Eagles Mailbag: Does Philadelphia Need To Make Another Move on the Edge?

The Philadelphia Eagles will wrap up OTAs with their first and only mandatory practice of the session on June 10th. After several players missed voluntary practices last week, it’ll be interesting to see if the Eagles will have perfect attendance before taking an extended break ahead of training camp.

After the Eagles signed two new players last week, there are a few new faces to watch for in Philadelphia. There are also questions remaining about potential weaknesses on the roster as well. I’ll dive into that and much more in the latest edition of my weekly Eagles Mailbag!

While Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham were both bigger than Philadelphia’s current edge defenders, I don’t think that defines if a player is able to defend the run. For example, Nolan Smith is considered a “undersized” edge defender, yet he was often the player that set the tone with his physicality along Philadelphia’s defensive front last season.

Both Jalyx Hunt and Azeez Ojulari are also bigger than most people realize. Hunt measured in at 6 3/4”, 252 lbs. with a 82 3/4” wingspan (85th percentile) and 34 3/8” arms (81st percentile). Ojulari measured in at 6’2 1/4”, 249 lbs. with a 82 1/2” wingspan (82nd percentile) and 34 1/2” arms (85th percentile).

While the Eagles might be a bit lighter on the edge in 2025, I believe that they’ll make up for it with their length and physicality. Especially with Smith and Hunt leading the way and looking to build on their success from the final stretch of last season’s Super Bowl run.

Odafe Oweh is a player that I’ve monitored in recent years during his inconsistent tenure with the Baltimore Ravens. Now Oweh is waiting for a contract extension after recording his first double-digit sack season in 2024. Yet the Ravens have yet to sign him to a new deal and Baltimore selected Mike Green in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Oweh is from New Jersey and would certainly make sense as a trade target for the Eagles if he became available. He fits the Howie Roseman mold as a former high draft pick that hasn’t exactly found consistent success with the team that originally drafted him.

While Jaelan Phillips is certainly an intriguing player, he is coming off back-to-back major lower body injuries with a torn achilles and torn ACL. It’s hard to imagine that Phillips has much trade value right now but maybe he’ll be a free agent target to watch for in 2026.

Lastly, I do not have media credentials and I haven’t seen much reported about Terrace Marshall Jr.’s performance at OTAs thus far.

Giles Jackson offers upside thanks to his speed and return skills. Yet it’s hard to imagine him making a legitimate push for the final 53-man roster. Darius Cooper offers a bit more upside as an overall WR, yet he is likely facing an uphill climb as well. I wouldn’t be surprised to see either one make the practice squad.

Danny Gray spent last season on the Eagles practice squad and is looking to make a push for the final 53-man roster in 2025. After switching from #41 to #80, Gray drastically improved his chances to do just that. But in all seriousness, Philadelphia kept him around for a reason and I could see Gray making the final roster as the fifth WR on the Eagles.

I know there hasn’t been much buzz about this player during OTAs but I’m going to say Maxen Hook. Despite nearly every other safety on the roster receiving snaps with the first-team defense, I think Hook’s ability to be a core special teams player from day one could give him an edge over the other depth options in that room during final cuts. He’ll be able to put his special teams value on display during preseason games later this summer.

Obviously the intrigue of a rookie like Drew Mukuba feels like the easy answer here but I’ll actually go with Sydney Brown instead. I was a big fan of Brown’s game ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft and I still believe that he can be a legitimate starting caliber safety. Following the departure of C.J. Gardner-Johnson, I feel like Brown could be a tone-setter in the secondary for the Eagles with his physicality and speed.

I mentioned Kevin Patullo’s experience working under Chan Gailey in a recent mailbag and one of Gailey’s greatest characteristics was his ability to adapt to his personnel. It sounds like a boring answer but I fully expect the Eagles to play to the strengths of their personnel in 2025. Which likely means that we’ll see more of the same from last season.

There are two things that I think could change next season: Saquon Barkley’s workload and more deep pass attempts. While Barkley managed to stay healthy last season, I believe the Eagles will look to reduce his workload a bit in 2025. One way to do that is by relying more on Philadelphia’s explosive WR duo by dialing up more deep shots to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

Building off my answer to the previous question, Barkley handled 387 total touches during the regular season in 2024. That’s an enormous workload for a player that had battled injuries throughout the first six seasons of their career before arriving in Philadelphia. While Barkley wants to put up even bigger numbers in 2025, I simply don’t see that realistically happening.

The Eagles signed Barkley to a contract extension and likely want to maximize the value of their superstar RB over the next few seasons. I’d expect Barkley to handle less total touches during a slightly less productive season, while Philadelphia attempts to create a more explosive passing attack in 2025.

Jason Kelce is the obvious answer here for me. Kelce spent most of my adult life with the Eagles and he would be able to provide stories about several different iterations of the team. Kelce was in Philadelphia with Andy Reid, Chip Kelly, Doug Pederson and Nick Sirianni. He has seen it all during his time in the City of Brotherly Love and we could also bond over both being fathers as well.