Eagles News: ESPN says Philadelphia had one of the best NFL offseasons

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Ranking best, worst 2023 NFL offseasons: Which teams improved? - ESPN+
4th) What went right: The Eagles did well to face their new economic reality on defense. In 2022, QB Jalen Hurts was in Year 3 of a deal that paid him an average of $1.5 million per season. After an incredible campaign, he deserved a massive raise. His new deal averages $51 million per year. That $49.5 million difference has to come from somewhere, and while general manager Howie Roseman and his front office can get creative with the salary cap, there was no way around it: They were going to have to cut back somewhere else. Naturally, that started at positions the Eagles don’t typically value as premium spots. Starting running back Miles Sanders left in free agency for the Panthers, replaced by a low-cost deal for Rashaad Penny and a trade for D’Andre Swift. Linebackers T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White were allowed to leave, as were safeties C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps. Gardner-Johnson might have stayed if circumstances had played out differently, but Roseman was able to parlay some uncertainty into security at a more valuable position. For a moment, it looked like the Eagles might be in position to lose both of their excellent veteran cornerbacks in free agent James Bradberry and Darius Slay, who was nearly released by the organization before eventually agreeing to terms on a new deal. Bradberry then re-signed, keeping together what was the league’s best duo a year ago. Everything with Philadelphia revolves around what happens up front, though, and it’s there where Roseman & Co. thrived. It was going to be difficult to hold on to star defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who left for a massive deal with the 49ers. Little-used trade acquisition Robert Quinn also left, and he remains on the open market, but the Eagles were able to bring back stalwarts Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham on reasonable deals for one more campaign. On draft night, the Eagles used their picks to land replacements in a pair of Georgia Bulldogs. New defensive coordinator Sean Desai added defensive tackle Jalen Carter and edge rusher Nolan Smith. Both will enter the Philly rotation immediately on rookie deals, which should help keep the defense playing at a high level at a much lower cost. [BLG Note: Only three teams rank ahead of Philly ... but two of them play in the NFC East.]

Noteworthy NFL date June 1 is almost here: What does it mean for the Eagles? - PhillyVoice
Byard also missed voluntary OTAs last week, a noteworthy development. If the Titans were to trade Byard before June 1, he’d count for $13,632,000 on their cap in 2023. If traded post-June 1, he’s count for $5,523,000 on their cap in 2023, and $8,109,000 in 2024. Like Baker, Byard has a high base salary in 2023 of $13,600,000 that any new team would take on, though he wouldn’t cost as much as Baker in a trade, as he turns 30 in August.

Top Eagles storylines heading into OTAs - NBCSP
1. Right guard: Expect second-year OL Cam Jurgens to get the first crack at this position but the Eagles did draft Tyler Steen out of Alabama early in the third round, so he’ll get some worth there this summer too. It’s a competition but the Eagles will probably give Jurgens every opportunity to win the gig. 2. Safety: It seems likely that some combination of Terrell Edmunds, Reed Blankenship and Sydney Brown will start. That’s after both safeties from the 2022 season moved on in free agency. 3. Running back: The Eagles let Miles Sanders walk in free agency and have a group that now includes Kenny Gainwell, Rashaad Penny, D’Andre Swift and Boston Scott. The breakdown of reps and touches is something we’ll watch all summer. 4. WR3: Quez Watkins returns for another season but after struggling in 2022, it’s fair to wonder how much he’ll be pushed by free agent pickup Olamide Zaccheaus, who has had success as a slot receiver in the NFL. 5. Linebacker: Yeah, it’ll probably be Nakobe Dean and Nicholas Morrow … but is that good enough?

What matters and what doesn’t as Jalen Hurts and the Eagles begin OTAs - The Athletic
Nakobe Dean’s development. Why it’s a big deal: The Eagles have turned the top linebacker spot to Dean, who spent his rookie season as a reserve behind veterans T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White. Linebacker and safety are the two biggest question marks on the roster, and the team’s depth chart looks especially light at linebacker. Dean and Nicholas Morrow are the top-two options. The key will be Dean, who was the top linebacker in college football in 2021 at Georgia but must prove that his instincts and playmaking ability trump his lack of top size or speed. The Eagles have shown by their actions this offseason (or lack thereof) that they believe Dean can step in as a starter. “It just shows they were ready for me to step up,” Dean said. “I’ve been ready. Now it’s time for me to actually do it.” Why it isn’t: There have been linebackers who’ve looked better in June than January in past years, considering the nature of these practices. Even if Dean excels, there will be the question of how he’ll do when the pads come on. But Philadelphia hasn’t been shy about its confidence in Dean, and it helps to play behind a defensive front like what the Eagles field.

Nathan Peterman to Trace McSorley & Beyond: Ranking the NFL’s 3rd-String Quarterbacks - Underdog Network
17. Ian Book/Tanner McKee, Philadelphia Eagles. Book is Matt Corral with a weaker arm and one disastrous NFL start: a two-interception, six-sack debacle in a 20-3 loss to the Dolphins in 2021. Book would rank lower if not for the chance that he will lose his roster spot to rookie Tanner McKee, a version of Davis Mills who does not look like a Gothic fresco of St. Aloysius the Giraffe Slayer.

Cowboys rookie cornerback Eric Scott Jr. reportedly worked with the first team during OTAs - Blogging The Boys
Of all the picks that the Cowboys made during the 2023 NFL Draft, the one that felt the most surprising was easily cornerback Eric Scott Jr. A big reason for this wasn’t just that Dallas took Scott in the sixth while many viewed him as someone likely to go undrafted, but that they traded for the right to do so. No two situations are ever identically the same, but in spirit this felt a lot like the Nahshon Wright selection of two years ago, at least in how it caught fans off guard. But Scott was a visit of the Cowboys leading up to the draft and is clearly someone who they believe in which was proven during last week’s OTAs. There were a lot of storylines that emerged from last week but interestingly the mothership noted that Scott saw work with the first team on defense.

Can the Giants have an elite passing offense without an elite wide receiver? - Big Blue View
The scenarios above are just illustrative. We don’t know who will make the 53, who will stay healthy, who will thrive in the Daboll-Kafka offense, etc. What we do know is that the Giants didn’t sign Odell Beckham Jr., they haven’t traded for (now free-agent) DeAndre Hopkins or Jerry Jeudy or Davante Adams or Brandon Aiyuk or any of the countless other elite wide receivers that people have speculated about over the winter. They also didn’t get the chance to draft Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Quentin Johnston or Zay Flowers or Jordan Addison. Instead, General Manager Joe Schoen put together a 2023 receiving corps of Darren Waller and a bunch of less illustrious players, with one thing in common: Speed. On paper it may not look impressive when compared to the Hill-Waddle, Brown-Smith, Chase-Higgins-Boyd receiver rooms of the NFL. But the precedents are there in the 2022 passing offense rankings to have some hope that for first time since the 2014-2015 OBJ days, the Giants can have a passing game that opposing defenses will have trouble dealing with.

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