The Eagles’ roster is very good. If you’d heard the opinions being thrown around before the offseason, you wouldn’t think that’d be the case, but alas, Philadelphia did not have the mass exodus that many pundits predicted. The Super Bowl core of 2022 still remains largely intact, with guys like Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown, and Haason Reddick around for many more years to come.
However, there are still plenty of new faces set to fill in some of the gaps left by a few key departures. The Eagles have had multiple solid draft classes in a row with many of those players now expected to enter the fold. With that, it’s time to look at some of the biggest break out candidates for the Philadelphia Eagles heading into the 2023 season.
Three Break Out Candidates for the Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles S Reed Blankenship (32) – Matt Rourke/AP Photo
Honorable Mention: Reed Blankenship
Here’s a quick bit of love for the 2022 undrafted free agent who earned his way into this discussion during his few rookie season starts. Blankenship sat through seven rounds without hearing his name called in the 2022 draft, eventually signing with the Eagles shortly after. He was expected to be a special teams starter at best, but when CJ Gardner-Johnson went down with an injury midseason, Blankenship stepped up big time to fill the safety role.
He showed plenty of flashes, highlighted by an instinctive interception off of Aaron Rodgers that helped the Eagles pull away from Green Bay early in the contest. While he isn’t a true NFL safety yet, he has cemented himself in the 53-man roster as a quality backup.
As of now, he is slotted as one of the starting safeties next to Terrell Edmunds. However, like many fans of the team, I believe Howie Roseman will make a move for a safety before the season, likely Budda Baker. While Blankenship has shown potential, a team in the middle of a Super Bowl window would probably prefer a more proven player at the position, meaning Blankenship could be forced to sit and develop rather than get the starting job in just his second season.
However, if Roseman does forego the acquisition of a proven safety in favor of Blankenship, he’s a real candidate to be the biggest break out player on the Eagles’ entire roster. He has shown flashes that he should only build on, and if that becomes the case, Philadelphia will have gotten a really good player without having used a draft pick. As of now, the expectation is that he won’t be the starter come week one in New England, but nothing is confirmed as of now so it’s only right to show some love.
Former Lions RB D’Andre Swift (32) – Tony Ding/AP Photo
D’Andre Swift
Swift was drafted in the second round of the 2020 draft to the Detroit Lions and with high expectations. He was the second running back selected in his class but generated RB1 hype for most of the draft cycle. Unfortunately, to this point, he hasn’t lived up to it. However, after getting shipped to Philadelphia during the 2023 draft, he has a chance to revitalize his career in a big way.
It’s not to say that Swift hasn’t been good until now. For the first two weeks of the 2022 season, he looked really good, lighting up the Eagles defense in week one and turning limited touches into great production against Washington. However, as has been the issue to this point in his career, he cannot stay on the field, whether because of injury or another back taking over.
Swift has never played a full season. That is unfortunately out of his control and remains a risk. However, during his three seasons in Detroit, Swift couldn’t become the team’s feature back. During his rookie season, an aging Adrian Peterson took most of the carries. Then in 2021 and 2022, it was Jamaal Williams who stepped up as the team’s go-to option in the backfield. Perhaps it’s just the Dan Campbell mentality that features power backs in Detroit’s offense, but to this point, Swift hasn’t gotten a chance to be a feature back. In Philly, that could change.
Although Kenneth Gainwell (who has loads of potential and deserves a bigger role) and Rashaad Penny are in the mix, this is Swift’s backfield until proven otherwise. He is the most talented back on the team and makes the Eagles’ run game more dynamic than it has been since the Shady McCoy years. Assuming he stays healthy, Swift is due for a career year, especially paired with a top-two running quarterback in the league and behind the best o-line in football.
Eagles IOL Cam Jurgens (31) – Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire
Cam Jurgens
Jurgens was selected in the second round of the 2022 draft, projected to be Jason Kelce’s understudy at center until the future Hall of Famer retires. However, with the departure of Isaac Seumalo in free agency, Jurgens plugs in as the team’s starter at right guard and should take a big step forward this season.
Touted for his athleticism in the trenches, “Beef Jurgy” showed why the Eagles took him so high in the draft in his limited reps. Although primarily seeing backup action during the preseason, Jurgens showed he could handle playing offensive line at the NFL level. His athleticism was blatantly apparent, and his technique was pretty clean given the uncertainty coming out of college. His first season went exactly as expected as he was solely used as a backup while he developed, but a year at Stoutland University has him poised for a break out campaign in 2023.
Surrounded by two future Hall of Famers in Kelce and Lane Johnson, expectations are high for the second-year lineman. We’ve seen how sophomores do in the Jeff Stoutland system before–Jordan Mailata, a player who was drafted having never played a down of American football, and Landon Dickerson have both turned into great o-linemen for the Eagles. Given the athletic prowess of Jurgens, he looks to fit the same mold.
Eagles LB Nakobe Dean (17) – Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
Nakobe Dean
Just on a personal note, there is no player I’m more excited to see this season than Nakobe Dean. The captain of the Georgia Bulldog’s vaunted defense fell into Roseman’s lap during the third round of the 2022 draft, and after a year of development, it’s finally his turn to command Philadelphia’s defensive unit.
Dean is the modern NFL middle linebacker. He has the run-pass versatility needed to succeed and is excellent going sideline to sideline. He excels covering tight ends and slots and gives the Eagles an extra facet that TJ Edwards couldn’t offer. He is an amazing leader and was the glue of his college defense, one of the greatest units to ever play at that level.
If I haven’t hyped him up enough, I will here–Dean is an All-Pro caliber player. He’s the most talented middle linebacker Philadelphia’s had since maybe Jeremiah Trotter and, assuming injury doesn’t come into the fold, should live up to that talent. Maybe you think I’m being too generous because, well yeah, Dean hasn’t seen any significant reps to this point. And you know what… I don’t care. The Eagles drafted an amazing player, and now they get to see the results.
Okay, I’ll settle down to close out this section, but seriously, there is so much potential with Dean. Due to Roseman’s low valuation of the position, linebacker has long gone unaddressed in Philadelphia, but because of some draft-day injury concerns, the Eagles now have one of the highest-ceiling players possible. When it comes to break out candidates on the Philadelphia Eagles roster, there is no easier pick than Dean, and now we get to see how it unfolds heading into the season.
