This is the Gridiron Review’s grading and breakdown series of every team’s offseason. In this article we will spotlight the Philadelphia Eagles.
Players Retained:
Offense: Boston Scott, RB; Greg Ward, WR; Jason Kelce, C
Defense: Derek Barnett, DL; Fletcher Cox, DL; Andre Chachere, CB; Anthony Harris, S
Key Losses:
Offense: Jason Croom, TE; Brandon Brooks, OG; Nate Herbig, OG
Defense: Hassan Ridgeway, DL; Joe Ostman, DL; Ryan Kerrigan, DE/OLB; Genard Avery, LB; Alex Singleton, LB; Steven Nelson, CB; Rodney McLeod, S
Key Free Agent Pick-ups:
Offense: Zach Pascal, WR; Josh Hammond, WR; Devon Allen, WR
Defense: Renell Wren, DL; Hasson Reddick, DE/OLB; Kyzir White, LB; James Bradberry, CB; Jaquiski Tartt, S
Trades(If Applicable):
- Acquired WR AJ Brown in exchange for 2022 1st and 3rd round picks
- Acquired 2022 1st, 3rd, and 7th; 2023 1st; 2024 2nd round pick from NO Saints in exchange for 2022 1st(x2) and 6th round picks
Draft Class:
- Round 1, Pick No. 13: Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia
- Round 2, Pick No. 51: Cam Jurgens, C, Nebraska
- Round 3, Pick No. 83: Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia
- Round 6, Pick No. 181: Kyron Johnson, LB, Kansas
- Round 6, Pick No. 198: Grant Calcaterra, TE, SMU
Our Offseason Grade: Built a great defense minus safety, but will Jalen hurt(s) his own team?
Record Prediction(Division Rank): 12-5(2nd in Division)
Summary:
Offensively, the Eagles are going to be rolling with pretty much the same group. Despite many rumors that Gardner Minshew was going to be moved, he remains on the Eagles roster… for now at least. The Eagles have decided to roll with Jalen Hurts for another season, and although we here at The Gridiron Review do not believe in Hurts, we don’t entirely blame them as the QB class in this year’s draft was not thought of highly. We don’t remember the last time there was only one first round QB taken and then the next going in the third round. Pretty crazy. The running back room remains the same. The receiver room added Zach Pascal, Devon Allen, and AJ Brown. Pascal is whatever, he worked with Sirianni in Indy, but we do not expect him to see the field much at all. Allen is a track athlete turned project WR, and AJ Brown is going to need to live up to all that money they paid him. In the tight end room, they added WR convert JJ Arcega-Whiteside and Grant Calcaterra in the 6th round of the draft. JJ was not going anywhere as a receiver, and we believe that the switch to TE could be a great move for him. Calcaterra has a concussion riddled past, so it is a risky pick, but if he can stay healthy it is a solid room at TE for the Eagles. The offensive line lost both Brandon Brooks and Nate Herbig, but added center Cam Jurgens in the 2nd round of this year’s draft. We do not expect Jurgens to play guard like they did with Dickerson last year. We think that Jurgens will sit and learn from Kelce this year in an effort to enhance his play so that he is ready to take over when Kelce finally decides to call it a career. There is a big question mark around the guard spot opposite Dickerson. Will it be Seumalo? Will it be Driscoll? It’s hard to say who’s going to win the job, but based on their week 18 game against Dallas last season we believe that they have a lot of guys who are going to be able to compete for that other spot. Jack Anderson is another name to watch out for in that competition.
Defensively, they didn’t lose anything more than depth pieces on the line, but added our second overall prospect from this year’s draft, Jordan Davis. Davis is a 6’6”, 340 athletic freak of a defensive tackle from Georgia. Davis is a little raw as a pass rusher, but who better to learn from than Fletcher Cox. We love this mentor-mentee pairing. They also added Hasson Reddick, who we believe will play more of a defensive end than a linebacker. Speaking of linebackers, that has been an ignored position by the Eagles for a while now, and they finally did something about it. They lost Alex Singleton and Genard Avery, but brought in major upgrades. They signed Kyzir White in Free Agency, which we believe was one of the signings that wasn’t talked about enough, and after an INSANE slide in the draft, the Eagles snatched Georgia’s Nakobe Dean in the 3rd round. White, Dean, and Edwards should make up the Eagle’s best linebacking core in a long time. In the secondary they lost Steven Nelson and Rodney McLeod, but replaced them with James Bradberry and Jaquiski Tartt. Bradberry is a very clear upgrade over Nelson, but the Tartt move is pretty lateral. Unless someone like Epps or Wallace breakout, the Eagles safety room is in need of a serious upgrade and could be the achilles heel for this defense.
Although we do not believe in Jalen Hurts we do believe that this defense has the potential to be one of the best in the league despite the safeties. The defensive line rotation which the Eagles love, is going to be insane. Their linebacker play is going to be the best we’ve seen recently. Slay and Bradberry have to be one of the best CB tandems in football. This defense has the makings of a team carrying unit, which they are going to need especially if Hurts falters. Is it possible Hurts makes a huge jump this season? Absolutely it’s possible, and if he does we’ll be happy for him, but we believe that what he lacks in his game, such as anticipation, is an instinct and not something that can’t be learned in an offseason. If the Eagles can lean on the run game and a heavy RPO offense, and the defense plays to its potential, we think the Eagles could be a contender in the NFC. If Hurts has to go off script or falters we think it could be an interesting season for Philly, to say the least.