Posted March 17th, 2025 | 2 Comments »If this were Sesame Street the letter of the day would be G. It certainly appears that is Howie Roseman’s favorite letter. Why? Think of G as in Georgia. Or G as in Giants.
Ojulari checks both boxes. The Giants drafted him out of Georgia back in 2021. Joking aside, this is a smart signing. Ojulari piled up 22 sacks over the past four years, including 6 last season. He has okay size at 6-3, 240. He won’t turn 25 until June so he’s in the prime of his career. And Ojulari should be fired up to show what he can do on a one-year prove-it deal. He will be very motivated.
The Eagles can have Nolan Smith and Josh Uche on one side and then Jalyx Hunt and Ojulari on the other side. That’s just a guess on my part. They can mix and match to find the right combos. The key is that you have four guys who can all get to the QB. Patrick Johnson offers more depth and STs ability. The wild card is Bryce Huff. Is there a spot for him in this group?
Ojulari does have 30 career starts. He’s not just a situational rusher like Uche. Ojulari has 37 QB hits in 46 career games. He is disruptive and affects the QB.
I’m sure part of the reason Ojulari signed with Philly is in hopes of having a big year so he can get a big deal. He will be playing on a good DL and for a good team. This is a good match of player and team, of skill set and scheme.
The Eagles haven’t invested big money in either Uche or Ojulari so they can draft an edge rusher if they find someone they like. Having Uche and Ojulari also gives them the freedom to address other positions if they have other players they prefer. Flexibility is critical when it comes to drafting well. You don’t want to have to force things.
Smart move by the Eagles. They add a young, hungry pass rusher. They don’t have to break the bank for him. And Ojulari should feel at home with so many other UGA players on the defense.
- Ojulari
- Smith
- Carter
- Davis
- Dean
- Ringo
- Cine
If he gets tired of talking to them, he can spend time with the ex-Giants club.
Ojulari should feel right at home.
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Looks like the right side will be safe for another couple of years.
Johnson is the best RT in football and probably still the best overall OT. That is truly mind-blowing when you consider he just complete his 12th season in the NFL. A true unicorn.
Johnson is valuable on the field, but also off it. Look at these comments from Mekhi Becton.
“The standard we upheld and the way we showed up for each other every single day, that’s what made this past season the most fun I’ve ever had playing football, and it was all because of the guys in that locker room,” Becton wrote on social media. “To the offensive line, I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys to go to battle with. Thank y’all for welcoming me in and for setting the standard for showing me what it truly means to prepare to fight through injuries, to push through the pain and to handle business at the highest level. I learned so much just from being around each of you.”
And
“Coach Jeff Stoutland, thank you,” Becton wrote. “From Day One you believed in me, even before I fully believed in myself, you saw something in me, challenged me and pushed me to reach a level I never knew I had. You made me a better player but more importantly, a better man.”
While Becton didn’t mention Lane by name, Lane is the leader of the OL. He’s the longtime veteran who sets the tone and shows the other players what is expected of them. You don’t make the Hall of Fame by accident. You do it by working relentlessly at your craft. All the young linemen can learn a lot from Old Man Johnson.
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So apparently the Eagles did make a hard push for Reid. But it sounds like they weren’t close on money.
My sources tell me the Eagles offered $9.50 an hour and unlimited Tastykakes. The Saints countered with 3 yrs, $31.5M. That moron took the money and now will have to use most of it buying the Tastykakes. Clearly he didn’t think that through.
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Posted March 16th, 2025 | 1 Comment »The offseason is about a week old. The Eagles have made a lot of moves, some expected and some completely out of left field. Is the team better? That’s a really complicated question.
Let’s review the moves.
Re-signed/Extended
Don’t overlook the importance of these moves. Baun and Barkley were difference-makers as player and also great leaders. If you haven’t watched the Super Bowl Mic’d Up, what is wrong with you??? I mean, make sure to check that out.
Baun and Barkley are force multipliers. They make the players around them better. There are a lot of teams around the league who would kill to have a pair of players like Baun and Barkley. Thankfully those guys will be wearing midnight green (occasionally kelly green) for a few more years.
Traded For
- OG Kenyon Green
- QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson
Green is a young, talented OL. He has good size at 6-4, 325. He has 23 career starts. That’s the good stuff. Green has struggled mightily, especially in pass pro. He needs a lot of work. That’s the bad news. The Eagles traded for Green because they wanted to add a talented blocker with some experience to battle for the RG position. Mekhi Becton is gone and they want someone to challenge Tyler Steen.
Jeff Stoutland was able to get Becton fixed and turned him into a good starter. Green will have to transition to RG. He did play on the right side for part of his college career, at both RT and RG, so the move won’t be completely foreign to him. Stoutland is getting a pupil with legit ability. The key is to get him to play up to that ability on a consistent basis.
Playing between Cam Jurgens and Lane Johnson will make a difference. Being around a group of high quality veterans off the field will make a difference. And that Stoutland guy isn’t too bad at his job. Houston is paying part of Green’s salary so this move makes a lot of sense from the Eagles perspective.
DTR is a highly athletic QB. He has struggled in the NFL so the coaches have their work cut out for them. He has a skill set similar to Jalen Hurts so having him as a #3 QB makes some sense. You can put DTR into a run heavy offense and get the best out of him. You can keep the QB run package as part of that. The coaches need to work on his passing. The physical ability is there. He’s just got to develop as a pocket passer.
Signed
- RB AJ Dillon
- TE Harrison Bryant
- TE Kylen Granson
- Edge Josh Uche
- Edge Patrick Johnson
- CB Adoree Jackson
- RS Avery Williams
- LS Charley Hughlett
The theme for his group is depth and competition. There could be a couple of starters in the group. We have to wait and see how things shake out.
Dillon gives the Eagles a true backup RB. If Barkley had gone down last year, would Kenny Gainwell have been able to truly fill in? His career high in carries is 14. His career high in yards is 78. Gainwell is a good role player, but he’s never been a workhorse in the NFL, even for a single game. Dillon has 7 games with 18 or more carries. He has 4 games with 20 or more carries. He can be a workhorse when needed. He’s also been effective as part of a RB rotation.
If the Eagles are going to be a running team, they need a workhorse runner (Barkley) and a viable backup (Dillon). I think Will Shipley can fill Gainwell’s role as the third down/2-minute RB.
TE is a mystery position. We keep hearing about Dallas Goedert being available via trade. Nothing has happened yet, but there is too much smoke for this to be a bogus rumor. Bryant gives the Eagles an in-line TE who can block and catch. Granson is a flex TE who can move around and make plays with his athleticism. You can think of him as a more exprerienced, more productive version of Grant Calcaterra. If Goedert is dealt, the Eagles will need another TE to add to the mix. They could do that via the draft, where there is a deep class of TE prospects.
With Josh Sweat signing elsewhere and Brandon Graham likely to retire, the Eagles needed help up front. Uche only has four starts in five years so he is a situational pass rusher. He does have 20 career sacks, including 11.5 in 2022. He can be a disruptive player.
If the Eagles can get Uche to be a productive part of the pass rush rotation, he’ll be a good addition. Johnson is a STer and role player. He is a limited player, but does his job well and is a good teammate. That’s what you want out of a role player.
The Eagles released Darius Slay so they added a veteran with plenty of experience in Jackson. He’s not as good as Slay, but has been a solid starter in his career. The team would love Kelee Ringo to win the starting job. If he’s not ready, Jackson can step in.
The Eagles have a lot of young corners so adding a veteran like Jackson is smart, on and off the field.
Britain Covey didn’t get a contract tender so the team needed someone to be the RS. Williams has experience as a PR and KOR. He can be the primary guy in both roles. Williams averages 10.9 yards per PR and 22.4 yards per KOR for his career. His KOR average was up at 27 yards per return last season. Williams has a good combination of elusiveness and burst. He ran 4.43 at the Combine back in 2021 so that’s good speed for a returner.
Rick Lovato had some erratic snaps in 2024. The Eagles obviously felt going for a veteran like Hughlett would be an upgrade.
Overall
Are the Eagles more talented than they were 10 days ago? No, clearly not. They lost good players in Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Mekhi Becton, Darius Slay, CJGJ,Kenny Gainwell and Oren Burks.
The Eagles do have some backups ready to fill some of those roles.
- Williams – Moro Ojomo
- Sweat – Jalyx Hunt
- Becton – Tyler Steen
- Slay – Kelee Ringo
- CJGJ – Sydney Brown
- Gainwell – Will Shipley
- Burks – Jeremiah Trotter Jr
If those players develop as hoped, the Eagles will be very happy. Reality tells you that not all of them will work out. That’s why the Eagles have made some of the moves mentioned up top. The Eagles are betting that their coaching and infrastructure can bring out the best in some of the acquisitions. The players have ability. This isn’t blind faith.
Stoutland could turn Green into a solid starter. Dillon could be a good fit behind the Eagles OL. Bryant could prove to be a good fit for the Eagles offense. And so on. When things don’t work as hoped, the Eagles will make additional moves where needed.
There have been a couple of keys to the offseason moves. The financial side of things and acquiring resources. In terms of finances, the Eagles wanted to cut back on cash spending as well as adding some cap space. They have accomplished both. In terms of resources, the Eagles are set to get 4 comp picks in 2026. They improved another pick in the Kenny Pickett trade. That stuff has to be factored in when evaluating the offseason.
I thought Brooks Kubena wrote a good story for The Athletic on this being an offseason of “maintenance”. He mixes in quotes from Howie to try and explain what’s going on.
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