Eagles training camp is around the corner. The team will report in less than two weeks. From now until then, you'll see a ton of Eagles media coverage devoted to asking the "big" questions about the team headed into camp.

Many of them will be obvious to anyone who consumes Eagles content on a consistent basis: Will the offensive line be healthy? Can Sean Mannion break the recent streak of failed first-time play callers? Do the Eagles have enough depth at safety? How will the Eagles replace A.J. Brown?

To avoid repeating the obvious, we came up with the five best non-obvious questions facing the Eagles as camp nears:

Will the Eagles finally throw to their running backs?

We have been teased by this concept before, especially at training camp. But despite having good pass-catching running backs for the past few years – Miles Sanders, D'Andre Swift and Saquon Barkley among them – the Eagles haven't consistently featured running backs in the pass game, especially compared to other NFL teams.

Last year, Barkley, Tank Bigsby, Will Shipley and A.J. Dillon accounted for 52 receptions, 382 receiving yards, and two touchdowns.

Here's a list of all NFL running backs that matched or surpassed that total by themselves:

Gainwell, who was once under the Eagles' employ, had more receptions last year in one season with the Steelers than he did in his last three seasons combined with the Eagles (2022-2024).

Only two NFL teams had fewer catches and receiving yards from running backs than the Eagles in 2025 – the Commanders and Rams. The Cowboys had more catches from RBs but fewer total yards and the Bears had the same number of RB receptions as the Eagles but more receiving yards.

The rest of the league got more RB pass game production – many of them way more – than the Eagles did.

The Shanahan-McVay style of West Coast offense that Mannion is implementing tends to be very friendly for pass-catching RBs, evidenced by the list above, as McCaffrey, Robinson, and Achane each played in offenses last year from that philosophical tree. (The current Rams are somewhat of an outlier because Kyren Williams and Blake Corum aren't really pass catchers). 

The Packers, with whom Mannion coached for two seasons prior to being named Eagles OC, accounted for 472 yards on 64 receptions last year – not a much bigger total than the Eagles, but Packers RB Josh Jacobs has never had a 91-catch season like Barkley did as a rookie in 2018.

The reason the Eagles used a fourth-round pick on Shipley in 2024 is because they liked his pass-catching chops and thought he could be weaponized more in their passing game than Clemson's. 

Who will generate explosives in the pass game other than DeVonta Smith?

Nick Sirianni preaches two important principles: winning the explosive play battle and winning the turnover battle. Let's focus just on the explosives in the post-A.J. Brown era.

Even after sinking to 16th last year in yards per reception, the Eagles ranked seventh overall in that category from 2022-2025, the years that Brown and DeVonta Smith comprised the Eagles' top WR tandem. That means the Eagles ranked much higher than seventh before last year's big-time slide.

Now let's look at the Eagles' projected top pass catchers in 2026, their career YPC averages, and 40 times:

* College and pro day data

Devonta Smith: Of the 33 WR/TE with at least 300 receptions since Smith's 2021 rookie season, Smith is right around the middle in YPC, at 15th overall. He never ran an official 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine or his pro day because speed isn't his calling card. I would argue that despite his expected big increase in usage this year, his YPC average won't get much higher than 13.0 and could decrease with a larger sample size. 

Dallas Goedert: His 40 time was actually from his junior season. An injury prevented him from running the 40 his senior season. But 4.68 would have been the fifth-best 40 time among the 2018 tight end draft class. Goedert averages about 8 catches per season that go for at least 20 yards – decent for a tight end but not for a team's second-best explosive option.

Dontayvion Wicks: It's a little strange that a wide receiver who ran a 4.6 has the team's second-best career YPC, but Wicks runs well for someone who's 6-1 and 206 pounds. He typically worked the middle of the field in Green Bay's offense. But Wicks was a low-volume receiver over his first three seasons, never topping more than 39 receptions. He's another candidate for YPC regression with more volume because he doesn't stress defenses over the top.

Marquise Brown: Based on speed alone, Marquise Brown would be the most logical candidate to supply the missing A.J. Brown explosives but his career YPC (11.6) in seven seasons suggests that his speed is more straight-line. He hasn't become the vertical attacker that Baltimore, Arizona and Kansas City had hoped he would be in their offenses. Also, his role in the Eagles' offense is unclear presently, with Wicks and rookie Makai Lemon potentially ahead of him.

Makai Lemon: Lemon's YPC is inflated by college and sure to regress in the pros, especially if his usage is in the slot, where he's expected to play as a rookie and perhaps beyond because of his modest speed and lack of prototype height for the outside. At USC, his game was predicated on YAC more than stressing defenses vertically. The YAC should translate into the Eagles' offense, but it remains to be seen what his role and usage will be, and he's another receiver not accustomed to deep sideline strikes.

Will Vic Fangio use a deeper EDGE rotation?

Fangio's track record of keeping a small edge rotation certainly followed him into his Eagles tenure. In his two seasons as Eagles DC, Fangio has rarely played more than three edge defenders in a game.

This year, the Eagles have at least four edge defenders with a solid history of rushing the passer – Jonathan Greenard, Jalyx Hunt, Nolan Smith Jr. and Arnold Ebiketie. Greenard has made two Pro Bowls; Hunt last year led the Eagles in sacks and interceptions in just his second season; Smith Jr. is a former first-round pick who helped Fangio win a Super Bowl; and Ebiketie showed flashes of being an impact pass rusher in four seasons with the Falcons.

In 2024, Fangio's three-man edge rotation was gospel. Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith Jr. and Brandon Graham played almost all of the EDGE snaps once Fangio decided that prize free agent Bryce Huff was unplayable in his scheme. After Graham tore his triceps in Week 11, Hunt moved into the No. 3 role.

Here's how the snaps played out:

Last year, it was even more of a three-man edge rotation, especially after the team acquired Jaelan Phillips from the Dolphins at the trade deadline. Here are the EDGE snap counts from Week 10 to Week 17:

Even the 10% from Graham is misleading, as Fangio often moved Graham inside to rush the quarterback from a defensive tackle position, not from the edge.

The Eagles paid Ebiketie $7.3 million on a one-year deal. Howie Roseman liked the former Penn State (and Temple) standout coming out of the 2022 draft. He guaranteed $4.3 million of the deal, which is more than he did for Uche and Ojulari.

Greenard is coming off shoulder surgery and Smith has dealt with shoulder and triceps injuries during his three seasons with the Eagles. It makes too much sense for Fangio to make Ebiketie part of the edge rotation, but it would mean deviating from his past tendencies.

Will Cooper DeJean play more snaps at safety than he did at outside cornerback?

Last year, DeJean played two positions – outside corner when the Eagles were in base defense, nickelback when the Eagles were in sub packages. Because the Eagles were predominantly in nickel and sub packages, DeJean spent way more time in the slot than at outside corner. DeJean played outside corner on just 22 percent of his snaps for the season, per PFF.

This year, DeJean will play both safety and nickelback, Fangio said in his spring press conference – basically the same split as last season, just at safety in base instead of outside corner. 

Does that mean DeJean will only play safety at a 22-percent clip? That's where the conversation gets interesting.

The Eagles could be in base defense way more this season than last year thanks to the growing trend of tight end usage. The Eagles open their season against the Commanders, who are expected to feature more two-tight end usage under new OC David Blough, and in Weeks 3 and 4 will play the Rams and Bears, respectively.

The Rams played the NFL's most three-tight end personnel groupings last year, by a mile. The Bears ran the NFL's third-most plays last season with multiple tight ends and in April used a third-round pick on another tight end.

In Week 5, the Eagles will play the Jaguars, whose head coach, Liam Coen, is a Sean McVay disciple. The Jags used a second-round pick on a tight end and appear to be gearing up to feature more 12 personnel in 2026.

Per Yahoo! citing data from Sportsradar, tight ends accounted for 48,102 offensive snaps last season, the most in at least 20 seasons. Two-tight end personnel groups were deployed at around 25 percent, the highest usage of 12 personnel since at least 2007.

If this trend continues, and if Fangio decides to stay in base defense against 12 and 13 personnel, DeJean could be more than just moonlighting at safety.

Can the Eagles depend on Jake Elliott if they want to win a Super Bowl?

Special teams doesn't generate much offseason discussion. It shouldn't be glossed over that the Eagles convinced Elliott, their record-holding kicker and two-time Super Bowl champ, to take a small pay cut this offseason. 

The Eagles overcame Elliott's massive decline in accuracy and distance in 2024, winning the Super Bowl despite Elliott connecting on just 77.8% of his attempts, a sharp drop from 93.8% in 2023. He also went just 1-for-7 on attempts of 50 yards or longer.

But Elliott's decline continued in 2025. He made just 74.1% of his kicks, and the Eagles couldn't overcome his struggles in their first-round playoff loss to the Niners. Elliott missed a PAT on a potential game-tying Dallas Goedert touchdown, and because the Eagles trailed by four instead of three on their final drive, they were forced to run a play – the infamous four-verts call on 4th-and-11 – instead of attempting a 39-yard field goal that Elliott probably would've made – he was 6-for-6 last season on attempts between 30-39 yards – to tie the game at the Linc. 

Elliott holds several franchise kicking records, including longest field goal and most field goals of 50+ yards, and he's one of just three players in team history to have played on both of the franchise's Super Bowl-winning teams. But his decline over the past two seasons has to be concerning enough to wonder if they can win it all with him.

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