June 16, 2025

Eagles draft-and-develop approach, especially up front, led to homegrown heavy Super Bowl offense

An emphasis on building their offensive line through the draft, and hitting on Jalen Hurts, helped the Birds join the fraternity of outstanding draft teams.

By Geoff Mosher
PhillyVoice Staff

Eric Hartline/Imagn Images

Philadelphia Eagles guard Landon Dickerson (69) during the player introductions against the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field.

Some NFL franchises more than others are known for their draft-and-develop approach.

The Ravens, Steelers, Packers – as examples – have long been believers in building their rosters through the NFL Draft and filling holes or making upgrades with either modest free-agent signings or an occasional splurge on the open market. All three of those teams have reputations as being among the best each year at draft strategy and selection, which has helped them achieve long-term, sustained success.

The Steelers in 2024 wrapped up their 21st straight season of finishing .500 or better. The Ravens have won 10 or more games and made the postseason in six of the past seven seasons. The Packers made the playoffs for eight straight years from 2009-2016 and have won 57 games over the past six season, averaging nearly 10 wins a season.

All three franchises have won double-digit games with different starting QBs leading the way, an example of their roster balance.

On Monday, I detailed how the Eagles have recently joined the elite draft-and-develop fraternity, using charts to show how their defense has evolved from being largely free-agent driven for their 2017 Super Bowl win – the first in franchise history – to last year's Super Bowl champion, which featured eight homegrown starters.

In this story, I'll show how the offense has similarly evolved since the 2017 Super Bowl from being comprised of players acquired through trade or free agency to homegrown talent. Some of the ratios are really staggering and hammer home the point that the Eagles have largely excelled at building through the draft – especially in the trenches – while making occasional, impactful free agent and trade additions.

Let's first look at the 2017 Super Bowl offense that featured more than half of its starters who came other organizations:

Position	Name	Acquired	Background
QB	Carson Wentz	Draft	2016 first round
RB	Jay Ajayi	Trade	from Dolphins
WR	Alshon Jeffrey	Free Agent	from Bears
WR	Torrey Smith	Free Agent	from 49ers
WR	Nelson Agholor	Draft	2015 first round
TE	Zach Ertz	Draft	2013 second round
LT	Jason Peters	Trade	from Bills
LG	Stefen Wisniewski	Free Agent	from Jaguars
C	Jason Kelce	Draft	2011 sixth round
RG	Brandon Brooks	Free Agent	from Texans
RT	Lane Johnson	Draft	2013 first round

Some important notes here:

• The Eagles under HC Doug Pederson predominantly played 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) in 2017, so this chart reflects their most common personnel grouping.
• Although we know backup QB Nick Foles won the Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP while starting for an injured Carson Wentz, the homegrown-outside ratio wouldn't change because Foles was an Eagles third-round pick in 2012 (even though he eventually was traded away and returned as a free agent). Even so, in almost all cases, we went with players who either played the most snaps for the season or started the most games.
• LT Halapoulivaati Vaitai started more games and played more snaps than Jason Peters, who tore his ACL and MCL in Week 7, but since they're both homegrown, I went with Peters.
• RB Jay Ayaji joined the team via trade, and from Week 9 to Week 17 played the most snaps (187) among a committee that included UDFA Corey Clement (165) and veteran free agent LeGarrette Blount (161). Blount actually toted three more carries than Ajayi in that time frame. So even if Blount were subbed for Ajayi, the homegrown-outside ratio wouldn't change.
• Although three-fifths of the skill positions are outsiders, the Eagles' two top receivers that season, TE Zach Ertz and WR Nelson Agholor, were homegrown.

Let's now compare the 2017 Super Bowl champs with the makeup of the offense from the 2022 Super Bowl team that lost to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, of which an astronomical 10 of 11 starters were homegrown.

Position	Name	Acquired	Background
QB	Jalen Hurts	Draft	2020 second round
RB	Miles Sanders	Draft	2019 second round
WR	A.J. Brown	Trade	from Titans
WR	DeVonta Smith	Draft	2021 first round
WR	Quez Watkins	Draft	2020 sixth round
TE	Dallas Goedert	Draft	2018 second round
LT	Jordan Mailata	Draft	2018 seventh round
LG	Landon Dickerson	Draft	2021 second round
C	Jason Kelce	Draft	2011 sixth round
RG	Isaac Seumalo	Draft	2016 third round
RT	Lane Johnson	Draft	2013 first round

More important notes:

• Ladies and gentleman, a round of applause for Howie Roseman and his scouting staff with this one. There's a reason Roseman won the PFWA Executive of the Year award for this season. This offense was every GM's dream, with just one player coming from outside the organization.
• Not only was this an awesome gathering of homegrown talent, but two draft picks from 2018 – TE Dallas Goedert and LT Jordan Mailata – were starters. The Eagles didn't have a first-round pick that year but all five picks in that draft, on offense and defense, were starters in the Super Bowl. Go back and check out Monday's look at the defensive roster.
• Once again, we used the 11 personnel grouping because that was the predominantly used group, with No. 3 WR Quez Watkins out-snapping No. 2 TE Jack Stoll, 681-574. Stoll was also homegrown as a 2021 UDFA.
• Only two of these 11 players were drafted in the first round – RT Lane Johnson and WR DeVonta Smith, an example of Roseman and his staff hitting in all rounds of the draft (although C Jason Kelce was drafted before Roseman was given final say on all personnel decisions).
• Even for an organization that prides itself on its draft-and-develop approach, this ratio might be an outlier.

Let's compare that roster to this past season's Super Bowl champion offense:

Position	Name	Acquired	Background
QB	Jalen Hurts	Draft	2020 second round
RB	Saquon Barkley	Free Agent	from Giants
WR	A.J. Brown	Trade	from Titans
WR	DeVonta Smith	Draft	2021 first round
WR	Jahan Dotson	Trade	from Commanders
TE	Dallas Goedert	Draft	2018 second round
LT	Jordan Mailata	Draft	2018 seventh round
LG	Landon Dickerson	Draft	2021 second round
C	Cam Jurgens	Draft	2022 second round
RG	Mekhi Becton	Free Agent	from Jets
RT	Lane Johnson	Draft	2013 first round

Some important distinctions:

• The 2022 offense proved to be an outlier as this version of the offense, just two years later, has four times as many outsiders as the 2022 version. But it illustrates Roseman's success in free agency, as the RB Saquon Barkley and RG Mekhi Becton signings – while quite different in structure - were big hits.
• The development part of draft-and-develop really shines through with Becton, who converted from career offensive tackle to guard for the first time.
• Again, I chose an 11 personnel grouping because the Eagles more often played three-receiver formations than two-tight end formations, although this season just 60 percent of time, according to Sumer Sports, which tracks personnel groupings usage.
• RT Lane Johnson and WR DeVonta Smith are the only homegrown first-rounders of the 11, but counting WR Jahan Dotson, RG Mekhi Becton and RB Saquon Barkley, the offense in total fielded five first-rounders compared to just two in 2022.

Now let's look at this year's projected offense, with eight of 11 projected starters being homegrown:

Position	Name	Acquired	Background
QB	Jalen Hurts	Draft	2020 second round
RB	Saquon Barkley	Free Agent	from Giants
WR	A.J. Brown	Trade	from Titans
WR	DeVonta Smith	Draft	2021 first round
WR	Jahan Dotson	Trade	from Commanders
TE	Dallas Goedert	Draft	2018 second round
LT	Jordan Mailata	Draft	2018 seventh round
LG	Landon Dickerson	Draft	2021 second round
C	Cam Jurgens	Draft	2022 second round
RG	Tyler Steen	Draft	2023 third round
RT	Lane Johnson	Draft	2013 first round

Some final significant notes

• Once again, I chose 11 personnel as that should be the dominant personnel group in 2025.
• The only question at OL is RG Tyler Steen as he's competing vs. trade acquisition Kenyon Green and some others, but Steen took all the first-team RG reps at media-open camp. If Green wins, it would give the Eagles a fourth outsider among the starters, but the offense remains homegrown-heavy.
• If Steen win RG, it'll mean the entire offensive line is homegrown, like the 2022 Super Bowl offense, a testament to the Eagles' steadfast approach of using high draft picks on the OL even if these drafted players have to wait a year or two before they start.
• It's possible that WR Jahan Dotson is supplanted to by any number of outsiders (Terrace Marshall, Danny Gray) or homegrown draft picks (Johnny Wilson, Ainias Smith). This could also tilt the ratio but we won't know the answer to that until after the season.

Follow Geoff on Twitter/X: @geoffpmosher

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