With the fun parts of NFL free agency in the rear view mirror and the owners meetings ahead, let's take some mailbag questions, shall we? This is Part II of a two-part mailbag (Part I here).
Question from SMHink: Do you get the feeling the Eagles have Justin Simmons or another safety option lined up to sign after the draft so it doesn't impact compensatory picks?
Simmons was a really good player earlier in his career, particularly when he played for Vic Fangio in Denver. But, he had a down year in 2024, and he turns 32 in November. I'd be worried that he's Kevin Byard 2.0.
The safety who I think would be a good fit as a third guy is Julian Blackmon, who we profiled in greater detail here.
As for the timing of a possible safety signing, Blackmon isn't likely to command enough money to count toward the comp pick formula, so the Eagles could sign him at any time. Simmons might still be at least moderately costly, so if he were to get a deal from the Eagles, then yes, they would prefer to wait until after the draft, when player signings no longer count toward to comp pick formula.
Simmons recently expressed interest in playing for Fangio in Philly, so I wouldn't completely rule it out, but the sense I get is that the Eagles want to let their young players grow into bigger roles, and the time is probably now for Sydney Brown.
Question from KingDro12: Who is your breakout star on defense and offense next year. Breakout meaning that other than Eagle fans, no one knows their name.
On defense I think it's Moro Ojomo, a Vic Fangio fave who is a good player against the run and the pass, and is primed for a big uptick in snaps after the team lost Milton Williams in free agency.
Offense is a little trickier to predict because that side of the ball was largely kept intact. I'm going with Tanner McKee, if he is forced to start a few games.
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Question from @essentialjared (via Threads): Would the Eagles consider drafting a safety like Malaki Starks or Nick Emmanwori in the first round with the second contracts of Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean hitting the Eagles' books in 28-29? That’s a lot of young secondary players that you might need to pay in the future if you draft a safety early this year.
It's probably simpler than future contract considerations. The Eagles just don't value that position enough to spend a first-round pick on it. If they did they'd have just kept C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Question from @mrweiss (via Bluesky): What's your take on the Dallas Goedert situation? I realize he gets injured a lot, but he was a beast in the playoffs, they have nobody on the roster who can do what he does (catch, block, YAC), and drafted TEs often take time to develop. Seems like it's worth the cost to keep him at least another year.
He sure was a beast in the playoffs. He led the team in receiving.
| Eagles receiving – playoffs | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| Dallas Goedert | 17 | 215 | 12.6 | 1 |
| DeVonta Smith | 16 | 190 | 11.9 | 1 |
| A.J. Brown | 12 | 163 | 13.6 | 2 |
| Saquon Barkley | 13 | 75 | 5.8 | 0 |
| Jahan Dotson | 3 | 53 | 17.7 | 1 |
There's no question that the Eagles have a better offense when Goedert is healthy, and as you noted, he does everything well. He has no obvious flaws, other than durability.
But, he is 30 years old (he'll turn 31 during the season), and he is playing on the final year of his deal with no guaranteed money. Something is going to have to happen with him, contract-wise, and I'm not sure the Eagles want to commit to him via a long-term extension. So, we'll see. What is certain is that the Eagles have discussed trading him with other teams.
Question from @stephanuzzell (via Bluesky): I know Howie wants to fill holes so he doesn't feel like he has to reach for any position in the draft, but why should I have any confidence in any of these OL they've brought in? Kenyon Green? Kendall Lamm? Matt Pryor?
They need depth. Lamm will compete to be a swing tackle. Pryor has four-position versatility. Green has talent and the optimistic view is that Jeff Stoutland can unlock some of his ability. There's also Tyler Steen, who is entering his third year, and for now is the projected RG. So, we'll see how that shakes out in training camp, and if the value is there in the draft, then sure, take a guy who can also compete for the starting RG job.
But the rest of the starting line is a collection of All-Pros and Pro Bowl players. There isn't a team in the NFL that wouldn't trade their offensive line for the Eagles' in half a heartbeat. I wouldn't say that they need to force an early pick on an offensive lineman.
Question from @peteb (via Bluesky): Why wouldn’t the Eagles draft a QB this year?
They could. The QB3 is currently Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who has 1 career TD pass vs. 10 INTs. He does have some intriguing traits and you can maybe forgive his struggles because he played in an awful Browns offense, but he's not above competition from a rookie Day 3 quarterback, in my opinion.
Question from @treblaw (via Bluesky): What realistically can we expect from Jahan Dotson? Weird regular season and a huge end to the playoffs/Super Bowl run.
I think he's gone after this season. If he has a significant jump in production, he's going to be pursued by other teams. If he doesn't, then the Eagles won't want him back and/or Dotson won't want to be back, thinking that he can get more targets elsewhere.
But barring an injury to A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith, I expect his role to be similar to what it was a year ago. He'll get a lot of cardio work in while Brown and Smith dominate targets.
Question from @illatropolis (via Threads): Can you rank who you think are the (top 3?) favorites for the opening night opponent and why?
The Lions are the clear top choice, in my opinion. They're the second-best team in the NFC, and football fans were deprived of an Eagles-Lions matchup in the NFC Championship Game when the Commanders upset them in the Divisional Round. I've seen the argument that networks might want to save that game for later in the season, since everyone will watch the Thursday night opener anyway, but that didn't really hold true last season, when the Chiefs hosted the Ravens.
Next I'd have the Rams, who gave the Eagles their most competitive game in the playoffs last season.
And then third I'd have the Commanders, the second-best team in the NFC East, and in the eyes of some a young, up-and-coming team. (They're not young at all. Just the quarterback is.)
The argument for that matchup is that they it would be a rematch of the NFC Championship Game. My counter would be that the Eagles obliterated them in that game. Like, if it had been competitive, then sure.
Question from @daruz51: What would this offseason be like if the Eagles didn’t win the SB? Can you see them letting some of their big names walk and trading CJGJ if they lost to the Chiefs?
I've wondered the same. The vibe that I get from the fan base is that they're willing to cut the team some slack after winning it all. But if they hadn't, complaints about this offseason would no doubt be louder. Ultimately, though, yes, I think their offseason would have looked similar if they hadn't won.
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