Eagles 2025 Position Previews: Defensive Line

The phone lines at 97.5 The Fanatic ring off the hook during football season with listeners who applaud an overpowering pass rush.

They point out that strength along the defensive line helped the Philadelphia Eagles win their first Super Bowl after the 2017 season and return to the game’s biggest stage five years later. Others revere the era of Jim Johnson, and some stragglers even glorify the Buddy Ryan years.

Vic Fangio doesn’t always stir up the Philadelphia crowd as actively, but he’s influenced the outlook on defense within the Eagles organization – and the entire NFL – with arguably higher magnitude than any defensive mind of his generation.

The Eagles actually relied more on tight coverage than their defensive line in their second Super Bowl season in franchise history. Their roster decisions in the offseason also don’t indicate any direction toward a ferocious pass rush.

Jalen Carter will anchor the defensive line in 2025 while homegrown 24-year-olds Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt start on the edges. However, the depth isn’t as stout while the front office continues to allocate resources more heavily in other defensive positions.

What does the evolution mean for the defensive line/edge rushers on the 2025 Eagles? What does it say about the organization in the big picture and the remarkable confidence they have in Vic Fangio?

Smith and Hunt bring athleticism off the edge, versatility, and the potential for breakout performances with more playing time. The Eagles will lean on position coach Jeremiah Washburn in developing the pair of young pass rushers.

Howie Roseman, however, spent minimally to bring in Azeez Ojulari and Josh Uche to replace the production of Josh Sweat and Milton Williams.

Will the Eagles generate enough pass rush to withstand losing the two high-priced Super Bowl heroes and retired franchise legend Brandon Graham?

Smith prioritized strength training for an outstanding leap in his second season. He synergized his athleticism with the tough motor that excited evaluators in the pre-draft process to become a key contributor to a dominant Super Bowl defense. His 10.5 sacks in regular season and postseason games tied Sweat for the team lead.

The Eagles might’ve viewed Hunt, a former NCAA safety, as a developmental project after spending a third-round pick on him in the 2024 NFL Draft. Graham’s injury in Week 12 against the Los Angeles Rams cancelled the luxury and pushed the rookie into action.

Hunt played 7% of the defensive snap through Week 11 and 46% in the final seven games. He followed up regular season totals of 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits, and one tackle for loss with an identical stat line across the board in only four postseason games.

The Eagles have talent in their two starting edge rushers, but a defense that finished 15th in sacks and 28th in pressure rate in 2024 simply isn’t deep off the edge. They’ll look for Ojulari and Uche to capitalize on the wide-open door, but a midseason trade is possible without an unexpected breakout internally.

Heavy investment in the interior defensive line could help offset the thinner group on the outside.

Jalen Carter earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 2024. The ascending star controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the season and forced opposing offensive lines to treat him as the unit’s centerpiece.

He differs from past Eagles defensive tackles because of a significantly higher usage rate. Carter played 79% of the defensive snaps last season. The skewed number counts blowout situations when Nick Sirianni had pulled starters. It fails to do Carter justice for playing every snap in Week 10 against Washington and over 90% in every competitive late-season game.

Moro Ojomo worked his way into the playoff rotation more impactfully than Jordan Davis. The former seventh-rounder didn’t reel in the glory of splashy plays in Super Bowl LIX at the same level as Sweat or Williams. However, he also effectively pushed around a helpless Kansas City Chiefs offensive line that focused too heavily on Carter.

The Eagles hope for Davis to finally improve his durability and to move farther toward the player they projected coming out of the University of Georgia. Despite the decision to exercise his option for a fifth season on his rookie deal in 2026, Davis has a lot to prove after three underwhelming NFL seasons. His first step is winning a battle for playing time against Ojomo.

The training camp deal that sent Thomas Booker to the Las Vegas Raiders opens the door for Ty Robinson, Gabe Hall, or Byron Young to step into a rotational role. Booker quietly racked up serviceable playing time in 2024.

The front office’s offseason shuffle reflects tweaks in roster construction strategies, especially on defense.

The Eagles prioritized Zack Baun with a $51 million contract instead of adding a more established edge rusher. They’ll rely more heavily on young foundational pieces like Jalen Carter, Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper DeJean to carry larger shares of the load.

Roseman hopes for additions around the margins to cover for other losses on the unit.

Vic Fangio took the reins with incredible success in 2024 to lead the NFL’s top-ranked defense in terms of both DVOA and total yards. His influence carries into the front office's emphasis on the linebackers and the secondary, their changing perspective on the source of an effective pass rush, and additional reliance on stars like Carter to play more snaps.

The 26th-year NFL defensive coordinator has shown an ability to adjust to personnel changes. His experience inspires confidence within the organization that the Eagles can avoid a freefall from success like the defense did in 2023 after a Super Bowl appearance.

Shawn Syed of Sumer Sports frequently analyzes Fangio’s defensive calls for four pass rushers that don't necessarily include four down linemen or edge rushers chasing the quarterback. A versatile linebacker or defensive back blitzing can instead push an athletic rusher like Smith or Hunt into coverage.

Both projected Eagles starting off-ball linebackers – Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell – have the ability to rush the passer effectively in the overhang position or as creeping rushers who hit the line of scrimmage after the snap to add an element of surprise that opposing offenses need to account for.

The Eagles succeeded last season with the type of added complexity that didn’t characterize Jonathan Gannon’s defenses enough in 2021 and 2022.

The potential defensive strength helps offset a line with less overwhelming depth than Eagles teams in recent history. It's an important reason for the heavier investment of resources in the linebacker position and the reliance of Fangio.