Holes

Posted: March 22nd, 2025 | Author: Tommy Lawlor

The Eagles have had an active offseason so far and Howie Roseman has once again put together a loaded roster. As good as the Eagles appear to be, there are still some roster holes to be addressed.

DT

The Eagles lost Milton Williams in free agency. Moro Ojomo might be ready for his breakout season. You certainly don’t want to count on that. The Eagles need competition for him. They also need depth. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them draft a couple of DTs. Jordan Davis is the only true NT type on the roster so adding a bigger body to back him up would make some sense.

The Eagles could go for a DT as early as the first round. The draft is loaded with a deep, talented class so there should be good options for Howie to choose from. He could also look for a veteran to add to the mix. Jimmy Bama has some thoughts on veteran free agents who could still be of interest, including a DL.

OT

Now that Fred Johnson has signed elsewhere, the team needs a swing tackle. Darian Kinnard has potential as the backup RT, but I don’t think he’s ready to play LT. The Eagles have had 4 visits with OT prospects. That is a spot they are targeting in the draft. If things don’t work out, they can hit the veteran market and see who is left at that point.

G/C

Mekhi Becton is gone. Tyler Steen is probably the favorite to be the RG as of now. The team traded for Kenyon Green, a talented, but underachieving OG. Green could benefit greatly from Stoutland University. He certainly has the talent to be a good starter in the NFL. The Eagles would probably like to bring in another player at G, depending on how much they like Trevor Keegan.

They definitely need another center. When Cam Jurgens got hurt, Landon Dickerson had to slide into the middle. That made the team weaker at two spots. Re-signing Jack Driscoll would make some sense. He can play all five OL spots. Driscoll is probably best suited inside at this point. There are some good interior OL in the draft class. Gray Zabel could be in play at pick 32, if he makes it that far. The team could also look to the middle rounds, where they found Driscoll. He was a fourth round pick in 2020 and proved to be a valuable backup, even starting 18 games.

Eli Cox is a really athletic OL from Kentucky. He’s started at G and C. I could see Stoutland liking him.

LB

This is a bit of a mystery position. Zack Baun is back. That’s huge. Nakobe Dean will be back, but when? If he’s not ready by September, are you comfortable with Jeremiah Trotter Jr starting? The Eagles might be. Vic Fangio spoke highly of him during the season. At the very least, there is a need for depth. Oren Burks is gone. They need a LB to take his place. The Eagles could sign a cheap free agent. Since they are paying Baun big bucks, they might need to go cheap here and that would mean a draft pick.

SAF

The team traded CJGJ and that means there is an opening at one of the starting positions. The Eagles would love Sydney Brown to take that job. He has the physical ability. The challenge for Brown is adjusting from his STs mentality. He tried to do everything at 100 mph. That’s great on STs. You want guys who will run through a brick wall. On defense you need players who will run through that wall, but also who can figure out if that’s what is needed. You want smart, instinctive players on D. To be fair to Brown, he was focused on rehabbing an injury at this time last year. A full offseason with him being healthy can do a lot for his development as a DB.

It sure sounds like veteran safety Justin Simmons wants to play for Fangio and the Eagles. Would they prefer a veteran or drafting a player to develop?

CB

The Eagles released Darius Slay. Isaiah Rodgers and Avonte Maddox signed elsewhere. That opens up some spots. The hope is that Kelee Ringo can win the starting job opposite of Quinyon Mitchell. The team brought in veteran corner Adoree Jackson to compete with Ringo for that role. The loser would then become the top backup. Still, there is a need for more depth.

Eli Ricks is still around and could be a serviceable backup. With Maddox gone, they need someone who is equally comfortable inside or outside. There are some interesting free agent options, but they look at the draft first and then go that route if they don’t find the right player.

TE

The Eagles are set for now. If they trade Dallas Goedert, this becomes a key spot to fill. The only reason to move on from DG is to save money so if they do trade him, you have to think they would focus on a draft pick as his replacement.

http://igglesblitz.com/2025/03/holes/

I wouldn't say the eagles have "holes"........they may have some divots.

The depth on the eagles is probably the best in the league and with the free agent acquisitions, the draft and the ability of the eagles coaching staff to get the best out of the guys they have, I don't think they'll be much of a drop-off if any.

Sweat and Williams were good players, but hardly irreplaceable.  Becton and Burks the same thing.  Baun would have been a really costly loss.  CJGJ was a tough loss but Brown has the same attitude and ability.......Brown and Cine are talented but unproven.  

But the eagles have made some of the same type of moves to obtain talent that they did last year.  Uche, Ojulari, Green and Jackson are under the radar acquisitions that could turn out to be very productive players.  Uche may have been misused and possesses strong physical skills. Ojulari needs to stay healthy but produces very well when healthy.  Green may be Stoutland "Becton" this year and Jackson is 29 but played on a lousy defense last year.  

The eagles have some young players that contributed in spot roles last year who the eagles think can step up into a bigger roles.  

They have draft picks and trade assets to bolster the talent on the team.  The eagles may actually be more talented this year than last.......

 

On 3/25/2025 at 6:16 PM, birdman#12 said:

I wouldn't say the eagles have "holes"........they may have some divots.

The depth on the eagles is probably the best in the league and with the free agent acquisitions, the draft and the ability of the eagles coaching staff to get the best out of the guys they have, I don't think they'll be much of a drop-off if any.

I think actually I’d disagree given where we are at right now.

Right now S and DE are holes. I don’t think Hunt is ready to be a full time starter in the league and alongside Reed we have nothing.

And depth we lost Williams at DT and Steen may now step up to be a starter so that’s depth lost at OG.

But plenty of time to address these things.

15 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I think actually I’d disagree given where we are at right now.

Right now S and DE are holes. I don’t think Hunt is ready to be a full time starter in the league and alongside Reed we have nothing.

And depth we lost Williams at DT and Steen may now step up to be a starter so that’s depth lost at OG.

But plenty of time to address these things.

At DE, I do think Hunt has made big enough strides to be a "most of the time starter" 😄, and don't underestimate the Ojulari signing.....the guy is very productive. AT S, Brown and Cine have the talent but have had their development sidetracked by injuries.  The question is, can these guys stay healthy?

I think Williams is being a bit overrated here in the sense of replacing him. He's a good player, but hardly irreplaceable.  Ojomo is a good developing player. And there will be cuts coming and the draft to rebuild that depth.  And at OG, Steen was a reliable backup last year, and Green was a 1st round pick who didn't develop as expected on a lousy team.  Stoutland could make all the difference in this kid.

So, just like last year, and like any other NFL team, they have question marks.  Nobody knew what Baun would turn out to be, nobody believed Nolan Smith would be what he became, and nobody expected that Mitchell and Dejean would play like veterans.   Becton was a mystery, as well as the question of how all Nakobe Dean would play.

So I think it's question marks.  Some being whether young guys will develop, and whether some guys can stay healthy.  But like you said, plenty of time and ability to bring in more talent to compete.

This draft is loaded with DL talent ... this was the year to let players like Sweat and Williams walk and then replace them with draft picks who will be under control on much cheaper rookie contracts for the next 4 years.  And having seen rookies last year contribute as much as they did and at such a high level, it gives me more confidence we will continue to hit on the right players and that they will contribute sooner if not immediately.  Maybe our starting S opposite Blank is one of those draft picks or the staring outside corner opposite Mitchell is one. 

8 hours ago, birdman#12 said:

At DE, I do think Hunt has made big enough strides to be a "most of the time starter" 😄, and don't underestimate the Ojulari signing.....the guy is very productive. AT S, Brown and Cine have the talent but have had their development sidetracked by injuries.  The question is, can these guys stay healthy?

I think Williams is being a bit overrated here in the sense of replacing him. He's a good player, but hardly irreplaceable.  Ojomo is a good developing player. And there will be cuts coming and the draft to rebuild that depth.  And at OG, Steen was a reliable backup last year, and Green was a 1st round pick who didn't develop as expected on a lousy team.  Stoutland could make all the difference in this kid.

So, just like last year, and like any other NFL team, they have question marks.  Nobody knew what Baun would turn out to be, nobody believed Nolan Smith would be what he became, and nobody expected that Mitchell and Dejean would play like veterans.   Becton was a mystery, as well as the question of how all Nakobe Dean would play.

So I think it's question marks.  Some being whether young guys will develop, and whether some guys can stay healthy.  But like you said, plenty of time and ability to bring in more talent to compete.

Hunt next year should be a rotational player to see how he develops in year 2. I definitely think there’s potential there with him but it’s still that. I think it would be a mistake on our part to go in to next year thinking Hunt and Ojulari can replace BG and Sweat.

I agree on Ojomo and think he can be a good guy to step up and replace Williams. Williams was great but the contract he got was ridiculous! I hope he does well but he was a rotational guy who benefited from playing alongside Carter.

S is a big concern though. Brown just was not fancied by Fangio last year and the depth we have is pretty bad. Cine could come along but there’s a reason he was available when he was.