Better

The offseason generally boils down to one simple question. Did the team get better? Let’s take a look at what the Eagles did and figure out if they improved.

QB

Jalen Hurts is healthy and is going to be laser-focused after the disappointing end to last season. The Eagles traded for Kenny Pickett to be their backup QB. I think he’s an upgrade over Marcus Mariota, last year’s backup. Mariota was a good athlete and had a ton of experience, but was an inconsistent passer. Pickett didn’t live up to his potential in Pittsburgh. He’s in a much better situation now and that could help him to show real improvement. Pickett is a solid athlete and played well in late-game situations with the Steelers. Tanner McKee is in Year 2 and should be able to build on what he showed last summer.

RB

I don’t think anyone questions if the Eagles got better here. The addition of Saquon Barkley gives the team its most dynamic RB since the glory days of LeSean McCoy. Barkley has big play ability, but also could prove valuable late in games when the Eagles are trying to work the clock and close things out. Barkley has a thick build and is a powerful runner. Everyone is excited to see what he can do in a better offense and playing behind a much better OL. Kenny Gainwell returns as the backup. Rookie Will Shipley is here to replace Boston Scott. Shipley could prove to be an upgrade, unless they’re playing the Giants.

WR

AJ and DeVonta are back. Last year you had Quez Watkins, Julio Jones and Olamide Zaccheaus behind them. This year you have Parris Campbell and a pair of rookies, Ainias Smith and Johnny Wilson. The Eagles could be better this year, but we have to see this group play. Last year’s trio caught 36 passes and 6 TDs so the bar isn’t all that high. For now we can’t rate this group as better or worse. Wait and see.

TE

Like WR, the starter is back and the focus is on the backups. Jack Stoll left in free agency. The Eagles signed CJ Uzomah, a veteran with good size (6-5, 271) and 82 career starts. Stoll caught 5 passes last year. Uzomah has five seasons with 20 or more catches. He can block and catch. Uzomah is a one-year answer, but he could be an upgrade on Stoll. The coaches talked highly of Stoll, but he caught 20 passes in 50 games. Either the QBs didn’t trust him or the coaches didn’t call plays for him or he wasn’t getting open. None of those is a great choice. Grant Calcaterra is entering his third season. It is crucial for him to show he belongs. Albert O will battle for a spot. I’m calling this a slight upgrade with Uzomah over Stoll.

OL

The Eagles love focusing on the line so it is funny that one position where there is a clear downgrade is the OL. Jason Kelce is gone. Cam Jurgens will slide from RG to C and he should be fine. Tyler Steen is the projected RG. He has to win the job in camp and then show what he can do during the season. Beyond the starters, the Eagles lost proven backups in Sua Opeta and Jack Driscoll. The backup OL this year has potential, but is largely unproven.

Fred Johnson – Trevor Keegan – Dylan McMahon – Matt Hennessy – Mekhi Becton

Johnson has little experience. Keegan and McMahon are late round rookies. Hennessy is new to the team. Becton is a reclamation project. Jeff Stoutland has his hands full this year. The OL should still be one of the best in the league. There are just more unknowns than in recent seasons.

DL

This group could take a step back, mainly due to the retirement of Fletcher Cox. Milton Williams has a major opportunity with that spot open. Williams has shown outstanding potential in the past, but he’s never been a full time starter. Jalen Carter is primed for a big season. Jordan Davis looks to be in great shape. Moro Ojomo and Marlon Tuipulotu could be good backups. If the group stays healthy, they could be fine. Howie Roseman could be looking around the league to see if he can find a veteran backup to throw into the mix.

EDGE

Haason Reddick is gone, but the overall position is in good shape. Bryce Huff takes his spot as a starter. Josh Sweat is on the other side and will be playing in a contract season. That could bring out the best in him. BG and Nolan Smith are the backups. Rookie Jalyx Hunt is the wild card. He is a project. He’s also an outstanding athlete with good size and a ton of potential.

LB

How could it not be better? LB was a mess last year. The Eagles signed Devin White, hoping he can get back to his previous level of play. White struggled in 2023. We don’t know who will start beside him. Zack Baun got those reps in the OTAs. Nakobe Dean isn’t healthy yet so that factored in. The Eagles are going to let everyone compete and see who deserves to play. The backups are Oren Burks, Jeremiah Trotter Jr, Ben VanSumeren and Brandon Smith. Burks has experience. Trotter has potential. VanSumeren is the best athlete. Smith is also a good athlete. I like the depth better this spring, but we need to see how these guys play. I do feel like the position is improved.

SAF

CJ Gardner-Johnson is back and that will offer a big boost to the safety position. He is a leader and a playmaker. Reed Blankenship is entering his third season and should be ready to take another step forward. Sydney Brown is still coming back from injury. He is ahead of schedule. Mekhi Garner and rookie Andre’ Sam could be fighting for the final spot. Tristin McCollum could challenge there as well. Cooper DeJean and Avonte Maddox are corners with safety experience. They could move if needed.

CB

Corner might be the most improved position on the team. Darius Slay will be the key starter. Isaiah Rodgers, first round pick Quinyon Mitchell and Kelee Ringo will battle for the other spot. James Bradberry hasn’t been cut yet, but that feels inevitable. Avonte Maddox could be the slot. He’ll be pushed by rookie Cooper DeJean and Tyler Hall. Josh Jobe and Eli Ricks will battle for spots as well. There is a lot more talent this year and better depth.

ST

The key specialists are all back. Britain Covey will have challengers in Ainias Smith and Cooper DeJean. Will Shipley could be the KOR. VanSumeren showed a lot of promise on STs as a rookie and it could help him secure a spot this year. Baun could also be key for Michael Clay’s units.

COACHING

The addition of Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio could prove to be a major improvement. The Eagles also added some key positional assistants. Moore brings new ideas to the offense and has a good background. Fangio is one of the top defensive coaches of the past 30 years. He should be a serious upgrade on the defensive coaching from last year. If you insist on running the Fangio scheme, go get Fangio to do it.

OVERALL

The Eagles feel like a better team going into the 2024 season. They added a dynamic playmaker in Saquon Barkley. They added key players on defense. The overall depth of the team is better. It is ironic that a team that preaches the importance of line play could be weaker on both the OL and DL. Losing star players like Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox is tough. Kelce is one of the best centers in league history. Cox is almost a Hall of Fame candidate.

Last year’s team seemed to have a sense of entitlement after the Super Bowl run in 2022. The front office focused on finding guys who are highly competitive and play with an edge. They want to learn from last year’s mistakes.

I think this team will be better on the field and off it.

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OTA Nuggets

While they may not be as tasty as chicken nuggets, OTA nuggets can get the job done. Just make sure you have plenty of honey mustard. Now let’s talk some football.

I’ll start with the usual caveats. Spring “football” isn’t real football. There isn’t any tackling. There is limited hitting, to put it mildly. The focus is on teaching. We aren’t looking for any definitive conclusions. We’re just trying to get a feel for some things.

Brandon Lee Gowton’s practice notes

Jimmy Bama’s practice notes

Here is a great note from BLG.

• Parris Campbell saw a lot of targets from Hurts. His best grab was a leaping contested catch on a short-to-medium throw to beat Isaiah Rodgers. Campbell clearly seems to have already earned Hurts’ trust. That’s significant because we’ve seen that Hurts doesn’t automatically trust anybody they put out there with him.

So true. The QB has to trust his receivers. They need to have a tight bond. If Campbell already has good mojo with Hurts, that will give him a much better chance of succeeding as the number three receiver for the Eagles.

DeVonta and AJ are both studs. The Eagles need someone to emerge as a good number three. Quez Watkins couldn’t do that. Julio Jones was too old. Maybe Campbell can do it. He’s got experience and speed. He also won’t expect a ton of touches. I think he’ll be good with the number three role, if he can prove to be reliable when the ball does come his way.

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College DBs are allowed to be very physical with receivers so coming to the NFL is a big adjustment.

• Quinyon Mitchell was a bit too grabby while covering Jacob Harris on a couple deep routes. The rookie finished practice on a strong note by breaking on the ball and batting down a Kenny Pickett pass intended for Johnny Wilson.

Mitchell will have to learn how to play and use his hands strategically. Grab a little, but be careful about it. If not, it will be flag city.

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Jimmy on Saquon.

• Saquon Barkley is 6’0, 233, and you’ve all seen pictures of his quads, right? Still, seeing him in person among his teammates on the field, my first impression of him was… he’s big! D’Andre Swift is 5’9. 215, so his “on paper” dimensions aren’t *that* much different from Barkley’s (Swift actually has a higher body mass index), but Barkley just looks so much bigger out there. One of the areas where the Eagles were outstanding in 2021 and 2022 was putting away opponents in their four minute offense, when their run game would dominate and they’d just run out the clock. In 2023, they lost some games because they could not salt away games late on offense. They hope that Barkley can be a closer of sorts in the fourth quarter of games.

I watched Barkley for three years at Penn State and have seen him a lot in the NFL, but I still get where Jimmy is coming from. Some guys are built so different that when you see them in person there is a bit of a shock. Barkley is thick with a capital T. I am genuinely excited to see what he can do in a creative offense and behind a good OL.

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The backup QB got from praise from Jimmy, as well as others.

• I mostly liked what I saw from Kenny Pickett. He threw with more zip than I was anticipating, and he was mostly accurate. Two throws stood out:

1. 1. He hit Albert Okwuegbunam on the money on a deep ball down the seam. (Albert O. later had a bad drop.)
   2. He put a back shoulder throw in a perfect spot in the end zone to Kenny Gainwell who was being guarded by Ben VanSumeren.

Low bar here, but I thought Pickett looked better throwing the football than Marcus Mariota ever did in Mariota’s one season in Philly.

Pickett didn’t turn out to be the franchise QB that Pittsburgh expected. That hardly means he lacks talent or won’t become that guy. The Steelers had a lot of issues (coaching/talent/philosophy). The Eagles offense is a very different beast. It will be interesting to see if Pickett can take advantage of the situation and show what he’s capable of.

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LB Zach Baun worked with Devin White as the first team LBs. Vic Fangio recently talked about Baun being an off-ball LB so this wasn’t a surprise. I was impressed with Baun as a pass rusher so it is interesting that Fangio likes him more as a LB than a rusher. White had some good moments, but OTAs are good for him. He is a speedy LB who looks good in space. Training Camp will be a much better test for him.

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RB Will Shipley got some reps in the slot. That should be no surprise. He was a terrific receiver at Clemson. They didn’t just throw him screens or swing passes. Shipley showed good ability as a route runner and looked natural at catching the ball. This stood out to me as I watched games live last fall. Some RBs run routes as if they are going through the motions. Shipley ran routes to get open.

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Cooper DeJean played in the slot and outside. With good depth on the outside (Slay, Mitchell, Rodgers, Ringo), I think it makes sense to work DeJean in the slot. See what he can do. He spent some time there at Iowa and has the skill set to play inside.

Avonte Maddox, who could start in the slot, got some backup reps at safety. He played some safety in the past so moving him around makes some sense. The Eagles have a lot of bodies in the secondary. The coaches have to figure out who plays where and who can be a backup somewhere else.

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The Eagles signed WR John Ross. They needed veteran depth after DeVante Parker retired. Ross won’t be the only WR move, but he gives  the team a body to help them get through OTAs for now.

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