The Philadelphia Eagles have a strange little habit under head coach Nick Sirianni. They always seem to make the playoffs, but it’s feast or famine once they get there. They either lose in the first round of the playoffs (2021, 2023, 2025) or they make it all the way to the Super Bowl (2022, 2024).
Most teams would kill for results like that, but each season is its own entity and we’re here to dive into how the Eagles will do during the 2026 NFL season.
We need to start with the biggest change during the offseason. After half of the offensive coordinator candidates available declined to even interview for the job with the Eagles, the team hired rookie OC Sean Mannion to replace Kevin Patullo. Mannion has two whole years of coaching experience in Green Bay, none as an OC. He brings the Sean McVay /Kyle Shannahan offense with him, which is all the rage in the NFL these days. It’s more under center snaps and motion than Eagles fans are used to seeing. And the outside zone blocking schemes along the offensive line are also a departure from what the team had been running for years. The fate of the team rests on whether or not this system works. No pressure, Sean.
Obviously, the biggest question on the Eagles is the backup QB. Will it be Tanner McKee or Andy Dalton? Just kidding. Even Sirianni hasn’t figured that one out yet.
No, team’s success or failure will depend on how well QB Jalen Hurts adapts to the new system. Let’s just say I have my doubts.
Hurts was not good last season, and that all can’t be blamed on Patullo, no matter what the blindly loyal Hurts fans out there keep saying. The Eagles offense finished 19th in points scored and 24th in passing yards. That is capital B, bad. Hurts finished with the 16th most passing yards (3,224), 25 TDs and 6 INTs. Again, that’s not all the fired OC’s fault since the team was 14th in points scored and 23rd in passing yards in 2024, when Kellen Moore was the OC. And let’s not forget that Saquan Barkley rushed for over 2,000 yards in 2024, after the offensive linemen went to Sirianni and told him that they couldn’t win unless they took the ball away from Hurts and ran the ball constantly.
Hurts is nothing but a game-manager since he stopped running the ball. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it explains why the Eagles have not given Hurts the contract extension that he wants. Now Hurts will need to prove he should get a big contract by producing results in the new offense.
Barkley had a down year in 2025, relatively speaking. After rushing for 2,005 yards in 2024, Barkley rushed for only 1,140 in 2025 and his yards per carry dipped from 5.8 to 4.1. The problem for Barkley was that his offensive line wasn’t healthy and the holes just weren’t there anymore. If the O-line returns to (healthy) form, Barkley should have a bounce back season. He won’t get 2,000 again, but 1,500 seems reasonable, even with Tank Bigsby possibly stealing more work this season. I would also expect to see a lot more passes to the RBs in this offense than we’ve seen in recent years where that didn’t seem to be part of the playbook.
Is addition by subtraction a real thing? The Eagles are about to find out.
AJ Brown forced his way out of town, so the Eagles drafted Makai Lemon in the first round to be the slot receiver, traded for Dontayvion Wicks and signed Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore as free agents. Lemon was hurt all through training camp, so we have no idea if he’ll be able to make a contribution this season. After GM Howie Roseman traded up for Lemon, he better provide something. Wicks looks to be the No. 2 receiver going into the year and I expect him to have a decent season. Brown and Moore will each play a few snaps a game. Of course, all this means that it’s time for DeVonta Smith to step up and have a huge season as the true No. 1 receiver on the team. Smith has shown throughout his career that he is more than capable of being the lead WR.
Dallas Goedert was resigned at TE, after catching 11 TDs last season. The Eagles signed Johnny Mundt to be the blocking TE in Mannion’s offense and they spent a second-round pick on TE Eli Stowers. If Goedert gets hurt this will be the worst TE group in the entire NFL. Mundt literally only blocks and Stowers doesn’t look like he can do anything. The Eagles will be lucky if Stowers produces in future years, but don’t expect anything from him this season.
The offensive line was a complete mess last year. Injuries to LT Lane Johnson, LG Landon Dickerson and C Cam Jurgens were to blame for the poor play. Dickerson and Jurgens played through their injuries and it showed. Keep in mind that the Eagles were only able to get Dickerson in the second-round years ago because of his extensive injury history in college. He might never be the same again. Johnson missed most of last season and he’s now returning for one last season at the age of 36. Does he have anything left before he heads off to the Hall of Fame? They better hope so. RG Tyler Steen is just a guy. Meanwhile, Jordan Mailata has developed into one of the better LTs in the NFL. They drafted massive OT Markel Bell to be the backup and eventual replacement for Johnson. If they can remain healthy, this is one of the best O-lines in the entire NFL. But that’s a big If.
The Eagles best chance of winning the NFC East again and making the playoffs is by riding their dominant defense.
The Eagles have always built through the trenches and that’s a strength of this unit. Former first-round picks NT Jordan Davis and DT Jalen Carter both got paid in the offseason, and seventh-round pick Moro Ojomo has been a revelation. Davis is more of the run stuffer of the group, but he does that well. Carter played through shoulder injuries last season, but is healthy again and needs to get back to being a game-wrecker.
When Jaelen Philips left in free agency the Eagles had to do something to replace him. The answer was a trade for Jonathan Greenard, who produced back-to-back 12-sack seasons in 2023 and 2024 before getting only three sacks in an injury-plagued 2025. Unfortunately, Greenard injured his pec in the preseason and his availability for the start of the season is in doubt. That makes Jalyx Hunt even more critical to the team’s success. Hunt had 6.5 sacks and 3 INTs last season and needs to take the next step in becoming a difference maker off the edge. Nolan Smith looks more and more like a first-round bust, so it will be important that the team get some sort of contributions from free agent signings, Arnold Ebiketie and A. J. Epenesa. The Eagles haven’t had anyone get double digit sacks the last two seasons. That has to change this season.
Nakobe Dean left in free agency, but that’s why Jihaad Campbell was drafted last year. Campbell didn’t get to play much last season, but he needs to step into the starting LB spot and prove he was worth the draft capital. At the other LB spot, Zach Baun led the team with 123 tackles last season and is still playing at an elite level.
The secondary is where the Eagles really shine. CBs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean were both first-team All Pros last season. In fact, DeJean is so valuable that he will actually play safety in the base defense (although that’s only about 15% of the defensive snaps) and slide back to his normal nickel CB spot the rest of the time. Mitchell might not get INTs, but he is one of the best cover corners in the NFL. On the other side, the Eagles signed Riq Woolen to a one-year deal. Woolen made the Pro Bowl with 6 INTs as a rookie, but has had behavioral issues on the field the last few seasons and even lost his starting job in Seattle last season. He should be on his best behavior this season though, since he wants to get a long-term contract.
At safety, Drew Makuba returns from breaking his ankle last season and looks healthy. He should be fine at one safety spot. The other spot will be manned by veteran Marcus Epps, when DeJean is playing CB. The depth at safety is thin with converted nickel CB Michael Carter II and seventh-round pick Cole Wisniewski backing them up after Reed Blankenship left in free agency, but you have to have cheap players somewhere on the roster.
Punter Braden Mann returns after being 5th in the NFL with a 49.9-yard average last season. He’ll be fine. The problem is that the Eagles not only didn’t bring in another kicker to challenge Jake Elliott, but they also gave him a contract extension. Elliott is terrible. He only made 20-of-27 FGs last year, including only 4-of-8 from 50+. He is going to cost the team games this season. Lemon has been named the punt returner, even though he has almost no experience returning punts. Expect Britain Covey to eventually be promoted from the practice squad after a few games of Lemon muffing punts. Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley will return kickoffs, but that has become inconsequential in the modern NFL.
I’ve already discussed how head coach Nick Sirianni always makes the playoffs, but he better keep doing that since he doesn’t run the offense or defense. Mannion is installing an entirely new offensive scheme, which is a big responsibility for a guy with only two years of coaching experience. Chris Kuper replaces Jeff Stoutland as the O-line coach, which wouldn’t be a big deal on most teams, but we’ve been told for over a decade that Stoutland is the best position coach in the NFL. We’ll see how that one plays out. But the most important coach on the team is defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Fangio is one of the most highly regarded coaches in the NFL for a reason. While many teams are trying to copy the McVay/Shannahan offense, just as many teams are trying to copy Fangio’s defensive philosophy. He’s that damn good.
The Eagles enter the 2026 season with some significant questions on the offensive side of the ball. Will Hurts be able to adjust to under center snaps and throwing over the middle? How good will the WRs be without AJ Brown? Can the O-linemen stay healthy? Can Sean Mannion even call an offense?
The offense might need time to get their act together. Luckily, the defense should be one of the NFL’s best again this season. Plus, the schedule is pillow-soft at the beginning with Washington and Tennessee.
The NFC East will be improved from last season. How could it not be. The Cowboys defense literally can’t be worse than it was last season, so they should be improved. Their offense is always great in the regular season too. The Giants actually have an adult running things now, with new head coach John Harbaugh, but their QB and RB just can’t stay healthy. The Commanders are old and bad, but they do get Jayden Daniels back from injury. He gives them a chance to steal some games, but they’ll still be terrible.
I see the Eagles barely winning the division again, over the Cowboys. That would be the first time any team has won the NFC East three years in a row since the Andy Reid Eagles won the division four times in a row between 2001-2004.
Unfortunately, I don’t see the Eagles continuing their pattern of making the Super Bowl in even numbered years under Nick Sirianni. It will be one-and-done again in the playoffs. Then the conversations will turn to whether of not Hurts is still the franchise QB and if Sirianni is the head coach to lead team back to the promised land. Buckle up, because I think t’s going to be a bumpy ride, Eagles fans.
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