Eagles Mailbag: What Will Sean Mannion’s Offense Look Like?
The Philadelphia Eagles officially hired Sean Mannion as the team’s offensive coordinator on January 29th. Yet we had to wait over three months to hear from Mannion, as he finally held his first press conference on Thursday. The 34-year-old offensive coordinator offered plenty of insight into his experience as a player and how it led him to becoming a coach.
Mannion mentioned how he’s been preparing to become a coach for several years, even doing so when he was still playing in the NFL. While Philadelphia’s first-year offensive coordinator answered plenty of questions during his first press conference on Thursday, there is still uncertainty about what Mannion’s offense will actually look like. I’ll answer that question and much more in my latest Eagles mailbag.
While Mannion didn’t spill all of the tea regarding what Philadelphia’s offense will look like in 2026, he did offer a peak behind the curtain. Two key aspects of the Eagles offense that will likely change under Mannion are the implementation of a pure progression passing game and a wide zone blocking scheme, both of which are tied to the Shanahan and McVay coaching tree, which Mannion worked under.
In previous years, Jalen Hurts was often asked to make difficult reads both pre-snap and post-snap. It forced Hurts to play hero ball if his first option wasn’t there, which often resulted in Hurts forcing the ball to one of Philadelphia’s top three options. Yet that won’t be the case under Mannion, as the pure progression passing game should give Hurts clear, pre-defined reads that are adaptable and won’t be disrupted by disguised coverages.
The other key change will be the Eagles utilizing a wide zone blocking scheme, which asks the offensive line to move horizontally in unison, instead of strictly attacking vertically. It will create gaps and cutback lanes for Philadelphia’s ball carriers to utilize. The change will also likely utilize more pre-snap motion to stress defenders and force them into run fits that will muddy the picture for the defense. While Mannion mentioned that he will blend Philadelphia’s old offense with his new scheme, I expect these two changes to help.
Philadelphia’s offense certainly underwhelmed last season but there were still certain plays that the Eagles could continue to utilize moving forward. With a healthy offensive line, it feels like the tush push should still be a play that Philadelphia can lean on in short-yardage situations. While I understand the hate for the play and the poor visual optics of it, there’s no denying that it has provided the Eagles with a key advantage in short-yardage disruptions in recent years.
Another package of plays that should stick around is the red zone usage of the tight ends from last season, primarily Dallas Goedert. It felt like the Eagles found an unstoppable go-to bag of plays that resulted in Goedert recording a career-high 11 receiving touchdowns. Now with Eli Stowers added into the mix, it feels like Philadelphia should still rely heavily on the tight end position in the red zone.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is always a must-watch whenever he speaks because of his brutal honesty. Fangio was asked several questions about Philadelphia’s safety position, given the uncertainty surrounding the second safety spot next to Andrew Mukuba. Yet as you mentioned, Fangio seemed surprisingly content with Marcus Epps as the current leader for the job. Although it’s worth mentioning that Fangio did say that the competition is “open” and it wasn’t like he named Epps the definitive starter.
My read on the situation is that Fangio is okay with Epps being the starter, although he wouldn’t mind another safety being brought in. Fangio also revealed that Cooper DeJean will be the second safety when the Eagles are in their base defense, which won’t necessarily be very often. Regardless, it was still refreshing to hear Fangio speak highly of Epps because if he wasn’t a fan of the veteran’s game, Fangio certainly wouldn’t hesitate to let us know.
Despite Fangio’s comments, I still believe that safety remains Philadelphia’s biggest need ahead of OTAs. I recently posted an article that listed five free agent options and have also discussed several trade targets in the past. Aside from safety, I’d say that the Eagles should also invest in a veteran backup along the interior of the offensive line, following the departure of Brett Toth and Matt Pryor.
Once the Dallas Cowboys hired Christian Parker as their defensive coordinator, many turned their attention towards Clint Hurtt as Fangio’s eventual replacement. Despite Fangio stating that he’ll be back for at least two more seasons, my guess is that Hurtt is still the next person in line for the job. Especially after Hurtt received a noteworthy promotion this offseason.
Hurtt had associate head coach added to his other two titles of defensive line coach and senior defensive assistant. While Fangio joked that all of these fancy titles are meaningless, it likely equated to a significant pay bump for Hurtt. Following the departure of Parker, the Eagles likely don’t want to jeopardize losing Hurtt, who still appears to be the eventual replacement for Fangio when he retires.
Fangio wasn’t the only key member of the Eagles that flirted with retirement this offseason, Lane Johnson also contemplated hanging it up. Yet Johnson is back for at least one more season, although that didn’t stop the Eagles from addressing offensive tackle by selecting Markel Bell on day two of the 2026 NFL Draft. Now Philadelphia appears to have a plan in place for whenever Johnson retires.
Yet I believe that Johnson could feel reinvigorated by playing in Mannion’s offense and possibly being asked to play less on an island. Here’s how I’d rank the five options that you mentioned regarding who will be the Eagles starting right tackle in 2027 (from most likely to least likely):
Lane Johnson
Markel Bell
A 2027 draft pick
A signing or trade in the 2027 offseason
Cameron Williams
Eagles third-year wide receiver Johnny Wilson appears healthy based on recent videos shared by the team, which is huge. Wilson played a bigger role than many likely expected during his rookie season, as he played over 400 offensive snaps and contributed as a blocker. It seemed like Wilson was taking a step forward as a pass catcher last offseason before suffering a season-ending knee injury during training camp.
Now Wilson will have to prove that he’s healthy and more than just a blocker in 2026. The Eagles have revamped their wide receiver room with four additions this offseason in Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks, Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore. While Wilson offers the size and blocking ability that seperated him from the pack, he’ll need to put it all together to earn a spot on the 53-man roster.
While A.J. Brown isn’t an all-time leader in franchise history in any major receiving categories, there is no denying his skillset and impact in just 62 regular season games. Here is where Brown ranks in Eagles franchise history in several receiving categories:
Receptions: 339 (13th)
Receiving Yards: 5,034 (9th)
Receiving Touchdowns: 32 (12th)
Despite playing at least 13 less regular season games than any other Eagles player in that range, Browns ranked highly in all three categories. Therefore, it’s hard to figure out exactly where he ranks all-time at wide receiver in franchise history. Brown is similar to Terrell Owens as a Hall of Fame caliber talent that just didn’t necessarily play long enough in Philadelphia.
If we’re talking strictly from a talent standpoint, I’d rank Brown second behind only Owens as wide receivers that have played for the Eagles. Yet if we’re talking about a player’s career with the Eagles in totality, he’ll probably fall behind Harold Carmichael, Mike Quick and DeVotna Smith when it’s all said and done. If Brown played for a decade in Philadelphia, he’d likely be the clear #1 answer, but it doesn’t seem like that will be happening.
I recently had an interaction on X with former Eagles running back Boston Scott regarding his vague criticism of Nick Sirianni. It was a rather short back-and-forth (no pun intended) that wasn’t necessarily anything serious. As someone without media credentials for the Eagles, I’m allowed to discuss players and the team a bit differently than others that are somewhat handicapped by their access.
I’ve had several players block me on X over the years (Darius Slay, Brandon Graham, etc.) for what I’ve posted or wrote about them. While I wasn’t intending for that to happen, that’s just naturally what’s going to happen if you’re sharing your honest thoughts about a player or the team. At the same time, players are also quick to share or like your positive comments about them. That’s just the nature of the beast, I guess.