Eagles’ biggest needs on defense ahead of NFL free agency and the draft

With free agency officially beginning this week and the draft coming up at the end of April, the Eagles will have much-needed opportunities to infuse their roster with fresh talent.

The team particularly has an abundance of gaps to fill on defense, as general manager Howie Roseman looks to replace a plethora of players set to hit free agency and upgrade some positions with younger, more talented alternatives. Will the Eagles take to free agency, the draft, or both to address those needs? Let’s take a look at the positions that ought to be on their offseason wish list and which avenues of acquisition make the most sense:

After 2022 starters T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White departed in free agency last offseason, Roseman never adequately filled their vacancies. He trusted that 2022 third-round pick Nakobe Dean would be ready to step into a starting role, but he suffered two separate foot injuries this season and played just five games.

The Eagles tried to identify competent off-ball linebacker contributors through free agency — Nicholas Morrow (signed last March, cut at the end of training camp, signed to the practice squad, and promoted to the active roster in September), Zach Cunningham (signed during training camp), and Shaquille Leonard (signed in Week 14) — and internally (Christian Elliss, who was waived after Week 13 and claimed by the New England Patriots). Ultimately, those options proved to be underwhelming, and Roseman will have to take a different approach to address the position.

In all likelihood, the Eagles will have to look to both free agency and the draft to replenish their pool of inside linebackers, with Cunningham, Morrow, Leonard, and Shaun Bradley all set to hit the market come the start of the new league year. Free agency might be their best bet to identify a potential Week 1 starter alongside Dean with coverage capabilities and the ability to defend the run out of light boxes, traits that new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will covet to fit his scheme. Still, it’s unlikely given the team’s history that it will pay up to acquire one of the big names on the market.

The Eagles would be best served to draft and develop an off-ball linebacker to serve as a starter down the road. They have drafted two in the third round dating back to 2020, Dean and Davion Taylor, and Dean has yet to start for a full season while Taylor is a free agent. With three projected picks on Day 2 (two in Round 2, one in Round 3) and four in Round 5 alone, the Eagles should be able to nab an inside linebacker who can become a starter, so long as the team can facilitate that development.

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The Eagles went through a situation with their safeties last year similar to that with their inside linebackers. They lost 2022 starters C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps in free agency and failed to find suitable replacements. Reed Blankenship, an undrafted free agent signed in 2022, was penciled in as a starter going into training camp, and the Eagles conducted a competition among a group of K’Von Wallace, Terrell Edmunds, and Justin Evans to identify the second. Sydney Brown was viewed as more of a depth contributor initially going into his rookie season.

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Evans earned the Week 1 starting gig, but he continued to be injury-prone and ultimately played just four games in 2023 after suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 5. The Eagles turned to Edmunds, whom they ultimately traded to the Tennessee Titans for Kevin Byard after Week 7. The 30-year-old Philly native rarely stood out for the right reasons and was cut on March 1. Brown tore his ACL in Week 18, and while his timeline is unknown, he may not be ready for the start of training camp. Blankenship will compete for his starting role again in training camp.

The Eagles would be best served to address their lack of depth at safety both through free agency and the draft. A wealth of impact free-agent talent is available at safety because of the market’s cratering, including a former Eagle in 26-year-old Gardner-Johnson, and a variety of options familiar to Fangio in former Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons, 30, and former Chicago Bears safety Eddie Jackson, 30. Safety is an important position in Fangio’s defense, which uses two-high safety shells and runs a variety of coverages out of that look.

The team could go the older, cheaper route in free agency if it views Brown and Blankenship as the long-term starters. Still, the Eagles could also stand to add another safety through the draft, particularly on Day 2 or Day 3.

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Going into training camp last season, the Eagles had a trio of locks to start at cornerback on the perimeter and in the slot. Darius Slay and the newly re-signed James Bradberry figured to start outside, while nickel cornerback Avonte Maddox was returning for his sixth season with the club.

But the 30-year-old Bradberry hit a rapid decline and fell well short of replicating his performance in 2022, so much so that his future with the club is in jeopardy even though he would leave the Eagles with $15.12 million in dead money if they cut him before June 1 ($10.42 million post-June 1). Slay, 33, was the Eagles’ best cornerback, but he had knee surgery after Week 14 and missed the final four games of the regular season. Maddox, 27, was sidelined for all but four games while on injured reserve with a torn pectoral muscle.

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The Eagles have some depth at corner going into 2024, but whether or not they are viable starting options remains the question. Kelee Ringo, selected in the fourth round of the 2023 draft out of Georgia, could be poised for a bigger role, but the sample size of his performance was relatively small in his rookie season (199 defensive snaps, 17%). Isaiah Rodgers, previously of the Indianapolis Colts, after serving his season-long suspension for violating the league’s gambling policy can apply for reinstatement that would enable him to join the Eagles as an option to play in the slot. Zech McPhearson, who figured to be Maddox’s backup in the slot last year until he tore his Achilles in the preseason, will be back in the mix.

If the Eagles don’t view Ringo as a potential long-term solution as a starter outside and they’re prepared to move on from Bradberry (and eventually Slay, who has two years left on his contract), then they may be inclined to use an early draft pick on a press-man cornerback who can be a starter for years to come. NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said last month that he has roughly 15 cornerbacks with grades in the first three rounds, with the top group ideally suited to play on the perimeter. Free agency could also be an option to identify a veteran with starting experience.

While the Eagles have some internal candidates to play nickel (McPhearson, Rodgers, Bradberry, and Eli Ricks come to mind), they also ought to pick one up in free agency. Maddox, who was cut on Thursday, could still return to the team.

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Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat are going into the final year of their respective contracts. If Roseman opts to extend either player, and with Brandon Graham returning, then the Eagles won’t have much of an immediate need in free agency to pick up a starting-caliber edge rusher, especially with Nolan Smith poised to assume a bigger role in 2024. If Reddick or Sweat get traded (seeing as the team granted both permission to seek potential partners), then the Eagles could turn to the market to replace either or both of them.

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Given Roseman’s draft history, edge rusher should always be on the table as a selection for the Eagles. He has picked a defensive end in the first round four times, which is more than any other position group. He’s selected six defensive ends in the first three rounds, which is second only to the offensive line as a whole.