Eagles have tons of blue chip talent, but depth will be concern headed into NFL season

The Eagles' unveiling of their 53-man roster shows plenty of elite talent, some depth concerns, and a guarantee that the roster will change several times.

By Geoff Mosher
PhillyVoice Staff

Eagles NFL

Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice

Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman do business somewhat unconventionally, but it's a formula that has worked.

Blue-chip talent isn't an issue for the Eagles. They have more than enough.

Between Saquon Barkley, Jalen Carter, A.J Brown, Jalen Hurts, Quinyon Mitchell, DeVonta Smith, Cooper DeJean, Dallas Goedert and their annually superior offensive line, the Eagles are in great hands even after saying goodbye over the past 48 hours to some roster hopefuls and after a difficult offseason in which a number of major contributors to last year's Super Bowl title headed for the exits.

But what they'll need in 2025 to counteract a dubious NFC East historical trend and some opponents who spent the offseason loading up with the Eagles in their crosshairs is the same bout of fortune they encountered last season in staying mostly healthy, and for some of those roster hopefuls from past seasons to emerge.

Because along with having a couple more question marks at starting positions this year than last year, depth in some critical spots is also a questionable, namely on the offensive line and in the defensive front.

Real depth isn't just having bodies in the reserve tank; every team has those. The Eagles unveiled an initial 53-man roster on Tuesday with 11 offensive linemen, but do they really trust Brett Toth, Trevor Keegan and/or rookie Drew Kendall to start at left guard next Thursday against the Cowboys in the season opener if Landon Dickerson isn't ready?

Real depth is having talent that can step in and perform without leading to a colossal implosion.

The 2017 Eagles Super Bowl team was one of the deepest – maybe the deepest – Eagles team ever assembled, enough to withstand the losses of an eventual Hall of Fame left tackle, MVP-caliber quarterback, playmaking starting linebacker, and one of the greatest multi-dimensional running back/return specialists in the sport's history.

That year's team – the first Super Bowl championship team in Eagles history – also won 13 games despite losing starting cornerback Ronald Darby for 10 games and despite replacing its starting left guard with backup Stefen Wisniewski just a few weeks into the season.

Last year's championship team was arguably the best starting 22 ever assembled in team history, and its depth – especially in the secondary and on the offensive line – wasn't tested nearly as much. Some starters missed a a few games, and Goedert missed a bunch, but the only long-term injuries were Graham's torn biceps and Nakobe Dean's lis Franc.

Graham still returned for the Super Bowl, and Dean didn't go down until the NFC Wild Card game, after the Eagles had already won 14 games to secure the No. 2 seed.

Looking at the first iteration of this year's 53-man roster, you see plenty of the talent that helped last year's team destroy the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, but you can also see where depth shortcomings could come back to haunt them, especially facing a much harder schedule and having the red circle drawn around them all year.

Howie Roseman isn't unaware of this. He repeatedly said Tuesday, shortly after the announced cutdowns, that the roster is highly subject to change, in the coming hours, days, weeks and months.

"I would say we're not done here," said the architect of the Eagles' two Super Bowl title rosters, also announcing to the public that he's got plenty of draft picks over the next two seasons at his disposal that can be used as assets. "This is a work in progress."

Roseman's master tactics annually result in some roster decisions that look odd on the surface but pay off down the road. You might have noticed that the Eagles' first 53 featured six backup offensive linemen but no actual long snapper; they released veteran Charley Hughlett in order to keep an extra position player on the 53. 

The likely scenario is Hughlett spending the first three weeks of the season getting elevated from the practice squad before being signed to the 53. By then, some injury, trade or other transaction will have cleared the way for Hughlett's activation to the 53 without Roseman losing a player he'd like to keep.

Roseman uses every gadget in his playbook to balance the team's objective of fielding a Super Bowl-caliber roster each year while also keeping developmental prospects whose best years are two or three seasons down the road.

This year's Eagles team has the firepower to finally break the division's 20-season streak of no repeat champions but also has some hopefuls who'll be inactive nearly every week. It's a delicate balance of making sure the Eagles can compete today and don't have a prolonged streak of missing the playoffs in a salary cap-driven sport.

This method can lead to some depth concerns each season, but if Eagles starters and key role players stay generally healthy, they'll be in good shape.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/eagles-blue-chip-talent-depth-season-preview-news-analysis-howie-roseman-cuts-53-man-roster/

I’ll be honest… I’m not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling about this year. Depth is absolutely a real concern but there’s also concern amongst some of our starters. I mean CB, S and DE have been the constant topic of discussion all offseason and that is still the case now.

4 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I’ll be honest… I’m not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling about this year. Depth is absolutely a real concern but there’s also concern amongst some of our starters. I mean CB, S and DE have been the constant topic of discussion all offseason and that is still the case now.

Howie always makes more moves after roster cut down date. ALWAYS. He already has and I can guarantee you he is still going to make more.

37 minutes ago, time2rock said:

Howie always makes more moves after roster cut down date. ALWAYS. He already has and I can guarantee you he is still going to make more.

Yeah I think he will too… I’m just saying I think that it is fair at this point to have concerns around depth and amongst some of the starters.

There is not ONE team out there that doesn't have a depth issue.....and the eagles are still one of the deepest teams in the league.

What the eagles have is a lack of experience with the guys that will be replacing the lost players. They went into the season with a load of question marks last year with new guys and young players....and they were coached up and got experience as the season wore on. Fangio had some free agents, rookies and guys coming off injuries... and molded them into the top defense in the league.

This current coaching staff is excellent at developing players, using them to their strengths........what I see this year is more of the same.......

Another thought.......I think way too much emphasis is put on preseason games.......starters rarely play, play calling and schemes are simplified.......the media overreacts to results and stats.

Preseason is not like it was years ago.....the season starts Thursday....chances are the eagles defense may take several games to jell with all the new faces and added responsibility on the young guys.

I also think that Howie isn't done yet........

15 hours ago, birdman#12 said:

There is not ONE team out there that doesn't have a depth issue.....and the eagles are still one of the deepest teams in the league.

I completely agree with this. The salary cap limits what each team can do in order to try and have a level of parity. All teams have depth issues and all teams have holes on their roster.

My concern though is some of the starters. Adoree or Ringo. Makuba or Brown. And then I’m not sold on our DE starters either. Smith looks good but he hasn’t done it for a full year and this time last year (and in fact a few game’s in to the season there were genuine concerns there). Hunt came along nicely but is he a legit starting DE? We don’t know.

17 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I completely agree with this. The salary cap limits what each team can do in order to try and have a level of parity. All teams have depth issues and all teams have holes on their roster.

My concern though is some of the starters. Adoree or Ringo. Makuba or Brown. And then I’m not sold on our DE starters either. Smith looks good but he hasn’t done it for a full year and this time last year (and in fact a few game’s in to the season there were genuine concerns there). Hunt came along nicely but is he a legit starting DE? We don’t know.

Well, It was no different last year...... Baun was signed after being a 4 year backup, Mitchell and Dejean were rookies, Dean was coming off an injury and hadn't established himself, Graham was another year older.....

Sure, there are always the unknowns......but this coaching staff has proven they can develop young talent and are very good at bringing in players and getting the most out of them....Bryce Huff being the exception..😂.

The eagles defense is younger than last year, but faster and has a lot of potential.......It may take a few games to really jell......but I think they could be as good or better than last year.

6 hours ago, birdman#12 said:

Well, It was no different last year...... Baun was signed after being a 4 year backup, Mitchell and Dejean were rookies, Dean was coming off an injury and hadn't established himself, Graham was another year older.....

Sure, there are always the unknowns......but this coaching staff has proven they can develop young talent and are very good at bringing in players and getting the most out of them....Bryce Huff being the exception..😂.

The eagles defense is younger than last year, but faster and has a lot of potential.......It may take a few games to really jell......but I think they could be as good or better than last year.

Again I agree but… We know Adoree has been a disappointment in the NFL and with this team. We know Ringo is in his what third year? And so far has barely been trusted to start games. We knew Mitchell had talent and came in with high hopes even as a rookie. We knew DeJean was a really talented kid. We can’t say the same about our CBs right now. Last year we knew CJGJ could and would produce big plays, we don’t know that of Makuba and so far Brown hasn’t shown a lot.

No worries.

This team will take a step backwards this season, and NOT REPEAT.

BUT, next season they will win it all again. Get that fire and hunger back, get some some players experience, and see how good they will be in 2026. I have patience!

18 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Again I agree but… We know Adoree has been a disappointment in the NFL and with this team. We know Ringo is in his what third year? And so far has barely been trusted to start games. We knew Mitchell had talent and came in with high hopes even as a rookie. We knew DeJean was a really talented kid. We can’t say the same about our CBs right now. Last year we knew CJGJ could and would produce big plays, we don’t know that of Makuba and so far Brown hasn’t shown a lot.

Jackson and Ringo have not wowed anybody.......and I actually think Bennett may eventually be a starter.....

Makuba and Brown are both talented.....and it may take some time to develop more....I think Makuba will end up being very good. But again....it may take a few games for it all to come together.