The Philadelphia Eagles have always been known for having great pass rushers come in and out of the franchise.
Last year, the Eagles had Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham to work with. Philly also saw the emergence of Nolan Smith Jr. with a breakout season pass rushing.
There may not be as many top edge rushers on the Eagles as there have been in Philadelphia in recent years. It was a solid position for them for a long time, but entering the 2025 season, it is now considered their biggest position of concern.
ESPN calls it a weakness, but are the Eagles too far off at edge rusher in 2025?
ESPN NFL analyst Mike Clay, alongside Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder, examined each NFL roster, with the Eagles ranked second in the league behind the Baltimore Ravens. Clay called the edge rushers the weakest position on the Eagles.
“Josh Sweat (free agency), Brandon Graham (retirement) and Bryce Huff (trade) are all gone, leaving Nolan Smith Jr. as the only established player on the depth chart. Smith is likely to be joined in the starting lineup by 2024 third-rounder Jalyx Hunt, who was a solid backup as a rookie. Offseason additions/journeymen Azeez Ojulari and Joshua Uche will compete for work.”
The one player that Eagles fans and the media have been excited to pick as the breakout candidate of 2025 is Hunt after his 1.5 sacks in the postseason. He showed enough to give Eagles general manager Howie Roseman enough confidence to move on from Sweat and Huff in the offseason.
If Ojulari can stay healthy, he can be another breakout star, but the number of injuries he has suffered while playing with the New York Giants over the years has been a concern. Uche has been chasing his one 10+ sack season from years ago and has yet to duplicate it.
Of course, there needs to be a position that takes the hit and is called the weakness, but the Eagles have plenty of talent at the position. Smith and Hunt are the projected starters and are expected to play well, given their experience in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s scheme. Ojulari and Uche are talented enough to be one of the top backup tandems in the league.
Read more: Five Eagles every fan needs to monitor at training camp to impact 2025 season
If edge rusher is considered a weakness for the Eagles, well, they are in a really good position to defend their Super Bowl title.