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2025 Roster Deep Dive, Offensive Edition

Let's get into the defensive side of the ball!

Pass Rushers / EDGE players

A LOT of turnover here, as three core guys (Graham, Sweat, Huff) from last year's roster are long gone. The team is counting on major contributions from former first round pick Nolan Smith, who's 15 pressures last season were third on the team despite being a rotational guy. Talent and effort aren't the questions, but rather concerns over durability (how many 240 pound full time edge rushers are there?).

The team also needs significant contributions from Jalyx Hunt, who encouraged many by being more pro-ready than most anticipated last season. Hunt's raw materials were never the concern (6-3, 252, 9.22 RAS). Stepping up from being the 4th guy in a rotation to being a starter is a big ask, however. We'll know quickly if Hunt is up to the challenge. The team thinks he is, which is encouraging.

The next guys up are veteran additions Josh Uche and Azeez Ojulari. Uche has the early lead for the third spot but Ojulari may have the higher upside. Philly clearly is hedging its bets by adding two veteran lottery tickets; there's probably a 50-50 chance that one of them emerges as a solid rotational option. Farther down the rung is Ogbo Okoronkwo, who's the oldest player on the defense at 30 years old. If he's seeing major snaps this year (or is even on the active roster in two months), we're in trouble.

Patrick Johnson (PS) has been bouncing from the PS to the active roster and back for five years now and will continue to do so. He's a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option as an Edge, and offers significant help on special teams. I think we'll see him on the 53 sooner or later.

My evaluation: Philly is making gambles upon gambles with the group as currently constructed. It's reasonable to say they'll end up with one or two solid starters by the end of the season but a) they need more than that, normally you want three options and b) not knowing who that will be is itself a point of concern. Expect some rough moments early as they get that figures out. This is also the most likely spot to see an addition by trade.

Defensive Tackles

In his two years in the league, Jalen Carter has given us plenty of big moments already, from blocked kicks to his near-pick of a spiked football to his singlehandedly wrecking the Rams comeback attempt in the playoffs. Carter will simply be as good as he wants to be; I don't think we need to go deeper than that.

Jordan Davis had his 5th year option picked up, which is good news. He seems to finally be settling into his role and I think it's a necessary one; the team has no one else with his sheer size or run stuffing ability. He's taking his conditioning more seriously than ever this year, a positive sign.

The team is counting on Moro Ojomo to slot into the Milton Williams role. Ojomo isn't quite the athlete that Williams was, but is bigger, stronger and more pro-ready than Williams was at this same point. Gabe Hall, Byron Young and Ty Robinson are all cut from the same mold: taller and lighter athletes with good reach. Young in particular seems to have benefitted from the change of scenery (originally a Raiders draft pick). Hall has developed considerably and will have a role on the team. Robinson needs some time.

My evaluation: this is one of the deeper units on the team. The one point of concern is the lack of size outside of Davis; this will be a vulnerable run defense if he should get hurt.

Linebackers

We'll start with the remarkable Zach Baun. Baun's 2024 season was one of just three in the last 25 years with the following statline: 150+ tackles, 10+ TFLs, 4+ forced fumbles, 4+ passes defended, +3 sacks and 1+ interceptions. All around brilliance on a level we haven't seen from Eagles linebackers in some time.

Rookie Jihaad Campbell is flashing some similar all around brilliance. He's from central LB casting in terms of size (6-3, 235), speed and athleticism (4.52 40, 9.85 RAS) and versatility (see the comments in my post draft grades article for details). Campbell reminds me of Cooper DeJean (last year's highly versatile draft choice) in that he projects positively to multiple positions (both off ball LB and edge).

The young guns, Jeremiah Trotter Jr and Smael Mondon both look rock solid as reserves. Either could fill the Oren Burks spot on the roster, if need be.

Not sure when we'll see Nakobe Dean (IR) back from his awful knee injury; he was insinuating that it could be in early October but that may be a pipe dream. One also wonders how long it would take him to get into game shape, once his knee checks out. I do think he'll be a valuable rotational piece (at a minimum) in time for the playoffs.

On the PS, Philly included Chance Campbell, a prototypical size-speed developmental guy. I'd feel optimistic about Philly's chances to develop a player like this but I felt similarly about Brandon Smith last year and that failed to pan out.

My evaluation: another position that the Birds are really deep at. This might be the best group of off ball linebackers the team has had since at least 2017.

Defensive Backs

Note on this position group: because of the fluid way that Fangio's defense deploys these guys, I'm combining safeties and cornerbacks.

Naturally, the headliners here are corners Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. Mitchell was everything Philly hoped he would be straight out of the box, and looked like he belonged in Week 1 in Brazil. The staff thinks he's on a collision course with superstardom and they may be right. As far as DeJean goes, he may be able to play all three positions (safety, slot, corner), and may well have racked up starts at all three by the end of the season. That versatility gives the Birds options when setting their lineups.

Adoree Jackson is the likely Week 1 outside corner opposite Mitchell. He offers a blend of speed and experience that no one else has on the roster. His rough preseason will have the staff watching the situation closely. It would surprise nobody to see speedy trade acquisition Jakorian Bennett slide into that spot. Kelee Ringo had a worse preseason than Jackson did and will likely be limited to special teams, where he is an ace gunner. Rookie Mac McWilliams has gotten work at both the slot and outside corner; his natural athleticism and versatility will make him a fixture on the depth chart for awhile with a shot to start somewhere if he develops. Parry Nickerson and Ambry Thomas are the PS guys; Nickerson knows the slot and could fill in there in an emergency but frankly, if either of these guys takes a defensive snap this season, it's a bad sign.

Andrew Mukuba's promising preseason has been continually hampered by injuries, a bad sign for a player for whom injuries were a concern. His speed, playmaking ability and physicality offer a lot of promise but he'll need to stay healthy. If he's hurt, we'll finally get a real look at Sydney Brown as a starting safety. He too is a shorter, athletic and physical player (seems like Fangio has a type for that position). Like Ringo above, Brown is a special teams standout.

We're still waiting on a contract extension for Reed Blankenship, who's been a remarkable story of development, going from unheralded UDFA to Pro Bowl caliber starter. I've lost count of the number of key interceptions he's made over the last few years. He's not an elite athlete, just a super instinctive and smart player.

Philly brought three safeties onto the PS; holdover Andre Sam, who impressed a lot of the Philly beat this summer; rookie Brandon Smith and former starter Marcus Epps. I think Epps' best days are behind him (probably have to go back to 2021 to find them), but he'd at least provide experience if called on, which he will be relatively soon as Philly only has three safeties on the active roster as of now.

My evaluation: Philly has three of five starting spots locked down well with Blankenship, Mitchell and DeJean. Hopefully one of the young safeties emerges to take that spot as well. The depth is not quite as good as last year when we had guys like Avonte Maddox and Isaiah Rodgers coming off the bench, but if some of the young guys develop this will still be a good group.

Specialists

Jake Elliott went from the best season of his career in 2023 to one of the worst in 2024, but righted the ship in the postseason. He's perhaps the best postseason kicker in NFL history and has had his share of big moments in the regular season as well.

Braden Mann is eighth in the league in yards per punt since he started here in 2023. He's done some of his best work in high leverage and high pressure situation and has provided welcome stability to a position that the Birds have struggled at for years.

Charley Hughlett replaces longtime absolute unit Rick Lovato, but actually rates a little higher on the Definitive, Inarguable Ranking of NFL Long Snappers.

My evaluation: solid specialists and the return of many key kick coverage guys (as well as the continual solid work of ST coordinator Michael Clay) should keep this unit's trajectory headed up.