Merrill Reese sat in his living room chair, awaiting the rapid-fire questions from his wife as she prepared the longtime Eagles broadcaster for another game.
“Thirty-one,” said Cindy Reese, reading off an index card listing Cincinnati Bengals running backs.
Reese — who begins his 50th season on Sunday as the voice of the Eagles — needed a moment to think.
Cindy, who has a doctorate in education and spent 20 years teaching middle schoolers, quizzes him the night before each game on the opposing players. She reads him a number and he spits out a name. They repeat the numbers until he masters it, like a student preparing for a big test.
Reese grew up a Birds fan in Overbrook and would stare at the broadcast booth at Franklin Field while dreaming of being there one day. Now it’s hard to remember a time when Reese wasn’t calling the action in a voice that the Daily News once perfectly described as an “urgent baritone.”
Reese voiced two Super Bowl wins, told you the Eagles stopped ‘em again, and can make the word “good” sound great. He turned 84 earlier this month and has no plans of retiring. His 50th season, Reese said, isn’t a farewell tour.
Cindy Reese holds a note card with the names of Bengals players to help her husband, Merrill Reese, prepare for an Eagles preseason game against Cincinnati.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“Forever,” Reese said of how long he plans to call the action. “My word is always forever. I always kiddingly say they’re going to have to remove me with a crane. Look, I love to golf. But I’d rather broadcast an Eagles game than anything in the world. My greatest pleasure is to sit there and broadcast an Eagles game. There’s nothing I love more. I even enjoy doing the preseason games. I can truly tell you that I love it as much or more as I ever loved it. I have no intention of stopping.”
Reese golfs three times a week, stays active, and says his vision is crisp after having cataract surgery a few years ago. And his recall, which he credits to his work as a child actor, stays sharp thanks to those study sessions in his Blue Bell living room where his wife sits on the sofa and asks him who wears No. 31 on the Bengals.
“Kentrel Bullock,” Reese said as Cindy nodded and moved to No. 35.
Merrill Reese is entering his 50th season broadcasting Eagles games.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Chasing a dream
Reese was making $125 a week in the late 1960s at WBCB in Levittown when he heard KYW was having auditions for a radio newscaster. This was his chance. He nailed his tryout, wrote a strong script, didn’t flub any words, and felt good.
KYW’s news director brought Reese into his office and told him he was going to do him a favor.
Reese, who went to Temple before serving in the Navy, started his radio career in towns like Pottstown. Now he thought he was finally going to land a job in the big city.
“I said, ‘Boy this is great,’” Reese said. “But he said, ‘I’m going to tell you that he would be wise to find another profession because you’re never going to work in a major market station.’”
Reese was crushed. He went home and hid in his bedroom until his mother asked him what was wrong. He told her what the KYW boss said.
“He’s right,” his mom said.
Reese was stunned. His mom didn’t think he could cut it? She told her son that if he could be deterred by one detractor then he would never make his dream come true. She was right. Reese went back to work the next day in Levittown, kept pushing, and was working six months later at WWDB in Philadelphia. That news director? Reese said he soon got canned.
Video: unCovering the Birds: Is tight end the biggest area of concern?
Reese’s mother was a kindergarten teacher who loved the performing arts. She took Reese to the theater and signed him up for acting lessons when he was a boy. He was an extra in a Cecil B. DeMille movie starring Jimmy Stewart, regularly appeared on local TV shows like Chuck Wagon Pete, and did commercials as an 8-year-old.
Reese had a part in a live radio drama but was instructed to memorize his lines while the adult actors were allowed to read a script. They thought it would sound too rehearsed if the kid read. So Reese spent every afternoon studying with his mom before going outside with his buddies. The memory that is now sharpened in his living room was being formed.
“I have an unusual memory because I was trained at that age,” Reese said.
Merrill Reese and Cindy, at their Montgomery County home last month, have been married for 47 years.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
‘How about next Saturday?’
Reese and his wife met on a blind date, went out in the city, and didn’t talk again.
“I was geographically undesirable,” said Cindy, who grew up in Wallingford.
They reunited two years later and went on a double date on the Main Line with Reese’s sister and brother-in-law.
“We had a great time,” Cindy said. “I said, ‘Are you going to wait another two years to call me again?’ He said, ‘How about next Saturday?’ That was that.”
By then Reese parlayed his WWDB job into a gig at WIP, which hired him to do five minutes of sports every hour each morning before naming him the host of their Eagles pregame and postgame show.
He joined the broadcast booth in 1975 as a color analyst and then became the play-by-play man at age 35 in December 1977 after his partner Charlie Swift died by suicide. Reese got a call in the middle of the night that Swift died. That Sunday, Reese had to call the action.
Merrill Reese talks with his longtime spotter Bill Werndl (right) in the broadcast booth before a preseason game against the Bengals on Aug. 28.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“I’m standing there in the booth and the Eagles held a moment of silence for Charlie Swift,” Reese said. “All the players on the sidelines turned and looked at the booth. My knees are literally knocking into each other. I’m hoping something can just come out of my mouth. After that, they queued me and I went on. I did a little remembrance for Charlie Swift, broke for a commercial, and from there on it was all football.”
Reese finished the 1977 season but there was no guarantee that the job would be his in 1978. The station tried to land Al Meltzer, the popular broadcaster who was returning to Philadelphia after a year in Chicago. They told Reese that “Big Al” could sell more advertisements. Reese understood. But he wanted that job.
“I used to dream many times that winter that they called me and told me I had the job,” Reese said. “I would wake up depressed because I didn’t have the job. It was just a dream. Other times, I would go to sleep and dream that they called me and said they decided to go into a different direction. I would wake up relieved because I still wasn’t out of it.”
Meltzer turned down the Eagles’ gig to become the sports director at Channel 10. Reese was thrilled. The job was his.
“It was very exciting,” Cindy said. “It really did launch the trajectory of our relationship because that was going to be our lives.”
“I believe we’ve become like members of the family (for listeners),” says Merrill Reese, with longtime radio partner Mike Quick.ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer
Members of the family
Reese and his longtime broadcast partner, former wide receiver Mike Quick, are so popular that fans delay their TV feeds and hit mute to sync their screens with the WIP-FM broadcast. The broadcasters even have their own beer. In Super Bowl seasons or super bad seasons, Merrill and Mike give you a reason to tune in.
“I believe we’ve become like members of the family,” Reese said. “We’re like their old friends who’ve been with them for many, many years. They grew up listening to us and we’ve become somebody who is able to react the way they react. We’re not homers. We don’t paint phony pictures. We don’t make a game exciting. I try to transmit the excitement, but when they’re bad, I’ll say they’re bad. I think people appreciate that. They can identify with us. They feel comfortable with us.”
Reese’s voice — the one that every Eagles fan has tried to imitate — somehow sounds the same year after year.
He said he isn’t a smoker or drinker. He doesn’t scream and tries not to talk on the phone the day before a game. He builds his vocabulary by reading everything from the newspaper to mystery novels. But the secret to Reese’s longevity may be his wife.
“My wife is my partner and basically in everything we do,” said Reese, who married Cindy in June 1979. “Cindy has always helped me prepare. Cindy is my confidant and my friend. We golf together. We do a lot of things together and Cindy is also very accomplished in her own right. She’s a great writer, an environmentalist. She has so many interests. We have a wonderful life together with two great kids and two wonderful grandchildren.”
Cindy listens to each game and gives her husband feedback when he’s off the air. She understands football but isn’t a crazed fanatic.
Cindy Reese holds a note card with the names of Bengals players she uses to quiz her husband in preparation for a game. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“I’m an Eagles fan, but I’m really a Merrill fan,” Cindy said.
The couple raised two children — Nolan and Ida — but Reese’s broadcasting gig took him away to training camp every summer, practices during the week, and games on the weekend. There were radio shows, appearances, and hours of preparation. The job is more than just four hours on a Sunday afternoon.
So it was often up to Cindy to make sure everything was in line at home.
“It’s been teamwork. We had to be a team because of the nature of raising a family under those circumstances,” Cindy said. “The thing that makes our relationship different from a woman married to a football player is that there’s a time limitation. There might be four years or six years or whatever that their husband is involved in. With coaches, and people like Merrill, there’s no time frame. It just went on. Here we are. Fifty years.”
The broadcaster used to study the opposing rosters on his own before his wife stepped in. Cindy, who now mentors student teachers at Gwynedd Mercy University, turns their living room into a classroom. They’ve been doing it like this since Reese got the Eagles gig.
Her husband has to be quick during games as an assistant in the booth points to a number after a play to indicate who tipped a pass or forced a fumble. No. 31? No. 97? No. 56? Cindy says the numbers as rapidly as a football shoots from a JUGS machine. The former sixth-grade science teacher makes sure her husband knows them all.
“He’s amazing,” Cindy said. “He can memorize all these numbers. I’ll do the cards with him and when I leave the room, I don’t know the numbers. But he does. I don’t have that kind of memory. He has an amazing memory.”
Merrill Reese “says he wants to do it forever and as long as he’s able and happy with it then it’s great,” said his wife Cindy.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Reese has called Eagles games from Jaws to Jalen Hurts but still wakes up nervous every Sunday. It’s because he cares so much, he said.
So Cindy always does her best to make sure the house is calm in the hours before her husband leaves. He’s too uneasy before kickoff to eat at the stadium so she makes him a stack of apple cinnamon pancakes every Sunday morning to hold him over. First, she sharpens his memory. Then, she fills his stomach. They’ve done it for 50 years and hope to do it forever.
“The station has changed many times, the ownership has changed many times, the coaches have changed many times, but Merrill is the constant,” Cindy said. “He just loves the seat and being involved. He says he wants to do it forever and as long as he’s able and happy with it then it’s great.”
A day more than eight months in the making is nearly here. After a myriad key offseason changes, the Eagles will take the field at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday (4:25 p.m., Fox) looking to prove they’re still the toast of the NFC East, and a viable Super Bowl contender. They’ll do so against a Washington Commanders team trying to turn the page on a bleak 5-12 season in 2025. Here’s how our writers see Sunday going:
Jeff Neiburg
The NFL schedulers threw Sean Mannion a bone. The Eagles have a difficult schedule overall — Sharp Football Analysis rates it the eighth-hardest schedule — but they open with games against the following team defense ranks from 2025: 32, 29, 21.
It should give Mannion and the new-look offense a chance to work out some kinks. Besides the joint practices in New England, the first-team offense hasn’t gotten any work as a unit against a real opponent, and the playbook we saw Andy Dalton, Tanner McKee, and Cole Payton work with during the preseason games is only one small part of what the Eagles have implemented.
We’ll see Jalen Hurts taking more snaps from under center, more receivers in motion, more play action, more middle-of-the-field throws.
The guess here is the offense will have some good and some bad over the first few weeks, but I expect the running game and the new-look wide zone scheme to have some success against a bad defense that hasn’t gotten much better.
Saquon Barkley was my pick to be the NFL’s offensive player of the year, and he should start his 2026 campaign with a lot of yards. The Eagles should run the ball with relative ease and then find high-percentage throws, especially off play-action.
Defensively, the Eagles had an edge before Commanders left tackle Laremy Tunsil’s injury, and it’s even bigger now. They avoided playing Jayden Daniels in each of their matchups with the Commanders last year, but they shouldn’t have much trouble causing havoc Sunday.
Prediction: Eagles 27, Commanders 13
The official beginning of the Sean Mannion offensive era comes Sunday. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Ryan Novozinsky
The Mannion era is going to start with a bang.
Sure, the Commanders have a new, lauded defensive coordinator in Daronte Jones. But they didn’t exactly make any splashy moves on that side of the ball, which means they’re largely returning a unit that ranked No. 32 in total defense last season.
Their passing defense ranked fourth-worst in the league. Their run defense was even worse, ranking 30th. Mannion’s wide-zone scheme should feast against a unit like this, especially if the run game gets going early, which would set up a play-action attack through the air.
The Eagles have the backfield weapons to make that happen, too. Barkley looked like his 2024 self in Mannion’s offense this summer and even Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley had their moments. Couple that with the running threat of Hurts — he looked quicker in training camp, as defensive coordinator Vic Fangio pointed out in August — and you should get a relentless rushing attack.
Now, this game isn’t a guaranteed win. The Eagles’ receiver room — sans DeVonta Smith — could prove to be too green or Daniels could take over and drag Washington to victory (like he did many times in his rookie season).
But let’s face it: The biggest factor in this game is the Eagles defense, which is arguably their best unit in years. How can you count them out against a team like Washington, which will be without Tunsil?
Fangio’s unit will carry them to victory, but Mannion’s offense will show some flashes.
Prediction: Eagles 35, Commanders 10
Will Saquon Barkley have another day to remember against the Commanders?Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Olivia Reiner
This could be a coming-out party for the new-look Eagles run game.
Mannion now helms the offense and is expected to bring a derivative of the Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay scheme rooted in the wide-zone blocking scheme. The wide-zone runs could help set up the play-action passing game, marrying together both phases of the offensive attack.
Still, the exact playbook remains a mystery, which the Eagles can weaponize to their advantage. Plus, the Commanders have been susceptible to giving up yardage on the ground.
Last season, the Eagles ranked No. 18 in the league in rushing yards. The offense still eclipsed 200 yards on the ground in Week 16 against the Commanders (only one of two occasions last season).
The Commanders have a new defensive coordinator in Jones, who was previously the defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings. But head coach Dan Quinn could still have his fingerprints on the defense given his defensive background. Plus, the Commanders didn’t make many dramatic defensive personnel improvements in the offseason that would give the run defense a significant boost.
The other matchup to watch is on the other side of the ball. The Commanders offensive line took a hit when Tunsil tore his triceps in training camp. He was one of the best left tackles in the league last season, allowing the seventh-lowest pressure rate (8%) among 35 offensive linemen with at least 250 pass-blocking snaps at that position, according to Next Gen Stats.
The Commanders could struggle to run the ball behind a shaky offensive line. The Eagles, meanwhile, could thrive. If so, the Eagles will maintain their win streak in Week 1 under Nick Sirianni.
Mike Riley and Sean Mannion were having one of their catch-up calls when Mannion, who played quarterback at Oregon State under Riley, told his former coach the latest project he was working on during the nascent days of his own coaching career.
Mannion, the most prolific passer in Oregon State history, told Riley that he was putting together and digitizing all of the passing concepts he could find dating back to the 1960s.
“This is what he does in his spare time,” Riley explained recently.
Mannion is just 34 years old and only three years removed from his playing career. He has never called plays in the NFL before and now is tasked with turning around an Eagles offense that was too stagnant in 2025 under another first-year coordinator and first-time play caller Kevin Patullo. Nick Sirianni said in February that he was looking for someone who was detailed and had “conviction in what they believed and why they believed in it, and the vision and conviction of how they went about it.”
Those traits seem to describe Mannion, whose father, John, called him “a saver” who took and saved detailed notes at every stop along his football path and even has comprehensive notes on concepts that pre-date his own life by some 30 years. Eagles quarterbacks coach Parks Frazier raved recently about Mannion’s attention to detail and his ability to recall and reference something he has learned along the way.
“He remembers every detail about all of those things and he’s constantly applying it to what he’s doing moving forward,” Frazier said. “He has extreme, detailed, categorized notes and film of everything he’s been through.”
Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion talks with wide receiver Makai Lemon during team drills last month. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Mannion is installing a new offense for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles, one rooted in the flavors of the trendy Kyle Shanahan-Sean McVay scheme. But Mannion’s history and influences suggest a style that ultimately will pull from every resource imaginable as he guides the Eagles offense into the future.
Sirianni and Howie Roseman took a calculated risk on a young and fast-rising offensive coach when they landed on Mannion, who spent two years on the staff in Green Bay, most recently as quarterbacks coach, before his big promotion. But a lack of experience doesn’t necessarily mean Mannion is any less equipped to succeed than a more experienced candidate. In many ways, Mannion, the son and grandson of football coaches, has been preparing for this job for most of his life.
“His thing was, he wanted to play as long as he could,” his father said. “The unsaid part was that when those days were done that he would turn his attention to coaching.”
Like father, like son
At its roots, coaching is teaching. In that sense, Sean isn’t just the son of a football coach; he is the son of two teachers, and his earliest influences can be traced to the classroom. He’d mess around in a playpen while his mother, Inga, an elementary school teacher, finished work in her classroom after school.
He was around his father’s football teams as much as he could be, too. One Saturday, John, who also has been a teacher for 36 years, was going to scout an upcoming opponent with a coaching friend and Sean wanted to tag along. He was around 7 years old and an inquisitive kid at the time, so he brought with him a yellow legal pad. While he watched the game next to the two adults, he doodled and drew notes and observations from the field.
“He spent a lot of time doing what we were doing,” John said of his son’s early days. “That notepad probably was a byproduct of all that time spent.”
Sean grew up in Pleasanton, Calif., Alameda County, about 20 miles east of the San Francisco Bay in a household that valued education. He was a good student who also excelled in sports. Football was his main sport, but he also played baseball and basketball.
When Sean was a rising sophomore at Foothill High School, John, a former assistant, was given the job as the school’s head football coach. He was nervous, though, about any appearance of nepotism, so from the outset of that season he had Sean playing on the JV team. Foothill was 12-1 the previous season and had two upperclassmen ahead of Sean on the depth chart. A week before the season, the senior quarterback hurt his ankle and was on crutches. Later that week, after throwing at least four touchdowns in a scrimmage, the junior quarterback showed up on Labor Day, the first practice of the first game week of the season, and complained about a back injury that eventually forced him to miss the season.
John called home right away. Sean had to get to the field and get to practice.
Sean’s freshman coach at Foothill was Mike Madden, the son of Hall of Fame coach John Madden. Mike approached John Mannion that first week and asked him if he was nervous for Sean.
“Gosh, I hadn’t thought about it,” John said. “I’m nervous for myself at this point.”
John Mannion (left) coached Sean (right) in high school.Photo courtesy of John Mannion
John’s first game as varsity head coach was also Sean’s first game as varsity starting quarterback. Asked if he remembered it well, John responded the way many coaches would, and the way the father of a detailed note-taker would: “Oh yeah,” he said. “Of course I do, yeah. We lost, 26-21, and Sean did really well. It was a really hot day and there was a lot learned by me.”
The team they lost to went to the state playoffs, but so did Foothill. Sean “knew the offense from all those years growing up around it” and “really absorbed a lot of things along the way,” John said.
“We kind of went through it together,” John said. “There was no plan of him ever being on the team that first year, but sure enough there he was. There’s challenges in there but I think it was a great experience for us to be able to do that.”
Sean finished his high school career as Foothill’s all-time leading passer and, after throwing for 3,521 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior, was off to Oregon State.
That yellow legal pad Sean doodled on during that football scouting trip was part of a full-circle moment some 25 years later.
“When I got my first coaching job with the Packers, as a gift, he framed it for me,” Sean said. “So I still have it in my house. It’s pretty cool. The scheme has evolved since then, I will say, but it was a really cool, special gift that he kept.”
Riley’s favorite word to describe Sean is “diligent.” How many coaches born in the 1990s are digitizing passing concepts from the 60s?
Sean was the top quarterback Oregon State pursued in the class of 2010, and Riley and his staff were thrilled when he committed and later signed. The program had produced top quarterbacks like Derek Anderson and Matt Moore, and Riley thought Sean would be the next great one to come through Corvallis.
The diligence showed up right away. Sean was supposed to redshirt during his first season on campus, but the summer before his first camp with the Beavers, Sean got the keys to the facility from the graduate assistants to go in early and watch film.
“That was him the whole time,” Riley said. “He could really throw the football and he was a very hard worker physically, and then he was a very hard worker off the field. He wanted to know and learn and he’s one of the most diligent people that I’ve ever been around.”
That part of Sean made it easier when, during the second half of the first game the following season, Riley put Sean in the game over a junior who started. He was just a redshirt freshman, but he was Oregon State’s starter from that point until graduation.
“That was one of the first times probably in my career that I actually had the faith in a redshirt freshman to insert him sometime early in the year as a starter,” Riley said. “I think that said a lot about what we felt about his early development and what we thought he could do on the field.”
Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion has worked diligently on offensive concepts dating back to his career as a player. Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Sean became a captain the following season. He is soft-spoken by nature, those closest to him say, but his leadership showed up in the way he carried himself and how he approached the game. By senior year, he had a nickname: “The Machine.” That year’s offensive coordinator, John Garrett, referred to Sean by that moniker during a film session one day and it stuck, much to Sean’s chagrin. Oregon State’s offensive linemen sometimes walked robotically around Sean.
“That is a pretty appropriate nickname because he was just like that,” Riley said. “He just went to work and put in the work and everybody knew that about him. I think he’s one of the most probably respected teammates that I saw through all my years of coaching.”
Sean exited college as Oregon State’s all-time leader in passing yards and ranked in the top 10 in college football history. He’s still 19th.
The quarterback and coach have stayed in touch over the years. Riley, who left Oregon State for Nebraska after Sean’s senior year, is now retired, though he’s still on the College Football Playoff selection committee. Sean isn’t the most recent Mannion whom Riley had talked to as of a few weeks ago, though. John, who no longer coaches, now writes a newsletter on Substack called “John Mannion’s Coaching Playbook,” and recently interviewed Riley.
Sean’s most recent catch-up call with his college coach came after OTAs this season and just before camp.
“He sounded excited and he sounded like he would be because he’s always prepared — he sounded confident,” Riley said. “And I could also tell he was having a lot of fun.”
‘A 30,000-foot view’
Sean has described his father and Riley as his two biggest influences along the way. But his most relevant football influences when it comes to his current job came into his life in 2017, when Sean was backing up Jared Goff with the Los Angeles Rams and the team brought in a new coach, McVay, who hired a new offensive coordinator, Matt LaFleur. Both had been schooled under Shanahan and brought to the Rams a new style of offense that Sean took to.
“I just felt like I was learning so, so much,” Sean said. “It was such an exciting way to match the run and pass. They had such a way about teaching the game where we could feel ourselves challenging a defense, but it felt simple to us.
“Those are the things that really stood out to me going through that experience that really resonated with me as a player and certainly resonate with me as a coach. That was a very exciting point in my football life, just the exposure to that type of teaching, that type of scheme. I know Matt, obviously a mentor of mine, getting to play for [McVay]. I learned so much from those people. It’s certainly a big part of molding me into the type of coach I am now.”
Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion with members of the offensive line during training camp last month. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
How the Eagles offense will look come Sunday still remains a sort of mystery. There certainly will be more motion, more snaps from under center, and more play-action. But the Eagles ran a bland offense during the preseason in an effort to hide most of their playbook, and the first-team offense was rarely fully healthy during training camp and also had to go against one of the best defenses in the league.
The Eagles have a new style of running the ball, which will be a key to unlocking the passing game and play-action. The base of the Shanahan-McVay offense is outside, wide-zone runs that stretch the defense horizontally. The Eagles and longtime offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland parted ways this offseason, and new offensive line coach Chris Kuper has been in charge of implementing the new blocking scheme.
Kuper was the offensive line coach in Minnesota when Sean spent part of the 2023 season with the Vikings.
“He sees the game from a 30,000-foot view as well as being on the sideline and being into it with the players,” Kuper said. “I think it speaks volumes, his experience as a quarterback in this league and being able to connect people and become a glue guy has been incredible.”
There may be a misconception that Sean, a quarterback by trade, just focuses on the quarterbacking. But Kuper described a coach who is involved in every facet of the offense.
“What I love about Sean is how much he loves the run game,” Kuper said.
Kuper said part of Sean’s responsibilities in Green Bay when he was an offensive assistant in 2024 was to draw some runs. The Eagles do have a run-game coordinator in tight ends coach Ryan Mahaffey, but Kuper is confident Sean could handle it all.
“Sean could game plan and call a game all on his own, I think, if he wanted to,” Kuper said.
First-time play caller
The Mannions relocated to Oregon when Sean was in college, and one spring after John had taken over as the head coach at Mountainside High, he needed help.
The 2021 football season came together rather late in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a shortened spring season was on the table. Sean was home in Oregon doing remote OTAs with the Vikings when John asked him to be the offensive coordinator that season.
Sean’s younger brother, Brian, was the starting quarterback. It was a family affair.
On the day of the first practice, John walked out on the field and handed Sean his handwritten practice plan.
“You know there’s software for this, right?” Sean quipped.
John was calling plays, but after Mountainside was shut out in the second of their six games, John made a change.
“I handed the torch to him. It was fun,” John said.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sean Mannion (4) kisses his daughter Sawyer after pregame warmups before a game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019.Carlos Gonzalez / MCT
John has watched the oldest of his four children become a loving husband to his wife, Megan, and the proud father of three children. He always knew Sean could and probably would eventually become a successful coach, but that spring offered his first real chance to witness Sean’s future in person.
“I could see clearly he had a real knack for it,” John said.
Sean was still in the process of talking to the Eagles when he was tapped to call plays in January’s East-West Shrine Bowl. He called John during his father’s lunch break.
“You haven’t called a game since Mountainside vs. Grant High School back in March of 2021,” John joked.
The two shared a laugh. A few days later, Sean was hired to call plays for the Eagles.
All roads lead to Delco
Margaret Mannion was around 20 years old when she moved to California, but John’s mother spent her early days in Delaware County. She lived in Drexel Hill, graduated from Archbishop Prendergast High School, and worked at Villanova before moving west, where she met Jim Mannion, John’s late father.
Margaret, 84, has dementia now and still lives in California in an elder care facility, but John is pretty confident there will be at least one “proud Philadelphian” and Eagles fan watching the games this year from the elder care facility.
As for John, he’s a self-described “worrier.” When Sean redshirted at Oregon State, John loved the ease of watching the games with no pressure in the family section. After Sean was inserted as starter the next season, John called the box office. He wanted to sit in the far corner of the stadium in the last row. Tickets in the family section were free and required no work on his end, but every year he’d call the ticket office to secure his seats at the top of the stadium.
Sean rarely played in the NFL — he threw just 110 passes over nine seasons in the league — so Sunday Ticket usually sufficed. When Sean was hired by the Packers, they were on national television frequently enough, and for the games they weren’t, John would drive to his local Buffalo Wild Wings, where he’d watch quietly and hope the quarterback play was up to snuff.
Last year, while watching a game at the restaurant, a few Green Bay fans in their 20s complained to John about Packers quarterback Jordan Love. The group had a laugh when John told them, no, he wasn’t from Green Bay, his son coached the quarterbacks.
“I’m going to call him tonight and tell him there’s some guys in Oregon who say he’s got a lot of work to do,” John joked.
This year, it’s back to Sunday Ticket. John, who was in town for a few days in August observing the Eagles and Sean during camp, said he’ll build a fire at home, watch the game in peace, and “keep our fingers crossed.”
His son’s new job comes with a lot of pressure. Patullo was the most criticized person in the building last year and eventually took the fall after the team’s first-round exit, so all eyes will be on Sean as the season gets underway.
Margaret’s older sister, John’s aunt, still lives in New Jersey and called John after Sean got the job.
She was excited Sean was in a new, high-profile job back where his family has roots. But her excitement also had a tinge of nervousness: “Hopefully everybody is nice to him,” she said.
These are the most compelling conversations surrounding the Eagles’ coming season. Crazy, maybe, considering the success of each and their success in tandem, but here we are.
Hurts is under contract for three more seasons, but 2026 is his last season with substantial guaranteed money. Most teams with a $255 million franchise quarterback one season removed from winning a Super Bowl and its MVP award would have discussed an extension that would lock in that QB before the QB market inflates further, but the Eagles have not done that, according to a source. Why? Because Hurts regressed in 2025 and the Eagles are installing a new offense in 2026 and they want to see how he handles it.
Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni both have the equity that comes with a title and will be given a learning curve with a new offense. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Sirianni, of course, also is one season removed from winning a Super Bowl, a win that, according to an NFL source, earned him a four-year extension that pays him a $15 million salary through 2029. However, for the second time, Sirianni also lost the offensive coordinator that got him to the Super Bowl. Shane Steichen became the Colts’ head coach after 2022. Kellen Moore became the Saints’ head coach after 2024. Each time, Sirianni failed to replace them with a competent hire of his choosing, and owner Jeffrey Lurie and GM Howie Roseman got involved in pursuing the next coordinators. That’s why Moore got hired in 2024, and it’s why new coordinator Sean Mannion, a disciple of Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay, is installing that new offense in 2026.
So, while they might be overblown, there are issues with both the quarterback and the coach. Any post-2026 divorce would mean that the Eagles would eat either salary-cap money or Sirianni’s paychecks, but Lurie has never been shy to move off a bad investment.
In the NFL, it’s always easier to replace a coach than a quarterback. After all, Doug Pederson and Sirianni won Super Bowls.
Ominous, no? Apparently, no.
Relax
An offseason of communications with various NFL sources indicated two things:
The Eagles do not consider 2026 to be a make-or-break season for either Hurts or Sirianni. That’s because …
Installing an offense that is so philosophically different than what’s come before it is not a 17-game undertaking. It’s a two-season project.
This makes perfect sense.
It is the proper way to view the matter.
I’ll admit, it’s not the way I viewed the matter this spring. I thought Hurts’ limitations as a passer and decision-maker should imperil his status past 2026. I thought Sirianni’s inability to mature and his lack of offensive innovation should imperil his status as well.
I came around.
Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman both understand that Sean Mannion’s (right) offensive installation will be a work in progress. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Several NFL insiders said that this season should not be crucial for either the coach or the QB. Why?
Because, as long as the 2026 season doesn’t deteriorate into disaster, and as long as there is promise in December that the Birds can win big as soon as next season, the Eagles will have a better foundation than ever. They could be building something that lasts for the next decade. Mannion likely won’t be here for that long, since top offensive coordinators usually get hired as head coaches as soon as they show any aptitude. But Hurts is only 28. Sirianni can become a legend in Philly. That’s what the Eagles‘ brain trust wants.
My guys
Lurie is proud of acquiring both Hurts and Sirianni while the rest of the league laughed. As such, he is as invested in them as he was invested in Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb.
Also, Lurie is 74. He’s groomed his son, Julian, to replace him at the top. What better gift to give your princeling than a stable kingdom? As such, stability through change takes time.
Lurie and Roseman realize there will be speed bumps. The offense won’t work smoothly immediately. Mannion will virtually have carte blanche in regard to concepts, Sirianni will have final say over who is asked to do what, and Hurts won’t be asked to do things he’s uncomfortable doing.
However, as long as Hurts shows improvement as the season progresses, his future in Philly will be secure.
And as long as Sirianni commits to the concepts Mannion installs, and displays a willingness to adhere to them when Mannion moves on, his future in Philly also will be locked down.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni with owner Jeffrey Lurie before a joint practice with the New England Patriots last month. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
I’ve known Lurie for 30 years, Roseman for 25. They don’t always tell whole truths, but they seemed particularly comfortable and, frankly, honest when, this offseason, they were asked about the futures of Hurts and Sirianni.
Asked last Wednesday on 94-WIP if this was a make-or-break season for Hurts, Roseman replied, “No, I don’t agree with that.”
Asked by reporters in April to review Sirianni’s five-year tenure, Lurie replied, “His performance has been nothing short of outstanding.”
All of this sounds pleasant now, before the first whistle blows. All of this could change drastically. The Eagles’ battered offensive line is being held together by athletic tape and stem cells. The team traded malcontent franchise receiver A.J. Brown, and his replacement, rookie Makai Lemon, doesn’t look ready for the NFL. There’s no proof that superstar running back Saquon Barkley, who carried the club in 2024 when he was 27, didn’t lose a step in 2025 when he was 28; now, he’s 29.
They host a desperate Commanders defense to start the season Sunday, travel to Chicago — where the Bears won a playoff game last season — for Game 3, then host Aaron Donald, Myles Garrett, and the fearsome Rams in Game 4.
There’s a very real chance that the Eagles’ new offense sputters in the first month of the season. There’s a very real chance that Lurie and Roseman become impatient and change their current long-range views regarding the head coach and the quarterback.
For now, though, they seem willing to give them every best chance.
The 2026 NFL season kicks off this week, with the Eagles’ Week 1 meeting against the Commanders highlighting a slate that also includes Seahawks/Patriots on Wednesday and a 49ers/Rams showdown in Australia on Thursday.
With that in mind, The Inquirer’s NFL reporting team of Jeff McLane, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, and Ryan Novozinsky offered their predictions not only for the Eagles season but also how they see the entire league shaking out, including playoff brackets and major awards.
Eagles game-by-game predictions
Week
Opponent
McLane
Reiner
Neiburg
Novozinsky
1
Commanders
W
W
W
W
2
@ Titans
W
W
W
W
3
@ Bears (MNF)
L
L
W
W
4
Rams
L
L
L
L
5
Jaguars (London)
L
W
W
W
6
Panthers
W
W
W
W
7
Cowboys (MNF)
W
W
W
L
8
@ Commanders (SNF)
W
W
L
W
9
Giants
W
W
W
W
11
Steelers
W
W
W
W
12
@ Cowboys (T-giving)
L
L
L
W
13
@ Cardinals
W
W
W
W
14
Colts
W
W
W
W
15
Seahawks (Sat.)
L
L
L
W
16
Texans (Thur.)
L
L
W
L
17
@ 49ers (SNF)
L
W
L
L
18
@ Giants
W
L
W
W
10-7
11-6
12-5
13-4
Inside our picks
Which pick were you most on the fence about?
McLane: London game vs. the Jaguars (loss). I was at the Eagles’ last trip over the Atlantic when they beat a then-good Jacksonville team in 2018. Only a couple of players remain from the squad — tackle Lane Johnson and kicker Jake Elliott — but traveling to other countries has become the norm for every team in the NFL. So it’s not like the Jaguars, who play in London the most, have a distinct advantage.
The Jaguars will be a much tougher opponent than the Jacksonville team the Eagles faced in 2024. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
But coach Liam Cohen returns a squad that won the AFC South with a 13-4 record as he enters his second season in charge. There will likely be regression with a first-place schedule. I see a lot of prognosticators picking them to fall to the middle of the pack. But I like their roster. And I think the Eagles are going to hit a rough patch from Weeks 3-5 after opposing defenses get film on Sean Mannion’s new offense. Still, it’s difficult to see Vic Fangio’s defense allowing a three-game losing steak. So I was divided about this pick. Ultimately, I just felt the Jags matched up well against the Birds.
Reiner: The 49ers road game (win). There should be plenty of juice going into that game, as the Eagles fell to the 49ers in the wild-card round. Looking back, it seemed like a lot of the Eagles’ shortcomings in that game were self-inflicted. The following week, the 49ers were exposed by the Super Bowl champion Seahawks in their 41-6 divisional-round drubbing. That late-season three-game stretch against the Seahawks, Texans, and 49ers should be tricky, but it seems unlikely that the Eagles will lose three straight games. I think the 49ers could be the lesser team of that trio, especially if their poor injury luck persists into 2026. Given they have one of the oldest rosters in the league, perhaps that isn’t too far-fetched.
Neiburg: The Texans game on Christmas Eve (win). I think 12-5 is the right record, and because it’s impossible to know what’s going to go on later in the season, guessing the spots for the losses is tough. On my first spin through I had them losing three straight to Seattle, Houston, and San Francisco. I can’t see this team losing three consecutive games. I also don’t see them losing to Washington, but 13-4 seems a bit off, and I needed a fifth loss, so I went with the NFC East opponent on the road rather than a random loss at home to a team like Pittsburgh. You see? This is an exact science. Houston is really good. That three-game stretch could be a turning point.
Novozinsky: The Seahawks game (win). Yes, they’re the defending champs. Yes, their defense is great. Yes, Sam Darnold just completed a masterful career 180. But after watching the Eagles defense all summer, I just think the Birds have the deeper unit — which will be the clear difference maker in this game. This’ll be a true rock fight, but I say the Eagles come out on top thanks to their secondary clamping down Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Rookie Carson Beck could be the Cardinals QB by the time the Eagles face them in December. David Richard
Which game do you most consider a lock?
McLane: The opener vs. the Commanders. If there was one non-quarterback Washington couldn’t afford to lose to injury, it was Laremy Tunsil. The left tackle’s season ended when he tore his triceps early in training camp. Not only was Tunsil arguably the most established player on the team, but he was the No. 1 piece standing between Jayden Daniels and more injuries.
But there are a host of other reasons to think Dan Quinn’s unit will be just as bad as it was last season. The offensive skill position group is lacking in top-end talent. The defensive front seven will look significantly different than it did during last season’s wretched campaign. But it’s young and will have to carry the load if the secondary continues to be porous. The Eagles may have some early hiccups with a first-time play caller in Mannion, but the offense should benefit from the early element of surprise. The defense, meanwhile, could dominate.
Reiner: The game against the Cardinals. Congratulations – you have the chance to start for the Cardinals at quarterback this season! The Jacoby Brissett-Gardner Minshew-Carson Beck quarterback depth chart isn’t exactly fear-inducing for defensive coordinators. Rookie running back Jeremiyah Love, who is already injured, could be challenged to reach his potential behind an average offensive line. If things aren’t going well for the Cardinals by Week 13, Josh Sweat might sneak back to Philadelphia on the team plane after the game.
Neiburg: Dec. 6 in Arizona. The Cardinals are dreadful. There’s a real chance they go winless. They could be touchdown underdogs in every one of their divisional contests and they’re also matched up with an AFC West division that could produce three playoff teams. Eagles fans always travel well, but an early December trip to the southwest is enticing, and this one might feel like a home game.
Novozinsky: Week 2 at the Titans. The Titans will probably be marginally better in 2026, but let’s face it: If your team is picking up the scraps from the Giants/Jets of the past five years, you’re probably not going to be a very good team. They’re a true dumpster fire franchise — and I’m still not sold on quarterback Cam Ward. The Eagles will win this game and Broadway will be flooded with chants of “Go Birds!”
Another Eagles-Rams classic could be in store when Nick Sirianni and the Birds host Sean McVay and L.A. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Which contest screams “statement game” to you
McLane: Dec. 19 vs. the Seahawks. After a shaky start to the season, I can see the Eagles settling into a groove, especially with some expected easier opponents in the middle portion of the season. I have them 9-4 by the time they host the defending-champion Seahawks on Dec. 19. It’s difficult to repeat, of course, and while Mike Macdonald returns one of the best defenses in the league, and has elite players like Smith-Njigba on offense, I could see Seattle falling back to earth in a tough NFC West. Does anyone really think that Darnold will be as good as he was during a sun-kissed 2025? But a win here for the Eagles would be impressive and maybe catapult them into a stretch run and another NFC East crown.
Reiner: The Seahawks game in Week 15, especially if both teams are competing for playoff spots at that point in the season. Seattle is defending its Super Bowl title and the Eagles are looking to contend once again. If they can come up with a win against the league’s leading defense in 2025 and the Offensive Player of the Year in Smith-Njigba, they should feel good about themselves heading into the final stretch of the season. If not, a loss could be a sign of bad things to come for the Eagles in the postseason.
Neiburg: Well, the Rams game could be a preview of the NFC title game, so, for better or worse, that is kind of a measuring stick game. The Eagles will match up with a few shaky defenses early in the season before welcoming Myles Garrett, Aaron Donald, and perhaps the best defensive front ever assembled to Lincoln Financial Field. It’s just a shame it’s a 1 p.m. game, because it’s one of the best games on the NFL calendar this season.
Novozinsky: Christmas Eve in Houston. What the Texans lack on offense, they make up for — in a huge way — with an unrelenting defensive front. They’re my Super Bowl pick this year and they’re a perfect measuring stick for the Birds in front of a primetime holiday audience. The schedule makers sure didn’t do the Eagles any favors, sandwiching this game between the Seahawks and 49ers.
Rookie Caleb Downs (center) is one reason why Jerry Jones (left), Brian Schottenheimer and the Cowboys are optimistic about getting off the mat in 2026. Tony Gutierrez
Who’s the biggest threat to an Eagles’ NFC East three-peat?
McLane: It’s got to be the Cowboys. The Commanders, as noted above, could be a hot mess, while the New York Giants are likely a year away from contending. But Dallas has the offensive firepower to match the Eagles’ potent defense. Dak Prescott has an aerial attack that can expose a weakness at safety and even some of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. We saw it last season. The Cowboys couldn’t compete in 2025 because, ultimately, they were dreadful on defense. They made significant changes. They snatched Christian Parker from Philly to helm the unit. And they added six new starters, including edge Rashan Gary and first-round safety Caleb Downs.
I’m not saying it’ll transform them into a top unit. Parker is as much of an unknown as Mannion. But it’s hard to see Dallas not finishing with a winning record. I think the Eagles will be right there with them. Heck, they’re still the odds-on favorite to win the division. But I think defenses will still be able to corral Saquon Barkley and the run game because the passing offense will not improve enough with too many question marks at receiver and tight end.
Reiner: The Cowboys. They made upgrades to their defense, which ranked last in the league in points allowed in 2026, and hired Parker. Combine an improved defense with an offense that ranked in the top 10 in 2025 and one of the best kickers in the NFL in Brandon Aubrey and the Cowboys could threaten the Eagles for the NFC East crown.
Neiburg: Dallas. The Cowboys should have an improved defense, and there’s plenty of talent on offense to get to double-digit wins. The Giants could be a sneaky wild-card team with an exciting offense, but I don’t think they’re ready to take that step yet. Washington, meanwhile, didn’t do a whole lot of improving in the offseason and its defense just isn’t good enough. The Eagles-Cowboys game on Thanksgiving could end up being a turning point of sorts in the NFC East standings.
Novozinsky: It’s the Cowboys and it’s not even close. The Commanders are going to stink. I’d be stunned if the Eagles didn’t sweep them this year. The Giants should be better under Harbaugh, but I’m just not sold on Jaxson Dart. Dallas, for all its faults, has a good offense and a capable defense led by a sharp defensive mind in Parker.
The presence of Myles Garrett (95) is helping to make the Rams a trendy Super Bowl pick. Mark J. Terrill
Just under a month into training camp, Lane Johnson outlined the best-case scenario for the Eagles offense in 2026.
It was a lofty aspiration — but not unrealistic, given the success of the offense just two years ago. It centered on its star running back, Saquon Barkley, who accumulated over 2,000 rushing yards in the 2024 regular season and broke Terrell Davis’ single-season rushing record (combined regular season and postseason) by Super Bowl LIX.
“I think all in all, the more productive we are in the run game and stuff feeds all of that, that we’ll see the Saquon of two years ago,” Johnson said on Aug. 19.
That ideal won’t fall on Barkley alone. To recapture his productivity of two years ago, the Eagles are going back about 30, tapping an offshoot of an offensive scheme that rose to popularity around the time the running back was born.
Sean Mannion, the Eagles’ first-time, 34-year-old offensive coordinator, spent most of his playing and coaching careers learning from pupils of the Shanahan/McVay tree. These days in the NFL, “Shanahan” refers to Kyle, the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, but he is preceded by his father Mike, the two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Denver Broncos who helped Davis reach that record in 1998.
Kyle Shanahan (left) and father Mike (pictured in 2010 while with Washington) pointed the way to the current run-game concepts in vogue around the NFL. Alex Brandon
When Mike became Broncos head coach in 1995, he named Alex Gibbs offensive line coach. Gibbs, who died in 2021, was a proponent of the wide-zone blocking scheme in the run game that would go on to serve as the foundation for the modern West Coast offense.
His influence lives on in offshoots of the scheme around the league. Mannion called his first exposure to the system in 2017 under Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay “a very exciting point in my football life.” Now, Mannion has the opportunity to make it his own, all while helping breathe new life into an Eagles rushing attack that stagnated in 2025.
“I’ve seen it from afar, but now, actually studying it and working it and trying to put myself in the system, I feel like it’s going to open up some things that I may not have been able to show as much in my career,” Barkley said.
The man seeking to help Barkley elevate his game is a quarterback by trade. But Mannion’s expertise isn’t limited to the passing game. According to offensive line coach Chris Kuper, who played for Shanahan in Denver, the Eagles offensive coordinator “loves the run game,” too.
“The run game is a big part of what we’re going to do,” Kuper said, “And [Mannion’s] got passion for it. And that makes me feel good as an O-line coach, because I think we’re going to be really good at running the ball.”
Todd Gurley thrived with wide-zone concepts while with the Rams. Tony Avelar
In the (wide) zone
When Barkley learned that the Eagles offensive scheme in 2026 would have Shanahan/McVay roots, he fired up Todd Gurley’s film.
Gurley spent five of his six seasons in the NFL with the Rams, including two standout seasons in 2017 and 2018. He led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in both seasons, earning a pair of All-Pro honors and an NFL Offensive Player of the Year nod in 2017.
Dean Davidson, the author of the Wide Zone Warriors Substack, watched those years in real time. A native of St. Louis whose memories of the Rams commence with the collapse of the “Greatest Show on Turf” era, Davidson was enthralled with the quick work McVay did to turn the team around. At the time, Davidson had just joined the staff of a struggling high school football team and was looking for inspiration.
“I was trying to figure out how [McVay] took that team from the dumps that they were in my entire life that I could remember to that point to Super Bowl favorites in what seemed like overnight,” said Davidson, who is now the offensive line coach at Obion County Central High School in Troy, Tenn.
At the core of the scheme that fascinated Davidson was the wide-zone run. Its intent is in its name. The blocking unit aims to stretch the defense on the front side of the run, while simultaneously cutting off defenders on the back side.
As Gibbs explained at his 2015 offensive line clinic in Cincinnati, the running back’s aiming point is the backside of the tight end — and if there is no tight end to the weak side of the formation, it would be to the imaginary backside of the tight end. After three steps, the running back would know whether he should hit the edge on the front side or make a single cut up the middle of the field. By the fifth step, he would make his cut.
One of the challenges of defending the wide zone run is the distance that defenders have to cover in order to maintain their gap integrity, Davidson explained.
“Everybody’s moving so far in one direction that the gap that you’re responsible for as a defensive lineman or a linebacker, maybe even a safety, it might still be between the same two offensive linemen, but those two offensive linemen on a given snap could be like 10 yards laterally somewhere else,” Davidson said. “So forcing them to maintain their gap integrity while moving so far laterally, it’s a very difficult challenge.”
It’s a challenge the Eagles offensive line enjoyed creating throughout training camp. Cam Jurgens said the scheme “lets you be a little bit more of an athlete” given how quickly the front side blocking unit must fire off the ball laterally toward the sideline.
The goal, according to Kuper, is for the defense to defend every blade of grass on the field. That task, ideally, would tire out the defense as the game wears on, Lane Johnson said. After Johnson, Jurgens, and Landon Dickerson had a full offseason to recover from the ailments that plagued them last year, they are up to the assignment.
“We’re getting to really run, stretch the field, cover some yardage,” Johnson said. “So in that way, it tires out defenses. Makes them cover each gap.”
Lane Johnson (65) and his fellow offensive line cohorts are getting behind the wide-zone scheme Sean Mannion has introduced in Philly.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
The wide zone could be at the foundation of the Eagles’ rushing attack, but in all likelihood, it won’t be the only style of run in their playbook. When Gibbs was designing the Broncos’ run game 30 years ago, he only believed in coaching zone runs — primarily wide zone and some tight zone, in which the running back’s landmark is typically behind the center.
David Gibbs, his son and the secondary coach at Arizona State, explained that his father didn’t believe teams could excel at executing both zone schemes (blocking a certain area of the field) and gap schemes (blocking a specific defender or gap). But the game has evolved, the younger Gibbs said.
“You have to be able to do both, because the defensive linemen are so good,” he said. “They’re so big, athletic, strong, and the reality of it is defensive linemen are just more athletic than offensive linemen, in my opinion. And so you can’t give them the same schemes all the time.”
Brett Kollmann, an NFL Media analyst, called the Rams’ 15-6 loss to Vic Fangio’s Chicago Bears in 2018 “one of the defining games of the last decade” that prompted an evolution of McVay’s scheme. At the time, the Rams’ rushing attack was wide-zone heavy. Fangio’s solution was to stack bodies on the line of scrimmage in a 6-1 “tilt front,” putting a body in every gap and forcing the running back to cut back into a defender.
Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots would follow the same blueprint to stop the Rams in the Super Bowl that season. To counteract the defense’s penetration at the line of scrimmage, McVay would eventually introduce more “counter” runs, a gap scheme that calls for two pulling blockers to create a pair of gaps on the play side.
The incorporation of different types of runs gives defenses more to process, according to right guard Tyler Steen, which in turn forces them to slow down.
“One minute you’re going wide zone and D-tackles and D-ends are running,” Steen said. “The next minute, you’re going ‘duo’ and you’re going downhill. So I think that gives defenders a lot to think about. And so it kind of makes it easier on the O-linemen, because [the defense doesn’t] know what to play.”
Saquon Barkley often found running room hard to come by for an Eagles offense that grew predictable in 2025. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Keeping defenses ‘on their toes’
After the Eagles’ 34-17 loss to the New York Giants in Week 6, Johnson tried to surmise the state of the Eagles offense.
As he spoke at his stall, he used some form of the word “predictable” three times.
“I don’t know if we’re predictable, but it seems a lot harder than what it needs to be,” Johnson said. “Maybe moving forward have a little bit more variety, hitting the perimeter some and doing a little bit more of that.”
Johnson emphasized that he wasn’t trying to point fingers, and at the end of the day, the Eagles needed to execute better. Still, his analysis was a harbinger of things to come for the shotgun-heavy offense that seldom disguised its intentions.
The Eagles are set to take a different direction under Mannion. Like other offshoots of the Shanahan/McVay tree, Mannion emphasizes the importance of the marriage between the run and the pass — more specifically, the play-action pass.
When runs look like passes, and vice versa, offenses are less predictable, Johnson said.
“I think setting up with the play action is just going to be a whole lot tougher to distinguish what we’re doing,” Johnson said during mandatory minicamp. “Whole lot harder to catch on [to] tells with stuff that we’re doing. So I think this stuff, we can disguise it more.”
The key to pulling that off is keeping the presentation the same. If the Eagles are running wide zone, for example, and building the play-action pass off of it, the blocking unit is executing the same assignment. Johnson stressed the importance of keeping a “low hat” to sell the run, and if the linebackers bite down, the quarterback can target the vacant middle of the field.
Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion (right) is introducing variety to an offense seeking to keep defenses off-guard. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Marry that with motions, and the defense is confronted with another layer of complexity to decipher. Even the quarterback’s alignment under center can further disguise the intent of the offense on any given play, Jurgens explained.
“I feel like that’s just another way to keep defenses on their toes,” Jurgens said during mandatory minicamp. “You get a little less predictable. And so I feel like it kind of gives us a little better angles as well. Defenses can’t cheat things, ‘cause they don’t know where we’re going to go. You can set up a lot of your plays a lot better.”
Kollmann is aware of Jalen Hurts’ historical lack of targeting the middle of the field. Dating back to his rookie season before he became the full-time starter, Hurts has targeted the short middle of the field (a maximum of nine yards from the line of scrimmage) on 8.3% of his pass attempts, according to an Inquirer analysis. The league average is 14.5%. From 10 to 19 yards beyond the line of scrimmage over the middle, Hurts’ attempt rate drops to 4.6% (closer to the 7.4% league average).
But Kollmann said that conflating “hasn’t” with “can’t” isn’t necessarily fair. He said he believes that the Eagles lack of a wide-zone, play-action game in the past is to blame for not helping free up that area.
“When they are so shotgun heavy, and therefore when their play action game is really just kind of faking inside zone, that’s the kind of run fake that doesn’t really draw linebackers in, because they can see the ball the entire time,” Kollmann said.
The fake from under center requires a quarterback to turn his back to the defense, shielding the ball from the view of the linebackers. They can’t see it, so they step up, theoretically giving the offense more room to operate over the middle.
It’s easier said than done for any quarterback, as they must temporarily take their eyes off of the pass rushers seeking to take them down. But according to Josh Grizzard, the Eagles passing game coordinator, Hurts has been a “natural” with turning his back to the defense and selling the fake.
“When you have the runs and they look like the keepers and they look like the play passes, then the goal would be for those guys to see the same thing,” Grizzard said. “And then if you can get that second level of the defense to step up, then you have an ability to now push the ball down the field and be able to marry the run and the pass as well as create explosive passes.”
How many runs are designed for Jalen Hurts in the new offense remains an open question. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The backside threat
Speaking of keepers, will the quarterback designed run game return to the Eagles offense in 2026?
By December of last year, Hurts was averaging 1.1 designed runs per game in 2025, according to Pro Football Focus. He averaged 3.6 designed runs per game in his first four seasons as the starter.
The modern West Coast offense hasn’t necessarily needed a mobile quarterback to thrive, as evidenced by the success of Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford with the Rams. But the 2026 Eagles offense isn’t going to be a carbon copy of other schemes around the league from the same tree, and Mannion is well-aware of Hurts’ rushing ability.
“Jalen has a unique skill set in that way,” Mannion said. “So that’ll certainly be a part of what we do, but we’re looking again at all areas as an offense to really attack defenses on a weekly basis. He is uniquely skilled in that way. That will be a part of it, but it won’t be the only part of it.”
Zone reads aren’t totally foreign to this coaching tree. In 2012, while Mike Shanahan was Washington’s head coach and Kyle was his offensive coordinator, the team drafted Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick.
The rookie quarterback would go on to rush for 815 yards and seven touchdowns, all while throwing for 3,200 yards. His production on the ground wouldn’t persist far beyond 2012, though. Washington took a more conservative approach with Griffin III as a rusher, especially as he dealt with injuries that began during a rookie season that was ended by a serious knee injury.
Robert Griffin III (10) was a rushing threat in the Washington offense before injuries curtailed his effectiveness.
Still, Davidson said a backside threat is important in the run game, whether it’s a quarterback run or a bootleg. In the case of the bootleg, which the Eagles incorporated throughout training camp and the preseason, the quarterback exploits the unblocked defensive end who flows with the running back, rolling out unabated in the opposite direction and completing a pass on the move.
“If you’re just under center or even the pistol, and you don’t have anything that keeps the defense on the backside, then it’s a lot easier for them to chase [the ball] down [in wide zone],” Davidson said. “But if they know that they have to defend boot on the other side of the field or defend a quarterback run on the other side of the field, it can really slow the defense down.”
Time will reveal the contents of Mannion’s playbook. While it may contain odes to his influences, it could also include all of the plays he would’ve liked to run throughout his nine-year career as an NFL backup quarterback and two seasons as an assistant with the Green Bay Packers.
Whatever the offense becomes will be unique to the Eagles, Kuper said.
“Those webs of guys kind of break out, and they kind of make it their own, and that’s what our goal is,” Kuper said. “This is going to evolve into Sean Mannion’s offense. This is going to be a derivative, maybe.
“There’s going to be flavors of what you’ve seen throughout the league, and some of his mentors, but this will be our offense.”
DeVonta Smith steps onto the field, a white Gatorade towel wrapped around his head and his practice jersey draped over a black long-sleeve shirt. He flashes a determined look as he holds a play sheet in his left hand and a coach’s headset in his right.
Nothing was going to stop Smith — who was sidelined with a hamstring injury — from staying involved during the dog days of training camp.
He knows this season is different. He knows his mindset needs to reflect that.
For the first time since his rookie season, Smith is a No. 1 wide receiver. He excelled in that role in college and had a record-breaking first season — his 916 receiving yards set the Eagles rookie record for — but he’s lived in the shadow of A.J. Brown for the last four years. The Eagles traded Brown to the New England Patriots in June, which immediately placed Smith back atop the depth chart again.
Is he ready for his close-up?
“The guy was built to do this,” said James Madison coach Billy Napier, who recruited Smith when Napier was the wide receivers coach at Alabama. “DeVonta, he’s not motivated by normal things. This guy’s in a pursuit to be the best that’s ever done it. …
“Eagles fans are going to have fun watching Smitty in this role, I can promise you that.”
DeVonta Smith (6) and A.J. Brown (11) thrived together for a perennial Super Bowl contender, but Brown is now a Patriot. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
He has the backing of his current teammates and coaches, too. Smith never led the Eagles in receiving yards when Brown was on the team, but he’s eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in three of his last four seasons and is the all-time franchise leader in postseason receiving yards with 665.
Jordan Mailata put it best when asked about Smith, whom the Eagles took with the 10th pick in the first round of the 2021 draft.
“He’s always been a No. 1 receiver,” Mailata said, referring to Smith’s skill and leadership style. “Nothing has changed for Smitty.”
But now he actually has the title. And with training camp finished — plus the drama from the Brown situation mostly settled — that reality has sunk in inside the Eagles facility. There’s a sense that Smith, who won the Heisman Trophy when he was a No. 1 wide receiver with the Crimson Tide in 2020, has been waiting for this chance his entire career.
“I think he’s always seen himself as [the No. 1],” Eagles wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead said. “I think in this building, you’ve always seen him as one. You just had another guy that was a one. There’s something about that that’s probably a little bit fun for him. To be able to know that he’s in that spot right now.”
As if his role increasing wasn’t enough of a challenge, Smith also has to learn a new offense. After things went stale under offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo last season, the Eagles replaced him with Sean Mannion, who is installing a new scheme rooted in his background in the Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay offense. Coach Nick Sirianni said at the scouting combine that he expects his WR1 to be “on the rise” in the new offense, but it’s up to Smith to deliver on that.
How have the results been so far?
“It speaks to him that he missed a little time in camp, but right when he came back, the first thing we felt, we were like, ‘Yeah, this is who we missed,’” Moorehead said.
Eagles coaches have praised Smith’s (6) leadership as the team adapts to a new scheme. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Learning a new playbook has never been an issue for Smith. Napier recalls Smith, then a sophomore in high school, skipping Alabama’s spring game — which would have been an opportunity for him to network with his future teammates and coaches — so that he could study the Tide’s playbook in his office.
“He stayed in my office the entire day. He never went to the game,” Napier said. “He’s consumed with being the best he can be. He’s blue-collar. He’s tough.”
So, how do those who knew him with Alabama think he’ll look in the Mannion offense, specifically?
“Oh, it doesn’t matter what offense he’s in,” former Alabama associate head coach Burton Burns said. “Whatever offense DeVonta’s in, he’s going to figure it out, he’s going to learn it quick, and he’s going to thrive.”
“Look, he’s played for lots of different systems, lots of different coordinators,” Napier said. “He’s going to learn his playbook and give the organization everything he has. It’s the best thing about him. He’s a playmaker, regardless of the system.”
Above all, Smith’s coaches have praised his ability to rise to a challenge — which is fitting for the task he faces in 2026. Early in his recruitment, Alabama balked at extending Smith an official offer, hoping it would motivate him to add weight to his slender frame. He not only rose to that challenge but wound up a five-star recruit, then set seven school receiving records and won two national titles with the Crimson Tide.
“He just kept working and working until we had to take notice,” Burns said. “He’s just got this quiet demeanor about himself that creates a lot of confidence.”
DeVonta Smith has seemed to accept the scrutiny that comes with a more prominent role in 2026. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
He’s meeting his goals ahead of his most difficult task yet this season. Moorehead said at the beginning of the offseason that he challenged Smith to ramp up his leadership as his role increased. Moorehead said Smith has done a “great job” with that, mentoring young receivers like 2026 first-round pick Makai Lemon and helping his teammates learn Mannion’s concepts.
“He’s been through a lot of wars here,” Moorehead said. “He’s not afraid to say that it’s not right — and he’s always been like that. I think that’s the Alabama in him, but I think even more so now he’s able to just take charge. He’s done a great job as far as leadership goes in the room of just helping everybody.”
Philly sports fandom has some simple rules: Root for Philly teams and boo everyone else.
But there are exceptions to all rules, and in Philly those exceptions include showing support for local athletes who are with other teams (within reason) — and for some players who once played for the city but now are on opposing rosters.
In the NFL, all 31 other teams have at least one person on the roster or staff who fits the criteria. Most have several, but we chose one and only one notable Eagles or Philly connection to each of the 31 other teams in the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals: Marvin Harrison Jr.
Harrison, a wide receiver, was a four-star recruit from St. Joseph’s Prep. Upon finishing his career in the Philadelphia Catholic League, Harrison, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison, held PCL records for career receiving yards (2,625) and touchdowns (37) which still stand.
Marvin Harrison Jr. was a star for St. Joe’s Prep before taking his talents to Ohio State and the NFL. TIM TAI / Staff Photographer
Atlanta Falcons: Jahan Dotson
Dotson, another receiver, spent the 2024 and 2025 seasons with the Eagles. He averaged 14.1 receiving yards per game and had one touchdown in his two seasons with Philly. The Nazareth Area High School alumnus also played at Penn State and finished his college career with 183 receptions for 2,757 yards and 27 total touchdowns.
Baltimore Ravens: Marcus Brady
The Ravens added Brady to their coaching staff as passing game coordinator in February after he spent two years with the Los Angeles Chargers. But in 2022-2023, Brady was a senior offensive assistant for the Eagles.
Buffalo Bills: C.J. Gardner-Johnson
After stops in Houston and Chicago during the 2025 season, Gardner-Johnson joined the Bills ahead of the 2026 season. Gardner-Johnson played for the Eagles in 2022 and returned in 2024 to help Philly to its second Super Bowl, matching his career high with six interceptions during that regular season. His first six-interception season also came with Philly in 2022. Gardner-Johnson’s teammates, Dion Dawkins and Christian Benford, also have Philly ties, playing collegiately at Temple and Villanova, respectively.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson had multiple stints with the Eagles. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Carolina Panthers: Jaelan Phillips
Part of the Eagles roster last season, Phillips is now in his first season as an edge rusher with the Panthers. During his one year in Philly, Phillips played in eight games with two sacks and 28 tackles.
Cincinnati Bengals: Ke’Shawn Williams
While backup quarterback Joe Flacco is among the notable local names in the NFL as a native of Audubon, N.J., there’s even more local talent in Cincinnati. Williams is from Philadelphia and played high school football at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, where he also competed in track and field and basketball. Williams signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2025, before being picked up off waivers by the Bengals. His one touchdown in the 2026 preseason came against the Eagles at the Linc.
Ke’Shawn Williams (13) starred at receiver for Springside Chestnut Hill before his career eventually took him to the NFL. LOU RABITO / Staff
Cleveland Browns: Andrew Berry
In his sixth year with the Browns, the executive vice president of football operations and general manager also had a stint working with Cleveland from 2016-2018 as vice president of player personnel. But between 2018 and returning to the Browns in January 2020, Berry served as VP of football operations with the Eagles in 2019. His twin brother, Adam, is in his fourth season with the Eagles and was recently promoted to assistant general manager ahead of the 2026 season.
Chicago Bears: D’Andre Swift
Swift is a former Eagles player and one with Philly roots. He played for the Eagles in 2023, but also graduated in 2017 from St. Joe’s Prep. As a freshman, he helped the Prep win the 2013 Class 4A state championship, and in 2016 was named the Catholic League Player of the Year after he ran for over 1,500 yards and scored 34 total touchdowns as a senior.
D’Andre Swift first became known to Philly fans when he starred for St. Joe’s Prep. LOU RABITO / Staff
Dallas Cowboys: Sam Howell
Yes, even the Cowboys have Philly connections, with ex-Eagles staffer-turned-Dallas defensive coordinator Christian Parker among the most notable. There’s also Howell, the Birds’ third-string quarterback from last season, who signed with the Cowboys in the offseason after the Eagles didn’t extend his contract. Howell is the backup quarterback in Dallas behind Dak Prescott, with his only season as a starter in the NFL coming in 2023 with the Washington Commanders when he threw for 3,946 yards and 21 touchdowns as a rookie.
Denver Broncos: Mike McGlinchey
The 31-year-old offensive tackle played football and basketball at William Penn Charter High School. McGlinchey started as a tight end at Penn Charter before switching to tackle. He was a first-team offensive lineman in 2012 for the Pennsylvania Sports Writers AAAA All-State football team.
Mike McGlinchey was a standout in multiple sports at Penn Charter. Steven M Falk / Staff Photographer
Detroit Lions: Avonte Maddox
Part of the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX team, Avonte Maddox joined the Lions for the 2025 season. Maddox spent seven seasons with the Eagles at cornerback after being selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft.
Green Bay Packers: Javon Hargrave
The defensive tackle spent the 2020 through 2022 seasons with the Eagles after starting his career in Pittsburgh in 2016. Hargrave recorded 23 regular-season sacks during his three seasons in Philly, including a career-high 11 in the 2022 season, helping the team reach Super Bowl LVII.
Houston Texans: DeMeco Ryans
Ryans is in his fourth season as head coach of the Texans, but his NFL career began as a standout linebacker from 2006-2015. He played four seasons (2012-15) with the Eagles, racking up 334 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, five sacks, and five interceptions.
Before he was a coach, DeMeco Ryans was a productive player for the Eagles.
Indianapolis Colts: Shane Steichen
Before he was head coach of the Colts, Steichen served as offensive coordinator of the Eagles in 2021 and 2022. Under his guidance, the Eagles had the NFL’s top rushing offense with 5,224 rushing yards and 57 touchdowns, helping lead the Eagles to Super Bowl LVII.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Grant Udinski
Hired in February 2025, Udinski is entering his second season as Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator. Udinski’s coaching career started in Carolina with a stop in Minnesota, but his origins go back to the Philly area. Udinski is a Doylestown native who went to high school at Central Bucks West High School.
Kansas City Chiefs: Andy Reid
The longest-tenured coach in Eagles history, Reid spent 14 seasons in Philly before becoming head coach of Kansas City, where the future Hall of Famer is now entering his 14th season. Before leading the Chiefs dynasty, Reid posted a 130-93-1 regular-season record in Philly, including a 10-9 postseason mark.
Andy Reid (left, with owner Jeffrey Lurie) came to Philly in 1999 and presided over a successful tenure of Eagles football that included one Super Bowl appearance. KRT
Las Vegas Raiders: Nakobe Dean
Starting his career with the Eagles in 2022 after being selected in the third round, the linebacker is entering his first season playing outside Philly. In his 47 games played with the Eagles, Dean piled up 226 tackles and 7.5 sacks, with his career-high 128 tackles helping Philly to its second Super Bowl in 2024.
Los Angeles Chargers: Teair Tart
A defensive tackle, Tart was born and raised in Philly, where he attended West Philadelphia High School. Initially, Tart’s focus was on basketball, but he made the switch to football in his junior year, helping lead his team to the Public League championship game the following year, in 2014.
Teair Tart (left, with West Philadelphia High football coach Karl “Bubb” Patrick) rose to prominence as a player in West Philly.Karl Patrick
Los Angeles Rams: Brian Johnson
The senior offensive assistant for the Rams, Johnson held his first NFL coaching position with the Eagles in 2021 after spending years coaching at the collegiate level. Johnson was the quarterbacks coach in 2021 and 2022 before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2023. He spent the past two seasons with the Commanders before being hired by the Rams ahead of this season.
Miami Dolphins: Kyle McCord
A recent acquisition by Miami from Green Bay, the backup quarterback’s career started in Philly at St. Joe’s Prep, where he played alongside Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. The Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior, McCord passed for 1,582 yards and 21 touchdowns to lead St. Joe’s Prep to the Class 6A state championship and a 6-0 season. The Mount Laurel, N.J., native was drafted by the Eagles in the sixth round in 2025. He spent the season on the Eagles practice squad before signing a reserve contract with Green Bay.
Kyle McCord played for St. Joe’s Prep and was on the Eagles’ practice squad. CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer
Minnesota Vikings: Carson Wentz
There was once a time when Pennsylvania was known by Eagles fans as “Wentzylvania.” Now a backup quarterback for the Vikings, Wentz spent five seasons in Philadelphia, from 2016-2020, after the Eagles traded up to select him second overall in the draft. Before a knee injury altered the course of his career, Wentz led the Eagles to an 11-2 start in 2017, helping put them on a path to their first-ever Super Bowl win, before Nick Foles finished out the job.
New England Patriots: Christian Barmore
While there is the obvious A.J Brown tie between the Patriots and Eagles, there are other local connections between the two teams. Barmore, a defensive tackle going into his sixth season with New England, hails from Philly. Playing his high school career at Neumann Goretti, the four-star recruit was first-team All-Philadelphia in the Catholic League Blue Division and helped lead his team to an 11-1 record and a trip to the state quarterfinal before committing to Alabama.
Neumann-Goretti’s Christian Barmore committed to Alabama then embarked on a successful pro career. AKIRA SUWA
New Orleans Saints: Kellen Moore
In his second season as head coach of the Saints, Moore had a stint as the offensive coordinator for the Eagles in their Super Bowl LIX win. That was his only season with the Eagles, leaving shortly after the season and joining the Saints in February 2025.
New York Giants: Abdul Carter
Selected third overall in the 2025 draft by the Giants, Carter grew up in Philadelphia, playing youth football for the North Philly Aztecs, before attending La Salle College High School. Carter was a four-year varsity starter and the team MVP his senior year, when he led the Explorers to a 9-2 record. He went on to play at Penn State, where he earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and unanimous All-American honors in 2024.
Abdul Carter was a standout for La Salle before moving on to Penn State. YONG KIM / Staff Photographer
New York Jets: Frank Reich
In his first season as offensive coordinator with the Jets, Reich has decades of experience, including a stop in Philly. Reich was offensive coordinator for the Eagles in 2016 and in 2017, when the team won its first Super Bowl. Reich, who left Philly to become a head coach in Indianapolis and Carolina, is returning to the NFL after a stint at the collegiate level as interim head coach and senior adviser at Stanford for the 2025 season.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Cameron Johnston
Punters deserve recognition, too, like the veteran Johnston who is in his ninth year in the NFL. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Johnston spent three seasons with the Eagles from 2018-20. Since his NFL debut in 2018, Johnston ranks in the top 10 among punters in punts, punting yards, and net punting yards.
Cameron Johnston has stuck around in the NFL after his tenure in Philly. Corey Perrine / AP
San Francisco 49ers: Colt Anderson
Anderson is in his 16th season in the NFL, the last seven as a coach. The second-year assistant special teams coach with the 49ers had a nine-year playing career as a safety, which included four seasons with the Eagles from 2010-13, when he played under Chip Kelly and Reid.
Seattle Seahawks: Josh Jobe
After spending two seasons with the Eagles in 2022 and 2023, the cornerback is entering his third season with the Seahawks. Jobe played in all 17 games with the Eagles in his final season here, making three starts. Since arriving in Seattle, Jobe’s career has only improved, with his best season coming when he was a full-time starter in the Seahawks’ Super Bowl title-winning 2025 season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Kenneth Gainwell
The running back is entering his first season with the Bucs after a season with the Steelers, but the majority of his NFL career to date was spent with the Eagles. The fifth-round pick was with the Birds from 2021-24, which included a standout game in the NFC divisional round on Jan. 21, 2023 against the Giants. Gainwell logged a career-high 112 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown in the 38-7 rout.
Kenneth Gainwell’s (14) game against the Giants in the 2022 playoffs remains a highlight of his career Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Tennessee Titans: Kylen Granson
Granson spent the first four seasons of his career as a tight end with the Colts, before stopping in Philly for the 2025 season on the road to Tennessee. While with the Eagles, Granson played in all 17 regular-season games, starting three, where the blocking specialist recorded seven catches on nine targets for 40 yards as a rotational tight end.
Washington Commanders: Marcus Mariota
Mariota and the Commanders will open their season against the Eagles, but there was once a time when the backup quarterback was on the other end of that matchup. A second-round pick in the 2015 draft, Mariota’s long career included a stop in Philly in 2023, when he played in three games. Mariota is in his third season as a backup to Jayden Daniels in Washington. With Daniels injured, Mariota started a 29-18 loss to the Eagles in Week 16 last season.
Before the Eagles won two Super Bowls, before they established themselves as a franchise that expects and is expected to compete for a championship every year, before they built the defense they have now — a defense that might be the best in the NFL this season — there was a moment that scarred everyone who cheered for or cared about them.
It has been 35 years since that fateful 1991 Week 1 game at Lambeau Field, since Randall Cunningham threw an incomplete pass on the first play of the second quarter, since a low and late hit from the Packers’ Bryce Paup crumpled Cunningham’s left knee and tore two ligaments in it. The Eagles won that day, 20-3, but everyone knew: Randall was done for the season, and so was his team.
The sadness and frustration in the aftermath of Cunningham’s injury weren’t just for him but for the hopes and dreams of a fan base that hadn’t celebrated a Super Bowl yet and believed it would. That’s how spectacular Cunningham could be. More importantly, that’s how good that Eagles’ defense — with Reggie White, Jerome Brown, Seth Joyner, Clyde Simmons, Wes Hopkins, et. al. — was. Sure enough, the next 15 games were one long exercise in what-might-have-been.
Coached by defensive coordinator Bud Carson, its members hand-picked by Buddy Ryan, that ‘91 unit remains mythological here. It led the NFL in rushing defense and passing defense. It turned every opposing quarterback into Napoleon Dynamite’s Uncle Rico. It ranked first in sacks, first in completion percentage (44.7%!), third in interceptions, and fifth in points allowed.
Now, will the 2026 Eagles’ defense be as great as the 1991 Eagles’?
No.
Will it have to be?
Probably not.
The Eagles’ 1991 defense led by Reggie White (92) and Jerome Brown (99) was forced to carry a team that trotted out a makeshift offense.
First things first: The comparison isn’t as crazy as it might first sound. Yes, that ‘91 defense had White, who was one of the five best defensive players in league history, and was overflowing with talent and ferocity at every level of its alignment: defensive line, linebackers, secondary. Plus, those guys could play with a brutality that, in the modern NFL, would result in most of them being suspended before halftime of the regular-season opener.
In Cunningham’s absence, Jim McMahon, Jeff Kemp, Pat Ryan, and Brad Goebel all were, at one time or another, the team’s No. 1 quarterback. The Eagles didn’t have a running back who rushed for more than 450 yards or a skill-position player with more than 950 receiving yards, and there could be no more compelling evidence for that defense’s dominance than the Eagles’ record that season. Somehow, they went 10-6.
Keep in mind, though: It was just two years ago, in Vic Fangio’s first season as their coordinator, that the Eagles had the league’s best defense for the first time since ‘91: first in total yardage, first in passing yardage, 10th in rushing yardage, second in points. That group saved its best performance of that season for the 40-22 romp over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, when the Eagles intercepted Patrick Mahomes twice, sacked him six times, and didn’t allow Andy Reid’s offense to cross midfield until less than three minutes remained in the third quarter.
Zoom out, too, and consider the prime three years of that Ryan/Carson defense, 1990 through 1992, and these two seasons the Eagles have had under Fangio.
YEAR
POINTS
TOTAL YDS
PASS
RUSH
1990
12th
12th
25th
1st
1991
5th
1st
1st
1st
1992
6th
6th
12th
5th
2024
2nd
1st
1st
10th
2025
5th
13th
8th
22nd
Those comps aren’t far off, and they will be even closer if this season’s defense turns out to be better than 2024’s. It’s not a stretch to think it will be.
The secondary already has two All-Pros in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean — both rookies in ‘24 — and now has an outside corner, in Riq Woolen, who has the size and talent to deliver the quality of coverage that Darius Slay provided. At linebacker, Zack Baun is also an All-Pro. Jihaad Campbell was a first-round pick. Based on those who have observed him during training camp, edge rusher Jalyx Hunt, who led the team in both sacks and interceptions last season, looks like the product of an experiment that spliced the genes of Hugh Douglas and Brian Dawkins. (An overstatement, to be sure, but Hunt is an intriguing and improving player.)
The defensive tackle rotation — Jalen Carter (with two healthy shoulders), Jordan Davis, and Moro Ojomo — is so deep and so good that it will create one-on-one matchups for anyone the Eagles line up on the outside. And if Jonathan Greenard and Nolan Smith Jr. are on the field, the Eagles should win those matchups most of the time.
The greatness of this Eagles defense will begin in the trenches with Jordan Davis (90) and Jalen Carter (98). David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
The most important questions the Eagles have to answer this season don’t have much to do with their defense, if any of them have anything to do with the defense at all. They will have a new offensive coordinator, Sean Mannion, who will be calling plays in the NFL for the first time. Jalen Hurts will have to adjust to playing in a system with which he was completely unfamiliar, and there’s no way to know how he’ll fare in it. The offensive line should be better than it was last season, but it’s hard to see yet how the Eagles won’t be worse at wide receiver and tight end.
Again, questions, lots of them. And while we’re doing the then-vs-now thing, it is fitting that the quality of Hurts’ backups — Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton — have become a popular discussion topic and cause for concern. But none of those potential issues presents the same complications that arose all those years ago once Cunningham went down and stayed down.
Part of the reason that the ‘91 defense was so great was that it had to be just for that team to have a chance each week. Everyone remembers the “House of Pain” game, a 13-6 victory over the Houston Oilers on Monday Night Football in which Reggie & Co. pretty much left bodies strewn about the Astrodome, as if they’d fought off a zombie apocalypse. Not everyone remembers that the Eagles actually gained fewer yards that night (240) than the Oilers did (247). As awesome as that defense was, that offense was just about as bad.
This defense shouldn’t have to meet that same skyscraper-high standard. Barring a worst-case outcome, it will just have to be what it can be. It will just have to be great enough.
The two-time defending NFC East champion Eagles begin their season Sunday, with the Washington Commanders coming to town for the Week 1 opener at the Linc (4:25 p.m. Fox). With that in mind, let’s meet every member of the 53-man squad. Players are listed by expected order on the Eagles’ depth chart.
Quarterbacks (4)
Jalen Hurts
College: Oklahoma | Years pro: 6 | 6-1, 223
Another year, another new offensive coordinator and play caller for Hurts, who has dealt with constant change since he was in college. All eyes are on the quarterback as the Eagles enter 2026 with a revamped offense under new coordinator Sean Mannion. How will Hurts take to running an offense that has him taking more snaps from under center, utilizing more play action, and one that may even ask him to run a little more often? How will he deal with a wide receiving corps that doesn’t have A.J. Brown anymore? There are a lot of question marks hanging over the offense, and Hurts is under the spotlight. — Neiburg
Andy Dalton struggled in the preseason. Could he still be a trade target?Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Andy Dalton
College: TCU | Years pro: 15 | 6-2, 220
The Eagles traded a seventh-round pick for Dalton in hopes that the 38-year-old could compete for the No. 2 job behind Hurts or, if Tanner McKee outperformed him in camp, could be used as trade bait to a quarterback-needy team. Neither happened, and so Dalton enters the 2026 season either second or third on the depth chart. Dalton has played a lot of football, but he’s four years removed from being a starter. — Neiburg
Tanner McKee
College: Stanford | Years pro: 2 | 6-6, 231
Coach Nick Sirianni and GM Howie Roseman are hesitant to name a backup quarterback, so McKee will either be the No. 2 or No. 3 guy behind Hurts on the depth chart. It’s a clear battle between him and Dalton, who might have the edge due to his experience. McKee has shown flashes over the years — tossing 269 yards and two touchdowns in a meaningless game against the Giants in 2024 — but he hasn’t quite jelled with Mannion’s offense. — Novozinsky
Cole Payton
College: North Dakota State | Years pro: 1st | 6-3, 232
Payton, a rookie fifth-round pick from North Dakota State, fell victim to the QB battle in front of him this summer. He saw some garbage-time action in the preseason, but it wasn’t nearly enough to showcase his dual-threat potential. Roseman and Sirianni (rightly) gave his reps to Dalton and McKee, who are still battling for the QB2 job. — Novozinsky
Saquon Barkley’s effectiveness in Sean Mannion’s offensive scheme will be a major storyline. Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Running Backs (3)
Saquon Barkley
College: Penn State | Years pro: 8 | 6-0, 233
The offense took a step back last year in part because Barkley could not come close to replicating his 2024 season, when he became the ninth player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season. Doing it again would have been a big ask, but Barkley’s ability to pile up yards was hampered by an offensive line that was injured and an offensive scheme that couldn’t find ways to get him the ball in space. This year, the Eagles are implementing a wide zone running scheme that should favor Barkley and a running game that will be pivotal to the team’s success. — Neiburg
Tank Bigsby
College: Auburn | Years pro: 3 | 5-11, 215
The Eagles acquired Bigsby a few weeks into the 2025 season and the backup running back was one of the few bright spots on offense. He rushed 58 times for 344 yards (5.9 per carry) but had more than four carries in only three games. A new-look rushing attack could ask for Bigsby to spell Barkley more often this year. — Neiburg
Will Shipley
College: Clemson | Years pro: 2 | 5-11, 209
Shipley enters his third season with the team as the third-string running back behind Barkley and Bigsby and as a key special teams contributor, particularly at kick returner. He won’t likely have ample touches on offense, but he acquitted himself nicely in the preseason, both as a runner and as a receiver. Mannion could find a role for him in the offense in certain situations. — Reiner
is DeVonta Smith ready to embrace WR1 status?David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Wide receivers (6)
DeVonta Smith
College: Alabama | Years pro: 5 | 6-0, 170
With A.J. Brown shipped off to the Patriots, all eyes are on Smith as the Eagles’ WR1. Prominent members of the organization, including Sirianni and Roseman, have stated they believe Smith is ready to take on a bigger role in the offense. Smith, who turns 28 in November, could be the team’s leading receiver for the first time since 2021. He missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury, but he is expected to be available for Week 1. — Reiner
Dontayvion Wicks
College: Virginia | Years pro: 3 | 6-1, 206
The Eagles acquired the 25-year-old Wicks from the Green Bay Packers this offseason. He made the most of his opportunities throughout camp, and with Makai Lemon sidelined for a significant portion of the offseason with a hamstring injury, Wicks made his case for the WR2 job. Wicks’ best season came in his rookie year in 2023, when he racked up 581 yards and four touchdowns on 39 receptions. The two seasons that followed paled in comparison. Wicks will look to prove he’s capable of taking on a greater workload in the Eagles offense. — Reiner
Can Makai Lemon recover from a low-impact preseason and training camp?Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Makai Lemon
College: USC | Years pro: 1st | 5-11, 192
Fans and pundits will be looking at Lemon under a microscope this season — and for good reason. The 22-year-old rookie was drafted in hopes that he could help replicate Brown’s production in the aggregate, alongside the Eagles’ other weapons. Lemon isn’t off to the best start, missing the majority of training camp then struggling in his lone preseason appearance (3 yards on three catches and a drop that led to an interception). — Novozinsky
Darius Cooper
College: Tarleton State | Years pro: 1 | 5-11, 210
Last year’s training camp darling earned a roster spot by doing a lot of what Sirianni called the “dirty work.” The Eagles asked Cooper mostly to be a blocker and play special teams. He was targeted just 11 times on 212 offensive snaps. Cooper had a good start to training camp but seemed to fade a little down the stretch. That being said, there’s an opportunity for Cooper to have a bigger role in the offense this year. — Neiburg
Hollywood Brown is a former 1,000-yard receiver who is looking to revive his career in Philly. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Hollywood Brown
College: Oklahoma | Years pro: 7 | 5-9, 170
Roseman signed Brown to a one-year deal in free agency worth $5 million guaranteed after Brown followed up an injury-shortened 2024 campaign by catching 49 passes for 587 yards and five touchdowns last year with Kansas City. He’s not the same receiver he was when he broke into the league as a 2019 first-round pick with Baltimore, but Brown could be a reliable third or fourth option despite being invisible at times during his first training camp in Philly. — Neiburg
Elijah Moore
College: Ole Miss | Years pro: 5 | 5-10, 178
Out is A.J. Brown, in is his college friend and teammate. The Eagles signed Moore to a one-year deal to add some depth to the position group. The 2021 second-round pick then went out and earned his spot with a strong training camp. Moore’s 2025 season with the Bills and Broncos was rocky, and he came to the Eagles facing a career crossroads. He could have a revival, especially if Lemon struggles early and the Eagles ask Moore to be their slot receiver. — Neiburg
Video: unCovering the Birds: Is tight end the biggest area of concern?
Tight ends (4)
Dallas Goedert
College: South Dakota State | Years pro: 8 | 6-5, 256
Goedert is back with the Eagles for a ninth season after the team signed the 31-year-old to a one-year deal. Goedert is coming off a productive 2025 season where he had more touchdowns (11) than he did in the previous three seasons combined. Goedert will again be relied on in the passing game, but the Eagles will need him to give a little more as a blocker in a run scheme that asks more of the tight ends than the previous one did. — Neiburg
Johnny Mundt
College: Oregon | Years pro: 8 | 6-4, 245
Blocking from the tight end spot was a struggle at times for the Eagles in 2025, so they tried to rectify that by signing Mundt, who has become one of the better blocking tight ends in the NFL over the last few seasons. What’s more, he’s also experienced in the Eagles’ new style of offense, having played on multiple teams that deploy some version of the Kyle Shanahan-Sean McVay offense. — Neiburg
Eli Stowers’ ability to make a Year 1 impact is in question. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Eli Stowers
College: Vanderbilt | Years pro: 1st | 6-3, 239
The Eagles selected Stowers with their second-round pick in part because it’s past time they started planning for the future at the position. Stowers is a former quarterback who transitioned to tight end in college after a shoulder injury. The Eagles loved his athleticism and think they’ll eventually be able to take advantage of some mismatches when he’s running routes, but it’s unclear how involved the rookie will be in the offense early in the season. — Neiburg
EJ Jenkins
College: Georgia Tech | Years pro: 1 | 6-6, 245
Jenkins was one of the bubble offensive skill players who made the initial 53-man roster. He has been with the Eagles for most of the last three years, primarily on the practice squad, and he has appeared in 14 games between the regular season and the postseason. Jenkins checks the box as another “Y” tight end responsible for lining up inline and blocking, a coveted role in the Shanahan/McVay offense. — Reiner
Jordan Mailata returns as one of the Eagles’ most reliable players. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Offensive linemen (9)
Jordan Mailata
College: N/A | Years pro: 8 | 6-8, 365
While most of the offensive line was hampered by injury last season, Mailata was one of the unit’s healthiest members, starting in all 16 games that the starters played (not including Week 18). He has seemingly improved with age — according to Pro Football Focus, Mailata conceded two sacks in 2025, the second-lowest total of his career (he gave up one sack in 2024). Two years ago, he earned second-team All-Pro honors. Can he earn leaguewide acclaim in 2026? — Reiner
Landon Dickerson
College: Alabama | Years pro: 5 | 6-6, 332
Dickerson admitted that last season, he returned to action too quickly after undergoing meniscus surgery. He had a full offseason to recover from his various injuries, which included traveling to Colombia to receive stem cell therapy to manage his pain. Now, Dickerson says he’s healthy as he aims to bounce back in his sixth season as the starting left guard. Can he get back to the standard he established from 2022-24 when he was an original-selection Pro Bowler for three straight years? — Reiner
A healthy Cam Jurgens would be a mark in the Eagles’ favor in 2026. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Cam Jurgens
College: Nebraska | Years pro: 4 | 6-3, 303
Chronic back pain slowed Jurgens at times in 2025, though he still was named to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive season. Like Dickerson, Jurgens sought to rid himself of that pain by flying to Colombia for stem cell therapy treatment during the offseason. Jurgens says he’s feeling a lot better, and he appears to be moving around a lot better, too. The new running attack should fit his athletic profile. — Neiburg
Tyler Steen
College: Alabama | Years pro: 3 | 6-6, 321
Steen is heading into his second season as the starting right guard. He was solid in his first season, conceding just two sacks, according to PFF. His teammates have lauded his improvement throughout training camp as he heads into a contract year. Steen will have an opportunity to play his way into a pay raise, either in Philadelphia or elsewhere. — Reiner
Lane Johnson said 2026 will probably be his last go-round. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Lane Johnson
College: Oklahoma | Years pro: 13 | 6-6, 325
Johnson’s reign at right tackle is nearing its end. During training camp, Hurts’ 36-year-old protector said that 2026 will “probably” be his final season. Johnson played just 10 games last season, as he was sidelined with a Lisfranc foot injury. The six-time Pro Bowl, two-time All-Pro right tackle will have an opportunity to end his career on a high note in a new offense featuring a different blocking scheme in the run game, so long as he can stay healthy. — Reiner
Fred Johnson
College: Florida | Years pro: 7 | 6-7, 326
Johnson has been a quiet mainstay in his previous three seasons with the Eagles, appearing in all 57 of the team’s games from 2023-25 (51 regular season, 6 playoffs). He’s mainly played on special teams units but has also earned 14 starts as the swing tackle during his time in Philly, including eight last year. Whether he serves as the primary tackle backup this season remains an open question — the team is high on rookie Markel Bell — but Johnson will provide veteran depth no matter his place on the depth chart. — Novozinsky
Markel Bell could be the Eagles’ starting tackle of the future. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Markel Bell
College: Miami (FL) | Years pro: 1st | 6-9, 346
The Eagles identified Lane Johnson’s heir apparent when they selected Bell in the third round of the draft. Throughout camp, he made the transition to right tackle, as he had primarily played at left tackle in college. Bell will have the opportunity to develop this season behind Johnson. If the 14-year veteran gets hurt, the Eagles don’t necessarily have to turn to Bell right away, as they also have Fred Johnson in a reserve role. — Reiner
Drew Kendall
College: Boston College | Years pro: 1 | 6-4, 308
The Eagles drafted Kendall, a college center, in the fifth round last year and then started cross-training him at guard. A year working behind some veteran offensive linemen and getting in an NFL training facility has done wonders. Kendall is bigger, stronger, and looks ready to step in if called upon to play any of the three interior offensive line positions. — Neiburg
Willie Lampkin was one of the stories of training camp for the Eagles. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Willie Lampkin
College: North Carolina | Years pro: 1 | 5-11, 290
The Eagles claimed Lampkin at the end of camp last season after the Los Angeles Rams waived him with an injury designation. He spent the entire season on injured reserve. Finally healthy, Lampkin impressed throughout the preseason despite his undersized stature and earned himself a spot as a depth interior lineman on the initial 53. Can the Eagles find a way to get him on the field in specialized personnel packages this season? — Reiner
Micah Morris
College: Georgia | Years pro: 1st | 6-5, 334
It’s easy to see why the Eagles, in search of offensive line depth, used a sixth-round pick on Morris this year. He has the body type and athleticism to play guard in the NFL. Morris showed some flashes during training camp and in preseason contests. He’s likely the last guy on the depth chart and won’t be called upon to play much, but the 23-year-old could be an intriguing prospect for the future. — Neiburg
Jalen Carter (left) and Jordan Davis are both looking to deliver in 2026 after earning huge offseason contract extensions. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Interior defensive line (5)
Jalen Carter
College: Georgia | Years pro: 3 | 6-3, 314
He got paid. Now can he bounce back? Last season, Carter generated a career-low 7.7% pressure rate while facing a double-team on a career-low 41.7% of his pass rushes, according to Next Gen Stats. This came after his wildly successful 2024 season, during which he helped propel the Birds to a Super Bowl win. Now recovered from injury and 10 pounds lighter, Carter should be one of the top defensive tackles in the league this season. — Novozinsky
Jordan Davis
College: Georgia | Years pro: 4 | 6-6, 336
It’s clear that Davis has a different mindset entering this season. Look no further than the fact that the Eagles named the 26-year-old a first-time captain on Friday. Davis, who inked a three-year, $78 million extension in March, is going to be a force in Vic Fangio’s defense once again this year. He’s coming off a career-best 72-tackle and 4.5-sack season and should replicate that this season. — Novozinsky
Moro Ojomo had a strong training camp for the Eagles. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Moro Ojomo
College: Texas | Years pro: 3 | 6-3, 292
Ojomo watched Carter and Davis — who sit ahead of him on the depth chart — become two of the highest-paid defensive tackles in the league this offseason. The 2023 seventh-round pick is using that as motivation. The trio of Carter, Davis and an extra-motivated Ojomo have a chance to form the best DT trio in the NFL this season. — Novozinsky
Byron Young
College: Alabama | Years pro: 3 | 6-3, 292
Young is sort of the otherguy along a defensive interior front that could be among the best in the NFL with Carter, Davis and Ojomo. But Young has more than held his own when the Eagles have called his number. He played in all 17 games last season and tallied 37 tackles. He had three tackles for loss and four quarterback hits while playing 30% of the defensive snaps. With a healthier Carter, Young could see fewer snaps, but the Eagles certainly like what they have with their No. 4 defensive tackle. — Neiburg
Ty Robinson was a preseason standout. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Ty Robinson
College: Nebraska | Years pro: 1 | 6-5, 288
Robinson has been on “life support” for the past year, according to Fangio, as he struggled to get on the field in his rookie season. His defensive coordinator said he “came to life” as training camp progressed. Robinson led the Eagles with three sacks in the preseason. He will have the opportunity to make an impact in a depth role behind the top trio of Carter, Davis, and Ojomo. — Reiner
Edge rushers/outside linebackers (5)
Jonathan Greenard
College: Florida | Years pro: 6 | 6-3, 263
Greenard was the biggest acquisition of the offseason. The Eagles during draft weekend sent two third-round picks to Minnesota to acquire Greenard and a seventh-round pick, and then quickly signed the 29-year-old to a four-year deal worth nearly $100 million. But Greenard missed all of training camp after suffering a pectoral injury late in the offseason and his availability for Week 1 is uncertain. When he’s healthy, the Eagles will need Greenard to consistently get after the quarterback. He had at least 12 sacks in 2023 and 2024 before his injury-shortened 2025 season. — Neiburg
Video: unCovering the Birds mailbag: Analyzing Jalyx Hunt’s productive training camp
Jalyx Hunt
College: Houston Christian | Years pro: 2 | 6-3, 252
Hunt arguably had the best training camp of any Eagles player this summer. The 25-year-old edge rusher lived in the backfield during training camp, sweeping past the Eagles’ best offensive tackles with ease. With Greenard potentially injured to start the season, look for Hunt to take his reps and thrive. He had a 6.5-sack season last year. It’s not a stretch to say he might double that this year. — Novozinsky
Nolan Smith Jr.
College: Georgia | Years pro: 3 | 6-2, 238
Smith re-injured his triceps last season, forcing him to miss over a month of game action. His production declined, going from 6.5 sacks in 2024 to three in 2025. Now healthy, Smith had a strong performance in training camp opposite Hunt while Greenard was sidelined. He’ll look to take his game to the next level with the opportunity for a contract extension looming. — Reiner
Former Penn State and Temple star Arnold Ebiketie (17) is looking to make his name as an Eagle. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Arnold Ebiketie
College: Penn State | Years pro: 4 | 6-3, 256
After four years with Atlanta, Ebiketie hit free agency and found a team in the Eagles who needed to fill out the depth chart on the edge. His playing time dropped off a bit in 2025. He was on the field for 35% of the defensive snaps after playing 49% a year earlier. The Eagles have some workhorses at the top of the depth chart in Greenard, Hunt and Smith, but Ebiketie may need to play a little more if Greenard isn’t ready for Week 1. — Neiburg
A.J. Epenesa
College: Iowa | Years pro: 6 | 6-6, 260
It was a weird offseason for Epenesa. The Browns signed him to a one-year deal worth up to $5 million before balking at the deal weeks later, reportedly due to a failed physical. Now, he finds himself on a loaded Eagles defensive front — and he couldn’t be happier. The 27-year-old looked sharp in camp too, recording a handful of sacks and nabbing an interception on Day 2. — Novozinsky
Zack Baun is a linchpin of the Eagles defense. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Inside linebackers (4)
Zack Baun
College: Wisconsin | Years pro: 6 | 6-3, 225
Three years ago, Baun arrived in Philadelphia as an expected special teams ace and a prospective edge rusher. Since then, he’s become an All-Pro, two-time Pro Bowl, Super Bowl champion inside linebacker and one of the most important players in Fangio’s defense. After Nakobe Dean signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency, Baun is set to take on green dot responsibilities as the on-field defensive play caller this season. — Reiner
Jihaad Campbell
College: Alabama | Years pro: 1 | 6-3, 235
Campbell made an immediate impact in his rookie season, playing in all 17 games and recording a decent stat line of 80 tackles, one interception and three pass deflections. Can he have an even stronger sophomore year? He’ll have help in the room — Campbell, Zack Baun and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. form one of the deepest linebacker corps in the league. — Novozinsky
Is this the year Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (54) breaks through on defense? Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
College: Clemson | Years pro: 2 | 6-0, 225
Trotter heads into his third season with the Eagles as the next man up behind Baun and Campbell. But the 2024 fifth-round pick has demonstrated in the preseason that he could start in any other defense. He finished behind Robinson with two sacks in the preseason, plus one tackle for a loss. Should either Baun or Campbell go down this year, the Eagles ought to feel comfortable with Trotter taking their place. — Reiner
Smael Mondon Jr.
College: Georgia | Years pro: 1 | 6-2, 224
The 2025 fifth-round pick played just 14 defensive snaps last season but was a core special teamer. That shouldn’t change much in 2025 unless the Eagles suffer a few injuries. Linebacker is arguably their deepest position. Mondon seems to be developing nicely and held off a few challengers for a roster spot. — Neiburg
Quinyon Mitchell (27) and Cooper DeJean are seeking to build on All-Pro seasons. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Cornerbacks (6)
Quinyon Mitchell
College: Toledo | Years pro: 2 | 6-0, 193
In his rookie season, Mitchell proved he was a stud in the making, being named to the All-Rookie team and finishing second in Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. He took it another step last year when he was named an All-Pro and a Pro Bowler. Can Mitchell keep leveling up in Year 3? Can he prove that he’s the best cornerback in the NFL (and deserves to get paid like it)? — Novozinsky
Cooper DeJean
College: Iowa | Years pro: 2 | 6-0, 198
DeJean followed up an impressive rookie season by being selected as a first-team All-Pro and being named to the Pro Bowl. DeJean is arguably the best nickel corner in the NFL, but he’s taking on a new job for 2026: safety. DeJean will play on the back line when the Eagles are in their base defense and return to the slot in nickel and dime packages. — Neiburg
Video: Riq Woolen amazed after meeting ‘swole’ Eagles legend Brian Dawkins
Riq Woolen
College: UTSA | Years pro: 4 | 6-4, 210
Woolen’s career with the Seahawks got off to a hot start. He was a Pro Bowler and All-Pro in his rookie season in 2022 and was a key member of their Super Bowl team last season. So, how did the Eagles manage to sign him to a one-year deal in free agency? Well, his inconsistency made him an occasional liability for Mike Macdonald in Seattle. Let’s see if the 6-foot-4 corner can find stability in Fangio’s defense. — Novozinsky
Jonathan Jones
College: Auburn | Years pro: 10 | 5-9, 190
Jones is expected to be the Eagles’ top backup cornerback. He spent last season with the Commanders — Philly’s Week 1 opponent — and signed a one-year deal, $2-million contract with the Eagles in March. He had 78 starts in his first 10 seasons, so he brings a wealth of experience if an Eagles corner goes down this season. — Novozinsky
Kelee Ringo remins a valuable secondary backup and special-teamer. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Kelee Ringo
College: Georgia | Years pro: 3 | 6-2, 207
Last training camp, Ringo was in competition with Adoree’ Jackson for the starting outside cornerback job opposite Mitchell. This year, Ringo wasn’t in the picture, with Woolen signing a prove-it deal in the offseason to command that post. Ringo isn’t even the first outside cornerback off the bench — that’s Jones’ job. But the 24-year-old cornerback is a valued special teamer, hence his roster spot. — Reiner
Mac McWilliams
College: UCF | Years pro: 1 | 5-10, 191
McWilliams looks like a more well-rounded version of his rookie self. He earned occasional reps with the first-team defense throughout training camp and made some plays when doing so. He won’t start if the cornerback room stays healthy, but don’t be surprised if he climbs up the depth chart and earns snaps. — Novozinsky
Can Andrew Mukuba (24) bounce back from the injury that prematurely ended his 2025?Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Safeties (3)
Andrew Mukuba
College: Texas | Years pro: 1 | 5-11, 186
Mukuba saw his rookie season cut short in late November when he fractured his fibula. Now healthy, he will look to stay on the field in his role as one of two starting safeties in his sophomore season. Despite missing the last two months of the 2025 season, Mukuba did not see any preseason action, reinforcing the confidence that the Eagles have in him to do his job come Week 1. Fangio lauded Mukuba’s improved “knowledge and knowhow of the defense” in training camp. — Reiner
Marcus Epps
College: Wyoming | Years pro: 7 | 6-0, 198
Epps is expected to serve as the starting safety alongside Mukuba in Week 1. It was a tough battle between him and Michael Carter II this summer, but Epps experience and institutional knowledge — he was a key starter on the Eagles’ 2022 Super Bowl team — won him the job. Now comes the hard part for Epps: Can he keep the job all season? Carter will be gunning for it every week. — Novozinsky
Michael Carter II will have a key role after a productive training camp and preseason. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Michael Carter II
College: Duke | Years pro: 5 | 5-10, 184
With Mukuba and Epps the likely Week 1 starters at safety, Carter figures to serve as the next safety off the bench. He is the expected backup to DeJean at nickel cornerback, too. Fangio also revealed that Carter will be the sixth defensive back on the field in the dime package. Even though it always seemed like Epps was the frontrunner for the starting safety vacancy this offseason, Fangio said Carter did “nothing but [help] himself” with his performance in camp. — Reiner
Specialists (3)
Jake Elliott
College: Memphis | Years pro: 9 | 5-9, 167
Elliott is coming off of another shaky season in which he went 20-for-27 on his field goal attempts (74.1% conversion rate; his second-lowest rate of the regular season). He is 48-for-63 over the last two regular seasons (76.2%). Still, the Eagles displayed their confidence in the 31-year-old kicker this offseason by restructuring his contract in 2026, agreeing on a $1 million pay cut but guaranteeing $5 million. He did not have any competitors in camp, further reinforcing that the job is his to keep so long as he can establish consistency. — Reiner
Braden Mann (10) and Jake Elliott (right) are back, but will have a new teammate doing the snapping on kicks. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Braden Mann
College: Texas A&M | Years pro: 6 | 5-11, 198
Mann had a good offseason. The 28-year-old punter got paid in March, signing a four-year, $14 million contract extension, and he looked rock solid in training camp. He’s a practice squad success story, with the Eagles initially picking him up from the Steelers in 2023. — Novozinsky
Rocco Underwood
College: Florida | Years pro: 1st | 6-3, 240
The Eagles had stability at long snapper from 2000-2024, with Mike Bartrum, Jon Dorenbos and Rick Lovato all being good enough to earn multiple contracts. They’re hoping Underwood can be that next guy — though things aren’t off to the best start. Underwood, who has shown potential in the past, winning the 2024 Patrick Mannelly Award for the nation’s best long snapper, had a rough start to training camp due to a few bad snaps. He’s since turned it around, but it’s hard to forget those early mistakes. For now, they’ll have to deal with his possible inconsistency and bank on his potential. — Novozinsky
