NFC East 2024 free agency grades: Philadelphia Eagles edition

Last year during free agency, the Philadelphia Eagles lost DT Javon Hargrave, both starting linebackers, and both starting safeties. This offseason they were better positioned to aggressively improve their roster instead of trying to minimize the damage.

Other NFC East grades

Cowboys | Giants | Commanders

Players gained

• EDGE Bryce Huff (25): Huff was originally an undrafted free agent, who got playing time as a rookie and has seen his role increase each season with the Jets. 

As you can see, in 2023 Huff notched double digit sacks, and looked impressive doing so.

PFF had Huff down for an astronomical 67 pressures on just 334 pass rush snaps.

The downside with Huff is that he's one-dimensional, in that he's more of a pass rush specialist than he is a three-down player, and $17 million per season is a lot of money to pay a player who may be playing a limited number of snaps. But ultimately, getting to the quarterback is kind of a valuable skill, and one the Eagles are willing to pay for.

Of course, signing a guy like Huff to this kind of money only made sense if the Eagles were fairly sure they were going to trade either Haason Reddick or Josh Sweat. With Sweat taking a pay cut, it looks like Reddick will dealt at some point this offseason. Huff is younger, but Reddick is a much better player.

• RB Saquon Barkley (27): Barkley was a rookie phenom after the Giants made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, racking up 2028 yards from scrimmage and 15 TDs, taking home NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. In 2020, however, he tore an ACL, missing 14 games, and he had a down year in 2021 coming off of that injury. 

In 2022, Barkley had a comeback season, gaining 1650 yards from scrimmage and 10 rushing touchdowns while serving as the best offensive weapon on a Giants team that surprisingly went to the playoffs.

In 2023, the Giants franchise tagged Barkley to his dismay. He still showed up for training camp anyway and played the good soldier. During the season, the Giants cycled through three ineffective quarterbacks, and there were times when the Giants' offense was so bad that they just gave the ball to Barkley over and over with nowhere to run behind a trash offensive line. In 14 games, he carried 247 times for 962 yards and 6 TDs, with a yards per carry average of 3.89. While 3.89 yards per carry isn't good, it was a hell of a lot better than all the other Giants' backs, none of whom rushed for better than 2.82 yards per carry.

While not as explosive as he was earlier in his career, Barkley is still a complete back who can run inside, run outside, catch passes out of the backfield, and pass protect. Given the out-of-character money they spent on a running back, the Eagles no doubt view Barkley as a threat both as a runner and as a receiver, the latter of which was missing almost entirely from their offense in 2023. In Philadelphia, Barkley will have a chance to run behind a good offensive line for the first time in his career. 

The unrealistic view is that Barkley will have a similar effect on the Eagles' offense that Christian McCaffrey had on the 49ers' offense. The "way too pessimistic" view is that he's cooked.

He'll fall somewhere in between, but will be a significant upgrade over recent Eagles RB1s like Miles Sanders and D'Andre Swift.

• S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (26): The Eagles traded for CJGJ near the start of the 2022 season, and he quickly become a fan favorite, leading the NFL in interceptions that season, with six, despite missing five games with a lacerated kidney.

Gardner-Johnson played out the final year of his rookie contract in 2022, and entered free agency hopeful to land a monster contract. Instead, the safety market league-wide was surprisingly soft. The Eagles had strong interest in re-signing Gardner-Johnson early in free agency, however, they pivoted to keeping James Bradberry and Darius Slay in house when Gardner-Johnson turned down the Eagles' offers.

Gardner-Johnson would eventually sign a contract with the Lions that was less than what the Eagles had offered. He suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the Lions' Week 2 loss to the Seahawks, and missed the next 14 games. He returned in January for the Lions' final regular season game as well as the playoffs, and played well.

The Eagles missed Gardner-Johnson in 2023, as they were depleted at times both at safety and at slot corner. In 2022, Gardner-Johnson played both positions for the Eagles at a high level, and he did so with swagger and confidence, which the Eagles' defense was also missing at times last season.

There are perhaps durability concerns and Gardner-Johnson is a little unpredictable off the field, but he's a perfect on-field fit.

• LB Devin White (26): White was the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and he had an incredible 2020 season, the year Bucs won the Super Bowl, when he had 140 tackles (15 for loss), 9 sacks, and 16 QB hits. He has outstanding speed, and can make plays sideline-to-sideline, but there are questions about his awareness and willingness to do the dirty work. He got benched during the Bucs' run to the playoffs last season, but finished with 83 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 INTs, and 6 pass breakups.

White is an undersized linebacker at 6'0, 237, but his best trait as a pro has perhaps been his ability as a blitzer, as he has 23 career sacks. It will be interesting to see if Vic Fangio can get the most of White's unique abilities. 

• QB Kenny Pickett (25): The Eagles traded for Pickett. The compensation is as follows:

Using the draft value chart, the swap of the 98th overall pick and the 120th overall pick is the equivalent of a fourth-round pick, so in essence they gave a 4 and two 7's for him.

Pickett, 25, was a Steelers first-round pick (20th overall) in the 2022 NFL Draft. He started 12 games as a rookie both in 2022 and 2023, with a 7-5 record in each season. His passing stats:

While Pickett hasn't turned the ball over at a high rate (particularly in 2023 when he threw just 4 INTs), his 13 TD passes in 24 career starts is an abnormally low number, as is his career 6.3 yards per pass attempt. The Steelers' offense averaged 14.7 points per game in Pickett's 12 starts in 2023. 

Pickett suffered a high ankle sprain late in the season, but when he was well enough to play again, the Steelers continued to start Pickett's backup, Mason Rudolph, rather then insert Pickett back into the starting lineup. 

The Eagles' willingness to give up draft capital for Pickett is a questionable decision, seeing as 2023 QB3 Tanner McKee may very well already be a better player than him. On the positive side, his cap numbers in 2024 ($1,983,900) and 2025 ($2,623,350) are very low.

• LB Zack Baun (27): Baun, was a Saints third-round pick in 2020 who appeared in 62 games over the last four seasons, starting 14. He had his most productive season in 2023, making 30 tackles (4 for loss), 2 sacks, 4 QB hits, 2 pass breakups, and 1 INT in limited action (just 247 snaps) as a sub-package player. He was also a core special teamer for the Saints. 

Baun is something of an edge rusher / off-ball linebacker hybrid so he gives the Eagles added depth at multiple spots.

• iOL Matt Hennessy (26): Hennessy was a Falcons third-round pick in 2020, and he understudied as a rookie under Alex Mack. He became the starting center in 2021, starting every game, but moved to LG in 2022 and suffered a knee injury that cost him six games. In 2023 he reaggravated that knee injury and missed the entirety of the season. He has appeared in 41 career games, with 22 starts. His snap counts, by season:

The Eagles don't have a backup center (if we're not including Landon Dickerson) so bringing in Hennessy makes sense. Of course, he'll have to prove that he can stay healthy. This signing has some Stefen Wisniewski vibes.

• WR DeVante Parker (31): Parker, was a Dolphins first-round pick (14th overall) in 2015. He is a big receiver (6'3, 215) with 4.45 speed who is heading into his 10th NFL season. He had one big season in 2019 when e topped 1200 receiving yards, but has otherwise been disappointing, at least as far as first-round receivers go. Since that 2019 season, Parker has found it difficult to get open, to put it mildly: 

He'll have a chance to compete for a roster spot in Eagles training camp. I wouldn't go penciling him in as the WR3.

• WR Parris Campbell (26): There's some history between the Eagles and Campbell. In the 2019 NFL Draft, the Eagles were deciding between selecting Campbell and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, ultimately landing on Arcega-Whiteside at 57th overall. Campbell went 59th overall to the Colts. Neither player panned out as their initial teams would have hoped. If the majority of Eagles fans had their way, the team would have instead taken DK Metcalf, who has 5332 career receiving yards and 43 career receiving TDs. Campbell and Arcega-Whiteside have combined for 1377 career receiving yards and 6 career TDs, with Campbell doing most of the work there.

Campbell blazed a 4.31 40 at the 2019 NFL Combine, but for such a fast player he has had an oddly low 9.3 yards per catch average over his career. In 2023 with the Giants, he had an almost impossibly low 5.2 yards per catch.

Like Parker above, Campbell will have a chance to compete for a roster spot, but he should probably not be penciled in as the WR3.

The Eagles' wide receiver additions... (fart noise). #Analysis.

• LB Oren Burks (29): Burks was a Packers third-round pick in 2018 who played in Green Bay his first four years in the NFL before playing for the San Francisco 49ers the last two. He was a backup to Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, as well as a sub-package player for the Niners.

Burks had his best statistical season in 2023, making 46 tackles, a sack, and an INT in 15 games (5 starts). He was a good coverage linebacker for the Niners in 2023 (though maybe not so much in the Super Bowl), as opposing quarterbacks had a 68.6 passer rating when they targeted him in 2023 (25 targets), per PFF.

Burks will likely back up Nakobe Dean and Devin White at linebacker for the Eagles, and perhaps also find a role as a sub-package in Philly, like he did in San Francisco.

• DT P.J. Mustipher (25): Mustipher was an undrafted rookie free agent in 2023 out of Penn State who was originally signed by the Broncos. He did not make the Broncos' roster out of training camp, but landed on their practice squad. In December the Saints poached Mustipher off of the Broncos' practice squad, and he finished the season on New Orleans' 53-man roster. He appeared in 4 games, played a total of 42 snaps, and made 4 tackles.

Mustipher was mainly a nose tackle at Penn State, and the Eagles don't really have an experienced backup nose tackle, so his addition makes sense, though he'll probably be a bubble player at the outset of training camp, at best. He does not have intriguing athleticism, to put it kindly

• CB Tyler Hall (25): The Falcons signed Hall as an undrafted rookie out of Wyoming in 2020. He appeared in 9 games as a rookie, making 6 tackles. In 2021, he played for the Rams, where he appeared in 4 games (no stats), but with no snaps in the regular defense. In 2022 and 2023, Hall played for the Raiders. He had 20 tackles and 4 pass breakups in 2022, and 20 tackles in 2023. It's perhaps also noteworthy that he averaged 31.7 yards per kick return in college with a pair of return TDs (shown here), but he has not yet been used as a returner in the NFL.

The Eagles were ill-prepared with a competent backup slot last season after Avonte Maddox went down. Hall will get a look in camp for corner depth. (Also, the Eagles still need a starting slot.)

• QB Will Grier: Probably just a camp arm.

Players retained

• DE Brandon Graham: The 2024 season will be Graham's 15th in the NFL. Graham's production fell from 2022 (11 sacks) to 2023 (3 sacks), but to the Eagles, he remains a culture setter in the locker room. That could be of particular value to the Eagles when they've spent three first-round picks in the last two years on defensive linemen / pass rushers, and they lost Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox to retirement.

• LG Landon Dickerson: The Eagles and Dickerson agreed to a four-year extension through 2028. Dickerson is a quiet "do your job" type who has only missed two career starts due to injury after falling to the second round of the 2021 draft because of durability concerns. He has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last two seasons, playing in between Jason Kelce and Jordan Mailata.

• K Jake Elliott: Like Dickerson above, Elliott's extension is through 2028. He is one of the best kickers in the NFL, and it's probably pretty safe to consider him the best kicker in Eagles history.

• P Braden Mann: After the Eagles had finally seen enough of Arryn Siposs (way too late), they signed Mann after Week 2 and he turned in a really good season, finishing eighth in punter EPA.

He averaged 49.8 yards per punt, with a very good 43.8 net average. He could punt for distance as well as in "pin deep" situations, as he had just one touchback vs. 15 punts inside the 20.

There will be no punting competitions in 2024 training camp.

• LS Rick Lovato: Lovato will throw the ball between his legs for the Eagles once again in 2024. 

• TE Albert Okwuegbunam: 1 target in 2023, 1 drop.

Players lost

• C Jason Kelce (retirement): Cam Jurgens will move to center, and the Eagles will have to figure out who will start at RG.

• DT Fletcher Cox (retirement): The Eagles have been loading up on interior defensive linemen the last three drafts. It's time for those young players to step up.

• RB D'Andre Swift: The Eagles traded for Swift during the 2023 NFL Draft, and his lone season with the Birds started off hot, when he had 175 rushing yards against the Vikings Week 2 and 130 rushing yards against the Buccaneers Week 3. However, he did not top 100 yards in a game thereafter, and he averaged barely over 4 yards per carry from Week 6 on. He also finished with 39 catches for a mere 214 yards and 1 TD, though that may have been more of a scheme issue than a Swift issue.

• CB Avonte Maddox (released): Over the last few seasons, 2023 excluded, Maddox has been one of the better slot corners in the NFL. Unfortunately, he has not been able to stay on the field. 

He missed 14 games in 2023 with a torn pectoral muscle, and he missed games at three different junctures during the season in 2022. He also missed three games in 2018, four games in 2019, and six games in 2020. Obviously, he has significant durability issues.

Maddox had a base salary of $6,850,000 in 2024, the final year of his deal. There was never a chance that that the Eagles were going to keep him on the roster at that number. That said, the team loves Maddox, and could try to bring him back at a lower contract.

• S Kevin Byard (released): Byard played in 10 games for the Eagles, making 75 tackles, 1 INT, and 3 pass breakups. PFF had him down for 32 receptions allowed on 38 targets (84.2%) for 321 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT.

Byard was scheduled to have a base salary of $9,600,000 in 2024, with a roster bonus of $4 million due on March 15. By releasing him, the Eagles will save a little over $13 million on their 2024 cap. Obviously, that was a no-brainer decision.

• QB Marcus Mariota: Jalen Hurts started all 18 games for the Eagles in 2023, so Mariota's action was limited to a few snaps here and there whenever Hurts got a little dinged. His only extended action of the season came when he mopped up in the second half against the Giants Week 18 after the Eagles pulled their starters. He made $5 million in 2023 for 46 inconsequential snaps. In my opinion, Mariota did not look very good in training camp practices, and he was definitively outplayed by QB3 Tanner McKee in the preseason games.

• TE Jack Stoll: The Eagles chose not to tender Stoll as a restricted free agent. He subsequently signed with the Giants. Decent blocker, non-factor in the passing game.

• OL Jack Driscoll: Driscoll filled in at RT, RG, and LT for the Eagles over the last four years, but was never able to crack the regular starting lineup. He signed with the Dolphins.

• OG Sua Opeta: Opeta played in 38 games for the Eagles over the last four seasons, starting 10, with mixed results. He's now with the Bucs.

The tale of the tape

Analysis/Grade

The Eagles had definitive needs at linebacker, safety, running back, wide receiver, and backup quarterback. They addressed every one of those positions.

Notable additions I liked: RB Saquon Barkley, S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, LB Zack Baun, iOL Matt Hennessy.

Notable additions I didn't like as much: QB Kenny Pickett, WR DeVante Parker, WR Parris Campbell, LB Devin White. (Parker and Campbell come at a very low cost, so to be clear my beef with those signings is if the Eagles don't also add an actually good receiver.)

To be determined: EDGE Bryce Huff. If the Eagles get a good return for Reddick, then great. If they don't they will have replaced him with a lesser player who makes more money.

One big picture thing that I think the Eagles did a good job of this offseason was that they largely added players who could soon be entering their primes. Oren Burks and DeVante Parker aside, all of the players the Eagles added are between the ages of 25 and 27.

Grade: C+.

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