EF0075 Mock Offseason 1.0 (heads up, detailed but a long read)

[eaglesfan0075]

Here's my first mock offseason for 2025 with coaching hires, re-signings, FA, and the draft. Didn't project any trades in this one, but it's fairly detailed otherwise. 

 

Coaching hires:

Frank Reich as Offensive Coordinator - This would be the most straightforward replacement for Kellen Moore as Reich already has demonstrated success with the Eagles as the OC for the SB52 team as well as his relationship with Nick Sirianni as his former HC and mentor. Considering the fact that Reich is 63 years old and coming off a one and done HC stint with the Panthers, it’s unlikely he leaves the Eagles for another HC job, if he were to take the OC job here, but rather stick around with the team until he retires.

John DeFilippo as QB coach/passing game coordinator - It's not just nostalgia of the SB52 Super Bowl team, but a logical fit considering the ties to the organization and success serving in this capacity along with the fact that DeFilippo is a coaching free agent, previously coaching in the UFL as a HC. As Kellen Moore rounds out his staff with the Saints, there's a strong possibility that both Kevin Patullo and Doug Nussmeier both follow him to New Orleans, unless the Eagles promote Patullo to OC. 

 

Effective Cap Space Including Rookie Signings - $13.8 million per OverTheCap 

Re-sign:

LB Zach Baun (4 yr / $40 mil contract, backloaded, $4 mil cap) - I referenced Saquon Barkley's backloaded contract to come up with the 4 mil cap hit on the Baun and Becton contracts

OG Mekhi Becton (4 yr / $ 40 mil contract, backloaded, $4 mil cap)

CB Isaiah Rodgers (2 yr / $6 mil contract, backloaded, $1.5 mil cap)

LB Oren Burks (vet min, $1 mil cap)

LS Rick Lovato (vet min, $1 mil cap)

 

Let Walk: Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Avonte Maddox, Kenny Gainwell, Britain Covey, Ian Book, Parris Campbell, Nick Gates, C.J. Uzomah, Le’Raven Clark, Jack Driscoll, Fred Johnson, Ben VanSumeren

Release: Byron Young, Lewis Cine, Tristan McCollum, E.J. Jenkins

Retire: Brandon Graham 

 

Free agency:

DE Calais Campbell - Dolphins ($2 mil cap) - At age 38 it is fair to wonder how much is left in the tank, but Campbell is coming off a 5 sack season with the Dolphins and could take another team friendly 1 year deal to go ring chasing with the Eagles, not to mention he would also provide a veteran leadership presence to a defense that is already losing a few veteran starters to free agency.

 

Draft: 

Round 1 (32) - Princely Umanmielen DE Ole Miss- With Brandon Graham retiring and Josh Sweat anticipated to get a big deal in free agency after a career game in the Super Bowl, the Eagles replenish their front seven depth with Umanmielen. Nolan Smith was drafted to be the heir apparent to BG and Umanmielen has the physical tools to be the heir apparent to Josh Sweat.

Round 2 (64) - Alfred Collins DT Texas - The Eagles double dip on DL with the first two picks to help offset the loss of Milton Williams in free agency, as he has also played his way into a large contract with another team. Collins fits the size and athleticism profile the Eagles like in their interior DL and should contribute in the rotation as a rookie.

Round 3 (96) - Xavier Truss OG Georgia - Truss has experience at both right guard and right tackle and can serve as valuable depth at both positions, with the potential to be groomed into a possible Lane Johnson successor at RT after enrolling in Stoutland U.

Round 4 (129)- Nick Nash WR San Diego State - Nash is an intriguing slot WR prospect who started as a dual threat QB for 3 seasons before switching to WR for his last two at San Diego State. Nash was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award this past season; he provides depth at slot WR behind Jahan Dotson with Parris Campbell leaving in free agency

Round 5 (162) - Jack Kiser LB Notre Dame - Kiser is an experienced LB prospect who can contribute right away on special teams; he also provides depth at the MIKE position with Nakobe Dean returning from injury

Round 5 (166) - Jalen Travis OT Iowa State - Travis is a developmental OT prospect with great size at 6’7 and 340 lbs, serving as additional depth at OT with a few OL leaving in free agency

Round 5 (169) - LeQuint Allen RB Syracuse - With Kenny Gainwell entering free agency, the Eagles replace him with Allen, who is not only a dual threat as a runner/receiver but is considered one of the top pass blocking RBs in this year’s draft, replicating the skillset that Gainwell brought to the table and kept him on the field.

 

Depth Chart (53 man active roster):

Offense

QB - Jalen Hurts / Kenny Pickett / Tanner McKee

RB - Saquon Barkley / Will Shipley / LeQuint Allen

XWR - AJ Brown / Johnny Wilson

ZWR - Devonta Smith / Ainias Smith

SWR - Jahan Dotson / Nick Nash

TE - Dallas Goedert / Grant Calcaterra

LT - Jordan Mailata / Jalen Travis

LG - Landon Dickerson / Trevor Keegan

C - Cam Jurgens / Brett Toth

RG - Mekhi Becton / Tyler Steen / Xavier Truss

RT - Lane Johnson / Darian Kinnard

 

Defense

DE - Calais Campbell / Moro Ojomo

NT - Jordan Davis / Thomas Booker 

DT - Jalen Carter / Alfred Collins

LOLB - Nolan Smith / Jalyx Hunt

WLB - Zach Baun / Jeremiah Trotter Jr.

MLB - Nakobe Dean / Oren Burks / Jack Kiser

ROLB - Princely Umanmielen / Bryce Huff

LCB - Darius Slay / Isaiah Rodgers

RCB - Quinyon Mitchell / Kelee Ringo 

NB - Cooper DeJean / Eli Ricks

FS - Reed Blankenship / James Bradberry - yes I am aware, but the cap penalty unfortunately is prohibitive to simply release Bradberry

SS - C.J. Gardner Johnson / Sydney Brown

 

Special Teams

K - Jake Elliott

P - Braden Mann

LS - Rick Lovato

KR - Isaiah Rodgers / Will Shipley

PR - Cooper DeJean / Jahan Dotson

[Cheesteakitis]

The likes 

I think Frank would be a good option at OC 

I really like signing Baun, I’m not a contract expert which is while I usually don’t add them into mine I see you have 4 year 40 million which is an average of 10 a year hopefully he takes something like that to remain in the culture/fit that allowed him to break out… I’ve seen some projections have him closer to 13mil per year.

Becton… I can’t help but pull for the guy dude is so happy to have found a place to fit in. Was he perfect no but for learning a totally new position he played his heart out this year. 
 

kiser - I had him in my first mock think he would be a good fit 

I see some comp picks in our future! 
Williams and Sweat have an chance at giving us 3rd or 4th rounders

And Gainwell should definitely get a contract as good or better then Tony Pollard did and he netted Dallas a 6th round comp 

big Fred could get a decent offer to as he played well when called on and could potentially be/compete for a starter on a number of teams

Meh

Cambell - I thought I saw a report he was retiring if I’m taking a shot on an aging vet who is looking for a ring I would try and get Mack 

Umanmielen - https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/3532190/former-florida-player-princely-umanmielen-had-an-all-time-crashout-and-tried-to-fight-fans-after-ole-miss-lost-to-the-gators

attempting to fight fans seems like that could be a major concern 

[CouchKing]

We prob need to draft kicker in the first round. Bold move. Very rare.

I don't like seeing Josh Sweat walk. And Milton. Punches 2 holes in the D.

Don't like how the Bryce Huff experiment is going. Didn't think Nolan Smith was working out, so maybe Huff turns it around over time.

In this scenario, I'd like see us draft DT and EDGE in rounds 1 and 2.

Don't know if Campbell is the answer, but I get the whole ring chasing. The team should be a magnet for free agents.

[eaglesfan0075]

3 hours ago, Cheesteakitis said:

The likes 

I think Frank would be a good option at OC 

I really like signing Baun, I’m not a contract expert which is while I usually don’t add them into mine I see you have 4 year 40 million which is an average of 10 a year hopefully he takes something like that to remain in the culture/fit that allowed him to break out… I’ve seen some projections have him closer to 13mil per year.

Becton… I can’t help but pull for the guy dude is so happy to have found a place to fit in. Was he perfect no but for learning a totally new position he played his heart out this year. 
 

kiser - I had him in my first mock think he would be a good fit 

I see some comp picks in our future! 
Williams and Sweat have an chance at giving us 3rd or 4th rounders 

And Gainwell should definitely get a contract as good or better then Tony Pollard did and he netted Dallas a 6th round comp 

big Fred could get a decent offer to as he played well when called on and could potentially be/compete for a starter on a number of teams

Meh

Cambell - I thought I saw a report he was retiring if I’m taking a shot on an aging vet who is looking for a ring I would try and get Mack 

Umanmielen - https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/3532190/former-florida-player-princely-umanmielen-had-an-all-time-crashout-and-tried-to-fight-fans-after-ole-miss-lost-to-the-gators

attempting to fight fans seems like that could be a major concern

Appreciate the feedback! Definitely a few things to consider and I'll probably end up changing for mock offseason 2.0:

Yeah the projections are all over the place: I used mainly OverTheCap and Spotrac for my projections, FWIW OverTheCap states Baun's performance relative to APY in 2024 gives him a value of 17.6 million! Not sure if someone offers him that much given 1 year of top level production. Spotrac gives Baun a calculated market value of 9.7 mil annual salary, a projected 2 year / 19.5 million salary in FA, but they also credit the Eagles with 24.5 mil cap space which is a stark difference from the 13.8 mil derived from OTC. I went with the latter's conservative projections for this mock, and don't think the 4 yr / $40 million is a bad projection; I can realistically envision Baun taking this deal over a 13 mil / yr offer to run it back with us.

Regarding Becton, I agree and feel that he's someone who's market value can still fit in our budget with a backloaded contract. Spotrac gives Becton a calculated market value of 10.2 mil annual salary with a projected 4 year / 40.9 mil salary in FA, which is very close to what I have him taking here. OverTheCap actually only gives Becton a 4.4 mil valuation relative to his 2.75 mil salary in 2024. There is a possibility that Becton could be had for less, which would increase our ability to keep more role players or be active in FA.

If I'm not mistaken, the comp picks would go towards the 2026 draft? OTC does not project the Eagles receiving any comp picks in 2025 from the 2024 free agency period.

I haven't seen that report regarding Campbell, but you may be correct. I would also prefer Mack over Campbell but he will certainly cost more, even on a ring-chasing deal. He's coming off a restructured 1 yr / 19.2 mil deal with the Chargers. Spotrac gives him a 23.6 mil annual salary projection with a 3 yr / 70.9 mil deal! OTC values Mack at 11.6 mil relative to his 19 mil deal in 2024. Even with such a wide range, it's out of our wheelhouse unless we decide to let one of Baun / Becton go.

I did not come across this when reading up on Umanmielen, but yeah I would agree with you based on this report that the Eagles would also find this very concerning and probably take him off the draft board. He's not a Jalen Carter level talent that they would give him a second chance for this sort of thing. I was considering a few other EDGE prospects that could be within range at 32: Nic Scourton from Texas A&M, as well as the two EDGE rushers from that bum school in Ohio, Jack Sawyer (can't see him making it past the Lions pick) and JT Tuimoloau. 

Mock offseason 2.0 is gonna have a new first round pick for obvious reasons 😅

[eaglesfan0075]

26 minutes ago, CouchKing said:

We prob need to draft kicker in the first round. Bold move. Very rare.

I don't like seeing Josh Sweat walk. And Milton. Punches 2 holes in the D.

Don't like how the Bryce Huff experiment is going. Didn't think Nolan Smith was working out, so maybe Huff turns it around over time.

In this scenario, I'd like see us draft DT and EDGE in rounds 1 and 2.

Don't know if Campbell is the answer, but I get the whole ring chasing. The team should be a magnet for free agents.

LOL that would be bold and even though the Raiders didn't completely bomb the Sebasitian Janikowski pick in 2000 with the 17th overall pick, it was still a poor use of resources.

In seriousness, I am actually not opposed to drafting a kicker even though Jake Elliott came through clutch in the Super Bowl. Ryan Fitzgerald from Florida State is widely considered the top K prospect in this year's draft, I would not be upset with a late round pick being used on him.

I hear you, also am not a huge fan of losing Josh Sweat and Milton Williams in free agency, but if we were able to keep one of these two, it would almost assuredly require us to let one of Baun / Becton walk.

Josh Sweat valuation - OTC has 9.6 mil valuation in 2024 relative to his 10 mil/yr salary. Spotrac projects him to get 18.8 mil annually with a 3 yr / 56.4 mil salary in FA! 

Milton Williams valuation - OTC has 6 mil valuation in 2024 relative to his 1.2 mil/yr salary. Spotrac projects him to get 12 mil annually with a 3 yr / 36 mil salary in FA.

Based on these projections, it seems like Milton Williams is the player we are more likely to retain, although if Sweat could be had closer to his OTC valuation, I wouldn't rule it out either. Tough decision to be made here and I will likely implement a different scenario in mock offseason 2.0: possibly letting Becton walk in favor of one of Williams/Sweat.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Cheesteakitis]

2 hours ago, eaglesfan0075 said:

Appreciate the feedback! Definitely a few things to consider and I'll probably end up changing for mock offseason 2.0:

Yeah the projections are all over the place: I used mainly OverTheCap and Spotrac for my projections, FWIW OverTheCap states Baun's performance relative to APY in 2024 gives him a value of 17.6 million! Not sure if someone offers him that much given 1 year of top level production. Spotrac gives Baun a calculated market value of 9.7 mil annual salary, a projected 2 year / 19.5 million salary in FA, but they also credit the Eagles with 24.5 mil cap space which is a stark difference from the 13.8 mil derived from OTC. I went with the latter's conservative projections for this mock, and don't think the 4 yr / $40 million is a bad projection; I can realistically envision Baun taking this deal over a 13 mil / yr offer to run it back with us.

Regarding Becton, I agree and feel that he's someone who's market value can still fit in our budget with a backloaded contract. Spotrac gives Becton a calculated market value of 10.2 mil annual salary with a projected 4 year / 40.9 mil salary in FA, which is very close to what I have him taking here. OverTheCap actually only gives Becton a 4.4 mil valuation relative to his 2.75 mil salary in 2024. There is a possibility that Becton could be had for less, which would increase our ability to keep more role players or be active in FA.

If I'm not mistaken, the comp picks would go towards the 2026 draft? OTC does not project the Eagles receiving any comp picks in 2025 from the 2024 free agency period.

I haven't seen that report regarding Campbell, but you may be correct. I would also prefer Mack over Campbell but he will certainly cost more, even on a ring-chasing deal. He's coming off a restructured 1 yr / 19.2 mil deal with the Chargers. Spotrac gives him a 23.6 mil annual salary projection with a 3 yr / 70.9 mil deal! OTC values Mack at 11.6 mil relative to his 19 mil deal in 2024. Even with such a wide range, it's out of our wheelhouse unless we decide to let one of Baun / Becton go.

I did not come across this when reading up on Umanmielen, but yeah I would agree with you based on this report that the Eagles would also find this very concerning and probably take him off the draft board. He's not a Jalen Carter level talent that they would give him a second chance for this sort of thing. I was considering a few other EDGE prospects that could be within range at 32: Nic Scourton from Texas A&M, as well as the two EDGE rushers from that bum school in Ohio, Jack Sawyer (can't see him making it past the Lions pick) and JT Tuimoloau. 

Mock offseason 2.0 is gonna have a new first round pick for obvious reasons 😅

Yes comp picks would go towards the 2026 draft… since you only singed one free agent and lost multiple we would have the potential to get comp picks in return.. the higher the contract a player signs the better the pick the highest is a 3rd rounder. 
 

im very excited about this offseason!! Lots of ways to configure our roster for the future from signing our own, to potentially trading our own (AJ Brown, Pickett, Huff), trading for other big names( Garrett, Samual, Parsons ext) to moving up or down the draft board. 
 

I agree there should be some type of competition for Elliot but I am glad he drilled those kicks in the Bowl! If he were to lose a training camp/preseason battle though I think I saw trading him could save us around 4 million.