Philadelphia Eagles: Final position grades from 2020’s NFL season

Only one Philadelphia Eagles position group has earned a high grade.

Defensive Line: B+

With the stout rotation that the Eagles defensive line had going into the 2020 season, many fans were excited for them to go out week after week and wreak havoc at the quarterback position. The defensive front was an impressive one on paper, one that included Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, and Vinny Curry.

Now, that’s the stuff of nightmares to opposing teams, but even though they were among the top units in the league in total sacks, there were many times that the front didn’t generate enough pressure. There were also many times that the Eagles needed a stop to help win a game, and the defensive front couldn’t get do their part to help them get one.

Secondary: D+

Despite the offseason addition of cornerback Darius Slay, the secondary, again, would be the weakest link in the Eagles defense. It looked like this team has something at the beginning of the season. For once, opposing teams weren’t connecting on deep balls at will. Slay was as good as advertised, normally locking up the opposing team’s number one wide receiver.

Then, things fell apart. With the failed Jalen Mills experiment at safety, Avonte Maddox and Nickell Robey-Coleman getting beat on almost every route, and Darius Slay having the worst two games of his career in back-to-back weeks, the secondary once again became a liability.

Yes, some injuries cause some disruption, but this unit can’t blame injuries for what we’ve seen. The Eagles need desperately to find a cornerback to put on the field opposite of Slay and find an actual starting safety outside of Rodney McLeod.