NFL free agency is just around the corner, and while the Philadelphia Eagles may not be strong candidates to go on a splashy shopping spree, they'll have more ability to spend than they did a year ago, when players left in droves. Here are three free agents who make sense.
Kyle Dugger (27), S, Patriots (6'2, 222)
Around the trade deadline, I had heard from a few sources that the Eagles were sniffing around Panthers linebacker/safety hybrid Jeremy Chinn, but Chinn suffered a quad injury, thus ending the Eagles' pursuit.
Dugger is a linebacker/safety hybrid in the same mold as Chinn, but he's a better player. His stats the last three seasons:
| Kyle Dugger | Tackles | INT | FF-FR | TD |
| 2021 | 92 | 4 | 0-1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 78 | 3 | 1-1 | 3 |
| 2023 | 109 | 2 | 1-0 | 0 |
Two of those three INTs in 2022 were pick-sixes. Here's one:
Aaaand the other:
He also nearly had a couple of pick-sixes in 2021. I guess we'll show those, too.
And the other:
Dugger a ball hawk, and a physical run defender. He will likely be one of the top earning safeties on the open market.
If the Patriots franchise tag Dugger, it will cost them a little over $17 million, so that feels unlikely.
The Eagles feel like a certainty to sign some kind of safety, whether that's a player in their prime coming off their rookie contract, or some veteran Band-Aid on the downside of his career.
From the Eagles' perspective, the argument for the Band-Aid is if they feel that Reed Blankenship and Sydney Brown are the future of the position in Philly. Brown tore an ACL in the final regular season game against the Giants, and his health will be in question through 2024 training camp. Adding a 30+ year old guy like Eddie Jackson, for example, would in theory buy Brown some time to get right.
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The argument for spending on a clearly good player in his prime is if you have any doubts as to whether Blankenship or Brown don't become what the Eagles hope they will be. Both have shown promise, but neither has proven yet to be a good NFL starter. Realistically, it's more likely than not that at least one of them will disappoint.
Should the Eagles add an already proven player like Dugger and all three of Dugger, Blankenship, and Brown pan out, then having three good safeties would be a good problem to have, even if that's the reason not to sign an expensive free agent. With Dugger's linebacker versatility, Vic Fangio could surely find plenty of playing time for all three guys.
The Eagles tried to add a top of the market safety in 2021, but they whiffed on guys like Marcus Williams and Justin Reid. Otherwise, the last time they splurged on a free agent safety was Rodney McLeod, which worked out. Here are the cheap safeties the Eagles have signed since McLeod:
- Corey Graham
- Andrew Sendejo
- Johnathan Cyprien
- Will Parks
- Andrew Adams
- Anthony Harris
- Jaquiski Tartt
- Justin Evans
- Terrell Evans
If you go cheap at safety, there's a good chance that guy is going to suck, so you may as well just pony up and make sure you fix the position.
Noah Brown (28), WR, Texans (6'2, 215)
Brown has been in the NFL for six seasons, and it took him a little while to become a productive receiver.
| Noah Brown | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2017 - Cowboys | 4 | 33 | 8.3 | 0 |
| 2018 - Cowboys | 5 | 54 | 10.8 | 0 |
| 2019 (DNP - knee) - Cowboys | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 - Cowboys | 14 | 154 | 11.0 | 0 |
| 2021 - Cowboys | 16 | 184 | 11.5 | 0 |
| 2022 - Cowboys | 43 | 555 | 12.9 | 3 |
| 2023 - Texans | 33 | 567 | 17.2 | 2 |
Of course, he and Kellen Moore were in Dallas together for six seasons.
But it was 2023 when Brown had something of a breakthrough season. He had 33 catches for 567 yards (a very good 17.2 YPC) and 2 TDs in just 10 games. He had two monster games in a pair of Texans shootout wins:
- 6 catches on 6 targets for 153 yards and a TD in a 39-37 win over the Bucs.
- 7 catches on 8 targets for 172 yards in a 30-27 win over the Bengals.
He has good size at 6'2, 215, and plays like it.
As you can see in the bottom tweet above, he made the most of the opportunities that came his way, unlike Quez Watkins.
In 2023, Brown's snaps were about 40:60 slot vs. outside, so, you know, he can do both. For the Eagles' purposes, with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith also playing some in the slot, that's a perfectly fine ratio.
Azeez Al-Shaair (26), LB, Titans (6'2, 228)
Al-Shaair was a 49ers undrafted free agent signing who started 48 games in San Francisco in his first four years. He left for Tennessee in free agency in 2023 and racked up 163 tackles, fifth-most in the NFL. He's a run-and-hit WILL linebacker.
The Eagles need linebackers (#analysis), and Al-Shaair is an ascending player entering his prime.
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