2024 NFL Offseason Primer: Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

Projected Cap Space: $23.3 million

Draft Picks: 8

• 1st (No. 22)
• 2nd (No. 50, NO)
• 2nd (No. 53)
• 3rd (No. 97, comp)
• 5th (No. 160, TB)
• 5th (No. 170, comp)
• 5th (No. 171, comp)
• 5th (No. 178, comp)

Notable Free Agents: 

• RB D’Andre Swift
• DT Fletcher Cox*
• DE Brandon Graham*
• LB Shaquille Leonard
• LB Zach Cunningham
• LB Nicholas Morrow
• OL Jack Driscoll
• G Sua Opeta
• QB Marcus Mariota
• CB Bradley Roby
• RB Boston Scott
• WR Olamide Zaccheaus
• WR Quez Watkins
• WR Julio Jones
• RB Rashaad Penny
• P Braden Mann

*deal designed for post-June 1 release

Top Three Needs

1 – Cornerback

The falloff for the Eagles on defense last year was steep. In the Super Bowl season in 2022, Philadelphia was eighth in scoring defense and No. 2 in total defense while flirting with setting the NFL record for sacks in a season. In 2023, those numbers plummeted to 30th in scoring defense, 26th in total defense and a drop from 70 sacks to 42. 

The pass defense was predominantly to blame. The Eagles remained a top-10 rushing defense but gave up the second-most passing yards despite having largely the same personnel as in 2022 with a few key exceptions. The biggest difference was in the play of the secondary. A dominant performance from CBs Darius Slay and James Bradberry helped fuel the Eagles to the Super Bowl. They brought back both veterans despite both being over the age of 30, which is a big deal at a position that doesn’t age gracefully.

Slay continued to play at a high level, but Bradberry’s performance fell off a cliff. Combined with several injuries in the secondary, including to Slay and starting nickel CB Avonte Maddox, the secondary turned from a strength into a weakness. Fixing it is one of GM Howie Roseman‘s top priorities this offseason, as the team could need three new starters sooner rather than later. 

2 – Linebacker

Philadelphia let both starting LBs T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White leave in free agency last year, banking former third-rounder Nakobe Dean was ready to step up. It was a continuation of a strategy that’s been relatively successful for them. Teams have to pick and choose which positions to invest significant resources into, and the Eagles have consistently de-emphasized the linebacker position because they believe they can find productive players later in the draft or cheaply. 

That backfired in 2023. Dean got hurt and the position turned into a revolving door. Guys like Cunningham and Morrow who would have been okay in smaller roles ended up being asked to do way too much. Teams were able to pick on the Eagles’ linebackers much more easily than they had before because of other weaknesses in the secondary. 

I don’t think the Eagles will dramatically change their philosophy regarding linebacker, but it’s clear they need to do more than they did last year. Dean is coming back again but he can’t be the sole option. They could re-sign one or two players for depth, but look for Roseman to add another outside starter, either in the draft or free agency. 

3 – Guard

If Eagles C Jason Kelce retires as expected this offseason, the team already has a contingency plan at center in OL Cameron Jurgens, who started to Kelce’s right this past season. Now the team needs a contingency plan for Jurgens, however. The first player off the bench at guard this year was Opeta but he’s on an expiring deal. Even if he returns, it’s unlikely the Eagles give him a starting job without competition. They probably will draft a guard but it will be interesting to see if they add another free agent to provide more of a sure thing at the position. 

It’s also worth mentioning if the Eagles end up trading DE Haason Reddick, edge rusher will vault up their list of needs. Josh Sweat is a solid starter and the team has high hopes for last year’s first-round DE Nolan Smith. But just those two is not enough firepower. The team could bring back Graham for one more season in a rotational role but without Reddick, they’d need to make more moves. 

One Big Question

Was last year’s collapse an aberration or a sign of things to come?

The Eagles looked like a different team during their 1-6 collapse, including the playoffs. The running game wasn’t as good, the secondary was awful, the linebackers were exposed and QB Jalen Hurts wasn’t quite as good as he was in 2022. The schemes were predictable on both sides of the ball, and the switch at defensive coordinator from Sean Desai to Matt Patricia was a foreseeable disaster. 

Philadelphia has already done a lot of work to try and prevent a repeat. Eagles HC Nick Sirianni fired all three coordinators, bringing in Kellen Moore on offense to give him new ideas and shore up the weak spots in Sirianni’s scheme. On defense, the Eagles hired DC Vic Fangio, the original architect of the system they were trying to run last year. Roseman has the resources to fix the holes on what should still be one of the most talented teams in the NFC. 

Is that enough to fix everything? Fangio’s a respected defensive mind, but as the Dolphins found out last year, he’s not a panacea for all ills. Moore’s offenses in the past have had some of the same shortcomings of Sirianni’s system. And bottom line, the team just has to play better. Some of their struggles last year were inexplicable for a team with this much talent, like poor tackling on defense or some of Hurts’ poor decisions on offense. As mysteriously as they appeared, they could go away again. If not, the Eagles will be facing bigger changes.