Biggest Eagles questions by position in 2026: Offense

Looking at the biggest questions for the Eagles by position on offense in 2026.

By Dave Zangaro • Published June 22, 2026

We’re still over a month away from the start of Eagles training camp, which gives us plenty of time to ponder the biggest questions about the 2026 team.

The Eagles are hoping to be a Super Bowl contender this season after a disappointing wild card round exit in 2025.

With that in mind, here are the top questions of the summer at each position on offense:

Quarterback: Will Jalen Hurts mesh with Sean Mannion’s offense?

One of the biggest stories of the Eagles’ offseason was the hiring of Sean Mannion to take over as offensive coordinator. This is a big-swing hire after the 2025 version of the Eagles’ offense finished 22nd in the NFL. They were far too talented to be in that spot. So they moved on from Kevin Patullo and went through an exhaustive search to find their next OC before landing on Mannion.

Mannion, 34, is expected to run a version of the Shanahan offense. That will be a big departure from the offense we’ve seen under Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts over the last five seasons. While this new offense will be some sort of "blend” between old and new, the Eagles are expected to run many of the staples of a Shanahan scheme. And it’s fair to wonder how that offense will blend with the Eagles’ franchise quarterback. The good news is that, so far, it seems like Mannion and Hurts have already forged a strong relationship. Hurts is the kind of player who wants to know the why behind everything and Mannion has had all the answers.

What are the staples we are expecting to see in this offense? More under-center usage, play action, pre-snap motions and a real emphasis on tying the run and pass. Nick Sirianni has said he thinks Hurts has shown an ability to do all of those things.

Although it’s a limited sample size, Sirianni is right. Here’s a look at Hurts’ play-action numbers from last season on just 107 attempts, per NextGen Stats:

Play action: 72/115 (62.6%), 811 yards, 7 TDs, 3 INTs, 93.1 rating

No play action: 242/374 (64.7%), 2,581 yards, 19 TDs, 3 INTs, 98.4 rating

And while the Eagles ran just 221 plays under center last year, which ranked 27th, they had the third-best EPA/pass (+0.28) under center in 2025.

The real question is what happens when the Eagles are majoring in these areas? We’ll find out in September.

Running back: Can Tank Bigsby help Saquon Barkley?

Last season was a down year for Saquon Barkley based on the numbers. After a 2,000-yard season in 2024, Barkley had 1,140 rushing yards in 2025. His yards-per-attempt average went from 5.8 in the Super Bowl season to 4.1 last year. Of course, it wasn’t really all on Barkley. The offensive line in front of him was banged up and the run game just never got cooking the way it needed to.

As Barkley enters his ninth NFL season, he looked like the same strong and explosive athlete in the spring. And he’s pretty excited to get a chance to run in a wide-zone offense. He even reached out to Todd Gurley this offseason; Gurley was Offensive Player of the Year in his first season in this style offense.

But don’t sleep on Tank Bigsby. Obviously, Barkley is still going to be the Eagles’ RB1 but Bigsby showed enough last year to at least warrant some touches. After getting traded from the Jaguars, Bigsby had just 58 rushing attempts but they went for 344 yards (5.9 per attempt) and 2 touchdowns. Bigsby has juice and runs hard. Maybe we see just a little bit more of him in 2026.

Receiver: How much will they miss A.J. Brown?

The biggest storyline of the offseason was the A.J. Brown drama that finally ended on June 1 when he was traded to the New England Patriots. Of course, it wasn’t like the Eagles woke up as the calendar turned to June and were surprised that Brown was gone. They spent all offseason bolstering their receiver depth. And while they’ll obviously miss one of the best receivers in franchise history, the cupboard is not bare.

DeVonta Smith will move into the WR1 position and there’s legitimate excitement in the organization about Smith getting his chance to be top dog. Smith was the WR1 back in 2021 as a rookie but he’s a much better player these days. There’s a sense that Smith has just scratched the surface of his potential in the NFL. The Eagles also drafted Makai Lemon in the first round, traded for Dontayvion Wicks and signed veterans Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore in free agency. It would be foolish to expect the Eagles to replace A.J. Brown in a 1-for-1 swap, but the hope is that the depth of this group will allow the new-look offense to function at a high level.

It’ll start with Smith, but then Lemon, Wicks and Brown are likely the next three receivers who will see the field. After that, the Eagles have some more depth pieces like Moore, Johnny Wilson, Darius Cooper and more fighting for roster spots.

Tight end: Will Eli Stowers have a role?

The most important tight end on the Eagles roster this year is Dallas Goedert. The Eagles were able to bring him back on a one-year deal worth $7 million for this upcoming season, which will be Year 9 for the former second round pick. In addition to Goedert, the Eagles also brought back Grant Calcaterra and signed veteran Johnny Mundt in free agency. Mundt is a 31-year-old veteran who is going to fill the blocking role in this Mannion offense.

The real intrigue is about the rookie from Vanderbilt. The Eagles drafted Stowers with the No. 54 overall pick in April. While he’s a relatively raw prospect who likely won’t offer much as a blocker, he was an accomplished as a receiving threat at Vanderbilt in 2025.

The Eagles have hit on their last two second round tight ends and hope they did it again. Here’s a look at Dallas Goedert’s rookie season in 2018 and Zach Ertz’s rookie season in 2013:

Goedert in 2018: 33 catches, 334 yards, 4 touchdowns

Ertz in 2013: 36 catches, 469 yards, 4 touchdowns 

Offensive line: Can this group stay healthy and dominate? 

This is really the biggest question about the 2026 Eagles. Sure, there’s a lot we have to learn about this new offensive scheme, but the bigger concern is about the O-line. The Eagles’ offensive line was their strength in the 2024 Super Bowl season but that whole unit took a step back last season. Left guard Landon Dickerson and center Cam Jurgens dealt with injuries throughout last season that seriously hindered them. Both went to Colombia this offseason for stem cell therapy so the hope is that they’ll be in better shape after that treatment and a full offseason. And then Lane Johnson missed the second half of last season with a Lisfranc sprain. Johnson attempted to return for the playoff game but wasn’t able to go. This offseason, Johnson said he’s feeling healthy.

After 13 seasons, the legendary Jeff Stoutland is out as the Eagles’ offensive line coach. He has been replaced by former Vikings OL coach and former NFL lineman Chris Kuper, who has a background in the wide-zone blocking scheme the Eagles are going with in this new offense. Several Eagles offensive linemen — while they will miss Stoutland — seem eager about this new scheme. If this group is able to stay healthy, they should be able to drive a new-look run scheme. If they can’t, it might not ever get off the ground.

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