The entire world was shocked when news broke that the Philadelphia Eagles traded running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills. However, behind the scenes, it does not appear that many of McCoy’s former teammates were that surprised.
During an interview on NFL Network, safety Malcolm Jenkins shared what Chip Kelly prefers in a running back as far as type and style go.
For everybody who is in the locker room and really knows Chip and what he’s looking for, it wasn’t necessarily surprising.
You look at the style of runner that Chip wants in his offense and even though Shady is one of the best backs in the league, he’s not necessarily what Chip is looking for all the time. Chip thinks he’s a great running back, he knows his talent is there, but our (system) is really predicated on downhill, somebody who is going to hit the hole every time. It’s about getting up in the defenders face as fast as you can and that’s not necessarily Shady’s running style.
Though Jenkins and others weren’t shocked by Kelly dealing McCoy, Jenkins did admit that the team was a bit puzzled at what they received in exchange.
In the locker room a lot of guys weren’t surprised by the trade, what we were more surprised of was that it was just a player-for-player trade. I think everybody thought we would have gotten more — Kiko, plus a couple draft picks, you know, somebody else.
It is refreshing to hear that others agree on this point at least. Philadelphia acquired a former rookie standout in Kiko Alonso, who missed all of last season with a torn ACL, for McCoy. That player-for-player swap was a bit confounding to the masses.
As far as Kelly and his madness, we have likely not seen the last of his surprising offseason moves.
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