Eagles depth chart analysis: How much work is left for Howie Roseman at edge rusher, safety?

Just before heading out for the weekend, Howie Roseman spent his Friday night rearranging the Eagles‘ depth chart at the safety position.

Trading Sydney Brown to the Atlanta Falcons for a pair of pick swaps (Picks No. 215 and 122 for 197 and 114) didn’t just clear about $1.5 million on the salary cap in exchange for a player not in the Eagles’ long-term plans, it also gave way to them re-signing Marcus Epps and adding veteran special-teamer J.T. Gray shortly thereafter.

To determine where the trio of moves, along with the rest of Roseman’s work in free agency, leaves the Eagles defensive depth chart, let’s go position-by-position to figure out where the biggest needs remain:

Edge rusher

On roster: Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, Arnold Ebiketie*, Ta’Quon Graham, Jose Ramirez

Departed: Jaelan Phillips, Josh Uche, Azeez Ojulari

Free agents: Brandon Graham, Ogbo Okoronkwo

All indications are that the Eagles made a strong push to retain Jaelan Phillips because of the value he showed as the centerpiece of the edge-rusher rotation down the stretch of last season, but they’ll have to get creative to truly replace him over the next few months.

This is arguably the biggest need left on the Eagles, at least on defense, but one without as clear a path to address as some of the other glaring spots (offensive line depth, starting safety competition).

Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard is a name that makes plenty of sense on the trade market. The 28-year-old pass rusher is coming off a down year and is reportedly available because of a contract dispute with Minnesota’s front office, which presents a high risk-reward proposition for whoever might acquire him.

Greenard had 12-plus sacks in 2023 and 2024 before managing just three last season and would be an ideal fit in Vic Fangio’s system both from a playing style and personality standpoint. The contract demands may complicate things, though. Greenard’s current deal has an annual value of around $19 million annually, but his age and production would probably put him closer to players like Montez Sweat ($24.5 million APY in 2023) or Odafe Oweh ($24 million APY in 2025). If that’s the neighborhood Greenard is hoping to be in, the Eagles could use a Day 2 pick to secure a No. 1 edge rusher around the price they likely were offering to Phillips in the first place and still retain the compensatory pick they’ll be due for Phillips signing elsewhere. It goes without saying that working out the contract extension would be the complication here more than the trade compensation, though.

Taking Greenard off the board, the Eagles may need to go into training camp without a clear No. 1 at the position and try to add one before the trade deadline as they did last year. And perhaps one of Smith, Hunt, or Ebiketie take a meaningful leap to quell those concerns in the meantime. Ebiketie may be viewed by some through a pessimistic lens because of the similarities his signing has to the Azeez Ojulari signing a year ago, but he gives the Eagles another pathway toward getting quality edge play on a low-cost contract.

Defensive tackle

On roster: Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Moro Ojomo, Gabe Hall, Ty Robinson, Byron Young

For as many questions as the Eagles have atop the depth chart at edge rusher, the only one worth mulling along the interior defensive line is whether the Eagles can work out a long-term extension for Jalen Carter between now and the start of training camp.

Carter will likely reset the defensive tackle market, and perhaps will do so by some margin with Chris Jones currently sitting at the top with an APY of $31.75 million. The Eagles will want to get Carter extended before that market swells any more, but the exact numbers may be hard to pin down given how much potential Carter still has weighted against the fact that he struggled with injuries last season and hasn’t quite had the production to match the game-wrecking ability he’s flashed plenty in his first three seasons.

That potential makes any trade speculation, well, exactly that. This extension should be a matter of when rather than if, even if it isn’t quite as straightforward a decision as the Eagles typically have when it comes to paying young, homegrown talent as early as possible.

Looking long-term, it’s fair to wonder if the Eagles add another versatile interior rusher in the draft to serve as an understudy to Moro Ojomo. It’s possible Ty Robinson develops into that player, but a high-upside defensive tackle would still make sense to ensure the pipeline of deputizing interior rushers that includes success stories like Javon Hargrave and Milton Williams doesn’t end with Ojomo.

Linebacker

On roster: Zack Baun, Jihaad Campbell, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Smael Mondon, Chance Campbell

Departed: Nakobe Dean

Even if losing Nakobe Dean will have some intangible ripple effects along the defense, this is still one of the most talented linebacking corps in the NFL with Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell making up an insanely versatile, range-y pairing for Vic Fangio to get creative with. This is a good time to remind everyone: Campbell was playing reasonably well before losing his job to Dean, whose return from a serious knee injury defied logic and forced Fangio’s hand during the second half of the season with Campbell becoming the underserving odd man out.

Trotter Jr. and Mondon are quality depth as well, and Chance Campbell will be a name to watch during training camp after drawing rave reviews from the Eagles offensive starters for his work on the scout team last year.

Cornerback

On roster: Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Riq Woolen*, Jonathan Jones*, Mac McWilliams, Kelee Ringo, Jakorian Bennett, Ambry Thomas, Brandon Johnson (?)

Free agents: Adoree’ Jackson

The addition of Riq Woolen gives the Eagles one of the best cornerback trios in the NFL on paper with serious upside. Woolen’s addition should allow for DeJean to play safety in the Eagles’ base defense as well, which is an added bonus given how that group looks (more on that in a moment.)

The Jonathan Jones signing likely signals that Adoree’ Jackson will end up elsewhere, and the veteran corner’s versatility helps facilitate Michael Carter II’s move to safety as well.

Among the young guys, Mac McWilliams will be a fun player to keep an eye on during training camp. The former UCF standout had a solid summer in 2025 before suffering an injury and could be a long-term solution across from Quinyon Mitchell if he continues to progress. I’m also curious to see where Brandon Johnson winds up in the secondary after splitting time between corner and safety as an undrafted rookie last year.

Safety

On roster: Drew Mukuba, Marcus Epps*, Michael Carter II, Andre’ Sam, J.T. Gray*

Departed: Reed Blankenship

At least going into the draft, I’d expect Marcus Epps and Michael Carter II to each get a legitimate shot to earn the starting spot opposite Drew Mukuba.

Epps started the final four games of the Eagles’ season last year after Mukuba went down with an injury and played pretty well. Add that to the 25 starts he compiled with the Eagles during his first stint with the team and the 49 career starts he has overall, it’s not hard to see Epps settling in as the veteran presence on the back end next to Mukuba, who can be more of a risk taker back there.

Don’t discount Carter, though. The team intends to move the 27-year-old to safety this offseason and there are some who believe his transition from slot cornerback to safety will be seamless enough for him to vie for the starting job in training camp. Roseman alluded to Carter’s ability to move to safety shortly after swapping seventh-round picks with the New York Jets in exchange for Carter, who has played 73 games mostly as a nickel corner in his career.

Either way, this is shaping up to be the spot the Eagles try to make due with less at next season, similar to how they approached the second outside cornerback spot opposite Mitchell last season. For that reason, I’d still be surprised if the Eagles add a safety in the first few rounds of the draft. It’s a position Roseman has struggled to get right in the past and would come at the expense of injecting as much sorely needed youth into the offensive side as possible.

A trade (remember, the Eagles traded for C.J. Gardner-Johnson just before cut-down day in 2022) feels more likely, but there’s certainly a chance Epps or Carter are starting in Week 1 with DeJean replacing them in the base defense. If that is the case, the Eagles are probably strong enough at the other secondary positions to get by just fine.