With the Philadelphia Eagles' Week 1 opener against the Dallas Cowboys just four days away, let's open up the mailbag. As always, thank you for doing half the work for me. This is Part II of a two-part mailbag. (Part I here.)
Question from @bodhidad1512 (via Threads): Can you see this team being better than last year's team?
If you look at the 2024 Eagles from a full season perspective, they probably won't be mentioned among the greatest teams of all time. However, if you look at the level that they were playing at by the time the season was over, there's a good argument that they were indeed one of the best teams of all time.
In my opinion, "one of the best teams of all-time" is the bar that they have to clear to be better. So, no, it would be a bit of a stretch to think they'll be better than that team.
Question from @footba11joe (via Bluesky): Which position groups are weaker or stronger at this initial 53 compared to last year?
Let's go position-by-position:
• Quarterback: Better. Hurts will continue to grow, and Tanner McKee is significantly better than Kenny Pickett.
• Running back: Worse. The Eagles are going to have to monitor Saquon Barkley's volume of carries this season. They can't have him touch the ball nearly 500 times again. So just by cutting back on his touches, I think they'll be worse. Do you follow that logic? Good. I do think Will Shipley will be an upgrade on Kenny Gainwell, however.
• Wide receiver: Better. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith each missed four games last season, and Jahan Dotson should be a lot more comfortable in the offense than he was a year ago.
• Tight end: Better. Dallas Goedert missed seven games last year. Though he has been injury prone in recent years, seven missed games was higher than normal.
• Offensive line: Worse. The depth isn't as good, and while Tyler Steen could have a breakout season, we know that Mekhi Becton was good, while Steen remains a question mark until he isn't.
• Interior D-line: Worse. Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo both have a chance to take their games to the next level, and the sky's the limit for Jalen Carter, but the loss of Milton Williams depletes their numbers on the interior.
• Edge defender: Worse. Nolan Smith seems to have a nagging shoulder injury, and the losses of Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham depleted their depth.
• Linebacker: Better. Counting on Zack Baun to be what he was in 2024 is perhaps unrealistic, but the Eagles are just so stacked here with Jihaad Campbell likely to play well early, and Nakobe Dean returning at some point.
• Cornerback: Worse. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean could continue to get better, but we could see a big dropoff in play from Darius Slay to Adoree' Jackson (or whoever else is the CB2 this season).
• Safety: Worse. CJGJ made plays and brought some swagger to the defense.
• Specialists: Better. Jake Elliott was hurt last year, and should have a bounce-back season.
Question from @TheSmartyJones: If I told you at the end of the 2023 season that two years later, the Eagles might have the best LB corps in football, how many drugs would you have assumed I was on?
I'm going to pose another question in response to your question on Twitter, and then post it here.
My vote is for Jalen Reagor to A.J. Brown. If we're including coaches, going from Sean Desai and Matt Patricia would be No. 1.
Question from @BigsWinz: Why would the Eagles let Darius Slay and Isaiah Rodgers go? Did they legit believe they had a starting CB2 in house already?
Salary cap websites like OverTheCap are generally great resources for a lot of things, but they don't adequately show the Eagles' complex cap situation, which should really be viewed through a multiyear lens, as opposed to year-to-year. As such, it's difficult to "show my work," so to speak, but the short answer is... money.
I can't speak to whether or not they truly believed they had a starting CB2 in-house already. They were certainly hopeful.
Obviously, Kelee Ringo had a disappointing summer and Adoree' Jackson isn't a player to get excited about. We'll see soon enough what that all looks like, and if it's not good then they have 12 draft picks in 2026 to use as trade chips to fix it.
Question from @muttonchopsyaz (via Bluesky): Do you see a third receiver having any kind of meaningful impact?
Yes, I thought Jahan Dotson had a very encouraging summer. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith will dominate targets, but if either go down, I'm more confident that Dotson can step in a be a reliable WR2. I do not think he was that last year.
Question from @astonia67 (via Bluesky): Who do you like at pick 32?
I have like four Saturday prospect posts written already. One guy who I immediately love, and who could be available in that range, is Northwestern EDGE Anto Saka.
Question from @KeithFo74392733: Which former Eagle that was on the team last season will have the best season?
I'll go with Mekhi Becton. I thought he got better and better at RG as the season progressed and made that position his new home.
Question from @tech_44: I heard someone say a player turned down being on a 53 to stay on a practice squad elsewhere. Can a player turn down being claimed? As far as I understand, vested vets get released but UDFAs are subject to waivers. I didn’t think players had input here.
If you have four accrued years of NFL service and you are cut, you are "released" and immediately become an unrestricted free agent. If you get cut and have three or fewer accrued years, you are "waived," subject to waivers. Players who are waived cannot turn down a waiver claim.
Question from @cookiesecrets (via Bluesky): What stadium spread are you most excited for this season?
Dallas, as always.
Question from @killakow: Why do NFL people love to refer to versatile players as “chess pieces” when chess pieces are famously very rigid in how they move? And is there such a thing as a “non-movable chess piece”?
The queen would qualify as a very movable piece, but that's about it. Like, if a pawn has a piece in front of it and nothing to attack diagonally it can't move at all. That is indeed a very weird phrase that has stuck in the NFL lexicon.
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