Eagles Mailbag: What Will Philadelphia’s Revamped Defense Look Like?
The NFL trade deadline has officially passed and the Philadelphia Eagles certainly made the most of it. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman made three notable trades to add a promising edge rusher and much-needed depth in the secondary.
After enjoying the bye week, Philadelphia will shift their attention to a pivotal matchup against the Green Bay Packers. How will Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio utilize Roseman’s latest additions? I’ll discuss that and more in my Eagles mailbag ahead of Week 10.
It’s Week 10, the Eagles are 6-2 and we somehow still don’t know who the outside cornerback will be opposite of Quinyon Mitchell in nickel and dime defense. Yet the Eagles have been able to stay afloat utilizing a rotation of Adoree’ Jackson, Kelee Ringo and Jakorian Bennett.
Following the trade deadline, the picture at that spot has somehow become even more unclear with the arrival of Jaire Alexander. While I believe Michael Carter II will strictly play slot cornerback and maybe some safety (if necessary), Philadelphia’s second outside cornerback spot has seemingly went from a three horse race to a four horse race.
My guess is that Bennett will get the chance to start against the Packers in Week 10. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio seemed genuinely curious about seeing what he could do on the outside before Bennett landed on injured reserve.
Philadelphia knows what they have in Jackson and Ringo. Now it’s time to give Bennett a chance against a great team. If he struggles, then they could give Alexander an opportunity or pivot back to Jackson, who provided a reasonably high enough floor to stick around.
Jaelan Phillips feels like the obvious answer to this question. It also helps that he should play the most snaps out of Philadelphia’s acquisitions at the trade deadline. If healthy, I truly believe that Phillips is the best edge rusher on the Eagles.
While Philadelphia could opt to bring him along slowly and limit his workload, Phillips has legitimate game-wrecking ability as a pass rusher. It’s going to be fun to see how Fangio will utilize him along Philadelphia’s defensive front.
One of the best things about Phillips is that he can essentially rush from anywhere along the defensive front. He has actually had a ton of success rushing from the inside for the Miami Dolphins this season, which could open up a lot of different looks for the Eagles.
While Philadelphia’s edge rushers primarily played sides last season, it feels like Fangio has mixed things up a bit more in 2025. Once Smith returns, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him utilized on both the right and the left side.
Bingo! That’s exactly what I’m excited to see moving forward. Philadelphia’s defense is now loaded with these versatile, defensive chess pieces of all different shapes and sizes. Fangio has to be excited about all of the different looks that he can now present to opposing offenses.
Phillips has experience rushing from the inside, which would potentially allow the Eagles to utilize him, Smith and Jalyx Hunt all on the field at the same time. Philadelphia could utilize a five-man front with Jalen Carter and Moro Ojomo in there with their top three edge rushers. Obviously the presence of Jihaad Campbell adds more layers as well.
One of the potential looks that I’m most excited about is a five-man front with technically four edge rushers on the field together. Phillips and Brandon Graham both have experience playing inside. So why not have Carter joined by Phillips, Graham, Hunt and Smith? Let’s get crazy!
The Eagles are likely always going to be near the top of the NFL in dead money. Which is simply a result of the way that Jeffrey Lurie allows Roseman to structure contracts with void years but I don’t necessarily think that it shifts their approach either way.
Philadelphia made a play for Micah Parsons before he was traded to the Packers, so clearly they were ready to commit big money on the defensive side of the ball with that move. If the right opportunity presents itself, it feels like the Eagles will always figure out a way to at least entertain that idea.
Thanks to how well the Eagles have drafted on the defensive side of the ball in recent years, they seem set there. I thought that they were going to prioritize offensive tackle and tight end in last year’s draft, but they didn’t. My guess is that they’ll address both of those areas relatively early in 2026.
If anyone follows me on X or has watched me when I join Josh Davis on “The Philly Special Show,” my thoughts on Grant Calcaterra are quite clear. I truly don’t understand the team’s obsession with him and think that he could be easily replaced by another tight end on the roster.
I believe that both Cameron Latu and Kylen Granson are better blockers than Calcaterra. Pro Football Focus appears to agree with me, although I’m not necessarily the biggest fan of their grading system.
Here is PFF’s run blocking grade for all three players in 2025:
Grant Calcaterra: 40.4
Cameron Latu: 74.3
Kylen Granson: 51.5
It’s clear that Calcaterra is a poor blocker and the worst of Philadelphia’s three backup tight ends. He hasn’t improved as a blocker, despite being in his fourth season with the Eagles.
Luckily, Philadelphia has slightly pivoted away from relying on Calcaterra as a blocker in recent weeks. They’re utilizing Fred Johnson as a sixth offensive lineman, which has helped spark the under-center offense. Hopefully we’ll see more Johnson and less Calcaterra in the second half of the season.
Prior to the start of the regular season, I projected that the Eagles would have a final record of 11-6. While many fans were upset with my projection (and rightfully so), I don’t necessarily think that was an absurd projection given their schedule, injury luck last season, etc.
Yet at 6-2, it seems like the Eagles should finish with a better record than my initial projection. Although it would not surprise me at all if the Eagles lost any of these games:
Week 10: @ Packers
Week 11: vs. Lions
Week 12: @ Cowboys
Week 14: @ Chargers
Week 17: @ Bills
Are the Eagles capable of winning all of their remaining games and finishing the regular season with a final record of 15-2? Absolutely. But they also have an incredibly tough schedule that is full of opponents that could make things difficult down the stretch.
I have no issues with the NFL’s jersey number policy that has expanded the options for different position groups. But I do have an issue with teams retiring jersey numbers.
In my opinion, each team should have some type of ring of honor, hall of fame or whatever they would like to call it. That would allow them to honor former players, post their name and jersey number around the stadium, etc.
But I simply don’t understand why a jersey number should never be worn again. As someone that is a fan of the Boston Celtics, I have witnessed the results of having far too many jersey numbers retired.
While many outsiders don’t care about jersey numbers, I think athletes absolutely care about their jersey numbers. Players want to be able to wear certain jersey numbers for personal reasons or simply because they like the way that they look.
Limiting their options today because someone wore that jersey number back when the forward pass was hardly used is silly. Thanks for reading my jersey number rant, I’ll shut up now.