All anyone in the media has talked about this offseason with the Philadelphia Eagles is how much the defense has lost and how young they are.
Just on the defensive side of the ball alone, the Eagles lost Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Darius Slay, James Bradberry, Avonte Maddox, and Oren Burks. That's a combination of great depth players and veteran starters who came into their own.
Those losses led CBS Sports writer Cody Benjamin to raise a red flag about the number of players the Eagles lost on defense.
"Vic Fangio was the perfect man to oversee the Eagles defense in 2024, bringing discipline and tenacity back to a unit that had become practically lifeless. Now he'll be charged with defending the Birds' crown while likely overseeing new starters at every level of the lineup. Returning youngsters like Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith Jr. and Quinyon Mitchell should keep the unit abuzz, but Fangio may need veteran Band-Aids like Azeez Ojulari and Adoree' Jackson to help keep the ship afloat early on. It's just the cost of fielding a championship roster."
Defense isn't even the biggest concern for the Eagles
The fixation on the defense has some validity to it, but at the same time, it's worth noting that many players from last year's defense are returning. This defense ranked first in total defense and was the only unit in the NFL to allow an average of less than 300 yards per game.
Philadelphia has consistently done a good job of finding replacements for those who leave, primarily due to the efforts of general manager Howie Roseman in the draft. The Eagles have nine projected starters on defense who the team has drafted since 2020, except Zack Baun and Reed Blankenship.
There might be a question about who will start at safety on defense, but outside of that, there's enough talent to make the Eagles solid. There's one other concern that isn't being brought up at all that should be.
What about kicker Jake Elliott?
Here's a guy who missed a career-high eight field goals last year and made just 77.8% of his field goals, the worst since 2020. Elliott did bounce back in the postseason as he made 10 of 11 field goals.
There is still one problem with Elliott: he can't hit from 50-plus yards. Including postseason, Elliott made just two of nine field goals from over 50 yards in 2024.
Interestingly, it isn't being evaluated as thoroughly as it should be. Granted, defense is always a more critical unit from special teams, but never underestimate the power that kickers can have on a game. One miss at the end of the game can cost their team a win.
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People can also point towards having a new offensive coordinator in Kevin Patullo as a concern and whether he can replicate the success of last year. It's just getting tiring to read the same old concerns about the defense.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has everything under control and has just as good of a defense as he did in 2024. This defense will be fine.