It’s Monday and we at PhillyVoice are giving our thoughts and observations on each of the four major Philly pro teams. With another round of Eagles OTAs slated this week, it’s a good time for some quick thoughts on the defending Super Bowl champs.<\/p>\n
Here we go:<\/p>\n
This is a newer, younger era for the Eagles EDGE position\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like, really, really young. The Eagles are typically at their best when they have a deep rotation of edge rushers, headed by a proven starting bookend tandem. The trade of Bryce Huff to the Niners<\/a>, following the losses of Josh Sweat in free agency and Brandon Graham to retirement, leaves the team in unfamiliar territory.\u00a0Projected 2025 starters Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith have combined for 11 starts.\u00a0<\/p>\n And while the Eagles aren’t short on\u00a0potential No. 3 edges, there are some question marks among them.\u00a0In fairness, Hunt and Smith \u2013 both just 24 \u2013 are high draft picks and have plenty of growth potential. The ceiling is sky-high for both but Smith \u2013 coming off torn triceps surgery \u2013 really just started to find his stride over the second half of 2024 and Hunt has one career start under his belt.<\/p>\n The backups in the mix are Azeez Ojulari, Josh Uche, rookie first-rounder Jihaad Campbell and sixth-round rookie Antwaun Powell-Ryland. Then we get to the special teamers\/fringe roster players in Ochaun Mathis, Patrick Johnson, and K.J. Henry. Ojulari has dealt with injuries all throughout his career, Uche has had one productive season and is on his third team in three seasons, and Campbell is likelier to begin his career at off-ball linebacker<\/a> (where he mostly played at Alabama) until Nakobe Dean returns.\u00a0<\/p>\n If the Eagles want more proven depth, they\u2019ll have plenty of options on the free-agent scrap heap. Among them are Jadaveon Clowney, Za\u2019Darius Smith, Shaq Barrett, Preston Smith, Carl Lawson, and Von Miller. Any of these aging vets could help the pass rush in a very limited role if the Eagles felt they need another body there. But that\u2019s not a decision that must made soon. Have to see how it shakes out at training camp first.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jalyx Hunt could be this year\u2019s breakout player<\/p>\n In a really big way, too. Hunt was impressive as a rookie, flashing as both a pass-rusher and run defender despite a crazy story of only playing defensive end for two years at Houston Christian (now Houston Baptist) because he started his college career as a safety at Cornell. At his press conference last week, Hunt talked about his still-developing pass rush \u201cbag,\u201d such as improved hand techniques, specific pass-rush moves, and having an overall plan on how to get to the quarterback.<\/p>\n The more this kid develops the arsenal and mind-set of a pass rusher, the better his capacity is to become an edge force. The Eagles have done well recently identifying players with good pass-rush traits and coaching them up \u2013 Josh Sweat, Javon Hargrove, Haason Reddick and Milton Williams, to name a few. Hunt could be their next great story.\u00a0<\/p>\n What will the Eagles do with their open roster spot?<\/p>\n Once the Huff trade is officially complete, the Eagles will have open spot on their 90-man offseason roster. They announced an offensive line signing Monday, agreeing with Clemson product Marcus Tate, who surely takes the spot that opened June 1 from Brandon Graham’s retirement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another position to watch is backup center. Last year, with Cam Jurgens moving to center for the first time, the Eagles tried to fortify his backup spot with an experienced snapper so that Landon Dickerson wouldn\u2019t have to move over if Jurgens suffered an injury. Problem was, none of them worked out. Matt Hennessy never made the team. Dylan McMahon, a Day 3 pick who didn’t make the 53, was signed off the Eagles’ practice squad by the Rams in September. Veteran G\/C\u00a0Nick Gates, who eventually made his way to the 53, didn\u2019t inspire enough confidence to be inserted when Jurgens got hurt.\u00a0Dickerson ended up sliding to center for the NFC Championship game, and then got hurt.\u00a0<\/p>\n At an OTA open to the media last week, Brett Toth practiced as the first-team center with Jurgens still recovering from back surgery and rookie Drew Kendall was the No. 2. There\u2019s no way Toth makes the team as the backup center, if at all. Kendall should make the team, but would the Eagles really feel comfortable with a rookie fifth-round pick as the backup center? That’s a potential starting job if Jurgens gets hurt again.\u00a0<\/p>\n Can the Eagles evolve offensively without reinventing the wheel?<\/p>\n One theme coming out of May’s media availability was the direction of the offense under first-time OC Kevin Patullo. Several players, including A.J. Brown and Jalen Hurts, talked about the need to evolve \u2013 and by that, you know they meant the passing game. Patullo, who was the pass-game coordinator and associate head coach before his promotion, said he would look to build on what the offense and players do best.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no question the Eagles have to avoid the mistake of 2023, when the offense stalled and helped contribute to a 1-6 implosion after being explosive \u2013 sometimes unstoppable \u2013 in 2022 en route to a Super Bowl appearance. After the collapse, head coach Nick Sirianni admitted that the offense had become stale, so he fired previous OC Brian Johnson and hired Moore for fresher concepts<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n This year, the Eagles will probably need to expand and add concepts, but at the same time, they can\u2019t lose sight of the fact that they functioned best when the ball went to Saquon Barkley, this year’s “Madden NFL 26” cover star<\/a>. After signing Barkley in free agency, the Eagles finished with the NFL\u2019s second-best run offense and fourth-worst pass offense, in terms of yards per game. That gap probably needs to narrow in 2025 but not at the expense of Barkley’s impact, which is Patullo\u2019s responsibility now.<\/p>\n Ty Davis-Price found a new home<\/p>\n The former Eagles running back, who was elevated from the practice squad for last year’s season finale, has found a new home with the Titans, per his agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Titans interestingly gave him a two-year deal despite the fact that TDP had just three carries for seven yards last season and just nine carries for 28 yards combined in the past two seasons. We\u2019ll see if it\u2019s really a two-year deal; if there\u2019s no guaranteed money in Year 2 than it\u2019s really just a one-year deal.\u00a0But even so, he found a new home despite a modest resume since being drafted out of LSU by the 49ers in the third round of the 2023 draft.<\/p>\n The Eagles’ moves surrounding Davis-Price seemed strange. They never re-signed him even after he was with the team all season but did re-sign RB Lew Nichols who competed for the No. 3 job with Davis-Price,\u00a0Will Shipley, and Kendall Milton at training camp before being waived at the roster cutdown deadline.\u00a0Nichols\u00a0was unemployed for nearly the whole season until the Eagles brought him back to the practice squad in late December for a few days before releasing him again. He was again\u00a0re-signed to the practice squad in late January and signed to the 90-man in February.<\/p>\n Follow Geoff on Twitter\/X: @geoffpmosher<\/a><\/p>\n