Coach: Nick Rallis - Nick Rallis joined the Philadelphia Eagles coaching staff in 2021 and serves as the team's linebackers coach. He previously served as a defensive quality control & assistant linebackers coach for the Minnesota Vikings (2018-2020).

DB Coach: Dennard Wilson - Dennard Wilson was hired as the Eagles defensive backs coach in 2021. He has previously coached defensive backs for the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (2015-2016) and New York Jets (2017-2020).

Enjoy this series? Be sure to check out all of the other 'Coaching Matters' team previews!

AFC North: Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals

AFC South: Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts

AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders

AFC East: Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets

NFC North: Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings

NFC South: Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC West: San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle Seahawks

NFC East: Dallas Cowboys

Follow Eli Grabanski on Twitter: @3li_handles

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