The 4 Biggest Eagles Question Marks Heading Into The Summer

Coming off a Super Bowl win, there is very little to complain about in Eagles right now. Yet they will be the first ones to tell you they need to keep improving. Apathy is the death of progress, and despite winning it all, there is still work to do.

The Eagles had a busy off-season, with more departures than arrivals. Several key figures from the championship team are no longer here. Milton Williams, Darius Slay, Josh Sweat, Mekhi Becton, Isaiah Rodgers, Oren Burks, Fred Johnson, CJ Gardner Johnson, just to name a few. But unlike in 2023, when they say this many departures, they have the young talent to perhaps make up for it.

Still, there are question marks. They will once again have to rely on some unproven players if they are going to reach the heights they did last season. So as we head into the Summer, let's look at the biggest question marks still hanging over the Eagles' heads.

Quinyon Mitchell has the CB1 role set in stone. He was tremendous in his rookie season and arguably should have won Defensive Rookie of the Year. With any player coming off a great rookie season, you always wonder if they can replicate that success once the league has more tape on them, but Mitchell is not a question mark. Neither is Cooper DeJean in the nickel.

The question comes when you look at the 3rd corner spot. Kelee Ringo is the leader in the clubhouse. People gushed about him at Mini Camp, but he was great in OTAs/ mini-camp last year, too. Physically, he fits the mold of a modern NFL CB. But we have not seen him do that, nor have the Eagles given him much chance to play CB.

They need someone to step up and be at least serviceable there. We saw early last season how 1 weak link, Avonte Maddox, brought the defense down early in the season. Once Cooper DeJean got the call, they became the best defense in the league.

Whether it be Ringo, Adoree Jackson, Eli Ricks, or an outside hire, whoever plays across from Q has to be solid. If you have one great corner and 1 bad one, teams will happily ignore Q/Coop and target the weak link.

We won't know if whoever wins that job is up for the role until games are played. We have seen corners look great in practice, then get picked apart in the game. We have also seen Patrick Robinson look terrible in camp, and then become a star when the games are played. But the fate of the Eagles' defense being great again could ride on whoever wins that job being at the very least passable.

Some people list Tyler Steen as a question mark at RG. I don't. We have already seen him in that role, and he was solid, and at times better than solid. There was very little drop off, if any at all, when he filled in for Becton. Steen will be the only change to the starting offense, and I have no concern that he will plug in and, at worst, be passable.

O-line depth is a question though. Fred Johnson played a lot last year, filling in for Lane Johnson or Jordan Mailata. He was a step down, but he held down the fort vs some tough matchups. They might need someone to do that again, but with Fred gone, the question is who?

The Eagles added 2 OTs in the draft, and another as a UDFA. All 3 have high uspides, especially Rutgers LT Hollin Pierce, who is massive. But putting in a rookie tackle to protect Jalen Hurts is going to come with risk. All of their options are unproven. That does not mean they are bad, just that they have not proven anything at this level.

Saquon had one of the greatest single seasons ever with the Eagles last year. But he touched the ball a lot. History is not exactly kind to RBs with workloads like that. He stayed healthy, but has had nagging injury issues in the past. So the question becomes, will he stay healthy again, and if he does, will he be that great again?

There is a lot of room between what Saquon did last year and him having a season like Christian McCaffrey did last season. Expecting Saquon to get that many carries again and another 2000-yard season is probably unreasonable. They might need to go a bit easier on him, mix in the backups a little more, and throw a bit more.

We saw in the Super Bowl, if you force the Eagles to throw, they can do so at a very high level. But they might need to do that more often next season. Not just to keep defenses on their toes, but to protect your most important asset in Saquon Barkley.

The Eagles were spoiled last year by how quickly their rookies adjusted, and blossomed into stars. That is not always the case. A look at Nolan Smith shows that sometimes very talented players need time.

Drew Mukuba is talented. He is also very smart. But Safety is a position where that NFL adjustment can be hard. Especially in the Vic Fangio scheme that asks a lot out of the safeties. So is Mukuba ready to step in and start right away.

They might need him to be. Sydney Brown is not a fit for that cover safety role Mukuba is being asked to fill. Short of signing Justin Simmons, Mukuba is pretty much the only option to replace what CJ Gardner Johnson was doing for them in coverage. I think he is up for the challenge, but that does not mean he will be up for it week 1. There could be an adjustment period. He deserves some slack to learn the league. The question is do the Eagles have the depth to deal with it if he is not ready right away?