Eagles 2025 Postions Preview- Is The Secondary Deep Enough?

Last season, the Eagles' secondary was nearly flawless. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean were both rookie of the year contenders. Darius Slay still played great even in his mid-30s. C.J. Gardner-Johnson was still a playmaking machine, and Reed Blankenship grew into a leader on that defense. They even had a solid backup at CB in Isaiah Rodgers.

As a team, they gave up the fewest passing yards per game in the league. They also had the 3rd lowest passer rating against, and the fewest passing yards per attempt allowed.

But things may look a bit different this year. Mitchell, DeJean, and Blankenship are all back and should be just as good, if not better, than last year. But can the pieces around them step up the way Slay, CJGJ, and Rodgers did last year?

Before we get into the new faces, let's reiterate just how good the guys at the top of the secondary room are. Both Mitchell and DeJean ranked in the top 60 in the NFL Top 100. Both were also finalists for Defensive Rookie of the Year, losing out to Jared Verse. Verse had the advantage because his position allows him to rack up big stats, but you can make the argument that both rookie corners were just as good in year 1 as Verse was.

They both also came away with big interceptions in the playoffs. Mitchell had picks against the Commanders and Packers. DeJean had the pick-six in the Super Bowl that started to turn the game into a rout.

Mitchell made a name for himself shutting down big-name WRs. Q went up against Terry McLaurin 3 times, including in the NFC Championship game. He shadowed Terry for most of all 3 games, and gave up just 3 catches to him. In the NFC Championship, Terry had just 1 catch for 7 yards against Q. Q also helped shut down Ja'Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb, and Mike Evans, among other elite WRs.

DeJean allowed just 208 yards in the playoffs over 4 games. He also got the chance to match up with high-end WRs, and except for Adam Thielen, who had DeJean's number a bit, DeJean hardly ever got beaten. But he also made a name for himself with big hits. First, it was a tackle behind the sticks on Ja'Marr Chase that forced a turnover on downs. But perhaps his most impressive play was this hit on Derrick Henry.

Dont forget Blankenship either. He might not have the accolades of the rookie corners, but he was super dependable last year. He held QBs to a passer rating under 80, and came away with 4 picks. 2 of those picks came late in close games.

The Eagles hoped Kelee Ringo would step up into that CB2 spot. He did not. His camp was disappointing, and he struggled when out there in the preseason. They signed Adoree Jackson as insurance, and he is what he is. Jackson is a journeyman corner. He is not a disaster waiting to happen, but he is also not a guy you want to put all of your faith into against top-level wrs.

The Eagles said they might have Q shadow the other team's best WR. But how many teams have 2 great WRS now? If they meet the Bengals in the Super Bowl, you can stick Q on Chase, but what about Tee Higgins? DeJean has to stay in the slot because they don't really have another option inside. It would need to be Jackson, and we just saw him have trouble in the pre-season against Chase and Higgins.

Maybe late training camp addition Jakorian Bennett is the answer. His upside is higher, but he is still new to the Eagles system and has not shown he is ready for that role yet.

They might also have to worry about the other safety spot. The hope was that Drew Mukuba would step right in, but injuries limited him throughout camp. The other option is Sydney Brown, but he is a bull in a china shop. That will occasionally lead to good plays, but it could also end in disaster. Fangio asks his safety to be in the right place for his defense to work. That is not Brown's skillset, at least not to this point in his career.

I am high on Mukuba. But it can be hard for a rookie Safety to step right into the NFL. Especially in a Vic Fangio defense, where he asks a lot out of his Safeties. Mukuba could end up a star at safety, but not be ready to be that guy this year.

If CB2 struggles, it can ruin the good work Q and DeJean do. If there is a weak link, good offenses can easily pick on that weak link and just ignore Q's side of the field. We saw teams do it early last season before DeJean replaced Maddox. Teams could pick the Eagles apart over the middle of the field.

These question marks are going to hang over the head of the Eagles' secondary, and the entire defense, until proven otherwise. The Eagles had question marks on defense last year, and those questions were answered by week 7. Safety could have an easy answer if Mukuba can play up to his potential. CB2? Thats a question mark that might not go away.