Finally, it’s here.
Memories of how the 2023 season ended are buried. Celebrations over the signing of Saquon Barkley are in the past. Curiosity about the relationship between Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni is old news. Anxiousness over the latest reports from training camp is gone.
On Friday night in São Paolo, we finally get to meet the real 2024 Eagles, and boy is there a lot to learn. Can Kellen Moore reignite a stale offense? Is Barkley the missing piece? Did Howie Roseman nail his Jason Kelce succession plan? How good can Jalen Carter be? Is Jalen Hurts ready to lead again?
Welcome to your 2024 PHLY Eagles season preview, featuring 10 brand-new stories about the players, schemes and decisions that will define the 18 (or more) weeks ahead.
Gargano: Cherish these times, Eagles fans
Birds chants on social media are more prevalent than trolls. The list of celebrity Eagles fans is endless. Bradley Cooper, Sly Stallone, Kevin Hart, Miles Teller, Tina Fey, Ryan Philippe, Lil Dicky, Sofia Vergara among scores of others all post their devotion, and I think about the legions of faceless fans across the Delaware Valley whose simple joy in life is this squad. I can’t believe it. It’s cool to be an Eagles fan. Funny, the biggest celebrity of them all is in the new director of security, Big Dom, who had his named searched more than Taylor Swift after the flag incident. He turned down offers for a hoagie deal, an option deal for his life rights from Mark Wahlberg and, yes, a porn deal from Porn Hub.
From Lehigh Valley to Philly: Why it was a ‘no-brainer’ for Saquon Barkley to come ‘home’
By Zach Berman
And they have Barkley stories to share. A popular one? In 2015, he won a gold medal in a 100-meter race. Two hours later, a hurdler from a different school won an event that was nullified because of a timing malfunction. Barkley gave her his medal.
“I just thought that was the right thing to do,” Barkley said.
Out of the shadow, Cam Jurgens is the new man with the ball for the Philadelphia Eagles offense
By Bo Wulf
He spoke about seeing himself not as a center, merely a “football player,” dating back to his time in peewee football or his time as a tight end early in his career at Nebraska. He answered questions about replacing Kelce, blocking in space at the second level and the new offense. He fiddled with the tape on his right hand that featured an ominous patch of bright red.
Minutes later, he was asked, uh, is that blood?
“Yeah,” Jurgens said, looking down. “Could be mine. Could be somebody else’s.”
Eagles’ Jalen Hurts has the keys. Can he put them on a Super Bowl ring?
By Les Bowen
It isn’t all the upgrades to the secondary – Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Isaiah Rodgers, C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
It isn’t Kellen Moore’s offensive scheme.
It isn’t Vic Fangio’s defense.
It isn’t even Nick Sirianni’s adjustment to life as a CEO-type head coach.
All of those people and situations are branches, tributaries. They flow into the main force. And the Eagles’ main force is Jalen Hurts.
The Kellen Moore Effect: How the Eagles offense changes with the new offensive coordinator
By Fran Duffy
I’d be willing to bet that the Eagles will finish in the top third in the league in motion this year. I also believe the two biggest benefactors will be both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
In 2023, 41.7 percent of A.J. Brown’s receptions were deemed as ‘tight window catches’ by NextGenStats, one of the highest numbers in the league for an ‘alpha’ receiver that demanded over 150 targets. When you compare him to his peers, the difference is stark. CeeDee Lamb (26.7 percent), Davante Adams (29.3 percent), Tyreek Hill (20 percent), and Garrett Wilson (25 percent) did not have to work nearly as hard, as often, at the catch point as Brown.
Meet the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles offense & special teams
By Bo Wulf
A.J. Brown
Efficiency-wise, 2.50 yards per route run for a wide receiver is a good proxy for “elite.” Nine wide receivers ran at least 100 routes last season and topped that mark. There were six in 2022, eight in 2021, six in 2020 and three in 2019. Brown is the only player to hit the mark in all five seasons. Justin Jefferson has done it in all four of his seasons in the league, with only Stefon Diggs having done it in three of those five years.
More simply put, Brown is one of the best players in football. The 27-year-old is probably the most important player on the team aside from Jalen Hurts.
Meet the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles defense
By Bo Wulf
Devin White
Vic Fangio’s reputation is not that of a blitzer. Miami finished 27th in blitz rate last season (19.3 percent) under his tutelage. In his three seasons as head coach of the Broncos, Denver never finished higher than 15th in blitz rate. However, those four combined seasons also tell the story of a coach who knows how to call effective blitzes. By success rate when blitzing, Fangio’s last four defenses have never finished below 16th in the league, including a 2020 season in Denver when they ranked No. 1.
Which is where White comes in. We saw Fangio test out all his linebackers as blitzers throughout training camp. Zack Baun has a pass-rushing background. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. had 12 combined sacks over his final two seasons at Clemson. Nakobe Dean showed some promise in that capacity as well. But White has proven it in the league. Over the past two seasons, his quarterback hit rate when rushing the passer is the second-best in the entire league for players with at least 200 pass-rush snaps, behind only Patrick Queen. No doubt that’s a reflection of Todd Bowles’ play-calling, but it’s reason enough to think White will be Fangio’s first choice when he wants to send heat.
Cupcake city?: What the Philadelphia Eagles’ schedule has in store
By Rich Hofmann
Week 4: at Tampa Bay
September 29, 1 p.m.
Perhaps no team highlighted the Eagles’ late-season collapse better than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Birds manhandled the Bucs on both sides of the line of scrimmage early in the season, as Todd Bowles seemed to give up at the end of that game. And over the course of four months, the Eagles went from a class or two above Tampa Bay to a class or two below. Confused defensive backs running into each other trying to stick with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, plus Jalen Hurts looking helpless against Todd Bowles’ zero blitzes made for a nightmare playoff exit. Many of the same faces in Tampa, except Liam Coen takes over the play-calling from Dave Canales.
Player poll: Which Eagle is primed for a big season? The Jalens shall lead them
By Bo Wulf
DeVonta Smith
Two guys up front. Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter. I think those two guys, they’ve been working hard at getting in shape, getting to the ball and things like that. You see it’s paying off, the amount of work that they’re putting in, the amount of things they’re playing consistent with, them running after the ball, stopping plays in the backfield. You just see how much more in shape they are.
PHLY Staff Predictions for the 2024 NFL season
We put out the call to our beloved PHLY staff to go on the record with their 2024 NFL season predictions. Fourteen brave souls put their reputations on the line.
Here are the results.
