May 20, 2026
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
Tanner McKee (16) and Drew Kendall (66) could be important depth pieces for the Eagles in 2026.
While the Philadelphia Eagles could still add a veteran here or there to their roster before the start of the season, it is still probably somewhere around 95 percent set. Here we'll take a look at each of their positions, and determine where they are strong, where they still need help, and how they stack up against the rest of the NFL. We'll start with the offense.
53-man roster projection: Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee, Cole Payton
Others: Andy Dalton
The Eagles have four quarterbacks. Tanner McKee's most recent performance in a 2025 Week 18 game wasn't great, but he was also playing with the second-team offensive line and practice squad guys at receiver. Some have soured on him a bit as a result, but in my view he is one of the best backups in the NFL and will be starter for some team eventually. I'd rather have McKee as my starter over the current starter with six NFL teams (the Jets, Browns, Steelers, Vikings, Falcons, and Cardinals).
Andy Dalton, the Eagles' QB3, has started 169 NFL games and he has won more than half of them. The more I think about the Eagles' trade for Dalton, the more it has made sense, even after they selected Cole Payton in the fifth round of the draft. If the Eagles get an offer they can't refuse for McKee, Dalton is a competent QB2. If Payton flat out stinks in camp like Clayton Thorson and Kyle McCord did, Dalton can be the QB3. And if there are no acceptable offers for McKee and Payton shows that he can play a little bit, then Dalton is still a tradeable player, as there are plenty of teams around the league with trash as their QB2.
Are the Eagles in good shape here relative to the rest of the league, depth-wise? Yes, the Eagles have a home-grown quarterback deep into his development as their QB2, an extremely experienced vet as their QB3, and a rookie with intriguing traits as their QB4. They have enviable depth at quarterback.
53-man roster projection: Saquon Barkley, Tank Bigsby, Will Shipley
Others: Dameon Pierce, Carson Steele
In 2025, Bigsby carried 58 times for 344 yards and 2 TDs for the Eagles. His 5.9 yards per carry average was almost two yards per carry better than Barkley's 4.1 yards per carry. He also had a lot of explosive runs. In fact, 13 (22.4%!) of his 58 runs were for 10 or more yards. Again, by comparison, Barkley, who had one of the most explosive seasons in NFL history in 2024, only had 28 runs of 10+ yards on 280 carries (10.0%) in 2025.
During a four-game stretch from Weeks 7 to 11, Bigsby proved to be an effective runner in the offense, carrying 17 times for 156 yards in those games, for an average of 9.2 yards per carry. Thereafter, the Eagles just... didn't use him in meaningful games. He got 17 carries in garbage time in a blowout of the Raiders, and 16 carries in the Week 18 "resting starters" game against the Commanders. But in the five other games from Week 12 on, Bigsby only got 8 (!) carries, or 1.6 carries per game.
Bigsby had a really good season in Jacksonville in 2024, leading the Jags with 168 carries, and logging double-digit carries in nine games. There's some evidence that he can carry the load should Barkley go down. But also, he's a back with a frenetic, unpredictable style that should be hard to defend after dealing with the big and fast Barkley all day.
Bigsby should get more opportunities in 2026. To be determined if he actually will.
Are the Eagles in good shape here relative to the rest of the league, depth-wise? Yes, kinda. Bigsby is a very good RB2, but Shipley had a disappointing 2025 training camp, which spurred the Eagles to trade a couple of draft picks for Bigsby. So, they have a strong 1-2 punch, but they may only realistically go two backs deep.
53-man roster projection: DeVonta Smith, Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks, Marquise Brown, Darius Cooper
Others: Britain Covey, Johnny Wilson, Elijah Moore, Danny Gray, Quez Watkins
Soon to be traded: A.J. Brown
The Eagles' wide receiver corps are going to take a hit in a couple weeks when the Eagles trade A.J. Brown. Overall, they should be worse at receiver in 2025 than they have been for the last four seasons.
DeVonta Smith was definitively better than Brown in 2025, in my opinion, and is more than ready to step into the WR1 role. However, the Eagles don't have any receivers who can realistically step in and be anywhere near as good as Smith was in his WR2 role, at least in 2025. We'll see in time what Lemon can become.
However, while the Eagles will take a step back overall at receiver, their depth at the 3-4-5 spots should be improved, as Dontayvion Wicks and Marquise Brown are both better than any of the Eagles' previous WR3s during the Nick Sirianni era:
• 2021: Jalen Reagor
• 2022: Quez Watkins
• 2023: Quez Watkins
• 2024: Jahan Dotson
• 2025: Jahan Dotson
Are the Eagles in good shape here relative to the rest of the league, depth-wise? Meh, middle of the pack.
53-man roster projection: Dallas Goedert, Eli Stowers, Johnny Mundt, Cameron Latu (FB)
Others: Dae'Quan Wright, E.J. Jenkins, Grant Calcaterra, Stone Smartt
The Eagles didn't add any rookie tight ends to their roster last season, either in the draft or via undrafted free agents. That was puzzling. They did sign a bunch of JAGs to cheap deals in free agency.
Dallas Goedert's return to the team was surprising after he took a pay cut. He caught 11 TDs but his play as a blocker fell off. The Eagles asked Grant Calcaterra to be a blocker whenever he got on the field, which didn't suit his skill set at all. Overall it was a disjointed group that contributed to Barkley's down season.
In 2026, the Eagles re-signed Goedert, which again was a mild surprise. They also added an athletic freak in the draft in Stowers, who has big upside but has some developing to do. They also added a legitimate blocker in Mundt.
Are the Eagles in good shape here relative to the rest of the league? The tight end group should be improved in 2026, but in my opinion it's going to take Stowers some time before he can make an impact. He could be a long-term hit, but in the short term I don't love their depth.
53-man roster projection: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, Lane Johnson, Fred Johnson, Markel Bell, Drew Kendall, Cameron Williams, Micah Morris
Others: Willie Lampkin, Myles Hinton, Hollin Pierce, Jaeden Roberts, Jake Majors, John Ojukwu
Fred Johnson has filled in capably for Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson whenever he has been needed the last two seasons. The Eagles also selected Markel Bell with a high third-round pick in the 2026 draft. They hope that he can eventually become a successor for Lane Johnson long-term, and I imagine he'll cross-train at LT and RT, short term.
The Eagles also have a couple of 2025 draft lottery tickets in Cameron Williams and Myles Hinton, who both struggled during 2025 training camp. We'll see if they look better this summer.
But certainly, the Eagles are in good shape depth-wise at tackle.
The interior of the line is a little more dicey. My understanding is that the team likes Drew Kendall, and from the little bit I had to go on from last season, so do I. But they have almost no experienced backups on the interior of their line. Career snaps:
• Drew Kendall: 89
• Micah Morris, Willie Lampkin, Hollin Pierce, Jaeden Roberts, and Jake Majors: 0 each
And that's especially concerning considering that Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens struggled through injury-plagued seasons in 2025.
Are the Eagles in good shape here relative to the rest of the league? At tackle? For sure. On the interior, not so much.
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