Cheap D…For Now

Posted June 6th, 2026

It may be hard to believe based on recent years, but there was a period when the Eagles really struggled to draft and develop defensive talent. Howie Roseman really flipped that script.

That is a crazy stat. It shows two things. First, Howie and the scouting staff have done a great job of finding talent early, middle and late. Hitting on Jalen Carter, Q and Coop is great. But they also got Jalyx Hunt, Jeremiah Trotter Jr and Moro Ojomo. The second key is that the coaching staff has embraced the young guys and done a great job of developing the players.

As much as I liked Jim Schwartz, his staff struggled with young players during his time in Philly. He was great with veterans and helped win a Super Bowl, but I think one of the reasons the Eagles didn’t sustain that success was due to not having young talent develop. You can only rely on the Corey Grahams of the world for so long.

Things will be changing now as it comes time to pay the young defensive stars. These guys have earned big paydays. The Eagles won’t be able to pay everyone top dollar, but will be giving out several big contracts. That means it will be time for the offense to be the focus of young talent.

We could see this in the recent draft. Makai Lemon, Eli Stowers, Markell Bell, Cole Payton, and Micah Morris give the team a lot of youth on the offensive side of the ball. Not all of them will pan out of course. That’s just the reality of the draft. Some guys become key players while others turn into the next Andre Dillard or Clayton Thorson. The horror, the horror.

It will be interesting to see if the scouting staff can prove as adept at finding offensive talent as they have on the defensive side. And the new offensive coaching staff will have to show they can develop talent. Drafting and developing are separate areas, but they must go hand-in-hand for a team to sustain success. I’m cautiously optimistic because of how much Sean Mannion talked about being a teacher. That’s crucial with young players. The best scheme in the world is garbage if you can’t teach it.

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Here is a bit more on new DL Zion Wilson.

If the Eagles can hit on him or Uar Bernard, that would be a huge help for the defense. They will need some young cheap guys on that side of the ball.

Will be interesting to see what he does this summer.

https://igglesblitz.com/2026/06/cheap-d-for-now/

I guess when you draft so well you can build a young cheap defense whilst you spend on the other side. Now they need to draft well on offense so they can spend the money when needed on the defense.