That means the Eagles, with a few bounces one way or the other, could have easily ended up in the playoffs in 2016. They blew out the Steelers, 34-3. They held the best offense in football – the Atlanta Falcons – to only 15 points in a Week 10 win. They had the talent to hang with any team in any given week, but simply couldn’t hold on late in tight games.

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Roster Upgrades

Even if they remain unlucky in 2017, the Eagles’ roster has been upgraded considerably. While the Eagles have lost 4,604 snaps from a season ago, they’ve not actually lost any true impact players. Left guard Allen Barbre is the highest-graded player to depart, and that was because he lost his starting job. Jordan Matthews was their most productive receiver a season ago, averaging 1.64 yards per route. His value as a slot-only receiver was debatable, though, and he was made expendable by offseason additions.

These new starters should be upgrades at their respective positions (PFF grades in parentheses).

WR Alshon Jeffery (79.2)

WR Torrey Smith (41.7)

RB LeGarrette Blount (52.4)

DE Derek Barnett (92.1*)

CB Ronald Darby (62.7)

* college grade

That doesn’t even include right tackle Lane Johnson, who missed most of 2016 because of a suspension. Those aren’t just any upgrades; they’re at the premium positions on the field outside of quarterback. If they can be the same upgrade on the field as they look on paper, the Eagles will be drastically improved.

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Carson Wentz

The final reason to feel confident in the Eagles is their quarterback. With a few notable exceptions, almost every quarterback makes marked improvements from their rookie season to Year 2. There’s no reason to think Wentz will deviate from that model. An improved receiving corps and Johnson back for a full season should only help as well. Below are Wentz’s splits with and without Johnson a season ago.

Stats With Without Passer Rating 97.5 70.2 Adj. Completion 75.8 74.3 TD 10 6 INT 2 12 YPA 7 5.9

Few things are more important to a young quarterback’s development than avoiding pressure, and Wentz was certainly no exception. When Johnson played, Wentz was pressured on only 25.7 percent of his dropbacks, one of the lowest figures in the league. That number jumped to 31.8 in games without the starting right tackle and the results got even worse. He had a passer rating of 21.0 under pressure in those games and a touchdown:interception ratio of 0:8. When kept clean last season he had a passer rating of 94.4 and a completion percentage of 68.6. The more we see of that in 2017, the more successful the Eagles will be.

Mike Renner is a writer for Pro Football Focus and a contributor to The Washington Post’s NFL coverage.