The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX and look poised to make another deep playoff run this season despite some changes to the roster.
The Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs thanks to their defense, namely their pass rush.
Philadelphia’s defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage, bullying Kansas City and getting constant pressure on Patrick Mahomes.
While the Eagles’ offense remains largely intact, several key defensive players left this offseason.
Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Brandon Graham and Bryce Huff are gone, leaving behind a younger and more inexperienced pass rush.
However, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio likes the players they have left and believes they can still compete.
“I feel good about Nolan Smith,” Fangio said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “I think we’ll feel good about Jalyx [Hunt] now that he’s gonna get a lot of reps and develop. He played good for us down the stretch last year, and played a lot, as you saw, so I feel good about those two guys, and I think they’ll continue to improve. We’ve got Josh Uche, we’ve got Azeez Ojulari, we’ve got three other guys there. I think we’ll be fine.”
Smith is in line for a bigger role, and Hunt, Uche and Ojulari will have ample opportunities to prove themselves on the field.
Losing players like Sweat and Williams in particular will hurt, given how disruptive they were up front, but Fangio is one of the best in the NFL at maximizing his players.
It’ll be interesting to see how this new-look Eagles defense fares during the 2025 NFL season.
