Pre-Draft Projected Starters: 2023 Philadelphia Eagles

From the Eagles’ projected starters to their coaching staff, there have been plenty of questions surrounding Philadelphia throughout the 2023 offseason. Some have already been answered: the Eagles filled both their offensive and defensive coordinator openings with the promotion of quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson and the hiring of Sean Desai. This, combined with multiple key position coach hirings, has helped to restore the Eagles’ coaching staff and solve one of the biggest issues surrounding the team after the Super Bowl.

However, one question has loomed even larger than that of coaching: given the flurry of 2022 starters leaving in free agency, who would the Eagles bring in to replace them? The Eagles’ roster was heavily uprooted following the team’s Super Bowl appearance, with a potentially record-breaking contract for quarterback Jalen Hurts leaving Philadelphia’s projected cap in a less-than-ideal state. Many key players found new homes, including defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to the 49ers and linebacker TJ Edwards to the Bears, among others.

Yet still, GM Howie Roseman was able to use his magic to significantly soften the blow. Many players who were projected to leave took team-friendly deals to stay, and some quality free agents were brought in the fill some of the glaring holes in the Eagles’ lineup. Although not quite as good as last year’s Super Bowl roster, this team is still really strong. Today, we take a look at the Eagles’ projected starters heading into the 2023 season.

Eagles Projected Starters Headed into 2023

Quarterback

QB Jalen Hurts

Let’s start with an obvious one. Hurts, coming off a season where he was runner-up for the MVP award, is a lock for the starting quarterback job (sorry, Marcus Mariota). He was phenomenal in 2022. Week after week, he showed a dual-threat ability that Philadelphia hadn’t seen since Michael Vick was in town, a skillset that opposing defenses couldn’t seem to solve. Hurts’ main concern heading into the season was his less-than-stellar arm, but he managed one of the greatest year-to-year improvements of any player ever. He evolved into an objective top-tier quarterback in 2022 and will soon get a contract signifying just that.

Offensive Line

LT Jordan Mailata, LG Landon Dickerson, C Jason Kelce, RG Cam Jurgens, RT Lane Johnson

The best o-line in football heads into 2023, mostly unscathed by free agency. The Eagles were able to retain Jason Kelce and extend Lane Johnson but lost RG Isaac Seumalo to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the process. Seumalo, who has been with Philadelphia since 2016, has been a consistent and solid starter when healthy. However, with his departure, a newer face now gets an opportunity: Cam Jurgens.

Jurgens, who the Eagles drafted in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, got to use his freshman season to learn from one of the greatest centers ever in Kelce. However, he will now likely shift his focus to the guard position to round out an amazing starting five for the Eagles. Jurgens put together a really solid preseason in 2022 and made the most of his infrequent snaps during his rookie season. He will now get a chance to put his full talents on display.

Running Back

RB Rashaad Penny

The Eagles were able to sign Penny to an incredibly cheap one-year, $2.1 million contract following the departure of Miles Sanders to Carolina. Penny is an uber-talented back who, when healthy, has been pretty productive for Seattle. However, the key word there is “healthy”, something Penny hasn’t been able to stay throughout his career.

The former first-round pick gets a chance to prove his worth for a season as the Eagles’ starter, but if health remains an issue, expect to see third-year back Kenneth Gainwell get a much bigger role in the offense. Gainwell had a great playoff run in 2022, actually outperforming Sanders in all significant running back stats during the postseason. The Eagles will likely utilize a running game-by-committee approach with Penny as the feature back, but don’t be surprised if Gainwell sees most of the touches by year’s end.

Tight End

TE Dallas Goedert

Here is another easy prediction for the Eagles’ projected starters. Goedert has emerged as a top tight end in the league since the departure of Zach Ertz, consistently finding open space and making tough catches. Like many others on the roster, the key to Goedert’s success is health–he hasn’t played a full season since his rookie year in 2018. However, when he is on the field, Goedert is a true force and has quickly become a dangerous third option in Philadelphia’s passing attack. Expect another great year in 2023.

Wide Receiver

WR AJ Brown, WR Devonta Smith, WR Quez Watkins

AJ Brown is the truth. Devonta Smith is also the truth. Quez Watkins is, well, still up in the air.

The Eagles top two receivers put on a clinic in 2022, playing a critical role in Hurts’ rapid rise to elite status. Brown came over to Philly thanks to a draft night trade with Tennessee, giving the Eagles a true WR1 to pair with the previous year’s first-round pick. Both Brown and Smith lived up to the hype in 2022, and given that they’re both still on contract for many more seasons, the passing attack is going nowhere for the foreseeable future.

The one question mark is Watkins, who may not even be on the team heading into next season. To put it bluntly, Watkins has been a disappointment during his short stint in Philly. Sure, he was only a sixth-round pick, so the return on investment wasn’t expected to be too high, but given his blazing speed and occasional flashes of receiving upside, he should have stood out a lot more than he has. This is one of the biggest candidates to be replaced before the start of next season on the Eagles’ roster, possibly during the draft.

Defensive Line

DE Brandon Graham, DT Fletcher Cox, NT Jordan Davis, DE Josh Sweat

Despite the loss of star defensive tackle Javon Hargrave in free agency, this unit is still very strong. Sure, the depth may not be what it used to be, but with both Graham and Sweat coming off of 10+ sack seasons and Davis having a year under his belt, the guys at the top should still be just as disruptive as they were in 2022.

This is a big position to watch heading into the draft. The Eagles have been mocked for selecting DTs and EDGEs by a bunch of different analysts throughout the draft process, and there are definitely a few players that seem like perfect Roseman picks. Don’t be surprised to hear names like Nolan Smith or Calijah Kancey during the Eagles’ selections on draft night, a couple of guys who could easily slide in and see significant reps during their rookie seasons.

Linebacker

LB Nakobe Dean, LB Nicholas Morrow, OLB Haason Reddick

That’s right; it is officially KoDean season in Philadelphia. Dean, who was projected to go in the first round for most of the 2022 draft season, fell all the way to Philadelphia’s third-round pick. Needless to say, he is a premier linebacker talent who was bound to play at some point, and with the departures of both Edwards and Kyzir White in free agency, his time has come just one year after he was drafted.

Paired with Dean is the recently signed Nicholas Morrow from Chicago. Morrow primarily made a name as a great tackler for the Bears and will now play a similar role to Edwards for the Eagles. With Dean better fitting the mold of a modern NFL linebacker, the two should create a well-rounded LB room and pick up right where their predecessors left off.

Oh yeah, and then there’s Reddick. The seventh-year pro ended the 2022 campaign with 16 sacks and 11 TFLs. Needless to say, there’s nothing to worry about there.

Safety

SS Terrell Edmunds, FS Reed Blankenship

Of all the Eagles’ projected starters, the safeties are perhaps the hardest to predict. Both CJ Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps left in free agency, and to be completely honest, this was one of the Eagles’ weaker position groups anyways. However, the signing of Terrell Edmunds helped to provide a solid starter, or at the very least, a capable stopgap.

Edmunds was recently signed from Pittsburgh, where he played five seasons. While there, he never truly excelled in coverage, but he was a very good run-stopping safety. It’s yet to be seen who else the Eagles will add before the season starts, but for now, Edmunds is a solid option for a team in need of anything at the position.

And then there’s Blankenship. The 2022 undrafted rookie was called upon last season after Gardner-Johnson got injured and, for a little while, showed tons of promise. Nothing sticks out more than when he perfectly jumped an Aaron Rodgers pass for an interception, bating Rodgers into the throw and using his athleticism to beat the receiver to the ball. However, he still needs to show a lot more. He might start next season based off of showing more promise than the guys behind him, but he’ll be one of the weaker starters on the roster.

Cornerback

CB Darius Slay, CB James Bradberry, CB Avonte Maddox

Despite the addition of Greedy Williams from Cleveland, the Eagles’ corners stay the same here. Slay and Bradberry were the best cornerback duo in the league for much of last season, with Slay ending the year with a Pro Bowl nod while Bradberry was named an all-Pro. Although cornerback is one of the most volatile positions on a year-to-year basis, Philadelphia has to like what they have returning for 2023.

The only potential player to worry about is Maddox. He is very good when healthy, but as it goes for many others on the roster, he struggles to stay on the field. Williams was a very good signing for the Eagles as he adds a solid security blanket in case Maddox goes down again, but for now, let’s just hope the Pitt product can play an entire 17-game season.