The NFL Draft is nearing and as each day it comes closer, the more distance it separates Eagles’ team management from January 15, 2024. The date should jar the memory. It is the last time the Eagles played. You know, the 32-9 debacle of a Wild Card playoff loss to the mediocre Tampa Bay Buccaneers that closed the 2023 season—the exclamation point to the Eagles’ 1-6 downfall. It was a span in which they were outscored 214-132 (by an average of 11.7 points per game), while getting outgained 2,729 to 2,293, giving up an average of 389.8 yards a game and outgained by an average of 62.2 yards a game.
The Eagles had the worst defense in the NFL the final month of last season. Did anyone in the front office notice? Their defense gave up the second-highest amount of passing touchdowns in the NFL, only behind Washington (39 to the Eagles’ 35). Philadelphia was 30th in the NFL in opponent red zone scoring percentage (TDs only) at 66.1%, and was No. 31 in passing defense, allowing an average of 252.7 yards a game. The Eagles were 30th in scoring defense (25.2) and allowed 51 touchdowns, the third-highest total in the NFL, behind only Washington (59) and Arizona (54).
The numbers, you would think, are tough to ignore.
The Eagles, however, appear to be doing a good job of it.
So, as the draft approaches, the leaning that the Eagles may draft an offensive lineman with the No. 22 overall pick (or a trade up) certainly supports that. The Eagles have eight total picks (second round Nos. 50 & 53, fourth round No. 120, fifth round Nos. 161, 171, 172 and sixth round No. 210).
You would think bolstering an anemic defense would be a priority, would it not?
Ask yourself this: With the way the Eagles are currently constructed on defense, are they Super Bowl contenders? The answer should be an emphatic “No!”
Fletcher Cox’s retirement took away possibly the Eagles’ most consistent defensive lineman they had in 2023. Jalen Carter has the promise of being a special player, though he fell off considerably the second half of the season. Jordan Davis has not lived up to being a first-round pick and his performance in 2023 sways towards bustville.
The Eagles signed free-agent defensive end Bryce Huff based on one spike season in his career. He has not been an every-down player. The 25-year-old is a situational pass rusher who will be counted on to play more snaps in a new system, under Eagles’ new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Unless he proves otherwise, Huff is a downgrade from Haason Reddick.
On the other side, Josh Sweat’s production decline almost coincided with the Eagles’ 1-6 finish, going eight games between sacks. Linebacker Nakobe Dean may not have the size to play in the NFL. He is started four games in two NFL seasons, and played in only five games last year, while new acquisition Devin White’s solo tackles have gone down steadily in each of the last four years, 97, 87, 73 and a career-low 49 last season. He was invisible during the end of last season for the Bucs, and according to some Tampa sources, his rapid decline confines him to nothing more than a special teams player.
Cornerback James Bradberry, who will turn 31 in August, cannot cover anymore, and this will be free agent safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s fourth different NFL team in four years (New Orleans, Philadelphia, Detroit, back to the Eagles). Why? Maybe it is because he is “a (locker room) pain in the ass,” as one source described him two years ago, and secondly, he cannot stay on the field, which has been a problem. He has played 15 games over the last two years beset by injuries. He also suffers from an aversion of tackling. He is a finesse player that gives a poor-tackling team to begin with the distinct disadvantage of only 10 defenders who are willing to tackle each down.
The Eagles have needs on offense. They have serious needs on defense.
No one on the Eagles has openly addressed why the historic collapse of the 2023 season occurred, not even Jalen Hurts. The players seem to want to place it in the “Last year was last year” binder. When he spoke to the media last week, Hurts broached the valid topic of having a revolving door of offensive coordinators since he has been in the NFL, though he never took accountability for his part in why Brian Johnson was fired.
General manager Howie Roseman nabbed his shiny new toy this offseason when he secured free agent running back Saquon Barkley, who by all accounts is a great locker room guy, a quality leader and someone who will help the offense. The Eagles seem to be pushing the downfall blame on fired first-year coordinators Johnson and Sean Desai, the defensive coordinator who was demoted after 13 games in favor of Matt Patricia.
They may need to take a more realistic look at what Fangio has to work with on defense when drafting later this week. Right now, the way it is constructed, this defense could be worse than the unit that fell apart last December.
It tends to happen when a team’s management is in denial.
Joseph Santoliquito is a hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who has written feature stories for SI.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com, MLB.com, Deadspin and The Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News. In 2006, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a special project piece for ESPN.com called “Love at First Beep.” He is most noted for his award-winning ESPN.com feature on high school wrestler A.J. Detwiler in February 2006, which appeared on SportsCenter. In 2015, he was elected president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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