Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Eagles Combine Talk – Defense

Posted March 1st, 2026 | No Comments »

The Scouting Combine wrapped up on Sunday. There were a lot of impressive prospects working out, with many of them being good targets for the Eagles. One of the benefits of recovering from chemo treatments is that you have plenty of free time to watch TV. I was able to watch the Combine in its entirety. So here are some thoughts on the Combine and how things might affect the Eagles.

We’ll start with edge rushers. If the Eagles can re-sign Jaelan Phillips, this isn’t a priority position. That would give them Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt and Phillips as the key guys. Brandon Graham could return to add depth. There would be a need to add someone to the mix so the team isn’t loading up on 1-year vets as they did a year ago.

One player who stood out is Malachi Lawrence. He measured in at 6-4, 253. He ran well, jumped well and looked good in the workouts. Most saw Lawrence as a player to go late in the third round. He might end up going sooner than that after a strong workout.

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The Eagles are pretty on the DL. If they end up with a late round pick, they could look to add someone they like. If the team is interested in a tweener like Milton Williams or BG, they could take a look at LT Overton from Alabama. He is 6-3, 274 and plays all over the line.

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He’s projected to be a third round pick. His versatility is his strength. He played in 3 and 4-man fronts. He played inside and outside. He played left and right. I think that would appeal to Vic Fangio. He’s also very physical, something else Fangio really wants.

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Even with Nakobe Dean likely to leave in free agency (please don’t go to Dallas!), the Eagles have a good set of LBs. Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell are the starters. Jeremiah Trotter Jr is the #3 guy. Smael Mondon is there for depth and STs. The Eagles could add a Day 3 player. This scheme requires good LB play. They met with Harold Perkins from LSU in Indy. He will be a Day 3 pick.

Perkins was a star pass rusher as a freshman. He was moved to LB due to his size. He mesured in at 6-1, 223 in Indy. That’s about the same size as Eagles star William Thomas. Like Thomas, Perkins is a playmaker. You can never have too many of those. He surprisingly didn’t work out. We’ll have to wait for his Pro Day to get numbers on him.

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There is a need for a starter at CB. Would the Eagles spend another first round on a corner? If so, Colton Hood from Tennessee would be of definite interest. He can cover and is an aggressive tackler. He had aa good workout in Indy.

If the Eagles want a Day 3 guy to develop for the future, Georgia’s Daylen Everette could be of interest. He is 6-1, 196 and ran 4.38 at the Combine.

He looked good in the gauntlet drill. Showed good hands and looked smooth while catching the ball. that just might appeal to a team that obsesses on takeaways.

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The safety group looked good in their workouts. That made me wonder if teams will prefer to go with draft pick rather than mid-tier free agents. If that happens, it could weaken the market for Reed Blankenship. He’s been a solid starter for the Eagles. They probably want him back at the right price, but know there has to be a walkaway number. He’s not a difference maker.

Would the Eagles draft a safety in the first round? If so Dillon Thieneman should be of interest. He’s 6-0, 201. As a freshman at Purdue he played deep a lot and had 6 INTs. He transfeered to Oregon and they played him closer to the line of scrimmage. Thieneman excelled in that role as well.

Thieneman ran 4.35. He had a vertical of 41 inches. His field workout was great. The big question now is whether he will last to pick 23. I don’t if the Eagles would go for a safety that early, but Thieneman looks like he could be a great player.

He and Drew Mukuba would make a nice duo on the back end of the defense.

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I’ll cover offense in the next post.

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Offseason Player Talk

Posted February 21st, 2026 | 3 Comments »

The Scouting Combine gets underway this week. That means we’ll get to see 350 draft prospects work out and show us just how athletic they are. It also means teams will start talking to agents about free agency. Teams will also talk to each other about trades. Fun stuff.

Free agency will dictate what the Eagles do in the draft to a certain extent. The most important order of business for the Eagles is re-signing edge rusher Jaelan Phillips. I’ve seen free agents rankings that had him as high as the #3 overall free agent. That surprised me. Phillips is good and in the prime of his career, but he’s got an injury history, has never had more than 8.5 sacks in a season and he’s never been voted to a Pro Bowl.

I think Phillips ranking says more about the free agent class than it does him. This is not a class filled with stars and elite talent. Hopefully the market for Phillips will be good, but reasonable. As we know, it only takes one team to make a crazy offer. What should he cost? Here are a couple of projections.

For the sake of comparison, Josh Sweat signed a 4-year deal for $76.4M last March. If the Eagles can get Phillips for just a bit more, that feels like a solid deal. He is young and talked about how much he loved being in Philly. He is a good scheme fit. Phillips also has an excellent combination of size and athleticism.

One thing that could be an X-factor with free agent pass rushers is that there is a deep group in the draft. Some teams might prefer to save money and go young with draft picks.

I was curious what the market might be for Reed Blankenship. He isn’t a Top 5 safety on most FA lists so that means he isn’t likely to command big bucks. He is a steady, reliable player in the prime of his career so he will have suitors. The Eagles might be smart to let him test the market and then work something out.

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The Eagles have a good backup QB. For now. The free agent and draft classes aren’t good for teams looking for starting QBs. Daniel Jeremiah suggested a team like the Jets should call the Eagles about Tanner McKee. The Eagles might be able to get a mid-round pick for him.

Would it be smart to deal him? This is his final year under contract. There is a good chance the Eagles won’t be able to keep him long term so trading him would make some sense. The team could sign a veteran QB and add someone in the draft to shore up depth for this season.

If the Eagles don’t like their options at QB, hold onto McKee and get a final season out of him. Jalen Hurts has been durable in his career, but backup QB is still a critical position.

The team will likely add a QB in the draft no matter what. The question is how high of a pick and which QB. They don’t have to force anything, but as the Russell Wilson lesson taught them, if there is a QB you really like, go get him.

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Someone did a mock draft with the Eagles taking TE Kenyon Sadiq from Oregon. More than a few people responded that the Eagles would never spend a first round pick on a TE.

Maybe. They obviously haven’t done so in a long time. I do think we have to keep in mind that the team has been a bit more flexible in recent years. No one expected an ILB in the first round last year. No one expected them to spend big money on an ILB or RB, but Zack Baun and Saquon Barkley got big contracts.

TEs were a key part of the Packers offense. The Eagles are going to need to add multiple TEs. I don’t expect them to take one in the first round, but I won’t completely rule it out. The key is that it would have to be a player they really like.

Sadiq isn’t on the same level as Brock Bowers, Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland, but he is really talented and could be a star in the NFL.

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