With the 2018 season in the rear-view mirror, we are taking a look back at each player's season, and what to expect from them in the future.
Player:
Josh Adams
Season Stats:
14 games, 120 rushes, 511 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 fumble, 7 receptions, 58 receiving yards
Highlights:
Adams scored his first career TD in the Saints blowout loss. On the play he showed great vision to find the hole that allowed him to burst into the open field.
Adams' 2nd career TD wasn't anything special, he just used his size on the goal-line to stretch into the endzone and help the Eagles take the lead in the 4th Quarter.
His final TD of the season was also near the goal-line, but this time Adams used his strength to shake off would-be-tacklers to get into pay-dirt.
Outside of his touchdowns, Adams did have other standout plays. In the Eagles home loss to the Cowboys, Adams shined in his role, getting seven carries and recording 47 rushing yards. In that game he really showed off his patience, and allowed his blockers to lay their blocks and help give Adams enough time to find the open field, which is all highlighted below.
One final play that deserves recognition is a play in London against Jacksonville. On a run of his shown below, no holes became available in the middle of the o-line, so Adams juked to the outside, and went behind Zach Ertz before cutting back towards the middle of the field. This awareness allowed him to get 5+ yards instead of being stuffed behind the line.
Lowlights:
Adams had one very noticeable mistake this season that almost lead to an Eagles loss and would have eliminated them from playoff contention. In Week 16 against the Houston Texans, the Eagles were leading 29-16 with just over five minutes left in the game. With the Eagles trying to run the clock down, Adams was given the ball and ended up fumbling with the Texans recovering near midfield. The Texans ended up scoring less than a minute later, and ultimately ended up taking the lead from the Eagles. Lucky for him, Nick Foles used his magic to lead a drive downfield to allow Jake Elliott to nail a game-winning field-goal as time expired.
The rookie didn't add much to the receiving game, recording just seven receptions (and one drop) on 13 targets. His one dimension isn't optimal in an offense like Doug Pederson's who likes to use runningback screens often.
Even though he was the team's leading rusher in the regular season, Adams became invisible in the playoffs. He only play one snap in the postseason, which was a rush that netted two yards. The Eagles wanted to rely on a veteran like Darren Sproles and decided against getting their rookie RB any playoff experience.
Future With The Eagles:
Back before his Week 16 fumble, Adams was looking to possibly be the runningback of the future for the Eagles. With him essentially being bench during the playoffs, Adams seems to have found himself down at the bottom of the depth chart, which is where he started the season. The futures of other RBs like Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles are still unclear, and if one or both end up coming back to Philadelphia, Adams will find himself below them on the depth chart to start 2019. The Eagles could also invest some of their draft capital in a runningback, which would also hurt Adams' future. The bottom line is Adams is likely starting from scratch in 2019, and will have to impress in Training Camp and the preseason if he wants to play a main role in the Eagles' running game next season and down the road.
