When taking a look at the Philadelphia Eagles, it is tough to find any true weaknesses on the team. 5-0 heading into their Week 6 matchup with the New York Jets, the Eagles are soaring through the early part of the season. But, things will get tougher in the coming weeks.
Philadelphia has meetings against the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys before their bye week. After that, they will head on the road to face the Kansas City Chiefs before hosting the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers in a brutal back-to-back set.
The Eagles are certainly proven contenders, but this stretch will truly prove their mettle. Those are a lot of high-powered offenses that they will be facing off against, which will certainly test their defense.
Philadelphia lost both coordinators this offseason and they have been a little slower adapting to the changes defensively. That unit also lost a ton of key contributors in free agency, which has led to some gelling needing to occur.
They certainly haven’t been poor on that side of the ball, ranking 13th in points allowed and 10th in yardage surrendered. PFF has them ranked 14th in overall defensive grade, showing a little bit of weakness against the pass, where they are 24th in coverage grade.
With that in mind, it should be no surprise that the Eagles have been mentioned once again as a potential trade suitor for Arizona Cardinals safety, Budda Baker. Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports named them the top destination for the star defender.
“The All-Pro resolved a brief contract dispute with Arizona by getting a pay raise prior to this season, only to land on injured reserve with a hamstring issue one week into the year. He’s a do-it-all play-maker when healthy, but Jonathan Gannon’s defense has been feistier than expected even without him; current starters Jalen Thompson and K’Von Wallace have both been active. Rebuilding Arizona (1-4) could save big money by dealing him ahead of a potential 2024 free agency.”
The Cardinals didn’t show any interest in signing Baker to a long-term deal this offseason. Even less interest was shown in trading him, as they wanted to keep him around as a key piece to Gannon’s scheme.
However, things could change with the deadline less than three weeks away. Cashing in and receiving more draft capital to further their rebuild would make a lot of sense for Arizona.
For the Eagles, Baker would bolster what has been a shaky secondary that lost C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps in free agency. Two of their replacements, Justin Evans and Terrell Edmunds, have struggled mightily in coverage this season and have been average to below average when it comes to overall grades.
