September 08, 2026
Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice
Jonathan Greenard #52 of the Philadelphia Eagles talks with teammates while warming up during a Philadelphia Eagles OTAs at the Jefferson Health Training Complex on May 27, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Eagles' season opener is finally almost here. The Birds are generally at full strength, which is more than they can say for their Week 1 opponent, and Nick Sirianni is 5-0 in season openers as Eagles head coach.
Still, there are some questions and interesting sub-storylines for the Eagles as they get ready to begin their new campaign.
Here are some thoughts about the team with the Washington Commanders first up on the 2026 schedule:
Wednesday's first injury report of the season will be significant. We'll know if new EDGE Jonathan Greenard was able to practice for the first time since, well, last year with the Vikings.
Greenard spent all of training camp on PUP after suffering a pec injury while weightlifting. Even if he's able to practice this week, his conditioning and strength won't be up to speed with everyone else. He will need to get ramped up.
The Eagles kept A.J. Epenesa on the 53-man roster as a fifth edge defender, which was an indication that they knew Greenard would, at most, be very limited if he's even able to play in Week 1. This means defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is open to expanding his typical three-man edge defender rotation.
Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith Jr. will get the most snaps, even if Greenard can play, and Arnold Ebiketie and Epenesa will also get some playing time until Greenard is ready to be a starting EDGE again.
The Commanders' new defensive coordinator, Daronte Jones, spent the past three seasons coaching under Brian Flores in Minnesota, as pass game coordinator and DBs coach for the Vikings.
Flores is one of the NFL's most notorious blitzers. The Vikings have led the NFL in blitz rate in each of Flores' three seasons as DC. Last year, the Vikings were the only NFL team blitzing at a rate higher than 33 percent, and well above, bringing pressure on 44 percent of snaps.
It's logical to expect that Flores' protégé will bring that same mentality to the Commanders, and perhaps that's good news for the Eagles. Jalen Hurts has shredded blitzes over the past two seasons, with a 109.7 passer rating against the blitz last season and a career-best 115.4 in 2024.
Hurts has also performed very well against Flores defenses. The Eagles scored 62 total points in two games against Minnesota with Flores as DC, a 34-28 win in 2023 and a 28-22 win last season. Hurts was 8-of-11 for 153 yards and a 145.1 passer rating against the blitz in the 2023 matchup and 11-of-14 for 233 yards and a perfect 158.3 passer rating against the Minnesota blitz last season.
When the Eagles signed Super Bowl champion cornerback Riq Woolen in free agency, they believed they had upgraded over last year's starter, Adoree' Jackson. Several times during the spring and summer, Fangio praised Woolen and raved about his athletic traits.
Last year, Fangio used top corner Quinyon Mitchell to shadow some of the game's best receivers. Commanders wideout Terry McLaurin, a five-time 1,000-yard receiver, has typically been the "X" receiver for the Commanders but will be moving around in new OC David Blough's offense. Blough was a backup QB for the Lions when Ben Johnson was OC and is expected to bring that same kind of playbook to the nation's capital.
It's tougher to shadow receivers who play multiple spots and against offenses that feature bunch and stacked formations. Fangio could decide to play sides and just let Mitchell defend whoever lines up across from him and take his chances on Woolen alone against McLaurin on the opposite side or nickelback Cooper DeJean handling McLaurin from the slot. Looks like it'll probably be a committee approach.
Despite the A.J. Brown trade, the Eagles have better depth at wide receiver than they have in past seasons, probably their best wideout depth of the Sirianni/Hurts era.
DeVonta Smith and Tay Wicks are the starters, with rookie Makai Lemon getting mainly slot opportunities in three-receiver formations. But having eight-year vet Hollywood Brown and five-year pro Elijah Moore as backups is much more experience than past No. 4 and 5 wideouts, such as Quez Watkins, Johnny Wilson, and Johnnie Metchie.
What the Eagles lack, though, is size. Outside of the 6-foot-1 Wicks, the Eagles don't present very many tall targets for Hurts. Smith is listed as 6 feet while Brown is 5-foot-9 and Moore is just a tad taller at 5-10. Lemon and second-year pro Darius Cooper are each 5-11.
The Commanders aren't overly big at corner, but one current starter – old friend Rasul Douglas – is 6-2. Any injury to Smith or Wicks during the course of the season would make an already short Eagles receiver group even shorter.
The Eagles have typically entered the season with pretty big expectations, both from the inside and outside.
But this year, the national media has no consistent projection for them. ESPN has them ranked fifth in their preseason power rankings while Yahoo! has them – rechecks notes – 17th?!
It's hard to remember the last time the Eagles weren't considered a top 10 – or even top 15 – team going into a new season.
Even two years ago, with the Eagles coming off their infamous 1-6 implosion from 2023, most outlets had the Eagles ranked somewhere in the top eight going into the season. Last year, they were almost universally seen as the NFL's top team coming off a Super Bowl win.
Maybe flying under the radar for a team that's constantly in the national eye can be a good thing. It surely is rare for them.
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