Over the last couple of weeks or so, we've be taking position-by-position looks at which players will likely be back with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2025, and which ones likely won't. Today we'll continue on with the interior defensive linemen.
Regarding the polls below, they are your votes on what you think the Eagles should do, not necessarily what you think they will do. Please think of them more as approval polls for each player.
Jalen Carter
Carter doesn't have eye-popping stats, but he was a menace all season on the interior, despite facing constant double teams. He made his first Pro Bowl and earned his first All-Pro nod after his regular season performance, and made arguably the two biggest plays of the season in the Divisional Round against the Rams, when he sacked Matthew Stafford on a late third down and forced a quick, off-target throw on fourth down, saving the Eagles' season.
In the Super Bowl, Carter was a major reason why the Eagles' defensive line obliterated the Chiefs' offensive line, as he often occupied the Chiefs' two best linemen, allowing his teammates to dominate favorable one-on-one matchups across the board otherwise.
#JimmyVerdict: Carter is entering his third NFL season, and will be eligible for a contract extension when it's over. Spoiler: Assuming his trajectory as a budding superstar continues, he is going to put a dent in the Eagles' salary cap. Stay.
Do you want Jalen Carter back on the Eagles' 2025 roster
Milton Williams
Williams was an uber-athletic prospect coming out of Louisiana Tech who has been a good player for the Eagles the last four years, especially relative to his draft position in the third round in 2021.
He had his best statistical season as a pass rusher in 2024, with five sacks and 10 QB hits. He added two sacks (one of which was a strip sack) in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs, which will only help his earning power in free agency.
Williams has gotten a surprising amount of love this offseason from national folks in their free agency rankings.
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• Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com has Williams third in his free agent rankings.
• The Athletic has him fourth.
• Sheil has him sixth.
• USA Today has him second among defensive players.
My main takeaway from Williams' placement on these free agency lists is that this isn't a banger free agency class. Again, Williams is a good player, but he has not been a high impact player despite benefitting from Jalen Carter drawing constant double teams next to him on the D-line.
#JimmyVerdict: Williams plays an important position and a lot of teams are desperate for D-line help, so I imagine that he will be overpriced, and way out of the Eagles' range. Go.
Do you want Milton Williams back on the Eagles' 2025 roster?
Jordan Davis
During the 2024 season (playoffs included), Davis played just 445 snaps, or 21.2 per game. That was the fourth-most snaps among the Eagles' interior defensive linemen:
| Eagles iDL | Snaps |
| Jalen Carter | 1068 |
| Milton Williams | 654 |
| Moro Ojomo | 490 |
| Jordan Davis | 445 |
| Thomas Booker | 177 |
That is obviously not what the Eagles were hoping for when they made him the 13th overall pick in the 2022 Draft.
During the regular season, Davis was a good against the run, but he only had 27 tackles, one sack, and two batted passes during the regular season.
He came alive as a pass rusher in the playoffs, collecting a sack in the NFC Championship Game against the Commanders, as well as in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs. His NFCCG sack:
And his Super Bowl sack:
It's not uncommon for interior defensive linemen to take a few years to get their NFL sea legs. This excuse isn't as compelling for Davis as it was a year or two ago, but there are certainly some good NFL defensive linemen who didn't impress much until their fourth seasons in the league. Guys who really popped in their fourth seasons include Dexter Lawrence, Zach Allen, Nnamdi Madubuike, and Vita Vea, though certainly, they all showed more in their first three seasons than Davis has through his.
Though Davis hasn't popped yet, he did show something in the playoffs, and he remains one of the most physically gifted players in the NFL.
#JimmyVerdict: Davis has one year left on his rookie contract in 2025. I've seen some suggest that he could be part of a package to trade for Myles Garrett, but I'm not so sure why the Eagles would sell low on Davis as a throw-in player in a trade. I mean, if the Browns were adamant that he's included in such a deal and he's adding real value to that kind of package, then sure, include him in the trade, but why would the Browns insist? So, you know, stay.
Beyond 2025, the Eagles will have to decide this offseason if they want to exercise Davis' fifth-year option for 2026. We examined that in detail a couple weeks ago. At the time, his fifth-year option was projected at $11.5 million. When the official fifth-year option figures came out, Davis' was higher than expected, at $12.9 million. I'm less sure the Eagles will exercise it at that figure.
Do you want Jordan Davis back on the Eagles' 2025 roster?
Moro Ojomo
Ojomo was a regular part of the Eagles' D-line rotation, and as noted above actually got more playing time than Jordan Davis. Vic Fangio said that he liked what he saw from Ojomo this season both as a pass rusher and run defender.
During the regular season, Ojomo had 20 tackles and no sacks, but he got his first career sack during the playoffs against the Rams.
#JimmyVerdict: Ojomo is already a three-down lineman, but he could see his role grow just in terms of pure volume of snaps if Williams leaves in free agency, as is expected. Stay.
Do you want Moro Ojomo back on the Eagles' 2025 roster?
Thomas Booker
Booker had a good training camp and earned his way onto the team, and then proceeded to play in all 21 games. He had 18 tackles and a sack, playing 166 snaps. Booker is a smart kid and a good locker room guy, and will be given every opportunity to win a job in camp in 2025.
#JimmyVerdict: No guarantees, but we'll call Booker a stay. Assuming Williams leaves in free agency, Booker is currently the fourth iDL on a team that wants to keep at least six.
Do you want Thomas Booker back on the Eagles' 2025 roster?
Byron Young
The Eagles added Young on waivers after 53-man cutdowns. He stayed on the Eagles' 53-man roster before being placed on IR Week 8. He spent the next three months on IR, before being designated for return heading into the playoffs, but was never elevated back to the 53-man and finished the season on IR.
Young had four tackles as a rookie; he did not appear in any games in 2024.
#JimmyVerdict: Young will be back in camp, when the Eagles can get a closer look at him, but obviously with no guarantee to make the roster.
Do you want Byron Young back on the Eagles' 2025 roster?
#JimmyVerdict Stay or Go Results
Green = Stay
Red = Go
Blue = Will be back in camp in 2025, but a 53-man roster spot is not a given.
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| QB | Jalen Hurts | Kenny Pickett | Tanner McKee | |
| RB | Saquon Barkley | Kenny Gainwell | Will Shipley | Khari Blasingame |
| WR | A.J. Brown | DeVonta Smith | Jahan Dotson | Johnny Wilson |
| WR (cont.) | Britain Covey | Parris Campbell | Ainias Smith | |
| TE | Dallas Goedert | Grant Calcaterra | E.J. Jenkins | C.J. Uzomah |
| OT | Lane Johnson | Jordan Mailata | Fred Johnson | Darian Kinnard |
| OG | Landon Dickerson | Mekhi Becton | Tyler Steen | Trevor Keegan |
| C | Cam Jurgens | Jack Driscoll | Brett Toth | Nick Gates |
| ED | Josh Sweat | Nolan Smith | Brandon Graham | Jalyx Hunt |
| ED (cont.) | Bryce Huff | Charles Harris | ||
| iDL | Jalen Carter | Milton Williams | Jordan Davis | Moro Ojomo |
| iDL (cont.) | Thomas Booker | Byron Young | ||
| OBLB | ||||
| CB | ||||
| S | ||||
| K/P/LS |
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