With spring practices wrapped up and a long NFL dead period ahead, let's take some questions on the Philadelphia Eagles. This will be Part I of a two-part mailbag. As always, thank you for doing half the work for me.
Question from @bbrewerstandup: Who would be your one player not yet really on the radar to come out of nowhere and contribute more than expected?
I have three.
First, I thought it was interesting that Lane Johnson singled out free agent acquisition Josh Uche in a recent press conference. Johnson thinks Uche is quick and versatile. Here's a rep from a game in 2023, in which Uche dusted Johnson. You don't see this much from Lane (video via @nate_tice):
Vic Fangio was asked recently how he feels about the edge rusher position.
"Yeah, I feel good about Nolan," Fangio said. "I think we'll feel good about Jalyx now that he's going to get a lot of reps and develop. He played good for us down the stretch last year and played a lot, as you saw, so I feel good about those two guys, and I think they'll continue to improve. We've got Uche, we've got Azeez, we've got three other guys there. I think we'll be fine."
Is it notable that Fangio mentioned Uche before Azeez Ojulari? I dunno. At a minimum, Uche did get mentioned by name instead of being lumped in with "other guys," lol.
And it's not as if Uche hasn't produced in the past. He had 11.5 sacks in 2022.
Secondly, I'm going to volunteer Ben VanSumeren. I'm currently working on a big article that requires me to watch every offensive snap during the 2024 season, and it's hard not to notice how good VanSumeren was in his fullback role last year. I think the Eagles are going to try to find ways for him to contribute more in 2025. (I'll have a review of his 2024 season soon.)
And finally, Mac McWilliams was probably one of the more unpopular picks the Eagles made in the 2025 draft. Or maybe better stated, he was a guy who most fans had never heard of. I liked what I saw from him in spring practices. McWilliams is probably the fifth player on the cornerback totem pole right now, and he's also probably the backup slot corner behind Cooper DeJean. There are always injuries at cornerback, so I think McWilliams is going to play as a rookie.
Question from @HipsterEagle: Between the Tush Push and void years, do you think the Eagles may have flown a little bit too close to the sun? It seems like the league is now actively looking to curb the advantages that they have built.
They won the Super Bowl, and now there are eyes on what they're doing. Teams want to eliminate the Tush Push because they don't want to have to try to figure out how to stop it. And then it seemed like there are discussions around changing the way teams can operate within the confines of the salary cap, because a lot of cheap owners don't want to pay their players the way the Eagles do.
But no, I think that a Super Bowl win far outweighs any risk of having an advantage stripped away.
Question from @timwescott (via Bluesky): Is Jalen Hurts underrated because of the Tush Push? Since many view it as a "gimmick," I feel that it distracts from his overall skill, and isn't given credit for his skill in implementing the play (when he is ranked against other QBs).
Yeah, I think that's fair. You never hear anyone say that Hurts is an asset because the Eagles have a cheat code play on 3rd/4th and 1. In fact, it's actually used against him. People routinely discredit his rushing TDs because many of them come on Tush Pushes.
Question from @BigsWins: Who do you think will lead the team in sacks this year?
Jalen Carter is the best player, obviously, but he's going to get doubled all season. So it'll likely be one of the two starting edge rushers. I'll take Nolan Smith over Jalyx Hunt. Smith had 10 sacks in his last 15 games, including 4 in the playoffs.
Question from @jeffgoldman (via Bluesky): I'm still baffled by the Eagles trading up just one spot to draft Jihaad Campbell. Does it make any more sense now that some time has gone by?
I think it made sense immediately. They had been trying to trade up for Campbell in the low 20's, which means they were willing to give up a hell of a lot more than a fifth-round pick to go get him.
You can't really just call up a team ahead of you and say, "Hey we're interested in trading up, but only if you get another offer from another team. Otherwise, no thanks." It doesn't work that way. If you want to secure the guy you're after, the Chiefs are going to expect an offer. So, the Eagles offered a 5, the Chiefs said, "Thank you very much," and both sides feel like they got a win.
Could the Eagles have stood pat and just waited for Campbell to fall? Maybe. I think Howie learned a lesson in 2014, when the Eagles were picking 22nd. At pick 20, there were still two players available that they coveted — Brandin Cooks, and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, and based on the needs / draft history of the two teams ahead of them, they felt confident that one of them would fall. But then (OH NO!), the Saints traded up to 20 and took Cooks, the Packers took Clinton-Dix, and the Eagles — after trading back — would eventually end up with Marcus Smith.
So, giving up a fifth-round pick to secure a player they had rated in their top 10 is a really low cost.
Question from @fritztastik: Shemar Stewart inspired question here: Why do rookies hold out? Or delay signing their contracts? With the new CBA, I thought contracts were tied to draft slot. What are they haggling over? I think one Eagle is still unsigned, too? Also, would being a beat for the Bengals be better or worse? Actually, I never thought about this before but I'm sure a bunch of us would be curious: What teams other than the Eagles would you imagine it would be fun to cover? Terrible?
Rookies rarely hold out, because their salaries are predetermined. My understanding of the Shemar Stewart situation is that there's a dispute over language the Bengals inserted into the contract that would void guarantees under certain circumstances. Stewart isn't having that, and he has the support of veterans on his team.
Veteran & star players telling rookie Shemar Stewart he’s “doing the right thing” in Cincy is super disconcerting if you’re a Bengals fan: pic.twitter.com/Iin7lHzgdK
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) June 12, 2025
There are just some bad franchises that tend to create unnecessary problems, and certainly the Bengals are one of them.
As for fun teams to cover, the Eagles are at the top of the list.
- The fan base is probably more engaged than any other. If you publish it, it'll get read.
- They're always doing stuff (trades, etc.). There's nothing boring about covering this team.
- This is where I'm from.
I think if I were to cover any other team, it would be somewhere warm.
Question from @miketheeagle: Rank the order of road trips this year. If only they had switched Buffalo and Tampa those would be great but not where they have them.
It's a bad year for fun road games. I'd rank them like so:
1) Tampa (9/28): I agree this trip would have been better later in the season, but you can also stay in Clearwater and get some beach time. It's also super easy to get to, and a relatively quick flight.
2) Los Angeles (12/8): Long flight, but I'll take a reprieve from the cold in December. And certainly, there's plenty to do in L.A.
3) Minneapolis (10/19): Great stadium, and the city can be fun. The weather shouldn't be awful yet.
4) Dallas (11/23): I still think this is one of the best stadiums in the NFL, and Dallas can be fun.
5) East Rutherford (10/26): Easy day trip up and back. There isn't much going for this trip otherwise, unless you really like seeing sad Giants fans.
6) Kansas City (9/14): It's really cool seeing the food at the tailgates there, but otherwise it's an awful stadium experience. It's a nightmare getting in and out of there. And personally, I'm just not a big fan of the city. Good BBQ, though.
7) Green Bay (10/10): If you've never been to Lambeau before, it's cool to see it for the first time. But if you've already been there, done that, Green Bay is the worst city in the NFL for travel, by far. You're either booking a flight with a layover (oftentimes out of the way), or you can fly direct to Milwaukee and drive 2+ hours to Green Bay. Either way, not fun.
8) Buffalo (12/28): I like Buffalo, but as you note, not in late December.
9) Washington (12/20): Terrible everything.
Question from @RickP25057744: Among your many triumphs of sports coverage, to me the Dumpster Fire series is the apotheosis. So how about more beyond the NFCE? Maybe add a Wild Card Round like the Lions or the Packers?
Thanks! The dumpster fire series is always on the last full week of June, with the following schedule:
• Monday: Cowboys
• Tuesday: Giants
• Wednesday: Commanders
• Thursday: Something different every year
• Friday: Eagles
• Saturday: Hate mail
I've been asked in the past to do more teams. I don't for the following reasons:
- While I love publishing this season and watching the reactions, I hate writing them, because they take somewhere in the vicinity of 10-15 hours each, and the arguments made within have to be either bulletproof, or heavily backed by facts, logic, reason, etc., because I know they are going to be dissected by the fans of the teams I'm ripping. So in that sense, they're kinda stressful. I'm not looking to add more of that during my summer, ha.
- I know the NFC East. I know a lot of other teams, too, but not like the NFC East. If I added other teams to the mix, their dumpster fire posts wouldn't be anywhere near as good.
Question from @HarkBog: Do you still think there will be one big splash? (HarkBog also included this picture in his question):
I originally published that on March 5, more than a week before the start of the new league year. Let's do a progress report on that:
1) Nailed it.
2) Nailed it.
3) TBD. Obviously, Myles Garrett signed a contract extension with the Browns. Could the Eagles make a major move for another bigtime edge rusher, like Trey Hendrickson? Maybe. (Probably not.)
I don't think there's still a chance for some kind of big splash move. I mean, they have 13 picks in the 2026 draft.
4) Their first two picks were a linebacker (with maybe some upside as an edge), and a safety. But they also drafted three offensive linemen, an iDL, and another edge. I think we can chalk up a W for me here.
5) TBD
6) I'm regretting this prediction that the Eagles won't repeat as NFC East champs. I probably made this call (a) because no team has repeated since 2004, and (b) I expected the Commanders and Cowboys to significantly improve their rosters. But after seeing what the Commanders and Cowboys did this offseason, neither team got any closer to the Eagles, in my opinion.
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