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Williamson: What will the Eagles look like under Doug Pederson?

Mitchell Leff / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent the last 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast."

The Eagles are telling us a lot about what they want to become.

Gone is Chip Kelly and his ways of doing things, both as a coach and in terms of roster building. In comes Doug Pederson.

Why is that telling? Because Pederson was Andy Reid's right-hand man in Kansas City, was on Reid's staff in Philadelphia, and held down the Eagles' starting quarterback job until Donovan McNabb was ready to take over. It sure looks like Philadelphia wants to go back to the way Reid did things: a familiar way of doing things.

All NFL teams have big plans for the upcoming offseason. But the Eagles, unlike any of the other 31 teams, have been extremely proactive already with their personnel. They've locked up Lane Johnson, Brent Celek, Zach Ertz, and Vinny Curry. Pederson's Eagles are looking to mimic what has worked so well in Kansas City.

Passing Game

Start at the quarterback position, where everything starts in the NFL. The Eagles don't have one. Sam Bradford is an impending free agent. He could be brought back, but in any case, Philadelphia isn't going to have a top signal-caller in 2016.

Bradford is a much more skilled passer than Alex Smith but a lesser athlete. These former first overall picks do have some similarities, however, as thet both value the football and can be risk-averse.

Contrary popular belief, Bradford played quite well down the stretch this season and managed the offense rather well. Bringing him back is probably the Eagles' best option, but he'll command a starting quarterback salary. With Pederson's tutelage, perhaps he can manage his new offense and a handful of big throws per game.

Running Game

The key here is the running game. The Eagles are going to run the football. They're going to employ an awful lot of double-tight end sets and pound the rock with DeMarco Murray (if he and the team can make his contract a little more palatable) and Ryan Mathews, who's the most talented runner on this roster.

The Eagles are going to rely on bigger personnel on offense - which jives well with their being rather weak (as well as slow) right now at the wide receiver position - and run the ball to stay in close games, just as Kansas City has done under Reid.

The contract extension given to Johnson also shows the importance this team will place on quality offensive linemen. And like back in the days when Reid was running the show, it wouldn't be surprising if Philadelphia uses a premium draft choice on the big guys up front. In this case, guard is the area that needs improvement.

Defense

With the hiring of Jim Schwartz, Philadelphia will employ an attacking "Wide 9" style 4-3 defense with a premium on edge pass-rushers who are quick to get upfield. While Kansas City utilized a 3-4 scheme, the premium on edge pass-rushers is the same.

This leads us to Curry, who was drafted in 2012 to fit Reid's 4-3 scheme as an edge player. Brandon Graham was drafted in the first round of the 2010 draft for the same role and Reid used the 12th pick in the opening round of the 2012 draft for Fletcher Cox to be his 3-technique in a four-man front.

Curry, Graham, and especially Cox all played well in Kelly's 3-4 defense. They're all talented and versatile players who adapted well to something they weren't brought in to do. But now, under Schwartz, we could see the best of what all three can offer. Locking up Curry before he could hit the open market was an excellent proactive move by Pederson, Schwartz, and Tom Donahoe, who's now in charge of the Eagles' roster construction.

The rest of Philadelphia's front seven, with the possible exception of Connor Barwin, look to be better fits in a 4-3 than the previous 3-4. Bennie Logan is an ideal 1-technique for this scheme, while Mychal Kendricks, Jordan Hicks, and Kiko Alonso best fit in a run-and-hit system where they play more in space, which is exactly what Schwartz should provide.

Kelly did some great things in Philadelphia, but the new regime is quickly putting its stamp on the roster by assembling a group of players who fit what Reid did and what Pederson is going to do.

While there's still work to be done on the roster and the quarterback position is still a mystery, the moves the team's made so far suggests it has a definitive plan and purpose, which is very encouraging.

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