Finding a swing tackle after Fred Johnson’s departure, two low-budget Howie free agents who have a good chance of contributing and the world’s greatest Tanner McKee stat.
It’s your lucky day! This weekend’s 10 Random Eagles Observations has arrived on your doorstep!
1. Losing Fred Johnson is an under-rated significant loss because Big Fred played well in his five starts this past year – one at right tackle, four at left tackle – and his departure leaves the Eagles without a clear successor as that third tackle who can play on either side. Johnson, who turns 28 in June, signed a one-year deal with the Jaguars, where he’ll get an opportunity to compete for a starting spot, something he obviously wasn’t going to get here. Who are the candidates to replace him? Brett Toth has been on and off the Eagles’ roster and practice squad since 2019 – and has also spent time with the Cards and Panthers – but he’s only started one meaningful game in his career, and that was in 2023 in Carolina. But he’s a Jeff Stoutland favorite and can play guard or tackle and anybody the Eagles invest this much time in could be in the mix. Darian Kinnard, the Chiefs’ 5th-round pick in 2022, was on the roster all last year but didn’t play any meaningful snaps. But they kept him on the 53, which tells you something. Tyler Steen has tackle in his background so maybe if he doesn’t win the right guard job he could get a look as a backup to Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata. There’s also Jack Driscoll, who started four games at right tackle in 2020, one in 2021, two in 2022 and one in 2023 as well as a game at left tackle in 2022 and nine games at guard. But he’s coming off a serious ankle injury and he’s also a free agent and probably more of a guard these days anyway. Who’s the favorite? Probably someone who’s not here yet, either a cheap veteran with some experience or a rookie draft pick. It’s not an ideal situation, but when you have Stout on your side you know he’ll figure it out.
2A. Seventeen Eagles 27 or older started at least one game last year. Only six of them are still here: Lane Johnson, Dallas Goedert, Zack Baun, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown and Jordan Mailata. The other 11? Brandon Graham retired, Darius Slay was released, C.J. Gardner-Johnson was traded, Josh Sweat, Fred Johnson and Oren Burks signed elsewhere and C.J. Uzomah, Nick Gates, Avonte Maddox, Britain Covey and Jack Driscoll are currently unsigned.
2B. There are only five players left on the roster who have been here since before Nick Sirianni was hired: Lane Johnson was drafted in 2013, Jake Elliott signed off the Bengals’ practice squad in 2017, Dallas Goedert and Jordan Mailata from the 2018 draft and Jalen Hurts the 2020 draft. (Brett Toth has been here on and off since 2019 but has also spent time with the Cards and Panthers along the way.)
3. Tanner McKee is the only quarterback in NFL history to complete at least 65 percent of his passes with two TD passes and no interceptions in each of his first two career games. Donovan McNabb had two such performances in his first 63 career games, Randall Cunningham two in his first 82 games and Carson Wentz two in his first 30 games. Jalen Hurts did it in 18 games.
4. Jordan Mailata played 530 pass block snaps last year and allowed two sacks, no quarterback hits and had a 95.1 Pro Football Focus grade, which was the highest among all players last year at every position. And didn’t make the Pro Bowl. Everybody who didn’t vote for him should be ashamed. For the sake of comparison, NFC Pro Bowl tackle Taylor Decker of the Lions allowed eight sacks and four QB hits and had a grade of 77.2 and Pro Bowler Brian O’Neill of the Vikings allowed four sacks and no QB hits and had a 79.3 grade. Among 67 tackles who played at least 500 snaps, Mailata’s run block grade of 94.5 was highest, Decker’s 70.3 was 28th and O’Neill’s 74.1 was 19th. Mailata’s pass block grade of 90.8 was second to Tristan Wirfs, but Decker’s 78.0 was 24th and O’Neill’s 79.7 was 21st. A travesty.
5. Of the entire haul of second-tier free agents Howie Roseman has piled up, I’m most intrigued by two: Azeez Ojulari and A.J. Dillon. Both have pretty serious injury concerns, which is why the Eagles got them so cheap, but both are also former 2nd-round picks still in their mid-20s – Ojulari is 24, Dillon 26 – and both have done some pretty impressive things when they’ve been healthy. Ojulari has only played 46 games in his four NFL seasons, but he’s averaged almost half a sack per game – 22 in 46 games. That’s much higher than Josh Sweat (43 in 104 games), but can you keep him on the field? He’s only averaged 11½ games per season. But the production has been there. I still think the Eagles will draft an edge pretty high next month, but among Josh Uche, Bryce Huff and Ojulari I think the former Giant has the best chance to be a difference maker in 2025. As for Dillon, from 2021 through 2023, he was one of only four backs with 2,000 rushing yards, 80 catches and 8½ yards per catch. He says he’s over the stingers that cost him the 2024 season, and we’ll see. Another guy whose career has been derailed by injury concerns, but like with Ojulari the talent is clearly there. He seems to understand and embrace his role as Saquon Barkley’s backup, which means long gaps where you might not even get on the field. All these guys the Eagles signed have something in their recent background that’s a red flag to varying degrees, but Ojulari and Dillon are two guys who could definitely help.
6. Brandon Graham was the last Eagle who played for Andy Reid, which got me wondering about the last player remaining with the Eagles under other coaches. So I looked it up going back to 1960. There are still four guys here from the Doug Pederson years – Jake Elliott, Jordan Mailata, Dallas Goedert and Jalen Hurts – so let’s start with Chip:
Chip Kelly [2013-2015]: Lane Johnson [2013-2025]
Andy Reid [1999-2012]: Brandon Graham [2010-2024]
Ray Rhodes [1995-1998]: Brian Dawkins [1996-2008], Tra Thomas [1998-2008]
Rich Kotite [1991-1994]: William Thomas [1991-1999]
Buddy Ryan [1986-1990]: Randall Cunningham [1985-1995], Fred Barnett [1990-1995]
Marion Campbell [1983-1985]: Randall Cunningham [1985-1995]
Dick Vermeil [1976-1982]: Mike Quick [1982-1990]
Mike McCormick [1973-1975]: Jerry Sisemore [1973-1984]
Ed Khayat [1971-1972]: Harold Carmichael [1971-1983]
Jerry Williams [1969-1971]: Harold Carmichael [1971-1983]
Joe Kuharich [1964-1968]: Garry Pettigrew [1968-1974], Mark Nordquist [1968-1974]
Nick Skorich [1961-1963]: Nate Ramsey [1963-1972], Jim Skaggs [1963-1972]
Buck Shaw [1958-1960]: Timmy Brown [1960-1967]
7. Including the postseason, Zack Baun had 184 tackles, 3½ sacks, 13 tackles for loss, three interceptions, seven pass deflections, six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and a 75.0 defender passer rating that was 2nd-lowest among linebackers (minimum 50 targets). It was an absolutely ridiculous season. There’s a notion that Baun was so good in 2024 he can’t get any better. But I disagree. He’s had one year as an off-ball linebacker and one year in Vic Fangio’s scheme. He’s still new at this. What player who works as hard as Baun and is as smart as Baun doesn’t get better in his second year at a new position with a coach like Fangio? Baun might not pile up all the stats he had this year, but as far as being a better linebacker over a full season, recognizing things better, diagnosing things better, understanding things better? I wouldn’t be surprised if we see an even better Baun in 2025.
8. Throw out 1986 because it was Buddy Ryan’s first year with the Eagles and he had to get his system installed and clear the roster of dead weight. Throw out 1987 because it was the strike season, with one game cancelled and three played with replacement players. That leaves 1988 through 1990, when the Eagles’ defense had Reggie White, Eric Allen, Clyde Simmons, Jerome Brown, Seth Joyner, Wes Hopkins, Andre Waters, Byron Evans and Mike Pitts, all in their prime. Yet the Eagles ranked 14th out of 28 teams in defense during that three-year span, had just one top-10 defense, never ranked higher than eighth and allowed at least 20 points in all three playoff games. How could a defense with all that talent be 14th out of 28 teams over a three-year span? Buddy coached five years with the Eagles and two with the Cards and is one of only four coaches in NFL history to coach at least three playoff games and not win any. The others are Marvin Lewis (0-7), Jim Mora (0-6) and Allie Sherman (0-3). Of those four, only Ryan lost every playoff game he coached by at least two possessions.
9A. The Eagles have still had only one rushing touchdown longer than four yards in their five Super Bowls. That was LeGarrette Blount’s 21-yarder in Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis. That’s actually the only rushing touchdown the Eagles have ever had in a Super Bowl by a running back. Their four other Super Bowl rushing TDs have all been by Jalen Hurts – 1, 2 and 4 yards in Super Bowl LVII in Glendale and that 1-yarder last month in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
9B. Jalen Hurts is one of only six quarterbacks with more than one career Super Bowl touchdown pass of at least 45 yards. He had the 45-yarder to A.J. Brown two years ago and 46-yarder to DeVonta Smith last month. The others are Terry Bradshaw, John Elway, Kurt Warner, Brett Favre and Doug Williams.
10A. Saquon Barkley has 19 percent of the 60-yard touchdown runs in Eagles history.
10B. Barkley had as many 60-yard rushing touchdowns this year as the Eagles had in 611 games from Week 7 of 1959 through Week 16 of 1998.
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