Let\u2019s get to the Philadelphia Eagles news and links \u2026<\/p>\n
\u2018Star\u2019 power: Cooper DeJean, Derwin James headline NFL\u2019s top five players at an increasingly vital position \u2013 NFL.com<\/a> Advertisement<\/p>\n Make or break factors for the Eagles\u2019 2026 draft picks \u2013 BGN<\/a> Eagles player review: RB Tank Bigsby edition \u2013 PhillyVoice<\/a> In Roob\u2019s Observations: Encouraging signs from a critical Eagles defensive back \u2013 NBCSP<\/a> A.J. Brown week is here \u2013 PFT<\/a> Advertisement<\/p>\n What A.J. Brown would bring to the Patriots\u2019 offense \u2013 ESPN<\/a> When we get back to real football . . . \u2013 Pats Pulpit<\/a> The Cowboys aren\u2019t bad enough to be elite again \u2013 Blogging The Boys<\/a> Who will start at left guard and center in 2026? \u2013 The 5 O\u2019Clock Club \u2013 Hogs Haven<\/a> Advertisement<\/p>\n Replacing Gunner Olszewski: NY Giants have several kick return options \u2013 Big Blue View<\/a> Can you guess this NFL safety in today\u2019s in-5 trivia game? \u2013 SB Nation<\/a> \u2026<\/p>\n Social Media Information:<\/p>\n BGN Facebook Page: Click here to like our page<\/a><\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n BGN Twitter: Follow @BleedingGreen<\/a><\/p>\n BGN BlueSky: Follow @bleedgreennation.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n BGN Instagram: Follow @BleedingGreenInsta<\/a><\/p>\n BGN Manager: Follow Brandon Lee Gowton on Twitter<\/a> | BlueSky<\/a> | Threads<\/a><\/p>\n BGN Radio Twitter: Follow @BGN_Radio<\/a><\/p>\n The Feed post of the day<\/p>\n Each day, we highlight a BGN community post here in this space. Head over to The Feed<\/a> to submit your entry and have a chance to be featured in The Linc!<\/p>\n
The transformation of the NFL into a pass-centric league over the past few decades has forced defensive coordinators to use various five-DB packages as their base defenses. While nickel defenses initially featured smallish cornerbacks in the slot, the league\u2019s adoption of more college concepts has sparked an uptick in three-safety schemes with a hybrid safety\/linebacker\/cornerback aligning in the slot to put a dynamic defender on the field in place of the third linebacker in a traditional base package. In theory, the \u201cstar\u201d is a multi-faceted playmaker with an alpha dawg mentality who is capable of mixing it up in the box, while also possessing the coverage skills to match up with wide receivers and tight ends in space. Additionally, he flashes pass-rush skills that allow him to create chaos off the edge as a designated blitz defender. [\u2026] 1) COOPER DEJEAN. The first-team All-Pro is the prototypical slot defender defensive coordinators covet in the star role. DeJean\u2019s exceptional athleticism, versatility and coverage skills make him the ideal decathlete to match up with slot receivers and tight ends in space. He can shadowbox crafty route runners but also flashes the quick hands and knockout power to neutralize big-bodied pass catchers between the hashes. Although DeJean spent most of 2025 in coverage, Vic Fangio\u2019s recent comments on the third-year pro playing strong safety in base packages could signal more responsibilities in the box as a run stopper and pass rusher on simulated pressures and five-man blitzes.<\/p>\n
Eli Stowers<\/a>. Make: Stowers plays tight end with the instincts of a former quarterback, and that background shows up constantly in the passing game. His understanding of zone spacing, timing, and leverage makes him a natural receiving option underneath. He sees coverage the way quarterbacks do, which gives him a reliable floor as a pass catcher almost immediately. That kind of awareness is difficult to teach, and it gives him a legitimate chance to carve out an early offensive role. Break: The issue is whether defenses will even identify him as a tight end before the snap. If his blocking never becomes even functional, opponents will treat his presence as a bigger receiver and remain in nickel at all times. Defensive coordinators at the NFL level are ruthless about identifying weak points in personnel packages, and a tight end who cannot hold up physically becomes exploitable quickly. If he doesn\u2019t develop at all as a blocker, he might end up as a full-time receiver.<\/p>\n
Nothing has really changed at running back for the Eagles this offseason, so it\u2019s not as if Bigsby will be stepping into some sort of vacated role. Ideally, maybe Sean Mannion will actually use him in 2026? He\u2019s clearly a player worthy of being on the field more than he was in 2025. But to be honest, I really have no idea if the Eagles\u2019 staff will also see it that way.<\/p>\n
YOU HAVE TO LOVE HEARING JALEN ON MANNION: I don\u2019t know how you can\u2019t be encouraged after listening to Jalen Hurts<\/a> speak Thursday about Sean Mannion. One thing stuck out in particular: He emphasized how Mannion hasn\u2019t just taught him how to run the offense, he\u2019s given him the \u201cwhy\u2019s\u201d of the offense and what the purpose of all the new stuff is. \u201cYou can throw anyone under center. I think the question you ask is why? You know, why are you doing what you\u2019re doing? What are you doing? What are you complimenting? What\u2019s your M.O. behind what you do? And so philosophically, it\u2019s different than what we\u2019ve done in the past.\u201d If you understand why you\u2019re doing something and why it\u2019s going to help the offense and help you, you\u2019re much more apt to master it then if you\u2019re just being told what to do with no context. Hurts never spoke of Kevin Patullo like this. Not even close<\/p>\n
Our sense as to the current status of the situation is this \u2014 and it\u2019s a semi-educated assessment, not a \u201creport.\u201d The Eagles and Patriots<\/a> have a tentative deal in place, and it\u2019s been there since before the draft. But the Eagles have retained the ability to accept a better offer if they get one. And the Patriots are confident that the Eagles won\u2019t get a better offer. Another team could swoop in at the last minute. Reports that the Eagles want a 2027 first-round pick imply that the Patriots haven\u2019t offered one. And it also sends a message that, if another team wants to snatch Brown away from the Patriots, a 2027 first-round pick will do that. The recent report that the Eagles and Patriots are \u201cnot particularly close\u201d on a deal seemed to be a last-ditch effort by the Eagles to get someone else to the table.<\/p>\n
One member of a coaching staff that game-planned against Brown last season shared respect for him as a player, noting his physicality, while adding that he wasn\u2019t viewed as a priority in the Eagles\u2019 simplistic offense and faded at times if not targeted early in games. Meanwhile, a scout noted Brown is coming off a season with his lowest average yards per reception (12.9) but is still going to win in most contested situations \u2014 and should have that number spike playing in a pass-friendly offense with a top-caliber quarterback.<\/p>\n
I hope that all this debate over A.J. Brown\u2019s value will take a back seat to watching the guy becme the next Pats star. I hope those who are against paying for him will also root for him to succeed once he\u2019s here.<\/p>\n
This raises the ultimate question of whether losing is actually the secret formula for winning. The Cowboys have spent decades teetering on a tightrope of competitive mediocrity, always good enough to remain in the conversation but never bad enough to secure the draft equity needed to reset their ceiling. Perhaps true greatness requires a longer journey through the dark side, leaving us to wonder if the bottom needs to fall out before they can truly put things back together again.<\/p>\n
By now, I think most Commanders<\/a> fans are familiar with what happened with last year\u2019s starting center, Tyler Biadasz<\/a>. Reporting from local and national media indicates that the Commanders were \u201cin on\u201d free agent Tyler Linderbaum<\/a> until the Raiders<\/a> inked him to a 3-year, $81m contract that Adam Peters was unwilling to match. Plan B appears to have been to ride with last year\u2019s backup, Nick Allegretti<\/a>, a player who has had struggles at the guard position in Washington, but who appears to have the cerebral understanding of the game that is a requirement for centers who have to set protections and blocking schemes from play-to-play. Washington, who had a lot of thin spots in the roster heading into the draft, waited until the 6th round to select Matt Gulbin (No. 209 overall). There were 19 true centers taken ahead of him in this year\u2019s draft. The rookie had a good college career, but there are concerns about his scheme fit with the expected outside-zone many observers expect David Blough<\/a> to implement, as well as the usual concern about a 6th-round rookie being ready to play immediately in the NFL.<\/p>\n
Xavier Gipson<\/a>. Gipson can be a dynamic return man. Over three seasons with the New York Jets<\/a> and Philadelphia Eagles, Gipson averaged 9.1 yards on 74 punt returns and 25.9 yards on 51 kickoff returns. Unfortunately, Gipson has a habit of fumbling the football \u2014 12 in 157 career touches as a returner, receiver, and rusher \u2014 and that cost him jobs with both the Jets and Eagles. Would John Harbaugh gamble with a player who has averaged one fumble every 13 touches during his career?<\/p>\n
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