How much of Eagles' 2025 starting lineup is already locked in? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles have made it through the early flurry of free agency and the draft is just around the corner. It won’t be long before they’re back at the NovaCare Complex for OTAs and then eventually training camp.
There’s still plenty of time to add players and change the team but now is a good chance to see where they are right now.
Here’s a look at every position on the roster and whether or not the guy in that position is a lock to be a starter in 2025:
Offense: On offense, 8 of 11 starters are locks
QB (lock): Jalen Hurts
The Eagles’ quarterback is coming off a Super Bowl MVP performance and is under contract through the 2028 season, although it’s already time to start thinking about an extension. So much of the discourse around Hurts is tiring: Is he elite? Is he not? … Who cares? Hurts is a good quarterback and is a good fit for the Eagles and what they do. That doesn’t mean he’s impervious to criticism either and at times he has been a little uneven. But the argument that the Eagles can’t win a Super Bowl win him dissolved pretty quickly in Super Bowl LIX. Hurts will be 27 when the 2025 season starts and he can continue to improve as he keeps building his impressive resume.
RB (lock): Saquon Barkley
In 2025, Barkley put together one of the most impressive seasons of any Eagles player ever. He rushed for over 2,000 yards and was named the Offensive Player of the Year. He was good enough to change the entire Eagles’ offense in 2024 and was good enough to get everyone to buy into that wholesale change. Barkley is 28 and coming off a season with 482 touches in the regular and postseason combined — the most for any NFL player since DeMarco Murray’s 2014 season before coming to Philly. There’s probably some fear about the wear and tear but Barkley takes care of his body and the Eagles don’t seem too concerned. With two years left on his contract, they already gave him an extension this offseason. He’s now under contract through 2028.
WR1 (lock): A.J. Brown
He played just 13 games in a run-first offense and Brown still managed to have 67 catches for 1,079 yards and 7 touchdowns in 2024. He wasn’t a Pro Bowler but was named a second-team All-Pro for the third straight season and is absolutely still one of the best receivers in the NFL. Brown is under contract through the 2029 season.
WR2 (lock): DeVonta Smith
Like Brown, Smith was limited to 13 games in 2024. He had 68 catches for 833 yards and 8 touchdowns. He was productive in the playoffs too and his 46-yard touchdown catch from Hurts late in the third quarter of Super Bowl LIX was the dagger that finally put the Chiefs out of their misery. Smith has WR1 talent but plays the WR2 next to Brown. Like so many of the Eagles’ stars, Smith is under contract through the 2028 season.
WR3 (not lock): Jahan Dotson
While Dotson is clearly the front-runner and a near-lock to be the Eagles’ third receiver, his position is clearly not as entrenched as that of Brown or Smith. While it seems unlikely the Eagles use a top draft pick on a receiver it’s not completely impossible. Dotson’s production wasn’t great in 2024 with 19 catches for 216 yards in 17 games. He added 3 catches for 53 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs and had a near touchdown in the Super Bowl. While Dotson’s production didn’t wow anyone, he seemed to make a play every time he was asked to and never pouted about his role. Dotson is entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2025. The Eagles should decline the fifth-year option on his contract but they at least get one more year out of him.
TE (not a lock): Dallas Goedert
If Goedert is on the roster, he’s obviously a lock to be the Eagles’ top tight end. He’s been here since 2018 and when healthy is one of the best dual-threat tight ends in the NFL. But there’s a question as to whether or not Goedert will be back with the Eagles in 2025. He’s entering his final year under contract without any guaranteed money and the Eagles have reportedly been open to trading him. If Goedert does get moved, it leaves the Eagles with a tight end room of Grant Calcaterra, Harrison Bryant, Kylen Granson and E.J. Jenkins with the draft looming. Goedert is 30 now and has struggled to play a full season because of injuries but the Eagles are clearly a better team with him on the roster if they can figure out a way to make this work.
LT (lock): Jordan Mailata
The seventh-round pick from 2018 is one of the best left tackles in the NFL. He was on his way to some big accolades this past season before missing four games with a hamstring injury. He was still named to the second-team of the All-Pro squad. Mailata has been the Eagles’ full-time starter since the 2021 season and has continued to improve and has become one of the vocal leaders of the team. He’s under contract through 2028.
LG (lock): Landon Dickerson
During the 2021 season, the Eagles lost then-left guard Isaac Seumalo to a season-ending Lisfranc injury in Week 3 and inserted Dickerson into the starting lineup. He hasn’t given up that position since. Sure, he’s missed a game here or there but Dickerson has given the Eagles’ high-level left guard play now for four seasons and has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of his last three seasons. The Eagles got ahead of Dickerson’s contract last offseason, handing him a four-year, $84 million contract through 2028. That average annual salary of $21 million is still tops in the NFL among left guards and second among all guards.
C (lock): Cam Jurgens
After waiting patiently behind Jason Kelce for two years, Jurgens took over as the Eagles’ center in 2024. He started 16 games in the regular season, was named to the Pro Bowl and then fought through a painful back injury in the playoffs and Super Bowl LIX. As a second-round pick in 2022, Jurgens is entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2025 and it’s time for the Eagles to give him an extension to lock him up long-term.
RG (not a lock): Tyler Steen
The Eagles will have another new starter at right guard in 2025, following Mekhi Becton (2024), Cam Jurgens (2023), Isaac Seumalo (2022), Brandon Brooks (2021), Nate Herbig (2020) and Brooks (2019). The last time the Eagles had stability at this position was when Brooks was in his Pro Bowl run but that was a while ago. The Eagles were prepared to go into the 2024 season with Steen as their starter but when he suffered a minor ankle injury in training camp, they plugged Becton into that spot and he never gave it up. Becton this offseason signed a two-year deal to join the Chargers, leaving this spot open again. Obviously, Steen is the most likely candidate to win this job but based on what happened last season, he’s definitely not a lock. The Eagles got former first-round pick Kenyon Green in the C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade and brought back 2018 draft pick Matt Pryor, who has NFL starting experience. While Green has struggled in the NFL and has only played left guard in the league, he should also be in the competition. Pryor has 39 career starts and started 15 games for the Bears last season. And it seems very possible the Eagles will use an early pick on an offensive lineman next month.
RT (lock): Lane Johnson
The last of the Core Four, Johnson will enter Year 13 of his NFL career in 2025 and he hasn’t shown any signs of letting up. Johnson missed just one game last season (aside from the season finale) and was named a Pro Bowler and a second-team All-Pro. After getting another extension this offseason, Johnson is now under contract through the 2027 season and thinks it’s possible he plays out these three years remaining. Johnson will turn 35 before the start of the next season and hopes to continue his stellar play into his late 30s.
Defense: On defense, 7 of 111 starters are locks
DE (lock): Nolan Smith
Based on the conversations around Smith this time last year, it’s amazing that we’re sure Smith is a lock but he earned that with his play in 2024. By the end of the season, he had surpassed Josh Sweat as the Eagles’ top edge player. He had 6 1/2 sacks in 16 games in the regular season and had 4 in 4 games in the playoffs. He really took his play to a new level before tearing his triceps (and playing through it) in Super Bowl LIX. Not only is Smith a talented pass rusher, but he’s stout against the run and sets the edge as well as any 240-pound player can. He plays with a ferocity that has already endeared him to Eagles fans. As a first-round pick in 2023, Smith won’t even be eligible for a contract extension until he plays out the 2025 season.
DT (lock): Jalen Carter
After a promising rookie season, Carter took a big jump in 2024 and was one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL. This is a good lesson that the stats don’t tell the full story: Carter had 6 sacks as a rookie and just 4 1/2 in his second season. But Carter was an absolute game-wrecker while getting double-teamed at an alarming rate. His sack in the fourth quarter against the Rams in the divisional round was a huge play that might have saved the season. Like Smith, Carter isn’t eligible for a contract extension until next offseason. When that extension comes, it’s going to be a massive one. Milton Williams got four years, $104 million and Carter is going to blow that away.
DT (lock): Jordan Davis
You might be surprised to see Davis listed as a lock considering he played just 37% of the defensive snaps last season. But Davis is actually the only player on the team to start every single game over the last two seasons. The Eagles have a decision to make before May 2 about his fifth-year option but the Eagles will likely pick that up to make sure Davis will be on the roster through the 2026 season. The bigger question is about who fills the void left by the departure of Milton Williams, which is a de facto starting position. The top candidate there is Moro Ojomo but he is certainly not a lock. That’s a position that the Eagles could definitely address early in the draft next month.
DE (not a lock): Jalyx Hunt
Josh Sweat had a huge performance in Super Bowl LIX and then left for Arizona on a four-year deal worth over $76 million. That leaves a spot open in the starting lineup. The Eagles used a third-round pick on Hunt out of Houston Christian in 2024 and he was thought to be a raw prospect but he came a long way. Hunt, 24, showed growth all season and was a completely different player in the playoffs. After having 1 1/2 sacks in 16 regular season games, Hunt had 1 1/2 in 4 playoff games. Hunt has a promising future but we’ll see if the Eagles put him in the starting lineup. The other top candidate for now is Azeez Ojulari, who signed a one-year deal to join the Eagles for the 2025 season. In fact, Ojulari might actually be more likely to start than Hunt. Ojulari is a former second-round pick who was productive during his four years with the Giants but has struggled to stay healthy. The Eagles also have Josh Uche on their roster and could draft another edge rusher next month.
LB (lock): Zack Baun
The Eagles made their biggest signing of the offseason before free agency when they gave Baun a three-year, $51 million extension. That’s big money for a linebacker, especially from the Eagles. But Baun was that good in 2024 in his All-Pro and Defensive Player of the Year finalist season and it was hard to think about this Vic Fangio defense without him in the middle. Baun is 28 but he still thinks there’s room for him to grow as he gets further into Fangio’s defense. He said his confidence was so high at the end of last season and he wants to continue that in 2025.
LB (not a lock): Nakobe Dean
If Dean is healthy, he’s an absolute lock at this position. But Dean is still recovering from a torn patellar tendon. That’s a tough recovery and because of how late the injury happened (in the wild-card round), there’s a strong possibility that Dean won’t be ready for the season opener in 2025. If Dean can’t go, the top candidate to fill in for him is second-year third-round pick Jeremiah Trotter Jr. In the 2024 playoffs, Oren Burks filled in for Dean but then signed a free agent deal to join the Bengals. The Eagles were prepared to play Trotter more after Dean’s injury but Burks was too good to take off the field.
NCB (lock): Cooper DeJean
Because of a hamstring injury, DeJean got behind in training camp and began his rookie season behind Avonte Maddox on the depth chart at nickel corner. But coming off the Week 4 bye week, DeJean was inserted into the lineup and ended up helping to completely transform the Eagles’ defense. He capped his season with a pick-6 in the Super Bowl and will now have a full offseason as he gets ready for Year 2 in his career. Could DeJean play outside cornerback? Maybe. We’ll see about the Eagles’ options there. And maybe he could play there in base and then bump inside on nickel downs. But I wouldn’t expect a full-time move unless the Eagles get desperate.
RCB (lock): Quinyon Mitchell
Mitchell finished second in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting and probably would have won the award had he been able to hang on to a few of those early-season drops. But eventually Mitchell did pick off a couple passes in the postseason. And he was great all year long. Mitchell is a lock to be a starter and looks like a long-term stud at the position.
LCB (not a lock): Kelee Ringo
The Eagles released Darius Slay, who then left and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. This offseason, the Eagles have been working to get younger and cheaper and bringing back a 34-year-old cornerback didn’t fit with that mission. The top candidate to win that other starting cornerback job is Ringo, who enters Year 3 of his career in 2025 and will still be just 23 years old when the season begins. Ringo got more playing time as a rookie in 2023 before getting buried a bit on last year’s depth chart by Mitchell and Isaiah Rodgers, who also left in free agency. In addition to Ringo, the Eagles added veteran Adoree’ Jackson to compete for the job. Jackson is 29 now and seems well past his prime but did start 5 games for the Giants last year.
S (lock): Reed Blankenship
A few years ago, the Eagles took a chance on Blankenship as an undrafted free agent out of Middle Tennessee State and Blankenship has turned himself into a solid starting safety. Blankenship has started 30 games over the last two years and has 7 interceptions during that span. As he gets set to enter the final year of his contract in 2025, it’s time for the Eagles to sign Blankenship to an extension if they want him here long-term.
S (not a lock): Sydney Brown
The biggest surprise of the Eagles’ offseason came when they traded C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans. Even if you understand the Eagles’ reasons for dealing their starting safety, he does leave a big hole to fill and there’s no clear-cut solution. The best candidate on the roster is Brown, the former third-round pick out of Illinois. Brown suffered a torn ACL in Week 18 of his rookie season in 2023 and then found himself buried on the depth chart after missing the start of his second season on the PUP list. The other candidate on the roster is Tristin McCollum, who was demoted during the 2024 season in favor of Avonte Maddox. This position feels unfinished. We’ll see what the Eagles do in the draft and after it to bolster their depth.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/W9Gdqwp
