There are so many things that can go wrong for a team coming off a heart-wrenching Super Bowl defeat like the Eagles suffered in February.
Several key players left in free agency, many of them replaced by talented, yet unproven, rookies, or free agents signed on the cheap because of salary cap restraints.
Secondly, there’s a more difficult schedule and heightened expectations of getting back to the NFL’s championship game.
Can certain players duplicate or improve upon career seasons? That begins with quarterback Jalen Hurts, the MVP runner up who in one year’s time went from uncertainty as the quarterback of the future, to signing a record (at the time) contract extension worth as much as $255 million.
But there are others, such as wide receiver A.J. Brown, who had 1,496 yards receiving, and edge rusher Haason Reddick, who had 16 sacks and another 3½ in the playoffs.
With the Eagles reporting to training camp on July 25, we’re counting down the nine most important players heading into the 2023 season. A few caveats: These aren’t necessarily the Eagles’ best players, and we’re not including Hurts in this list because he’s obviously the most important. You can read a separate story about Hurts on July 26.
No. 9: Terrell Edmunds, safety
The Eagles are taking a big gamble with Edmunds. It’s not because of Edmunds’ ability. After all, Edmunds has been a full-time starter at safety for the Steelers ever since he was their first-round pick (28th overall) in 2018.
But for the first time since Malcolm Jenkins arrived in 2014, the Eagles won’t have a returning starter at safety familiar with the system. After Jenkins left in the spring of 2020, Rodney McLeod was the veteran voice in the safety room.
After McLeod left in 2022, it was Marcus Epps who had been on the team since 2019. The Eagles also traded for Chauncey Gardner-Johnson just before last season started.
Both Epps and Gardner-Johnson left in free agency. The only returning players with starting experience at safety are Reed Blankenship, an undrafted free agent last year who filled in for five games while Gardner-Johnson was injured, and K’Von Wallace, who was behind Blankenship on the depth chart.
The Eagles drafted Sydney Brown in the third round, and it’s quite possible that he could start over Blankenship this season, next to Edmunds.
The Eagles also have a new defensive coordinator in Sean Desai. While Desai uses some of the same principles as previous defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, there are some differences.
So Edmunds will be expected to become a leader at safety right away, even though he’s on a one-year contract, and even though he’s learning a new system.
“We have a lot of smart guys, a lot of guys that want to learn, that want to be the best group,” Edmunds said. “A lot of guys that are willing to listen to each other. A lot of guys that can pick up on stuff fast. So I wouldn’t say that it’s a concern, just that we have to constantly work.”
BREAKING OUT:5 Eagles’ breakout candidates include this maligned wide receiver and under-the-radar RB
WILL HE LOVE L.A.?Oh brother! Another Gelof from Rehoboth Beach is selected in Major League Baseball draft
No. 8: Nakobe Dean, linebacker
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni both have said during the offseason that Dean, the Eagles’ third-round pick in 2022, was ready to play last season. It’s just that he was stuck behind two veterans in T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White who were both playing well and stayed healthy throughout the season.
That limited Dean to just 3% of the defensive snaps. Dean stayed busy, however. He became a core player on special teams, and he learned as much as he could from Edwards and White.
But Edwards and White both left in free agency, and the Eagles only signed Nicholas Morrow, a starter for the Bears last season. Morrow, for one, was impressed.
“We started in the weight room,’ Morrow said about the offseason workouts. “He’s very explosive and strong. Then we got into the meeting rooms, and he’s smart. He knows his stuff. He knows what’s going on. He’s a good communicator.”
But the Eagles don’t have a choice but to be all-in on Dean.
There isn’t a fall-back option. If Dean gets hurt or falters, the backups haven’t shown that they can play on a regular basis, whether it’s special teams aces Shaun Bradley or Christian Elliss, the defensive star of spring practice. Or even Davion Taylor, the Eagles’ third-round pick in 2020 who spent last season on the practice squad.
Unless Roseman signs or trades for a veteran before the season starts, the Eagles are counting on Dean.
No. 7: D’Andre Swift, running back
Sure, the Eagles’ running attack should thrive no matter who’s running the ball because of quarterback Jalen Hurts’ ability as a runner.
After all, Miles Sanders had by far the best season of his career last season when he rushed for 1,269 yards. Sanders left in free agency and the Eagles replaced him by trading for Swift during the draft and signing free agent Rashaad Penny. They also brought back Kenny Gainwell and Boston Scott.
But the Eagles are counting on Swift, the Lions’ second-round pick in 2020, to replace the bulk of Sanders’ yardage. Penny is coming off a foot injury that cost him the final 12 games of 2022, and he has dealt with injuries throughout his career. Gainwell and Scott have mostly served as rotational backs.
Swift had 144 yards on 15 carries against the Eagles in the season opener last season before a shoulder injury limited his production afterward.
If Swift can’t produce, then opponents can focus more on taking Hurts away as a runner. And what happens if Hurts is injured? We saw Sanders’ production drop off significantly after Hurts injured his shoulder on Dec. 18 against the Bears.
For the season, Sanders averaged 4.90 yards per carry last season. But it was only 3.65 yards over the final four games beginning against Chicago. And Sanders never gained more than 65 yards in any of the final four games.
“I haven’t had too much experience with a quarterback exactly like Jalen Hurts,” Swift said. “But the things Jalen does in the passing game, the running game, just from the outside looking in, how he commands the offense, the leadership, everything he brings to the team, to the organization, I look forward to the opportunity to sit beside him and play.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
