Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

The Eagles Effect

Posted April 23rd, 2025 | 5 Comments »

The NFL is full of smart coaches and personnel people. These people have strong convictions and philosophies. But they all pay a little extra attention to the team that wins the Super Bowl. Is there anything that can be copied? Would those ideas work for my team?

This is hard to do with a team like the Chiefs. They have a Hall of Fame coach and QB. How are you supposed to duplicate that? We overuse the word generational. Patrick Mahomes is truly a generational player. When the Eagles win the Super Bowl, teams are going to study the ideas of the coaching staff and the moves made by the front office. The Eagles have a loaded roster, but there are definitely some ideas worth stealing.

Using a lot of resources on the line of scrimmage is the most obvious one.

Jordan Mailata – big contract
Landon Dickerson – 2nd round pick, big contract
Cam Jurgens – 2nd round pick, big contract
Tyler Steen – 3rd round pick
Lane Johnson – Top 5 pick, big contract

Nolan Smith – 1st round pick
Jalen Carter – 1st round pick
Jordan Davis – 1st round pick
Jalyx Hunt – 3rd round pick
Bryce Huff – big contract

Not only have the Eagles invested a lot up front, they have hit on those picks. And they tend to keep them around. Milton Williams is one of the few OL/DL to play well and then leave without a second contract. The Eagles have a good philosophy. They have a coaching staff that does a good job of developing players. And then they keep them.

Let’s look at some specific guys and how they could influence other teams.

Chris Jones has been a dominant DT for the Chiefs. He was the 37th overall player taken in 2016 and developed into a HOFer. Jalen Carter was the top prospect in 2023, but fell down to pick 9 due to character concerns. The Eagles snatched him up and he’s been dominant for Philly. I wonder if Carter’s performance will have an effect on how teams view Walter Nolen.

Nolen is a Top 15 talent, but there has been talk of him sliding to the 20’s/30’s. Some wondered if he might slide to the 2nd round. In the last few days there are more and more mock drafts showing him as a Top 15 pick. Dallas is one of the teams being linked to him. Are the Cowboys hoping Nolen is the next Carter? The Niners are also being rumored as a landing spot for Nolen. Same question would apply. Those are two teams who hate the Eagles and would love to catch up to them.

Or maybe this is just noise and Nolen will slide. If he does, you know Howie will keep an eye on him. Nolen and Carter would be a dynamic duo at DT.

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Saquon Barkley just had one of the greatest seasons by a RB in league history. It sure fells like he made RB a sexy position again. Derrick Henry also had a great season, but he’s had several of them. And his team didn’t win the SB. Saquon and the Eagles showed you can win the big game in this era with an elite RB. That has helped the value of Ashton Jeanty. There is talk of him going as high as 5th overall (to the Jags). Two of the last three drafts didn’t see a RB going in the top 35 picks.

Trying to find the next Barkley could be risky. After all, he didn’t put up massive numbers until he got to a team that had an elite OL and other offensive weapons. It isn’t like Saquon carried the team on his back. He was part of a great offense.

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There are more LB tweeners in this first round than I can remember in recent years. Maybe that is just anecdotal, but it sure feels that way. Zack Baun was an edge rusher in New Orleans. The Eagles signed him and moved him to LB. Baun responded by playing at an All-Pro level.

Jalon Walker was a LB who could be an edge rusher in the NFL. Jihad Campbell was an edge who moved to LB in 2024. Femi Oladejo was a LB who moved to edge. These guys are all top prospects. You wonder if teams will be more comfortable with taking tweeners after seeing Baun turn out to be such a stud for the Eagles. These situations aren’t all the same, but teams might be influenced by seeing another tweener have such impact.

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Draft Nuggets

Posted April 22nd, 2025 | Comments Off on Draft Nuggets

As the draft draws closer, we are getting bombarded with information. Some is useful, some isn’t. It is always fun to try to figure out what is good intel and what is just noise or something put out by someone with an agenda. Agents and college coaches are pumping up their players. The higher those players go, the better the agents and coaches look.

Let’s look at some things that caught my eye.

Here is your hot rumor from Monday.

Tony Pauline says that UCLA edge rusher Femi Oladejo could sneak into the end of the first round. He mentions the Niners as liking him and the Eagles also being a possibility. Most draft analysts and sites have Oladejo rated as a second or third round prospect. This could be Oladejo’s agent leaking something to Tony to drum up interest. It could also be Tony catching wind of a player that teams like more than the media and analysts.

Oladejo makes sense for the Eagles. He is a former ILB who moved to edge rusher. He is 6-3, 261 and a good athlete. Oladejo had 4.5 sacks and 13.5 TFLs last season, showing good playmaking ability. He reminds me of Jalyx Hunt, in terms of size and having a different background. Oladejo wasn’t at a small school, but he’s still new to playing on the edge.

I was impressed by him at the Senior Bowl. While I say he fits the Eagles, 32 would be rich for my taste. If they got him at 64, I’d be happy. At the very least, trade back from 32. I don’t think he’s likely to be picked there, but the rumor was too good not to mention.

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Adam Schefter had a nugget on the Eagles.

Speaking of trades, no team is in a better position to make them this week than the Eagles. They own 20 selections over the next two drafts — more than the actual number of players who can make their team. Therefore, they have added bargaining power should they try to trade for available veterans — a certain possibility during the draft — or if they decide in a less-likely scenario that they want to move up.

Moving up is what they’ve consistently done in the past. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman traded up in 2019 to get offensive tackle Andre Dillard, in 2021 to get wide receiver DeVonta Smith, in 2022 to get defensive lineman Jordan Davis and in 2023 to get Jalen Carter, Davis’ college teammate. With the added pick firepower, Philadelphia is armed to make more trades, but deals for veterans instead of moving up in Round 1 are considered more likely.

Nothing groundbreaking to be sure. More common knowledge than anything else, but Adam is so connected that it made sense to share this.

If the Eagles make a deal, it won’t be for a star. The Eagles don’t want to spend big money. They might add a veteran who could help a weak spot, but wouldn’t cost a lot. TE Michael Mayer makes the most sense. He’s still under contract for a couple of years and is the kind of complete TE the Eagles could use to replace Dallas Goedert. This is purely speculation.

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The Eagles have shown interest in some OT prospects. Here are a couple of nuggets on guys who could be of interest.

Simmons got hurt during the season. He is an excellent prospect. If completely healthy, he would be in the mix to be the top OT. The knee injury has lowered his value. He is still in the mix to be a first round pick. If his medicals are good (as noted above), he could be a Top 20 pick. If Simmons is on the board at 32, the Eagles might take a chance on him. I like Simmons quite a bit.

One of the biggest OT prospects is Aireontae Ersery from Minnesota. Most people have him rated as a second round prospect. Mike Mayock was on Rich Eisen’s show and mentioned that he’s heard there are character issues that will affect his value.

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Howie Roseman rewarded another draft pick.

I don’t know why Howie keeps giving out these deals. Jerry Jones has shown that you can wait til the last possible moment and only have to overpay by $10M a year. When is Howie going to learn?

It looks like the offense will probably be good for a few more years.

The Eagles should be a top flight team for a few more years.

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