January 27, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Howie Roseman's resource allocation on offense and defense should flip this offseason.
Over the last four or so years, the Philadelphia Eagles have allocated heavy financial resources to the offensive side of the ball. They spent the bulk of their draft capital on the defensive side of the ball. Expect that to flip over the next few years, beginning this offseason.
Let's first take stock of each side of the ball from the perspective of talent, cost, and age.
The Eagles' defense is young, loaded with talent, coached by an elite coordinator, and, for now, cheap. So, you know, that's all good! The team has that to build around for the foreseeable future.
The reason they're all of the above? Because the team has invested heavy draft capital on that side of the ball, and have mostly hit big on the players they have selected.
• 2022: The Eagles' first-round pick was Jordan Davis. He did not play to his potential initially, but he had a breakout season in 2025 and has become one of the key leaders in the locker room. They also selected Nakobe Dean with their third-round pick. Dean had a breakout season in 2024, and played well when he was available in 2025.
• 2023: The Eagles used first-round picks on Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith, who were both terrific in 2024, but both also struggled to varying degrees with injuries in 2025. Still, they have both proven to be good players when healthy, and in Carter's case, an elite impact player. Also, in the seventh round they picked Moro Ojomo, who has become a good starter.
• 2024: The Eagles struck gold with each of their first three picks in Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Jalyx Hunt, all defensive players.
• 2025: For the fourth straight year, the Eagles used a first-round pick on the defensive side of the ball, selecting Jihaad Campbell, who showed promise as a rookie. They also took defensive players with their next four picks.
The defense is not going to be cheap for very long. A look at their starters and key role players, and how long they're under contract:
| Eagles D | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
| EDGE Jaelan Phillips (26) | UFA | |||
| EDGE Nolan Smith (25) | ✅ | 5️⃣ | ||
| EDGE Jalyx Hunt (24) | ✅ | ✅ | ||
| iDL Jalen Carter (24) | ✅ | 5️⃣ | ||
| iDL Jordan Davis (26) | ✅ | |||
| iDL Moro Ojomo (24) | ✅ | |||
| LB Zack Baun (29) | ✅ | ✅ | ||
| LB Nakobe Dean (25) | UFA | |||
| LB Jihaad Campbell (21) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | 5️⃣ |
| CB Quinyon Mitchell (24) | ✅ | ✅ | 5️⃣ | |
| CB Cooper DeJean (22) | ✅ | ✅ | ||
| CB Adoree Jackson (30) | UFA | |||
| S Reed Blankenship (26) | UFA | |||
| S Andrew Mukuba (23) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
• The average age of the 14 players above is just under 25. Nine of them are still on their rookie contracts through at least the 2026 season.
• The only significant contributor in the Eagles' defense who is currently under contract and playing on a lucrative second contract is Zack Baun.
• Jaelan Phillips and Nakobe Dean are both scheduled to be free agents for the first time in their careers.
Technically, Reed Blankenship is on his second contract, but that was a small one-year extension, more or less in lieu of a 2025 RFA tender. Adoree' Jackson made under $2 million in 2025. They are also both scheduled to be free agents.
• Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo are scheduled to be free agents in 2027.
• Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith are scheduled for free agency in 2027 too, unless the Eagles exercise each of their fifth-year options this offseason, which they absolutely will do with Carter, and likely will do with Smith as well. If fifth-year options are exercised, Carter and Smith will be under contract until 2028. Cooper DeJean is also scheduled to be a free agent in 2028
• Quinyon Mitchell will be eligible for a contract extension next offseason, but if he were to play out his contract plus his fifth-year option he would not be a free agent until 2029.
If the Eagles can keep this defense together and stay reasonably healthy, they can be Super Bowl contenders most seasons.
But again, they have a lot of big contracts to hand out over the next two-to-three years.
The Eagles' offense has a lot of talent as well, at least on paper, but it is aging, expensive, and the coaching staff is nowhere near as strong as it is on defense.
A look at their starters, and how long they're under contract:
| Eagles contracts | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
| QB Jalen Hurts (27) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| RB Saquon Barkley (28) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| WR A.J. Brown (28) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| WR DeVonta Smith (27) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| WR Jahan Dotson (25) | UFA | |||
| TE Dallas Goedert (31) | UFA | |||
| LT Jordan Mailata (28) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| LG Landon Dickerson (27) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| C Cam Jurgens (26) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| RG Tyler Steen (25) | ✅ | |||
| RT Lane Johnson (35) | ✅ | ✅ |
• The average age of the 11 players above is just under 28. Only one (!) of them is still on his rookie contract through 2026. That's Tyler Steen.
Some of you may be surprised to see that Landon Dickerson is still only 27 years old. He does not feel like a player who will play deep into his 30's, if he even gets to 30. Also, Saquon Barkley will turn 29 in a couple weeks. He is among the oldest running backs in the NFL.
• Dallas Goedert and Jahan Dotson are scheduled to be free agents this offseason. Tyler Steen is scheduled to be a free agent in 2027.
• Nine of the above players have already scored at least a second NFL contract. Here's where each of those players rank relative to their NFL peers at their respective positions, in average annual value (AAV):
| Player | NFL rank at their position ($AAV) |
| QB Jalen Hurts | 11 |
| RB Saquon Barkley | 1 |
| WR A.J. Brown | 6 |
| WR DeVonta Smith | 15 |
| TE Dallas Goedert | 14 |
| LT Jordan Mailata | 9 |
| LG Landon Dickerson | 3 |
| C Cam Jurgens | 2 |
| RT Lane Johnson | 3 |
Again, expensive.
Over the last four years, the Eagles have spent heavy draft resources on the defense, and heavy financial resources on the offense. Here's a look at players currently on the roster who had their contracts extended by the team, and who were Day 1 or Day 2 picks, last four years:
| Resource allocation | Offense | Defense |
| Day 1 or Day 2 draft picks | Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen | Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Sydney Brown, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Jalyx Hunt, Jihaad Campbell, Andrew Mukuba |
| Contract extensions | Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickeron, Cam Jurgens, Lane Johnson | Zack Baun, Brandon Graham |
Beginning this offseason, that's going to flip. Over the next few years, the Eagles are going to sign a number of their good young defenders to contract extensions. They won't be re-signing many players on offense. Jordan Mailata and DeVonta Smith are candidates in a year or two, and maybe Jalen Hurts if he has a bounce-back season. But that's about it.
Players like Brown, Goedert, and Dotson will likely be gone this offseason, and the Eagles are on the clock to soon find successors for Johnson, Barkley, and Dickerson.
That's going to come via the draft. They need good, young, cheap offensive players in bulk, because the offense is getting old and the defense is going to be expensive.
Could the Eagles use, saaayyy, a CB2? Sure, but in my view they're unlikely to address the defense much with early picks. Why?
Over the next few years, expect the Eagles to draft a lot of offensive players with Day 1 and Day 2 picks.
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