Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Difference Makers

Posted May 20th, 2026 | No Comments »

One of the things that separates good teams from great teams is what I’ll call difference-makers. These are players who can consistently make game-changing plays. All teams want them, but Howie Roseman is aggressive about adding them every year, if possible. He traded for AJ Brown in 2022. He drafted Jalen Carter in 2023. He signed Saquon Barkley in 2024. All three played a big part in the Eagles winning the Super Bowl.

The Eagles traded for Jonathan Greenard on Day 2 of the draft. We’ve talked about him a fair amount since then, but I’m still not sure everyone appreciates the significance of the move. The trade happened when we were obsessed with stealing Makai Lemon from Pittsburgh and trying to figure out what to make of Eli Stowers. Greenard grabbed our attention for a bit, but we went right back to draft mode after that.

Greenard is really talented. Devin Jackson recently posted clips showing just how disruptive he can be.

I think Greenard will be a difference-maker for the Eagles. You saw the impact that Jaelan Phillips had when he joined the Eagles at midseason. Greenard is a better player than Phillips. And Greenard will have a full offseason to learn the scheme and fit in with his new team.

The Eagles would love to see Greenard rack up 12 sacks like he did in 2023 and 2024, but the real key is for him to be consistently disruptive. He has 43 TFLs in his last 44 games. He’s got 56 QB hits in that same time. Sacks are great, but aren’t the only important stat.

Greenard’s presence should help Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt and Arnold Ebiketie. His pressure will create opportunities for them. If Jalen Carter is healthy and back to his 2024 form, the pass rush could be outstanding.

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Sometimes guys develop into difference-makers. Brian Dawkins was a good player from 1996-1998. Jim Johnson took over the Eagles defense in 1999 and unlocked Dawk’s full potential. Dawk became a special player for the next decade.

I’m curious to see what Jalyx Hunt’s ceiling is. I don’t think many people realize how productive he was last year. He had 3 INTs, 6.5 sacks, 24 QB hits, 9 TFLs and 2 FF. That is one heck of a season. And remember he’s still doing a lot of learning. He was a DB in his early college years.

Vic Fangio really wanted Hunt in the 2024 draft. He saw something. I think we’ll all agree that Fangio has a pretty good feel for good defensive players.

If Hunt continues his upward trajectory, he could become a difference-maker. It will be interesting to see what he does this season.

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I think Jihaad Campbell could also develop into something special. He’s more of a projection because he is coming off his rookie season and a limited sample size. We saw him show the ability to play the run, cover and blitz. It will be fun to see what he does this season.

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Eagles Notebook

Posted May 17th, 2026 | 1 Comment »

There isn’t a compelling storyline for today so let’s cover a few items of interest. Shortly after I posted my piece on the schedule last week, a few things popped up on Twitter that were interesting.

You would certainly rather have the schedule be harder late in the season when you are running a new offense and have several new coaches. There will be ups and downs in the first month.

The graph from Warren Sharp shows you that the schedule isn’t overwhelming in terms of opponents. I think it was listed as the seventh easiest in the league, based on offseason predictions. We’ll see what happens when the season actually starts.

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I mentioned Jason Peters as a possible HOF player yesterday. A few of you wondered why I just said possible and not a sure thing. It feels like it gets harder and harder to make it into the HOF with so many special players in the modern era. There aren’t stats to judge OTs by so you rely on a lot of anecdotal evidence and talking points.

Peters has some competition with other LTs. Tyron Smith was an 8-time Pro Bowl selection and had 2 All-Pro seasons. Terron Armstead was voted to 5 Pro Bowls. Do I think Peters is better than them? Absolutely, but competition can split votes and make it harder to get in. Peters is one of the best OL I ever saw play. He would certainly get my vote, but I don’t have one.

Here is an opinion from an unbiased NFL analyst.

Let’s hope Peters does get in. I just hate to be definitive when I’m not sure about something.

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Some of you continue to question why I think the Eagles wanted to go OT in the first round. I studied the evidence available and came to what I felt was a logical conclusion.

The Eagles brought in three OTs with first round grades to Philly for a visit.

Kadyn Proctor
Caleb Lomu
Max Iheanachor

We never got confirmation of Blake Miller or Monroe Freeling visiting. We know they met with both of them at the Combine. Proctor said the Eagles showed a lot of interest in him at the Combine. I’d be shocked if Freeling didn’t visit Philly. His measurables and testing numbers show the kind of critical traits that Howie Roseman wants in his OTs.

We know Howie likes to draft for the future more than the present. He drafted Jason Kelce’s successor with Kelce still playing. He drafted Peters successor with Peters still playing. Howie talked after the draft about how he wants Markel Bell to learn from Lane Johnson.

The Eagles did a ton of work on OTs for Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3. They wanted options in case things didn’t fall right. It felt like this is the position they focused on more than any other.

They did bring three WRs with first round grades in for visits.

Makai Lemon
Jordyn Tyson
Omar Cooper

Tyson was likely a medical visit. He ended up going 8th overall. Had he fallen, they probably wanted to be comfortable with him. Cooper ended up going 30th. He would likely have been an option if they moved back. They had Lemon as a Top 15 pick and did go through scenarios where he might fall. With his lack of ideal measurables, the Eagles saw a realistic chance where he could fall to a spot where they could afford to trade up for him.

There was better WR depth than OT depth so if the grades were the same, I think they would have gone OT. It is easier to find good receivers than good blockers.

While the Eagles may have wanted an OT, Howie is good at sticking to his board and trusting the months of work and research that goes into it.

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Speaking of OL, some of you mentioned Myles Hinton and Cam Williams after yesterday’s piece. Hinton is a complete mystery. He never got on the field last year. He spent the bulk of the season on IR, which meant he couldn’t practice. We know Jeff Stoutland felt strongly about him, but Stout also loved Matt Pryor. Hinton has NFL potential so it will be interesting to see how he does this summer.

Williams also spent most of the season on IR. He did get to play in the regular season finale. While he showed some promise, he also showed key issues. He was effective as a pass blocker based on length and size rather than skill and athleticism. That’s not a winning formula unless you have special size/length like Markel Bell.

Hinton and Williams were both sixth round picks. They face an uphill battle to make the roster, let alone be key role players.

Jordan Mailata
Landon Dickerson
Cam Jurgens
Tyler Steen
Lane Johnson
Fred Johnson
Markel Bell
Drew Kendall
Willie Lampkin

I think those nine guys have the best chance of making the roster. I think rookie Micah Morris might go on as well. He’s got more size at OG than Kendall or Lampkin and the Eagles love big OL.

I hope Hinton and Williams each take big steps forward this summer. If they look really good then Howie would have the luxury of possibly trading someone. We saw flashes from both guys last summer. They need to show real improvement and more consistency this time around. Both could be excellent practice squad candidates. Maybe one of them could develop into the swing tackle for 2027. The Eagles would love to save money and have a young swing tackle instead of paying a Fred Johnson type of player.

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Jimmy Bama wrote about Drew Kendall.

He could be the top interior backup this season.

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