Quarterback

The Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2024, after a 14-3 regular season, but in 2025, they fell to 11-6 and went out in the first round of the post-season. In terms of schedule adjusted efficiency, they were even worse than their record suggested in 2025, finishing 16th, as their record was helped by a 8-4 record in one-score games, which likely won’t happen again in 2026. Making matters worse, their only three wins by more than one score came against teams that finished 5-12 or worse. 

The Eagles’ defense declining last season was not that surprising, as they lost four players who played at least 500 snaps or more on their 2024 defense last off-season, but, while their defense only fell from 1st in schedule adjusted efficiency to 7th, their offense actually fell even more, from 13th to 22nd, despite bringing back 10 of 11 starters. The reasons for their offensive decline are complex, but to simplify it, the Eagles’ lost offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who became the Saints’ head coach, and replaced him with Kevin Patullo, who was overmatched in his first season on the job, leading to numerous players having down seasons. 

Patullo was fired this off-season and was replaced by former Packers quarterbacks coach Sean Mannion, who should be an upgrade by default. However, Mannion is an inexperienced coach who probably won’t be as good as Kellen Moore was and the Eagles’ offense lost talented wide receiver AJ Brown via trade this off-season and didn’t get any trade compensation for him until 2028, so it seems unlikely the Eagles’ offense will bounce all the way back to their 2024 level of play in 2026.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts is obviously a Super Bowl winning quarterback, but he was far from the biggest reason why the Eagles played at the level they played at in 2024, as their defense was the strength of the team, while the offense had a loaded supporting cast. Over the past four seasons, Hurts’ numbers look good, as he has completed 66.2% of his passes for an average of 7.55 YPA, 88 touchdowns, and 32 interceptions, while rushing for 4.19 YPC and 50 touchdowns on 577 carries, but his numbers look better than he has played because of how much talent he has had around him. From 2024 to 2025, he saw his completion percentage drop from 68.7% to 64.8% and his YPA drop from 8.04 to a career low 7.10. He’s certainly not a bad starting quarterback, but he’s not a particularly good one either, which is a concern with his supporting cast not being what it was in 2024, most notably with AJ Brown gone.

Tanner McKee was Hurts’ backup last season and the 2023 6th round pick has shown some promise in his career, completing 61.4% of his passes for an average of 6.78 YPA, 5 touchdowns, and 1 interception, but both of his starts have come in meaningless week 18 games that were glorified pre-season games, so it is tough to put much stock into his performance. The Eagles don’t seem totally sold on him either, adding veteran backup Andy Dalton and 5th round pick Cole Turner this off-season to compete with McKee.

Dalton is extremely experienced, making 169 career starts in 15 seasons in the league, completing 62.6% of his passes for an average of 7.04 YPA, 254 touchdowns, and 151 interceptions, but he has only made seven starts in the past three seasons, completing 64.7% of his passes for an average of 6.44 YPA, 10 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions in that stretch, and now he’s heading into his age 39 season, so there is no guarantee he will be better than McKee. Turner, meanwhile, is probably too raw to be the backup as a rookie and figures to spend his first season in the league as a 3rd string quarterback at best. This is not a bad quarterback room, but it isn’t a particularly good one either.

Grade: B

Receiving Corps

As I mentioned, the loss of AJ Brown will be a big deal for this offense. Like most of this offense, he had a down year in 2025, but he still finished with a 78/1003/7 slash line and was even better than that suggests, as he averaged 8.29 yards per target and 2.06 yards per route run, with his production being kept down by the run heavy nature of the Eagles’ offense, which ranked just 24th in pass attempts. In 2024, he was even more efficient, averaging 9.84 yards per target and 2.99 yards per route run.

To try to replace Brown, the Eagles went with quantity over quality, a shift in strategy for a team who directed 80.4% of their wide receiver targets to their top-2 wide receivers in 2025 and 71.3% in 2024. Likely the best of their new wide receivers is Makai Lemon, who they selected in the first round. Lemon has the upside to be as good as Brown long-term, but he will almost definitely be a downgrade as a rookie. He will probably be the #2 wide receiver, with veteran additions Dontayvion Wicks and Hollywood Brown likely to compete for the #3 wide receiver job. 

Wicks is probably the heavy favorite for that role, as the Eagles gave up a pair of late round picks and gave him a 1-year, 12.5 million dollar extension for 2027 upon acquiring him. Wicks has a decent 1.63 yards per route run average in his career, but he’s been a part-time player through three seasons in the league, with snap counts of 458, 586, and 409. It is possible he plays a career high in snaps this season, but it is also possible he continues rotating snaps, with Hollywood Brown also being added on a 1-year, 5 million dollar deal. Brown is a decent, but unspectacular player with a career 1.56 yards per route run average, despite good quarterback play for most of his career.

Devonta Smith will probably also see a higher target share in Brown’s absence, becoming a true #1 receiver, rather than a 1b to Brown’s 1a. Smith is one of the few Eagles offensive players who didn’t have a down year last season, with a 77/1008/4 slash line on 113 targets in 17 games with 1.92 yards per route run, in line with his career averages of 82/1067/7 per 17 games and 1.90 yards per route run. Still in his prime in his age 28 season, I would expect a similar level of play from him in 2026, with a likely uptick in production as a result of a higher target share.

The Eagles could also run more two tight end sets this season to try to make up for the loss of AJ Brown, with Eli Stowers being added in the second round of the draft, to backup long-time starting tight end Dallas Goedert. In seven seasons as a starter, Goedert has averaged a 69/802/6 slash line per 17 games with a 1.72 yards per route run average. However, he has missed 25 games with injury during those seven seasons and he is now going into his age 31 season and coming off of a down year, in which he had a 60/591/11 slash line in 15 games and a 1.37 yards per route run average. Stowers was likely drafted in part time to be Goedert’s long-term replacement, in addition to having a situational role in the short-term. This receiving corps won’t be as good without AJ Brown, but they are at least deeper than they have been in recent years.

Grade: B

Offensive Line

The Eagles’ offensive line was the unit that had the biggest regression from 2024 to 2025, as they went from ranking 6th in pass block win rate and 9th in run block win rate in 2024 to 17th and 16th in those two metrics in 2025. This happened despite the Eagles’ bringing back four of five starters from their 2024 offensive line in 2025. The one difference was at right guard, where Mekhi Becton left as a free agent and was replaced by Tyler Steen. 

Steen was a bit of a downgrade from Becton, as Becton was a slightly above average starter, while Steen was a slightly below average starter, but that alone was not the reason for the unit’s decline. Steen remains as the starter in 2026 and as a 2023 3rd round pick who is going into his second season as a starter, he could take a step forward in 2026, still only his age 26 season, but that is not a guarantee.

A bigger reason why they declined on the offensive line in 2025 was right tackle Lane Johnson missing seven regular season games due to injury, in addition to their playoff loss to the 49ers. Johnson was their best offensive lineman in 2024 and, until getting hurt, he was their best offensive lineman again in 2025, as he has been for many years, so his absence was a big deal. His absence was especially a big deal because backup Fred Johnson was a liability, as he has been for most of his career, in which he has made 22 starts in seven seasons in the league as a swing tackle. Lane Johnson will probably be healthier in 2026, but he has a pretty extensive injury history, missing 45 games in 13 seasons in the league, while missing at least one game in all but two seasons in the league, with his last full season coming back in 2016. 

On top of that, Lane Johnson is going into his age 36 season in 2026 and, between his age and injury history, he could easily decline noticeably in 2026. Johnson is a potential Hall of Famer with numerous All-Pro caliber seasons in his career, so even at less than his best, he could easily be an above average starter, but a significant decline from him would counteract the benefit of having him on the field for more games. The Eagles used a 3rd round pick on Markel Bell to potentially replace Johnson long-term, but he enters the league very raw and might not even be able to beat out Fred Johnson for the swing tackle role in year one.

Left guard Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens were relatively healthy in 2025 compared to Johnson, though they did miss two games and three games respectively. The bigger problem was both declined even when on the field in 2025 compared to 2024, with Dickerson going from an above average starter to an average starter and Jurgens going from an average starter to a slightly below average starter. For Dickerson, 2024 was the best season of his 5-year career, so he probably won’t be as good again in 2026, but 2025 was arguably his worst and 2026 figures to be somewhere in between, still in his prime in his age 28 season. The same should be true for Jurgens, a 2022 2nd round pick and 3-year starter, for whom 2024 was also a career best year. 

The one spot where the Eagles got the same level of play all season on this offensive line in 2024 and 2025 was left tackle, where Jordan Mailata actually played in more games in 2025 (16) than 2024 (12) and continued playing at a well above average level. A 6-year starter with 85 career starts, Mailata has consistently played at a high level in his career and, still only going into his age 29 season, I would expect a similar level of play from him in 2026.

One concern on this offensive line is the lack of experienced depth on the interior. Brett Toth, who was decent in four starts in place of Jurgens and Dickerson last season, is no longer with the team, leaving Drew Kendall, a 2025 5th round pick who made one nondescript start as a rookie, and 6th round rookie Micah Morris as their top reserves, with the rest of the depth chart consisting of recent undrafted free agents who have never played a snap. This offensive line is unlikely to be as good as it was a year ago, but there is an argument to be made that they will be better than last season. 

Grade: B+

Running Backs

Feature back Saquon Barkley had a big statistical drop off from 2024 to 2025, going from 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns on 345 carries (5.81 YPC) to 1,140 yards and 7 touchdowns on 280 carries (4.07 YPC). However, the decline of his blocking was a big part of the issue, as Barkley’s yards per carry after contact only fell from 3.17 to 2.71 and his missed tackle rate actually increased from 17.4% to 18.6%. 

Barkley’s blocking will probably a little better in 2026, but it won’t be as good as it was in 2024 and I don’t expect him to be either, now going into his age 29 season, which is somewhat of an advanced age for a running back, especially for one that has simultaneously missed 27 games in eight seasons in the league and also has 2,184 career touches. He’s been an effective running back in his career, averaging 4.58 yards per carry, but his best days are probably behind him. 

Behind Barkley, the Eagles have Tank Bigsby, who gets a few carries a game when Barkley needs a rest and would get the majority of the carries if Barkley missed time, and Will Shipley, a passing down specialist who comes in for Barkley in some obvious passing situations. In three seasons in the league, Bigsby has shown promise, rushing for 1,254 yards and 11 touchdowns on 281 carries (4.46 YPC), with 3.52 yards per carry after contact, a 26.3% missed tackle rate, and a 48.4% carry success rate, though he does struggle in passing situations with a career 0.42 yards per route run average. 

Shipley, meanwhile, has averaged 0.90 yards per route run in two seasons in the league, while totaling 16 targets and 44 carries. Barkley is a decent pass catcher as well, averaging 1.08 yards per route run in his career, but that has fallen to 0.89 over the past four seasons and the Eagles don’t mind taking him out for Shipley in long yardage situations to keep Barkley fresh. Barkley isn’t what he used to be, but this is definitely not a bad backfield.

Grade: B

Edge Defenders

As I mentioned, the Eagles’ defense was not as good in 2025 as it was in 2024, but it was still one of the better defenses in the league, especially after adding Jaelan Phillips in a mid-season trade to replace Josh Sweat, a big loss from the previous off-season, who had 8 sacks, 9 hits, and a 13.5% pressure rate in 16 games in 2024. In 8 games with the team in 2025, Phillips excelled as a pass rusher, with 2 sacks, 7 hits, and a 17.7% pressure rate. 

Phillips was not retained as a free agent this off-season, but the Eagles adequately replaced him by trading for Jonathan Greenard. Over the past three seasons, Greenard has totaled 27.5 sacks, 29 hits, and a 14.5% pressure rate in 44 games, while providing solid run defense. Last season, he had 3 sacks. 9 hits, and a 17.4% pressure rate in 12 games. Greenard is still in his late prime in his age 29 season, but injuries have been a concern for him in his career, costing him 23 games in six seasons in the league, with at least two games missed in five of six seasons. Still, he is a welcome addition for this edge defender room.

Greenard will play significant snaps along with top holdovers Jalyx Hunt (694 snaps) and Nolan Smith (452 snaps), who are not as good as Greenard, but are solid players in their own right. Hunt, a 2024 3rd round pick, played 240 nondescript snaps before having a mini breakout season in 2025, struggling a bit against the run, but more than making up for it with 6.5 sacks, 17 hits, and a 15.9% pressure rate. 

Hunt is still unproven, only having done that once, but he’s also only going into his age 25 season and there is probably a better chance that he improves further in 2026 than there is that he regresses back to his rookie year form. Smith, meanwhile, is more of a well-rounded player, providing solid but unspectacular run defense and pass rush, with 9.5 sacks, 10 hits, and a 12.7% pressure rate in a part-time role over the past two seasons (35.6 snaps per game). A 2023 1st round pick who is still only going into his age 25 season, Smith could still have further untapped potential.

The Eagles also added Arnold Ebiketie in free agency, a talented situational rusher. He has only played 457 snaps per season and 27.3 snaps per game in his career, but he has 16.5 sacks, 25 hits, and a 12.0% pressure rate in 67 games in a part-time role and he hasn’t been a bad run defender either. A 2022 2nd round pick who is still only going into his age 27 season, Ebiketie could potentially handle a larger workload, but in a loaded position group in Philadelphia it is hard to see him getting the chance to do that unless someone misses significant time ahead of him on the depth chart. The Eagles don’t have a true #1 edge rusher, but they should have no problem getting after the quarterback off the edge regardless.

Grade: A-

Interior Defenders

Another defender the Eagles lost last off-season was Milton Williams, a talented situational interior pass rusher who had 5 sacks, 7 hits, and a 13.2% pressure rate in part-time role in 2024 (500 snaps), who then went on to become one of the better interior defenders in the league in an expanded role in New England last season, but the Eagles were so deep at the interior defender position that other players just played more snaps in his absence last season and they barely missed him. 

Moro Ojomo (388 snaps to 741 snaps) and Jordan Davis (387 snaps to 686 snaps) were the ones that took the biggest step forward in terms of playing time. Ojomo excelled as a situational pass in 2024, not recording a sack in a limited role, but adding 5 hits and a 11.6% pressure rate. In 2025 in a bigger role, his sack total jumped to 6, while adding 4 hits, and a 10.8% pressure rate, and his run defense, once a liability, improved a little bit too. He’s a one-year wonder in terms of putting together the season he had last season and it is worth noting he fell to the 7th round in 2023 and probably doesn’t have a higher upside than what he has shown, but he could easily have permanently turned a corner in which case he should remain an above average starter, still only going into his age 25 season.

Davis, meanwhile, was a first round pick in 2022 and the only reason he played just 377 snaps per season in his first three seasons in the league was conditioning issues, as he consistently played above average run defense with decent pass rush when on the field. In 2025, Davis showed up in much better shape and was able to continue his previous level of play across a much bigger snap count as a result. The 6-6 336 pounder is obviously at his best against the run, but he also has a decent career 6.5% pressure rate. Still only in his age 26 season, Davis’ only issue going forward is whether or not he can continually stay in good enough shape to play as many snaps as he did last season.

Jalen Carter, the Eagles’ best interior defender in 2024, was the only interior defender on the team who did not have a better season in 2025, in fact missing five games due to injury and another due to an ejection before the first snap. When on the field though, he was about the same as he always had been, with solid run defense and 3 sacks, 8 hits, and a 10.2% pressure rate. In three seasons in the league, the former 9th overall pick has 13.5 sacks, 25 hits, and a 10.6% pressure rate in 44 career games, with just two games missed outside of last season, and, still only going into his age 25 season, he could still have even better days ahead of him.

The one minor concern with this group is depth outside of their top-3, which would only become a serious issue if one of their top-3 missed time with injury. With Carter missing time, Byron Young played 338 snaps, with 187 of them coming in the 6 games Carter missed. Young was a 3rd round pick by the Raiders in 2023, but has shown next to nothing in his career, playing just 99 snaps as a rookie, not making the Raiders final roster in his second season in the league in 2024, spending that whole season on the Eagles practice squad and injured reserve, not playing a snap, and then predictably struggling in his first real action in 2025. 

Still only in his age 26 season, he may theoretically have some untapped potential, but he also could be pushed for his deep reserve role by 2025 4th round pick Ty Robinson, who played just 104 snaps as a rookie, but could take a step forward in year two and at least be an upgrade over Young. The lack of a reliable 4th interior defender is just a minor issue for a position group that has a great top-3 who are all young and talented.

Grade: A-

Linebackers

One upgrade for this defense between 2024 and 2025 was the addition of linebacker Jihaad Campbell in the first round of the draft, who played 711 snaps in 16 games as a rookie and was immediately an above average starter. Now going into his second season in the league, Campbell could see an expanded snap count with Nakobe Dean (403 snaps in 9 games) leaving as a free agent. Campbell pairs with Zack Baun, an All-Pro caliber player in each of the past two seasons, to give the Eagles arguably the best linebacker duo in the league.

Baun, a 3rd round pick by the Saints in 2020, played just 664 snaps in his first four seasons in the league in New Orleans as a hybrid defensive end/linebacker, but he showed promise and more than made good on that promise once arriving in Philadelphia and moving to linebacker full-time. His age is a minor concern, going into his age 30 season, but he could remain at least an above average all-around linebacker even if he does decline somewhat and he also just as easily could have another All-Pro caliber season.

With Nakobe Dean gone, Jeremiah Trotter figures to be the third linebacker. A 2024 5th round pick, Trotter has only played 192 snaps in two seasons in the league due to the talent ahead of him on the depth chart, but he has shown a lot of promise in his limited action and it shouldn’t be a surprise at all if he becomes a solid third linebacker, playing a situational role against the run. Whether or not he could continue being a solid player in an every down role in the case of a major injury to one of their top-2 linebackers remains to be seen, but he at least has the potential to do that. Even with Dean gone and Baun now in his age 30 season, this is still arguably the best linebacking corps in the league.

Grade: A

Secondary

After Jonathan Greenard, the biggest addition on this defense this off-season was cornerback Tariq Woolen. A 5th round pick in 2022, Woolen was immediately an above average starter in his first season in the league, but has struggled to regain that form, only being an average starter in each of the past three seasons in the league. Whether or not he can ever bounce back to his rookie year form remains to be seen, but even if he is only an average starter he should help this team because he is not only replacing Adoree Jackson, who was a liability in 588 snaps as the third cornerback last season, but he is also partially replacing safety Reed Blankenship, who was also a liability in 1,009 snaps last season. 

In base packages, Woolen will start outside opposite Quinyon Mitchell, while Cooper DeJean, previously a full-time cornerback, will become a hybrid player who plays safety in base packages and replaces Blankenship, and then moves to the slot in sub packages. DeJean has developed into a borderline All-Pro caliber player in two seasons in the league since being drafted in the second round in 2024, so it is a little bit risky to change his role, but DeJean’s skill set could translate better to safety than outside cornerback in base packages and he will still play the majority of his snaps on the slot in sub packages, where he is at his best. 

Still in his age 23 season, DeJean could have his best year yet in 2026 and has the talent to be a perennial All-Pro caliber player for years to come. Quinyon Mitchell was also taken in that 2024 draft, in the first round, and he has also developed into a well above average starter, as a traditional outside cornerback. Still only going into his age 25 season, Mitchell could also have his best year yet in his third season in the league in 2026 and also has the talent to become a perennial All-Pro caliber player for years to come. 

Safety Andrew Mukaba will be the fourth starter in base packages, playing safety opposite DeJean. A 2nd round pick in 2025, Mukaba played every down in 11 games (672 snaps) as a rookie, before a season ending broken ankle. He was a bit of a liability, but he could be at least a little bit better in his second season in the league. In sub packages when DeJean moves to the slot, Mukaba will play next to either Marcus Epps or Michael Carter, a pair of underwhelming veteran options. 

Epps started all 34 games between 2022 and 2023, but was a liability both seasons and subsequently played just 426 snaps in the past two seasons. Now going into his age 30 season, he figures to be a liability even if he only plays a sub package role. Carter, meanwhile, was once a decent slot cornerback with the Jets, but he has struggled over the past two seasons and subsequently played just 536 total snaps in 2024 and 2025 combined. Now attempting to make a transition to safety, Carter is still only going into his age 27 season and has some bounce back potential, but it is tough to know what to expect out of a player who hasn’t even been decent since 2023 and is now learning a new position. He will probably be a better option than Epps, but only by default.

Along with the loser of the Epps/Carter competition, other depth options in this secondary include Kelee Ringo, a 2023 4th round pick who has mostly been mediocre across 623 career snaps, and Jonathan Jones, a veteran free agent addition who was a solid starter in his prime, but who has been a liability across snap counts of 712 and 484 over the past two seasons and who now heads into his age 33 season. Having Mitchell and DeJean as their top-2 defensive backs elevates this group significantly and the addition of Tariq Woolen and potential improvement of Andrew Mukaba makes this a less top heavy group than last year, when everyone except DeJean and Mitchell was a liability, but this is still a top heavy group with at least one weak spot in sub packages.

Grade: B+

Kickers

Jake Elliott was once a reliable kicker for the Eagles, adding 19.55 points above average in his first seven seasons in the league from 2017-2023. However, in the past two seasons, he has had back-to-back well below average seasons, costing the Eagles 8.20 points in 2024 and 6.87 points in 2025. This looks like a new trend after two seasons and it seems unlikely he will bounce all the way back to his old form, but Elliott isn’t totally over the hill for a kicker, going into his age 31 season, and could bounce back at least somewhat in 2026. At the very least, the Eagles still seem to believe in him, not adding any competition for him this off-season.

Grade: C+

Conclusion

The Eagles’ offense should be better coached in 2026 than 2025, when offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo was a liability and probably at least partially caused multiple players to have down seasons. However, new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion is still a relative unknown and the loss of AJ Brown makes this offense much less talented. They also are unlikely to have the same success in close games as last season, when they went 8-4 in one-score games. Their defense looks likely to remain one of the best units in the league and this team still looks like the best in their division, but their offense might once again hold them back from being true contenders.

Prediction: 11-6, 1st in NFC East