Eagles' Early Report Card for Most Impactful Offseason Decisions
The Philadelphia Eagles entered the 2024 offseason in need of change. A year after appearing in the Super Bowl, Philadelphia stumbled in a big way. After starting the season 10-1, the Eagles stumbled to a wild-card berth and were quickly dumped from the postseason by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The offseason retirements of center Jason Kelce and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox only added to Philadelphia's need to reload.
Fortunately for Eagles fans, general manager Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni have wasted little time. The team and the roster already appear dramatically different than they did a year ago.
Here, we'll break down Philadelphia's biggest decisions of the offseason to date and provide grades based on factors like cost, risk, impact and potential upside.
Hiring Kellen Moore, Vic Fangio
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Philadelphia moved quickly to bring in new offensive and defensive coordinators, hiring Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio, respectively.
Moore is perhaps the more questionable of the two hires, as he parted with the Dallas Cowboys a year ago and then was released along with most of the Los Angeles Chargers staff this offseason.
Dallas' offense didn't really see a dip after Moore's departure, and L.A.'s offense ranked just 18th overall in 2023. Still, Moore is a creative young playcaller who has experience in the NFC East. Philly easily could have done worse.
Fangio was an extremely logical choice. He was a consultant for the Eagles in 2022, and his defensive scheme is very similar to that of Jonathan Gannon, who was the defensive coordinator during that year's Super Bowl run.
The Miami Dolphins and Fangio parted ways after just one year, but Miami's defense finished 10th overall under his guidance last season.
The real question is whether Moore and Fangio will better take advantage of Philadelphia's talent than predecessors Brian Johnson and Sean Desai did. That remains to be seen, of course, but if the Eagles can simply avoid underachieving, they should be back in the title picture this season.
Grade: B+
Signing Saquon Barkley
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Roseman opened free agency with a splash, signing running back Saquon Barkley away from the rival New York Giants with a three-year, $37.8 million deal. It's a heft price for a 27-year-old running back with an expansive injury history, but it's a sensible signing.
When healthy, Barkley is one of the best dual-threat running backs in the game. He wasn't great in 2023, missing three games and averaging just 3.9 yards per carry. Yet, he still finished with 1,242 scrimmage yards and 10 touchdowns.
Barkley has lacked consistency as a runner in the NFL, often bouncing between minimal gains, lost yards and then huge plays. Perhaps getting out from under a lackluster Giants offensive line will change that. His big-play ability and pass-catching prowess will bring big additions to an Eagles offense that struggled to find balance and beat the blitz in 2023.
Adding Barkley will help open up the playbook for Moore, who has had solid dual-threat backs in Tony Pollard and Austin Ekeler over the past two years.
Moving quickly to add Barkley was also logical because the 2024 draft class isn't particularly impressive at the running back position.
Signing Barkley to this large of a contract carries risks, but he'll make the offense better if he can stay on the field.
Grade: B
Signing Bryce Huff, C.J. Gardner-Johnson
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The Eagles made a flurry of moves to address a defense that, under Fangio, will likely rely on a four-man pass rush and aggressive, often disguised coverages on the back end.
Linebackers Zack Baun and Devin White will help shore up the second level. However, Philly's biggest defensive additions are pass-rusher Bryce Huff and defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Huff is a budding star coming off of a 10-sack season. He'll help give Fangio a deep and dangerous edge-rushing rotation. Gardner-Johnson was a centerpiece of Philadelphia's 2022 secondary, and bringing him back after a one-year stint with the Detroit Lions was a brilliant move.
Gardner-Johnson is eager to bring his leadership drive and playmaking ability back to the Eagles defense.
"This is an amazing place and we had some memories together! Let's go get us one," Gardner-Johnson posted on X.
With both Huff and Gardner-Johnson in the fold, Philly's defense should more closely resemble the 2022 unit that racked up 70 sacks and ranked first in net yards per pass attempt allowed. It might not be quite that efficient, but it shouldn't be the disaster we saw late in 2023 either.
Grade: A
*Contract information via Spotrac.
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