You can never discount the fact that the “player-acquisition period,” as Eagles general manager Howie Roseman calls it, has only just begun through the first three weeks of the new league year.
But the Eagles have already lost five starters on defense in free agency, in addition to running back Miles Sanders and right guard Isaac Seumalo on offense. Sure, the Eagles have re-signed some key players like cornerback James Bradberry, defensive linemen Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham, and center Jason Kelce.
And they added a few free agents of their own, most recently defensive tackle Kentavius Street, to go along with running back Rashaad Penny, safety Terrell Edmunds and backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, among others.
There’s still the draft at the end of the month, and Roseman is known for making a trade or two, which could happen at any time.
But for now, the Eagles have an intriguing depth chart. While it’s different than the one last season that went to the Super Bowl, it’s not necessarily worse. Here’s how it shapes up:
Quarterback
Starter: Jalen Hurts
Backups: Marcus Mariota, Ian Book
Comment: Hurts is the linchpin, of course. He’s coming off a season in which he was the MVP runner-up, with 3,701 yards passing and 760 more rushing while completing a career-best 66.5% of his passes. We can only expect Hurts to get even better. He’ll turn 25 this summer. Mariota, meanwhile, is a similar dual threat as a backup. While Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said that’s not a prerequisite for a backup QB, think back to last season when Gardner Minshew started two games in place of Hurts. The Eagles lost their running threat, and that made Minshew and the Eagles’ offense predictable.
Running back
Starter: Rashaad Penny
Backups: Kenny Gainwell, Boston Scott, Trey Sermon
Comment: Penny hasn’t played more than 10 games in a season since his rookie year of 2017. But Penny has averaged 5.7 yards per carry for his career, compared to Sanders who has averaged 5.0. If Penny can “refresh the narrative” from his past injuries, he can be every bit as effective as Sanders, who ran for a career-high 1,269 yards last season. But Sirianni also gushed about Gainwell, Scott and Sermon as a way to explain why the Eagles aren’t expected to be interested in former Cowboy Ezekiel Elliott. That, however, won’t preclude them from drafting a running back, perhaps in an early round.
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Tight end
Starter: Dallas Goedert
Backups: Grant Calcaterra, Jack Stoll
Comment: Goedert is becoming one of the top tight ends in the NFL. He had 702 yards receiving despite missing five games with a shoulder injury. He can easily have 1,000 yards receiving if he stays healthy. But there’s still a big dropoff behind Goedert. Calcaterra will likely pass Stoll as the top backup. The Eagles could add a late-round draft pick to compete with Calcaterra and Stoll.
Wide receiver
Starters: A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins
Backups: Britain Covey, Greg Ward, Devon Allen
Comment: Brown (1,496 yards) and Smith (1,196) became the first Eagles duo to each surpass 1,000 yards in a season. That shouldn’t change this year. Watkins, meanwhile, regressed, with just 33 catches for 354 yards. But Sirianni was quick to come to Watkins’ defense.
“Quez did a lot of things that really affected the game that don’t show up in the stat sheet,” Sirianni said. “How he stretches the field. A lot of the balls that A.J. caught over the middle, if you look at the tape, you see Quez running through the middle of the field and pull a safety out of there, and really stretch the field to make sure that the window is open.”
Watkins also didn’t get nearly as many opportunities with Brown coming last spring in a trade. That probably won’t change. Expect the Eagles to draft a receiver or add a veteran to replace the departed Zach Pascal.
Offensive line
Starters (from left to right): Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Cam Jurgens, Lane Johnson
Backups: Jack Driscoll, Sua Opeta, Fred Johnson, Roderick Johnson, Cameron Tom
Comment: The Eagles need to replenish their depth after losing Semalo and top backup Andre Dillard in free agency. But the starting five should once again be among the top units in the NFL, even with Jurgens replacing Seumalo at right guard. Of course, Sirianni wasn’t about to hand Jurgens, the Eagles’ second-round pick last spring, the job. Jurgens had never played right guard until he did it in practice last season.
“You don’t have to get into the leader in the clubhouse at this particular point,” he said. “We have a lot of confidence in Cam. And we’re excited that he can play multiple positions.”
Defensive line
Starters: Haason Reddick, Fletcher Cox, Jordan Davis, Josh Sweat
Backups: Brandon Graham, Kentavius Street, Milton Williams, Derek Barnett, Marlon Tuipulotu, Patrick Johnson
Comment: This unit is once again deep and talented. Reddick had 16 sacks while Graham and Sweat each had 11. They’re losing Hargrave’s 11 sacks, but Barnett can make up for some of those after missing last season with a torn ACL. Davis and Williams will have major roles this season. The Eagles need them to live up to the expectations.
Linebackers
Starters: Nakobe Dean, Nicholas Morrow
Backups: Shaun Bradley, Kyron Johnson, Christian Elliss, Davion Taylor
Comment: Dean, the Eagles’ third-round pick last spring, is getting his chance now that T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White are gone. Both Sirianni and Roseman insisted that Dean was ready to play last season; he was just blocked by two veterans. Morrow started all 17 games for the Bears last season, with 116 tackles.
Cornerbacks
Starters: Darius Slay, James Bradberry, Avonte Maddox (nickel)
Backups: Greedy Williams, Zech McPhearson, Josiah Scott, Josh Jobe, Mario Goodrich
Comment: The Eagles clearly prioritized keeping Slay (restructured contract) and Bradberry, who became a free agent, with good reason. Slay was selected to the Pro Bowl and Bradberry was named All Pro. But Slay is 32 and Bradberry will turn 30 this summer. Williams, signed in free agency, is a top backup. But Eagles will still need to draft a corner who can replace either Slay or Bradberry in the coming seasons.
Safeties
Starters: Terrell Edmunds, Reed Blankenship
Backups: Justin Evans, K’Von Wallace, Andre Chachere
Comment: Edmunds comes over from the Steelers as a replacement for Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, while Blankenship, an undrafted free agent last season, takes over for Marcus Epps. Evans, a veteran, is a solid backup. This unit isn’t as strong as last season. Don’t rule out Maddox playing some safety if needed.
Specialists
Starters: Jake Elliott, Arryn Siposs, Rick Lovato
Backups: None.
Comment: Expect the Eagles to bring in a punter to compete with Siposs. Elliott is consistent at kicking field goals, and Lovato is entrenched as the long snapper.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
