Surely we all still remember the pictures in the early morning hours of February 13, 2023: Patrick Mahomes held up the Lombardi Trophy while Jalen Hurts & Co. were only allowed to watch. In a high-class and exciting Super Bowl, in which the Eagles still led by 10 points at halftime, they finally lost to the Kansas City Chiefs with 35:38. A brilliant Mahomes in the 2nd half destroyed all title dreams in Philadelphia.
Are the Eagles going down now because of this trauma? I say no!
That’s how free agency worked
The biggest upheaval in Philadelphia this year took place on the sidelines – in the coaching staff! Both defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator (and play-caller!) Shane Steichen are gone. Steichen is now head coach for the Indianapolis Colts, Gannon for the Arizona Cardinals.
However, the new coordinators were quickly found. Brian Johnson (former quarterback coach for the Eagles) is now the offensive coordinator. Johnson is considered one of the most important people in Jalen Hurts’ development, so it’s not surprising that Hurts himself is said to have been very supportive of Johnson. On the defensive, an NFC rival was used: Sean Desai comes to Philadelphia from the Seattle Seahawks.
On the player side, James Bradberry, Darius Slay and Fletcher Cox were able to equip three cornerstones of the defensive with new contracts. With safety Terell Edmunds (of the Steelers), cornerback Greedy Williams (Browns), linebacker Nicholas Morrow (Bears) and defensive end Kentavius Street (Saints) came quality to the depth of the roster.
Offensively, the most important commitment was certainly Marcus Mariota, who will act as backup quarterback. For the running game came Rashaad Penny from Seattle, who everyone is hoping for an injury-free season.
That’s how the draft went
Here General Manager Howie Roseman once again stayed true to himself. After a small uptrade with the Bears, defensive end Jalen Carter was chosen in 9th place, who was seen by quite a few as the best player in this class. Edge rusher Nolan Smith was also able to get in 30th place thanks to a board that fell well for the Eagles.
Roseman once again strengthened the lines. A mantra that has distinguished him for years. Another Georgia player came later with cornerback Kelee Ringo.
And then they managed to trade D’Andre Swift from the Detroit Lions to Philadelphia during the draft. The running back can be used offensively very variably and will ensure an interesting rotation with Penny, Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell.
season goal
The Philadelphia Eagles are among the NFL favorites again in 2023. In the NFC, they are the clear favorites for the conference title alongside the San Francisco 49ers, and they also rank third in the Super Bowl Odds.
The strength of the team are the two lines, offensive and defensive. Both are potentially in the top 3 in the NFL and provide the advantage “in the trenches” needed to succeed. The attack around Hurts, AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and Swift also reads extremely strong on paper. If play calling is as varied as it is in 2022, the Eagles will be hard to stop.
In the extremely strong defense, only the linebacker position has many question marks. Can Nakobe Dean fulfill the role he had at Georgia and is expected of him? Can Morrow even come close to replacing his predecessors TJ Edwards or Kyzir White? Questionable!
I see the weaknesses of the Eagles in the depth of the squad. If players break away due to injury on offense or defense at certain skill positions, there is a very strong drop-off, which is difficult to catch.
season forecast
Even though the schedule looks a lot heavier than last year and includes a brutal stretch after Bye Week, there are no excuses for this Eagles roster in a not-so-strong NFC!
In the end, I think 12 wins will win the division and get you back in the NFC Championship Game via the wild card and divisional round. You will see everything beyond that. However, the Philadelphia Eagles 2023 are among the absolute favorites in the NFL.
Lennart Scholz
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