‘It’s Going To Be Dangerous’: Eagles Rave About New-Look Offense

Following an early playoff exit, the Philadelphia Eagles knew that they had to shake things up this offseason. The Eagles made a bold move by hiring 34-year-old former NFL quarterback Sean Mannion as Philadelphia’s next offensive coordinator. Despite never calling plays before as a coach in the NFL, Mannion has been handed the reins to a loaded offense in 2026.

Yet following Philadelphia’s first practice at mandatory minicamp, it’s clear that the Eagles players are excited about Mannion’s new-look offense. While we’ve already heard from Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith and other key members of Philadelphia’s offense earlier this offseason, we also heard from several other players following Tuesday’s practice.

Eagles All-Pro offensive tackle Lane Johnson missed most of Philadelphia’s voluntary work this offseason, as he got married and trained away from the team. Yet Johnson arrived for mandatory minicamp and spoke for the first time with the media this offseason following Tuesday’s practice. It was refreshing to hear Johnson’s honest thoughts on Mannion and his early impressions of the new-look offense.

“Hopefully our offense won’t be as stagnant as what it was last year, we’ll be able to evolve some,” Johnson said as he also seemed excited about the arrival of new Eagles offensive line coach Chris Kuper. “I’ve never had like any guard help all these years, like it’s always been one-on-one. So having the ability, if I get beat inside, having a guard come out and help me is a big deal for me. Me likey! Very excited so that’s pretty cool.”

Johnson also emphasized the importance of tiring the defense with the new-look wide zone blocking scheme that Philadelphia is implementing under Mannion. The 36-year-old said that it’ll help to make everything look the same, both in the running game and the passing game, to keep the defenses on their toes and make the offense less predictable.

“Super smart guy,” Johnson said when asked for his first impressions of Mannion. He also mentioned that Mannion played at Oregon State with former Eagles offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo, so Johnson reached out to his former teammate to learn more about his new offensive coordinator.

“Him being here at this age, you’re not going to be here without a brilliant offensive mind,” Johnson added. “He’s very good with players, very personable. We see what his vision is…he’s very good, very assertive and very big on communication…I’m just really excited for what we could be and what this offense could be.”

Johnson wasn’t the only veteran offensive player that spoke after Philadelphia’s first practice of mandatory minicamp. Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert also spoke about his return to the City of Brotherly Love and his thoughts on Mannion’s new-look offense.

“I think we can do special things here. I didn’t want to leave and not be a part of it,” Goedert said when asked about why he ultimately re-signed with the Eagles.

“There’s a lot of easy touches to the tight ends, getting the ball in space,” Goedert said when asked about what he’s seen from Mannion’s offense. “Scheming ways to get us open so I’m excited for that. I think the tight end is kind of a backbone of the offense, both in the run game, play-action pass game so I think it’ll be a really good system to be able to play in.”

Goedert then added that he’s studied San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft to prepare for playing in Mannion’s scheme. He said that he’s watched how they attacked in the running game and then used that in the play-action passing game to get the ball in space.

While it was great to hear from Philadelphia’s veteran offensive players and their thoughts on Mannion’s offense, it may have been more eye-opening to hear from a defensive player. Eagles third-year edge rusher Jalyx Hunt offered some high praise for Philadelphia’s offense, while refusing to spill any tea on what Mannion’s new-look scheme truly looks like.

“Man, I won’t tell you anything about our offense,” Hunt said with a smirk. “But what I will say is it’s going to be dangerous. The people that we have on that side of the ball is second to none in the league, they’re second to none in the league.”

“You have a powerful running back. A very, very capable quarterback who commands the team, commands the offense very well. We have a great receiving core, just added (Makai) Lemon and Tay (Dontayvion Wicks), shoot. There’s just pieces, firepower everywhere.”

While many are focused on the departure of All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Brown, it’s clear that Hunt is still impressed by Philadelphia’s offense. The Eagles are no strangers to having an offense that is loaded with weapons, yet it felt like former offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo never attended firearms training. But that won’t be the case with Mannion, who appears to be making a strong first impression in the City of Brotherly Love.