Remember last year, the Eagles had limited cap space and were very limited in their ability to go get free agents. Adoree' Jackson, Uche, Ojulari, Granson, Pryor, Dillon, and the rest of an unmemorable group. Remember, their cap situation dictated that key guys couldn't be resigned. Gainwell, Beckton, Big Fred, Williams, Sweat, Burks, Maddox, Rodgers, Slay. Well, we're at that place again.

With underr $15M in space aside from money for the draft class it'll be an uneventful free agency for the Birds.

Re-sign: Edge Phillips, S Blankenship, P Mann for sure. That won't leave much for Big Fred or one of their backup up tight ends.

There won't be enough cash to keep - Dean, Goedert, or Uche. Then there's the guys we want gone - A Jackson Howell, Dillon, or Pryor. by the way, I hate the posdsibility of losing Epps also.

Maybe Howie restructures a couple of guys. Maybe they let osmeone go whom we don't expect (Elliott?). But as we stand now they'll have to have a very good draft in order not to go backwards.

Draft - Jimmy Kempski keeps track of picks and trades. HE has us with a 1,2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5 - 8 total picks.

I think we need more help than that so a trade is in the works. I was hoping that Tanner McKee could fetch a 2nd day pick, but he looks awful in his one game so that's probably off the board.

Trades -

McKee for a 4th and a conditional 2027 pick based on results

Our first for a 2 and a 4

Now we have 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5 - 10 picks

2 - Chase Bisontis G Texas A&M 6'5" 320. Replaces Pryor's roster spot and potentially starts in place of Steen

2 - AJ Harris CB Penn State 6'1" 193 4.49. Jackson is gone and Ringo sure isn't the guy. Eagles are successful in the 2nd round Jurgens, Dickerson,k Goedery, DeJean, Hurts

3 - Dani Davis-Sutton Edge Penn State 6'4" 266. No I'm not biased towards Penn State. He the best big edge left on the board. BG's Roster spot

3 - Max Klare TE Ohio State 6'4" 240 4.75. All 3 of our tight ends are free agents. Latu is a hybrid who can play TE.

4 - Dillon Theineman S Oregon 6'0" 207 4.55 Not the fastest, but neither is Blankenship. Mukuba and Blankenship start. Does anyone want to see Sydney Brown in the game?

4 - Nyck Harbor WR South Carolina 6'5" 235 4.40. H-W-S. Dotson and his 12 catches can be replaced by Cooper and Nyck takes Wilson's back up role

4- Demetrius Crownover OT Txas A&M 6'6" 330. My 2026 Jalyx Hunt/Jordan Mailata dark horse pick.. Will eventually be Lane's replacement. Takes Big Fred's roster spot.

4- Oscar Delp TE Georgia 6'5" 245. If we lose 2 TE's we need 2

5- Sawyer Robertson, QB Baylor 6'4" 220. Howell is gone, McCord or Robertson is #3, the other is practice squad.

5- Jack Kelly LB BYU 6'2" 240. Not Nakobe's replacement but takes Nakobe's roster spot.

Good luck!

If I were GM, I'd try to maneuver upwards to add at least one potential difference-maker*...perhaps trade for one of the Cowboys 1st round picks...they have no day 2 picks while we have 3.

That would give us a shot at a good prospect at an important posiitsion (OT/DE/CB) for the future to build around. It's unrealistic to expect to repeat our luck in the 2024 draft ( 2 All Pro picks).

It's still too soon to accurately project how the draft will play out...just BPA at this juncture, not to mention free agency/trades.

As far as FA, I'd like to retain some of our own: Phillips, Goedert, Dean, Blankenship, Mann.

^ Usually found early in 1st round.

See what happens to our draft position today hopefully we win and keep moving on

On 1/10/2026 at 12:27 AM, Crazy Legs said:

If I were GM, I'd try to maneuver upwards to add at least one potential difference-maker*

I hear you, but here's my thinging. Difference makers have to be surrounded by good playes.

The Eagles have difference makers on offense - Mailata, Dickerson, Johnson, Barkley, Brown, Smith and Hurts. They have a good players in Jurgens, but they need good players at WR3, TE (if they can't re-sign Goedert), RG (Steen needs to be better or upgraded by someone else). And we need a long term projection at RT. QB2/3 will need to be filledI think my draft addresses the needs and positions that need to be addressed.

LG - Bisontis

WR3 - Cooper on the roster or Harbor

TE - Klare and Delp

RT - Crownover

QB2/3 - Robertson

The Eagles also have difference makers on defense. Carter, Baun, Mitchell, and Cooper. They have good playrs too - Davis, Phillips, Hunt, Smith, Campbell, and Blankenship (if they resign him). Jury is still out on Mukuba, but mark him as good going into 2026. That leaves a backup CB2, backup DE, and a potential starting safety.Finally, LB depth Like on offense - the needs and positions have been addressed.

CB@ - AJ Harris

DE - Davis-Sutton

S - Theineman

LB4 - Kelly

Thanks again.

1 hour ago, Cheesteakitis said:

See what happens to our draft position today hopefully we win and keep moving on

We all want it to be 32 again!! Go Birds.

7 hours ago, Rob331 said:

We all want it to be 32 again!! Go Birds.

Yeah we chocked looks like pick 21/22 incoming

By my standards Dallas Goedert is our most valuable FA asset, followed closely by Jaelon Phillips. DG could well be one of the best TE in the NFL next year. The staus of both Ertz, Kelse and Kittle are all questionable going into the next season, due to age and injuries. His value, at least short-term, inevitably has increased. Likewise, Sadiq's value will stand out in an otherwise lukewarm choice of tight ends available in the 2026 draft. As intriguing as he may be, his price might rise above what he would normally demand. I would value DG over a rookie at this juncture.

Referring to my earlier comments, I am appreciative of our enhanced draft position and our opportunity to move up even higher. However, I do not at present view very many prospects warranting such a move. If such an opportunit preesented itself (like 2024 Q/Coop), I'd say "MAKE IT HAPPEN HOWIE!!!". Otherwise, just do your best to reload for another competetive season like yo have done for the last 4-5 years.

I would concentrate on strencangthening our bench, to minimize the inevitable drop-off when injuries/retirement/FA/etc. occur.

In summary, there are paths to improving our roster for 2026 and thereafter, but the competetive nature of the NFL by design places limits as to how far a team can improve when you are already successfull. Let's be thankfull that the Eagles are one of the better franchises in the NFL.

Well, part of the mock in this thread is shot. Nyck Harbor has decided to return to South Carolina for the 2026 season.

I'll go with Zachariah Branch, Georgia 5'10" 175 4.40

I’m sure there is some wiggle room howie could come up with but from what I see/read

The eagle basically have till when the new league year starts to do another contract for Dallas or let him walk and eat 20 million in dead cap.. paying Dallas 11 million or so his projected evaluation and pushing that other 20 million down the road again seems like a good idea.

23 hours ago, Rob331 said:

I hear you, but here's my thinging. Difference makers have to be surrounded by good playes.

The Eagles have difference makers on offense - Mailata, Dickerson, Johnson, Barkley, Brown, Smith and Hurts. They have a good players in Jurgens, but they need good players at WR3, TE (if they can't re-sign Goedert), RG (Steen needs to be better or upgraded by someone else). And we need a long term projection at RT. QB2/3 will need to be filledI think my draft addresses the needs and positions that need to be addressed.

LG - Bisontis

WR3 - Cooper on the roster or Harbor

TE - Klare and Delp

RT - Crownover

QB2/3 - Robertson

The Eagles also have difference makers on defense. Carter, Baun, Mitchell, and Cooper. They have good playrs too - Davis, Phillips, Hunt, Smith, Campbell, and Blankenship (if they resign him). Jury is still out on Mukuba, but mark him as good going into 2026. That leaves a backup CB2, backup DE, and a potential starting safety.Finally, LB depth Like on offense - the needs and positions have been addressed.

CB@ - AJ Harris

DE - Davis-Sutton

S - Theineman

LB4 - Kelly

Thanks again.

So, is/isn't Goedert a difference-maker? Extending him might also remedy the perceived cap issue.

The Eagles have around 10 1st round draft picks in their starting lineups. Counting day 2 picks, there is what, Mailata and Blankenship not included?

You proposed starting your draft in the 2nd round. Are any of those selections difference-makers? Will they even be available in those rounds?

AJ, BG, Lane, DG are all short-term Eagles, plus we have alot of FAs to deal with soon...we need to restock!

1 hour ago, Rob331 said:

Well, part of the mock in this thread is shot. Nyck Harbor has decided to return to South Carolina for the 2026 season.

I'll go with Zachariah Branch, Georgia 5'10" 175 4.40

Wise decision on his part. He was probably advised to refine his skills to increase his projected value.

1 hour ago, Crazy Legs said:

So, is/isn't Goedert a difference-maker? Extending him might also remedy the perceived cap issue.

The Eagles have around 10 1st round draft picks in their starting lineups. Counting day 2 picks, there is what, Mailata and Blankenship not included?

You proposed starting your draft in the 2nd round. Are any of those selections difference-makers? Will they even be available in those rounds?

AJ, BG, Lane, DG are all short-term Eagles, plus we have alot of FAs to deal with soon...we need to restock!

i get your point. Here's my thinking. Goedert is and so are Phillips and Dean, but with the cap space it seems like an either or withthe ability to sign one of them to me. i think it's phillips who is much younger than Goedert.

We've been discussing difference makers and I give you my thiking on the prrevious post. this isn't the year we need them. I believe Lane and AJ will be back. We have 20 free agents and enough cash to re-sign only a few of them. We can't have holes in our starting lineup and we need depth.

Re-signing Davis, Carter, and Smith is another reason we won't be big spenders again this year.

BTW - my moch has been overcome by events for a second time. Looks like AJ Harris isn't going intothe draft and is going into the portal. Replace him with Brandon cissi, South Carolina.. 6'0" 190 4.45

Thakns again for your thoughts

Rob,

Don't let me discorage you, it's just we take considerably different approaches. For example, I've given up trying to second-guess what Howie wil/won;t do...it's way beyond my "pay grade". I'll let the cards fall where they may. We've seen his wizardry over the last few year, so I'll trust in his judgement.

The point I was making is "a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush" as the saying goes. Ithink Dallas decided to "in effect" take a one year prove it contract and I believe he proved ii in spades. We also got a trial run with Phillips and saw what he can mean in an on-going basis.

As far as timing big moves, I never want to pass up a promising opportunity if it suits our objectives.

Davis, etc. are still under contract. Besides, They can be extended w/o effecting the 2026 cap to the best of my knowledge.

There are always events taking place that require assessment and response. Stuff happens, live and learn (Harbor/Harris).

P.S. Week 18 "showcased" our bench. Did that give you a warm feeling?

I’m taking notes and researching for throwing some offseasons out in the near future as far as the cap here is what I see. And most of this I think adds/helps us.

Dallas— currently cap hit is almost 20.5 million to not be on the team , while he wasn’t as good blocking this year they did find creative ways to use him and I would much rather work something out to pay him half or even 3/4 of that to be on the team hopefully in a way to push what’s due down the road when we are in better shape.. I’ll say something gets structured to save around 10million in cap space.

Micheal Carter - didn’t trade a whole lot for him but he did play half decent when given a chance if we can work something out I keep him around to compete for a slot/safety job. If not cut savings 6.7 -8.5

Jorden Davis - extension on his 5th year projected savings 9.3 million

So those 3 moves could potentially double our cap space.

Something else I saw

Lane Johnson - post june 1st designation saves over another 5 million if he were to decide to hang it up.

23. Caleb Lomu OT Utah

54. Monroe Freeling OT Georgia

68. Caleb Tiernan OT Northwestern

98. Drew Shelton OT Penn State

My first mock of the year. Every pick looks like an OT to me.

2026 NFL Mock Draft Simulator With Free Trades

1 hour ago, Cheesteakitis said:

I’m taking notes and researching for throwing some offseasons out in the near future as far as the cap here is what I see. And most of this I think adds/helps us.

Dallas— currently cap hit is almost 20.5 million to not be on the team , while he wasn’t as good blocking this year they did find creative ways to use him and I would much rather work something out to pay him half or even 3/4 of that to be on the team hopefully in a way to push what’s due down the road when we are in better shape.. I’ll say something gets structured to save around 10million in cap space.

Micheal Carter - didn’t trade a whole lot for him but he did play half decent when given a chance if we can work something out I keep him around to compete for a slot/safety job. If not cut savings 6.7 -8.5

Jorden Davis - extension on his 5th year projected savings 9.3 million

So those 3 moves could potentially double our cap space.

Something else I saw

Lane Johnson - post june 1st designation saves over another 5 million if he were to decide to hang it up.

Let us not forget the yearly cap increase 20 to 25 million, Howie will make what ever moves he likes along with resigning Jaelen Phillips. For all those screaming for a 1st rd Ot let's remember Cameron Williams entered draft early and many draft experts said had he stayed in school he was a potential 1st rd pick. Eagles drafted him knowing he wasn't healthy, he did not look bad at all starting against the Redskins in the final game so I trust with a healthy off season working on strength and with Stout hell be in the mix to take over when Johnson hangs it up.

33 minutes ago, Eagle3171 said:

Let us not forget the yearly cap increase 20 to 25 million, Howie will make what ever moves he likes along with resigning Jaelen Phillips. For all those screaming for a 1st rd Ot let's remember Cameron Williams entered draft early and many draft experts said had he stayed in school he was a potential 1st rd pick. Eagles drafted him knowing he wasn't healthy, he did not look bad at all starting against the Redskins in the final game so I trust with a healthy off season working on strength and with Stout hell be in the mix to take over when Johnson hangs it up.

Yeah, along with Couch Kings' picks, we should be set for awhile.

On 1/12/2026 at 8:17 PM, Crazy Legs said:

Let us not forget the yearly cap increase 20 to 25 million,

I wish you were right, but I believe that's already cooked into the overthecap numbers.

It'd be terrogoc if Cameron Williams emerged as Lane's heir apparent.