We saw how the Eagles revamped their defense and the impact of adding a star wide receiver to the offense through four weeks of training camp, three preseason games and now this two-week buildup to the season opener.
Those changes kept right on coming through last week when the Eagles traded for starting safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson while jettisoning their 2020 first-round pick in wide receiver Jalen Reagor.
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It was a lot. When the Eagles take the field Sunday against the Lions in Detroit, they’ll have eight new starters out of the 22 who started Week 1 last season.
Can the Eagles incorporate all the changes and improve on last season’s 9-8 record? Here are five things that we know and five things that we don’t know about the Eagles heading into the 2022 season:
What we know
A.J. Brown is the real deal: The Eagles have had some great receivers over the years, such as DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Alshon Jeffery in the Super Bowl season. But Brown should be better than all of them. In fact, you have to go back to T.O. in 2004 to find an Eagles receiver who can beat a team in as many ways as Brown can, whether it’s with his speed, winning 50-50 balls, or taking a short slant over the middle and turning it into a long gain.
That will make the other receivers, particularly DeVonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert, only better.
“Everybody has their own style of play,” Smith said. “So just digging into everybody’s bag, just seeing what the person does, and seeing something in their game that you can possibly put in yours.”
Offensive line is primed: The NFL Network recently released its top 100 players, and Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson did not make the list. In the past, Johnson has used Pro Bowl snubs to motivate him. He doesn’t have to this time.
“I used to get mad,” Johnson said. “I will say that … all those pass rushers that I’m going against, I’d say go watch the film and make your opinion for yourself.”
The entire offensive line has Pro Bowl potential with left tackle Jordan Mailata and left guard Landon Dickerson combining to weigh more than 700 pounds. Jason Kelce, coming off elbow surgery, remains one of the best centers in the NFL as he approaches 35 years of age, and right guard Isaac Seumalo is a technician.
Slay and Bradberry corner the secondary: Just like at wide receiver, it has also been more than a decade since the Eagles had as good a cornerback duo in Darius Slay, coming off his fourth Pro Bowl season, and former Giant James Bradberry, a Pro Bowl selection in 2020.
In addition, Avonte Maddox has settled in as a solid nickel cornerback.
‘Overhanging’ out: The Eagles finished 31st in sacks last season as defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon tried to implement his “overhang” defense in which the rush linebacker can serve as a fifth defensive lineman on passing downs. Last year, that rush linebacker was Genard Avery, who had one sack in 12 games. This season, it’s Haason Reddick, who has 23½ sacks in his last two seasons.
In addition, the Eagles’ defensive tackles are much deeper with first-round pick Jordan Davis joining Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave and Milton Williams. And Brandon Graham, who tore his Achilles in Week 2 last season, is back at defensive end.
Favorable schedule: The Eagles have the fourth easiest schedule in the NFL based on opponents’ win percentage from last season. The opener comes against a Lions team the Eagles beat 44-6 last season. They’ll face non-playoff teams in Minnesota, Washington and Jacksonville in the next three games.
After a road game in Arizona, the Eagles will come home to face the Cowboys, the defending NFC East champs who have lost some top players from last season, and are on the verge of signing 40-year-old former Eagles left tackle Jason Peters.
A 5-1 start for the Eagles isn’t out of the question heading into their Week 7 bye.
What we don’t know
Is Jalen Hurts good enough? All of the Eagles’ offseason moves were made to build around quarterback Jalen Hurts, with the expectation that Hurts would improve as a passer to make it all work. He completed 61.3% of his passes last season, a big reason why the Eagles were forced to switch to a run-based offense.
That percentage won’t cut it this season. That was the clarion call from fans and media every time the Eagles made an offseason move while keeping the same quarterback.
“I know that there are tons of different things that are said, but I don’t hear them,” Hurts said. “I don’t listen. I don’t look for it. I just come here. I come to work. I do my job. I strive to grow in doing my job every day. That ain’t nothing but an external factor. I do me.”
The Eagles’ success − and Hurts’ future − will depend on how well he does himself.
Many miles to go for Sanders: Will the Eagles get a full and healthy season out of running back Miles Sanders? Already, he missed three weeks with a hamstring injury, returning to practice just last Thursday. He has missed nine games combined in the last two seasons.
But when Sanders did play last season, he was third in the NFL, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. If Sanders does that over the course of an entire season, he’ll easily shatter his previous career high for yards with 867. If he can’t stay healthy, the Eagles will have to rely on Hurts to run. Hurts led all NFL quarterbacks in rushing last season, as well as the Eagles, with 784 yards.
Can the rookies on defense step up? Defensive tackle Jordan Davis and linebacker Nakobe Dean have the chance to make a huge impact as rookies. But in the three preseason games, neither has shown much.
That might have been by design, but they will be needed. Cox is 31 years old and Hargrave has missed the last three-plus weeks with a toe injury. So Davis will play a lot in the defensive tackle rotation. At linebacker, Dean is behind Kyzir White and T.J. Edwards, but the expectation is that he’ll become a starter at some point this season.
Is there depth on the O-line? That is being put to the test right away as backup left tackle Andre Dillard broke a bone in his forearm in practice Thursday. That leaves either Jack Sills or Jack Driscoll as backups to Mailata on the 53-man roster. Neither has ever played a game at left tackle in the NFL. Veteran Le’Raven Clark is on the practice squad.
There is plenty of depth at guard and center, especially with rookie center Cam Jurgens able to play either position. But the Eagles’ seasons in the past have been ruined by injuries on the offensive line.
Will they fade in 4Q? The veterans loved the new Eagles’ practice schedule during training camp, with shorter practices and a walkthrough every third day. But how does that translate in the fourth quarter of a tight game, where the defense has to get a stop during a long drive? Or the offense has to go down the field in the hurry-up offense to score?
Remember, most of the starters got only one series, total, in the three preseason games.
“I’m a believer in getting the work done, but sometimes it’s like, man, you can really burn yourself out,” Graham said. “I think it’s a long haul. We got 17 games now. … So you gotta make sure you’re being smart because you want to make sure your guys are getting through all (17) and get ready for the postseason.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
