The Philadelphia Eagles lost their first game of the 2023 season on Sunday to the scrappy and surprising New York Jets, 20-14. Quarterback Jalen Hurts went 28 of 45 and threw three interceptions, and their normally powerful running game could only muster 80 yards, 47 of them from Hurts.
Some still feel the Eagles, who are the defending NFC champions, are the best team in the conference. However, even when they got off to a 5-0 start, they looked a bit vulnerable, and there could be one or two areas they look to shore up via the trade market.
One of those areas is their pass defense, which ranks 20th in yards allowed and 29th in touchdowns allowed. While they have an excellent cornerback combo in Darius Slay and James Bradberry, more help in the secondary would bolster their chances of getting back to the Super Bowl and taking home the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
The Carolina Panthers, who are the NFL’s only winless team right now, could possibly put safety Jeremy Chinn on the market. Cam Marino says the Eagles should be a team that would vie for Chinn’s services should he become available.
Dean Jones of Cat Crave went into more detail about a potential Philly trade for Chinn.
“Philadelphia would be getting a key rotational piece at worst,” wrote Jones. “They are getting linebacker Nakobe Dean back from injury, but adding another productive performer would be beneficial to solidify options for the defending NFC conference champions.
“General manager Howie Roseman would be wise to seek the counsel of Haason Reddick before taking the plunge. The edge rusher spent one season with Chinn on the Panthers, so his input would likely be invaluable.”
Chinn was a second-round draft pick in 2020 by the Panthers. Since then, he hasn’t grown into a star, but he did finish second in the Defensive Rookie of the Year balloting in 2020 while leading the league with two fumble returns for a touchdown.
Jones noted that the Eagles may be able to get Chinn for a late-round draft pick, which would make him a low-risk, medium-reward type of option for them.
They got to the big dance last season largely because of a defense that was tops in passing yards allowed, and that’s the type of defensive prowess they need to rediscover if they are to win the world championship.
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