PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles have already begun preparations to defend their Super Bowl championship. The voluntary offseason training activities (OTAs) have commenced, but there are still some aspects of this roster to figure out this summer.
Philadelphia chose the lighten the workload thanks to the long 2024-25 season, as the year ended in February with the Super Bowl LIX title. The Eagles chose to have six OTA practices and just one day of mandatory minicamp, which takes place Tuesday. After that practice, the Eagles will depart until training camp in late July — officially moving on from the Super Bowl championship season in hopes for a repeat.
The core of this roster remains the same with Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Saquon Barkley, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Dallas Goedert and Landon Dickerson. Notice all those players are on the offensive side of the ball.
The defense underwent significant changes with Darius Slay, Josh Sweat and Milton Williams departing in free agency. C.J. Gardner-Johnson was traded and Brandon Graham retired, but the Eagles did bring back Zack Baun this offseason to make him one of their core pieces in Vic Fangio’s unit. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean are back for their second season on this defense, which is highlighted by Jalen Carter — who is establishing a reputation as one of the best defensive players in football.
Even with all the talent departing in free agency, the Eagles are still one of the most talented teams in football. Their roster is built to win another championship, but there are quite a few question marks on this team that need to be figured out this summer.
With mandatory minicamp this week, here’s a look at the key position battles and players to watch during the Tuesday practice — and what to look out for this summer.
Key position battles
Safety
The competitors: Sydney Brown, Andrew Mukuba, Tristin McCollum, Cooper DeJean
With the departure of Gardner-Johnson, the Eagles have a void at safety opposite Reed Blankenship. Brown was a 2023 third-round pick and had a promising start to his career before a torn ACL had him rehabbing throughout the first half of the 2024 season. Mukuba was a 2025 second-round pick who can play multiple positions in the defense, but the Eagles are strictly having him focus on playing safety right now.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio made sure to mention McCollum in the battle, a former undrafted free agent who has become a special teams contributor in Philadelphia. McCollum is a dark horse in the competition.
The Eagles could add a veteran to the mix (Justin Simmons perhaps), but that move likely won’t come until July — if at all. Brown and Mukuba have been splitting the first-team reps in the open OTA practice sessions to the media, while McCollum has been on the second team.
DeJean could also play safety in a base defense, as Fangio admitted last week. The Eagles could just slide DeJean there to keep him on the field at all times (which they want to do).
Outside cornerback
The competitors: Cooper DeJean, Kelee Ringo, Adoree’ Jackson
This battle is for the starting cornerback job opposite of Mitchell. DeJean will likely play this role in base defense, but Fangio said they ran just 160 snaps in base defense last season (less than 10% of the snaps). DeJean will be playing in the slot when the Eagles are in nickel, leaving Ringo and Jackson to battle for that role.
The Eagles really like Ringo, a 2023 fourth-round pick who doesn’t turn 23 years old until the end of the month. Ringo played just 110 snaps on defense last season, but he has been a special teams standout on the roster for two seasons and has played well at cornerback when he’s been asked to fill in.
Jackson was signed in free agency to a one-year deal and has been a veteran mentor for the younger cornerbacks. He’s entering his ninth year in the league at age 29 and has been reliable in coverage. At worst Jackson provides solid depth at cornerback.
Edge rusher
The competitors: Jalyx Hunt, Azeez Ojulari, Josh Uche
Nolan Smith has one of the edge rusher jobs on lock, but he’s recovering from a torn triceps suffered in the Super Bowl victory. There’s a golden opportunity for Hunt to earn the other starting role, as he’s been earning all the first-team reps in the open practices.
The Eagles like Hunt’s development, which was on display last postseason when he had a 14.5% pressure rate and 1.5 sacks in an edge rushing potation that guided the defense to the title. Losing Sweat and Williams in free agency opens up an opportunity for Ojulari and Uche to prove they can be significant contributors in the pass-rushing rotation.
The Eagles could be in the market to improve the pass rush this summer, whether that be via trade (Trey Hendrickson) or free agency (Von Miller, Za’Darius Smith). This unit likely needs an upgrade regardless.
Right guard
The competitors: Tyler Steen, Kenyon Green
Steen was a 2023 third-round pick and has been the top backup option when starters have gone down over the last two years. He didn’t give up a sack last season on 135 pass-blocking snaps, but allowed a 5.9% pressure rate. The jury is still out on Steen, yet he’s the early favorite to win the job.
Green was the player acquired in the Gardner-Johnson trade, as he has been getting second-team reps at this stage in minicamp. The former first-round pick has struggled to pass block in his career, as he allowed five sacks and an 8.5% pressure rate last season in 329 pass-blocking snaps.
Steen is going to get every opportunity to win this job.
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Players to watch
Danny Gray has been making plays this offseason, finding his way towards becoming one of the breakout players of training camp. The former third-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers performed well against the first-team defense in practice, using his 4.33-second 40-yard dash speed to get open on slant and out routes. There’s an open wide receiver spot (perhaps two) on the depth chart. Gray is making a case to seize one of those jobs after spending last season on the practice squad.
There are battles to be won among the backup tackles, and Darian Kinnard is in the mix for one of those spots. Kinnard, a former fifth-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs, will be in competition with Kendall Lamm and Matt Pryor for the job after playing in just two games last season. There’s also Day 3 draft picks Myles Hinton and Cameron Williams looking to secure 53-man roster spots. The Eagles like Kinnard, so he’ll be getting a long look this summer.
Jahan Dotson didn’t get much of an opportunity to shine last season in the Eagles offense, as the former first-round pick was traded from Washington to Philadelphia just days before the 2024 regular season began. He found his footing late in the season, and had two huge catches in the postseason (a touchdown in the wild-card win over the Packers and a first-down catch early in Super Bowl LIX) that helped the Eagles capture the Super Bowl title.
With a whole year in this offense, Dotson has a chance to thrive under new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. The targets are limited with Brown, Smith and Goedert in the offense, but Dotson is another reliable another pass-catcher who makes the Eagles offense even more dangerous.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio admitted Nakobe Dean (patella tendon) will be out a while and first-round pick Jihaad Campbell (shoulder) won’t be back until August, giving Jeremiah Trotter Jr. all the first-team reps at off-ball linebacker with Baun.
While Dean and Campbell are on the mend, this is an opportunity for Trotter to show Fangio he can play a significant role in the defense — perhaps even give himself a chance to start in 2025 or in the future. While Trotter may not have the lateral speed to succeed in today’s NFL, he has the instincts and the brainpower to make up for it.
This is a golden opportunity for Trotter to solidify himself as a future playmaker in the Eagles defense.
Fangio mentioning McCollum unprompted in the safety competition shouldn’t go unnoticed. The Eagles are high on McCollum’s potential, particularly his high-football IQ. He’s one of the most disciplined players in the secondary, which gives him an edge over Brown and Mukuba in the safety competition.
A strong summer for McCollum could land him the starting safety job. He seems to be a leading candidate to lock up a 53-man roster spot as well.
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Author: Jeff Kerr
June 9, 2025 | 1:00 pm
