The Eagles Effect

Posted:April 23rd, 2025 |Author:Tommy Lawlor|

The NFL is full of smart coaches and personnel people. These people have strong convictions and philosophies. But they all pay a little extra attention to the team that wins the Super Bowl. Is there anything that can be copied? Would those ideas work for my team?

This is hard to do with a team like the Chiefs. They have a Hall of Fame coach and QB. How are you supposed to duplicate that? We overuse the word generational. Patrick Mahomes is truly a generational player. When the Eagles win the Super Bowl, teams are going to study the ideas of the coaching staff and the moves made by the front office. The Eagles have a loaded roster, but there are definitely some ideas worth stealing.

Using a lot of resources on the line of scrimmage is the most obvious one.

Jordan Mailata – big contract
Landon Dickerson – 2nd round pick, big contract
Cam Jurgens – 2nd round pick, big contract
Tyler Steen – 3rd round pick
Lane Johnson – Top 5 pick, big contract

Nolan Smith – 1st round pick
Jalen Carter – 1st round pick
Jordan Davis – 1st round pick
Jalyx Hunt – 3rd round pick
Bryce Huff – big contract

Not only have the Eagles invested a lot up front, they have hit on those picks. And they tend to keep them around. Milton Williams is one of the few OL/DL to play well and then leave without a second contract. The Eagles have a good philosophy. They have a coaching staff that does a good job of developing players. And then they keep them.

Let’s look at some specific guys and how they could influence other teams.

Chris Jones has been a dominant DT for the Chiefs. He was the 37th overall player taken in 2016 and developed into a HOFer. Jalen Carter was the top prospect in 2023, but fell down to pick 9 due to character concerns. The Eagles snatched him up and he’s been dominant for Philly. I wonder if Carter’s performance will have an effect on how teams view Walter Nolen.

Nolen is a Top 15 talent, but there has been talk of him sliding to the 20’s/30’s. Some wondered if he might slide to the 2nd round. In the last few days there are more and more mock drafts showing him as a Top 15 pick. Dallas is one of the teams being linked to him. Are the Cowboys hoping Nolen is the next Carter? The Niners are also being rumored as a landing spot for Nolen. Same question would apply. Those are two teams who hate the Eagles and would love to catch up to them.

Or maybe this is just noise and Nolen will slide. If he does, you know Howie will keep an eye on him. Nolen and Carter would be a dynamic duo at DT.

***

Saquon Barkley just had one of the greatest seasons by a RB in league history. It sure fells like he made RB a sexy position again. Derrick Henry also had a great season, but he’s had several of them. And his team didn’t win the SB. Saquon and the Eagles showed you can win the big game in this era with an elite RB. That has helped the value of Ashton Jeanty. There is talk of him going as high as 5th overall (to the Jags). Two of the last three drafts didn’t see a RB going in the top 35 picks.

Trying to find the next Barkley could be risky. After all, he didn’t put up massive numbers until he got to a team that had an elite OL and other offensive weapons. It isn’t like Saquon carried the team on his back. He was part of a great offense.

***

There are more LB tweeners in this first round than I can remember in recent years. Maybe that is just anecdotal, but it sure feels that way. Zack Baun was an edge rusher in New Orleans. The Eagles signed him and moved him to LB. Baun responded by playing at an All-Pro level.

Jalon Walker was a LB who could be an edge rusher in the NFL. Jihad Campbell was an edge who moved to LB in 2024. Femi Oladejo was a LB who moved to edge. These guys are all top prospects. You wonder if teams will be more comfortable with taking tweeners after seeing Baun turn out to be such a stud for the Eagles. These situations aren’t all the same, but teams might be influenced by seeing another tweener have such impact.

http://igglesblitz.com/2025/04/the-eagles-effect/

Wouldn't bother me if Nolen went early. TJ Sanders would be the target for me in the second round. Targeting him could even warrant a trade down and reap an additional 3rd or 4th.

18 hours ago, Rob331 said:

Wouldn't bother me if Nolen went early. TJ Sanders would be the target for me in the second round. Targeting him could even warrant a trade down and reap an additional 3rd or 4th.

I agree with you about Sanders, but Oladejo is my favorite second round target.

I’m betting on Howie swinging a trade using a 2026 pick and possibly Huff or Goedert to get a second pick in Round 2 and a total of three picks in Day Two.

Brugler’s board of best remaining players looks like this, with the ones that should interest the Eagles highlighted in green.

3 hours ago, mattwill said:

I agree with you about Sanders, but Oladejo is my favorite second round target.

I’m betting on Howie swinging a trade using a 2026 pick and possibly Huff or Goedert to get a second pick in Round 2 and a total of three picks in Day Two.

Brugler’s board of best remaining players looks like this, with the ones that should interest the Eagles highlighted in green.

If they trade Goedert in the 2nd round then Mason Taylor would likely be the target.

44 minutes ago, jsdarkstar said:

If they trade Goedert in the 2nd round then Mason Taylor would likely be the target.

I want them to trade up over the cowboys again to get him 🤣. Using Goedert to do that would be poetry.

5 hours ago, mattwill said:

I’m betting on Howie swinging a trade using a 2026 pick and possibly Huff or Goedert to get a second pick in Round 2 and a total of three picks in Day Two.

From your lips to God's ear

6 hours ago, jsdarkstar said:

If they trade Goedert in the 2nd round then Mason Taylor would likely be the target.

If you like Taylor to be the second coming of Zach Ertz, then I would argue that a better Return On Investment for that role is Orinde Gadsden from Syracuse. Similar upside with less investment. In both cases you get Ertz-level blocking.

On 4/25/2025 at 2:01 PM, Rob331 said:

I’m betting on Howie swinging a trade using a 2026 pick and possibly Huff or Goedert to get a second pick in Round 2 and a total of three picks in Day Two.

From your lips to God's ear

Oh well - we were wrong, but we were right too