Philadelphia Eagles 2023 Preview: The Obvious Favorite In The NFC

After nearly winning it all, the Eagles found themselves in a predicament with upcoming free agents, and it seemed we wouldn’t see this team back for a while. However, Howie Roseman pulled off miraculous re-signs, had an A+ draft, and then filled in the margins nicely. With Jalen Hurts and 85% of the same roster, the Eagles are easily the NFC favorite. As mentioned in the Bengals Preview, the Bills and Chiefs suffered losses, making the Eagles’ losses less meaningful. Roseman was wise about who he let go and did a fine job of replacing those players. After losing both coordinators, will the Eagles have a Super Bowl hangover? It’s something to think about, but I doubt this team will fall off or anything. The NFC is obviously weak this year, and the Eagles are who I’d bet on to win the conference.

Jalen Hurts was re-signed on a five-year, 255-million-dollar deal with 110 in fully guaranteed money. That was far from a bargain, but it was less than what Herbert and Jackson got. Roseman was intelligent and wanted to sign Hurts before any other top-tier QBs signed. Losing Javon Hargrave, CGJ, Marcus Epps, Kyzir White, and T.J. Edwards are significant reps they have to fill. However, some of the acquisitions make up for it. Jalen Carter is one of the most talented prospects from the past decade and just needs to overcome his immaturity issues. Nolan Smith is the perfect successor to Haason Reddick and will be an excellent role player on day one. All the credit in the world must go to Roseman for re-signing Slay, Bradberry, Graham, Cox, and Kelce. This team wouldn’t be able to compete again if it weren’t for those re-signings. All things considered, this offseason was fantastic.

I watched all-22 footage on every team and reconciled it with advanced stats such as PFF. Based on film and stats, I develop grades for every position by using a formula that takes into account every player on the depth chart. Shout out to TFG for inspiring this kind of content. Please use code TREYSCHNEIDER on Underdog Fantasy to match your deposit up to $100. Gamble responsibly and leave your feedback on Twitter @FBIntellect.

Key

Grading scale: 20-100.

(+): The player is expected to improve.

Player Tiers:

Team Overview

Coaching Staff

Nick Sirianni initially seemed like a questionable hire, but he has drastically proved me wrong. What he did to get this team to play to their strengths was a significant part of their success. He got this team to have a plan and identity on both sides of the ball. Sirianni and Steichen bought into what Hurts did best, and his success showed. Sirianni doesn’t call plays but plays a massive role in the game plan and influences the play calls. He also has established a superb culture where players develop with ease. Just look at the development of the guys from the trenches and how Brown had his best year here. Sirianni easily could’ve won coach of the year, and I expect more improvement from this team due to him.

Brian Johnson was the QB coach brought in by Sirianni in 2021. He was promoted to OC following the departure of Steichen. I have high hopes considering he’s a first-time play-caller. The development he got out of Hurts was something else, and I imagine he’d be a competent play-caller. He was a play-caller at Houston and Florida but never called plays in the NFL. We can expect to see a modern Pro-spread, as that is Sirianni’s philosophy. The offense schematically likely won’t change much. There will probably be a lot of deep-passing concepts and a lot of play-action. Furthermore, the run scheme should be very balanced. While he may not match Steichen, I’d bet he impresses.

Sean Desai was the choice to take over for Jonathan Gannon. He was the DC for Chicago in 2021 and ran a Fangio-style defense similar to Gannon. While it won’t be the exact same scheme, it’s close enough for there to be no issues transitioning. Desai was also the Associate Defensive Coach in Seatle and helped them transition to a split safety defense. In Chicago, his defense ranked sixth in yards allowed. As a former Safeties coach, I expect growth out of these Safeties. He uses a “tite” front, which is a 5-2, and these DTs should flourish here. Desai mixes up coverages well in the back end and sticks to a two-high look. He relies on his D-Line to generate pressure, as he only blitzed 22.6% of the time. He may not have been the best DC available, but he is the ideal successor to Gannon.

Eagles Offense

Overall Offense – 86.3 (3)

In addition to having a versatile franchise QB, Philadelphia has arguably the best surrounding core in football. Jalen Hurts has had awe-inspiring development going all the back to college. He genuinely seemed better off as an RB at one point in time. In 2022, his improvement was more significant than any other QB I’ve seen in the past decade. While being an elite runner, he’s become a legitimate passer. He quickly goes through his progressions and plays in rhythm. When the play breaks down, he also has the tools to improvise. Hurts played like a top-five QB last year and only needs to prove it again to rank that high.

A.J. Brown emerged as one of the most dominant Receivers in football last year. He outmuscles and bodies DBs regularly. There’s a good reason he was an all-pro, and he will go down as a trade steal. As he’s a big-bodied RAC threat, he’s the perfect counterpart to DeVonta Smith. Smith is a slim but athletic Receiver with exceptional ball skills. He’s been one of the best number twos since Brown was acquired. Philly signed Olamide Zaccheaus to play in the Slot. He’s a solid fourth receiving option and should mesh well with this Receiving core. Quez Watkins is a speedy playmaker who can be used as a gadget guy. The depth besides him is relatively poor, but these starters were readily available last year.

Like most of this offense, Dallas Goedert had an impressive year in 2022. He’s always been a terrific run blocker but came along as a Receiver last year. I’d regularly see him make catches over the middle. Jack Stoll is a quality blocker but isn’t much of a Receiver. One of Phily’s offseason moves was trading for D’Andre Swift. They gave up little and got an athletic receiving back in return. When healthy, I’d expect to see Rashaad Penny on early downs. The two of them should be a lovely one-two punch behind this O-Line.

Moreover, this O-Line is easily the best in the league. The fact that the NFL tried to pass a rule directly due to this O-Lines dominance is absurd. Jordan Mailata was a traits-based developmental Tackle coming out and has incrementally improved rapidly. He flashed elite moments as a run blocker and drastically improved his hands in pass-pro. Landon Dickerson plays with a dick head mentality. He also had an impressive year as a pass-blocker. Jason Kelce had a career year too. He’s one of the best run-blocking Centers ever to play and had an excellent year in pass-pro. Kelce is one of the few players consistently making impact blocks downfield.

I wasn’t a big fan of Tyler Steen in round two, but I have a feeling he develops well here. As a former Tackle, he’s a pretty balanced O-Lineman. Lane Johnson is also coming off his best career year. Allowing zero pressures against Micah Parsons is a world-class performance – and he did that twice. He’s one of the best pass blockers around. The Eagles will have no problems paving massive lanes for these backs. Additionally, Hurts will have a clean pocket 96% of the time. As they only lost two starters, I expect big things from this offense.

Eagles Defense

Overall Defense – 82.1 (7)

There was a lot of turnover on the Eagles defense, but this is still a talented group. Darius Slay signed a team-friendly deal considering he’s an elite player. He has a world-class zone IQ and incredible instincts. Even at 32, he’s still a well-above-average athlete. James Bradberry made an argument for being the best second Corner in the NFL last year. He’s the perfect guy to jam Receivers at the line. Additionally, Avonte Maddox is a high-end coverage Corner in the Slot. He’s extraordinarily quick and matches up well against most Slot Receivers. Greedy Williams was an excellent candidate to be the Dime Corner here. It was also wise to take a mid-round shot at Kelee Ringo.

The safeties probably take a step down, although they’ll still get by. It’s unclear who’ll play Free Safety, but I’d bet Sydney Brown will emerge as the starter at some point. He’s the only one with the range and athleticism to excel there. Reed Blankenship and Justin Evans are solid depth; just don’t expect many high-end moments out of them. Terrell Edmunds was a serviceable Strong Safety for Pittsburgh and will play a similar role here.

Moreover, the Linebackers also will be a downgrade from last year. White and Edwards both complemented each other well and had big seasons. Nakobe Dean is unproven, and Nicholas Morrow is a sub-par starter. Whether these Linebackers will be liabilities or not is a massive question. Although, Linebacker is arguably the least significant position, and this defense should still survive with them out there.

Furthermore, this D-Line is where the Eagles will thrive. Haason Reddick made a case for being the best pure speed rusher in football last year. His get-off and bend are phenomenal, allowing him to win off the EDGE consistently. There’s also a plethora of rotational EDGEs here. Josh Sweat was another guy who had a big year. In addition to being an excellent second EDGE rusher, he’s a tremendous run defender. Brandon Graham crushed it as a pass rusher last season and showed no signs of slowing down. Derek Barnett is returning and will be an excellent EDGE on run-downs. Words can’t describe how excited I am to see Nolan Smith paired with Carter in this defense. Smith is eerily similar to Reddick and offers some extra youth to this pass rush.

While surrounded by excellent leaders in a remarkable culture, Jalen Carter likely turns into a monstrous player. He reportedly killed it in training camp and should be a stud from day one. Fletcher Cox will be a crucial player to rotate in on pass rush downs. He’s also a key leader in the locker room, and Philly is fortunate to have him. Jordan Davis is a rare nose-tackle build with a legitimate pass-rush upside. He’ll eat up double teams in the run game, making everyone else’s jobs easier. Milton Williams is another underrated DT to look out for. He stepped up as a run defender last year when the interior was thin. This D-Line will be deployed in various fashions, and they have the personnel to match any given offense. While not quite the same Eagles’ defense, I have high expectations for this group.

Eagles Schedule

Total Win Projection – 11.4