The Philadelphia Eagles had a lot of coaches and players to replace this offseason. They were one of the most poached teams in the NFL, losing both offensive and defensive coordinators Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon to head coaching jobs and multiple key contributors on both sides of the ball.
But, this was something general manager Howie Roseman and the front office were seemingly prepared for. They did a wonderful job of filling those voids and have an impressive group of young players ready to take on an expanded role.
This is a roster that is once again in place to contend during the 2023 season. Alas, even the strongest rosters could use a tweak here or there to upgrade on the margins. For the Eagles, that could come in the secondary.
Philadelphia was able to re-sign cornerback James Bradberry and worked out an extension to keep Darius Slay. But the safety position suffered a major blow with C.J. Gardner-Johnson joining the Detroit Lions.
Looking to fill that void, Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report suggested the Eagles make a move for Budda Baker of the Arizona Cardinals. Baker requested a trade earlier this offseason and would be thrilled to go from rebuilding in the desert to contending in the City of Brotherly Love.
Justin Evans and Terrell Edmunds were signed in free agency and the team has Reed Blankenship entering Year 2. But, Baker would be a huge upgrade to the unit overall and is versatile enough to play alongside any of them.
Ballentine also believes the Eagles should shake up their wide receiver depth chart. Finding a new home for Quez Watkins was another potential trade that makes sense. Watkins has fallen out of favor and Olamide Zaccheus was signed in free agency to compete for the No. 3 spot.
Teams are always willing to take a chance on raw speed and athleticism, which Watkins has in droves. Flipping him for a fourth or fifth-round pick would be good value for Roseman and the Eagles.
The spot on the wide receiver depth chart could have theoretically been filled by someone such as DeAndre Hopkins in Ballentine’s opinion. However, Hopkins has since been released by the Cardinals and the Eagles haven’t been mentioned once as a landing spot. That race looks like it will come down to the Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots.
