One week away from the trade deadline, the Philadelphia Eagles decided to make their splash move. The Eagles were inquiring about a safety over the past few weeks, and general manager Howie Roseman brought Kevin Byard back to his hometown of Philadelphia.
The Eagles acquired Byard from the Tennessee Titans in exchange for safety Terrell Edmunds, a 2024 fifth-round pick and 2024 sixth-round pick. Byard will start opposite Reed Blankenship at safety in the Eagles defense, filling a gaping hole the front office has tried to plug since the summer. With Byard on the roster, the Eagles are deeper at safety and can deploy more box-nickel personnel with Sydney Brown as the third safety.
Roseman made his "splash" move, so are the Eagles done? They don't have much Day 3 draft capital to make things happen for 2024, but there are still some later round picks on the table in 2025. Here's a look at what the Eagles have in draft capital and some positions they may seek to upgrade over the next week:
Draft picks for 2024 and 2025
- 2024: Round 1, Round 2, Round 2 (via Saints), Round 3 (projected compensatory), Round 5 (projected compensatory), Round 5 (projected compensatory), Round 5 (projected compensatory)
- 2025: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 5, Round 7, Round 7 (via Saints), Round 7 (via Broncos)
There are seven Day 3 picks the Eagles could part with over the next two seasons, even though they gave up two of them in the 2024 draft to acquire Byard. There could be some smaller moves coming, with not many major positions of need on the roster.
RB depth
Outside options: A.J. Dillon (Packers), Derrick Henry (Titans), Joshua Kelley (Chargers)
The Eagles have D'Andre Swift as the clear No. 1 running back, yet he doesn't have much help behind him. Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott have averaged 3.5 yards per carry this season, which is affecting Swift's productivity. Swift is averaging 5.1 yards per carry on the year, but is averaging 3.7 yards per carry over the last four games (56 carries).
The Eagles' running game is Swift and not much else at the moment. Rashaad Penny can't even see the field as a healthy scratch. Part of the reason the Eagles are 19th in red zone offense is the lack of a bruising back behind Swift, which is what they need to make the red zone offense more efficient.
Running backs are typically cheap, so a Day 3 pick could get the Eagles a solid backup to Swift (at least for Dillon or Kelley, who are both free agents at the end of the year).
No. 2 TE
Outside options: Austin Hooper, (Raiders) Jimmy Graham (Saints)
The Eagles offense has plenty of players at the skill positions that need the football, but not much depth behind A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. Julio Jones was signed to add more depth at wide receiver, so upgrading there seems out.
What about tight end? Goedert plays 90.49% of the snaps at tight end, while Jack Stoll is at 30.10% and Grant Calcaterra 10.29%. Stoll is used primarily as a blocking tight end while Calcaterra has another receiving option -- but doesn't have a catch this season. Albert Okwuegbunam -- who the Eagles acquired just prior to the season -- can't even see the field.
Having just two catches for 10 yards from the backup tight ends isn't ideal, but the Eagles run a lot of "11 personnel" so it doesn't matter. If the Eagles wanted to add a pass catcher as their No. 2 tight end, there are options available that wouldn't cost much (see Graham and Hooper).
This isn't a necessity for the Eagles, but a No. 2 tight end could help the red zone offense. Zach Ertz would be great to bring back, too, but he's currently on injured reserve.
Slot CB
Outside options: None
The Eagles' depth at slot cornerback has been severely tested this season, with Avonte Maddox out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle and Zech McPhearson out for the year with a torn Achilles. Mario Goodrich had an opportunity in the slot, but was released and brought back to the practice squad.
The Eagles did sign Bradley Roby and he played well enough to take over the role, but Roby missed last week's win with a shoulder injury. If Roby returns, he's the slot cornerback. The Eagles did bring back Josiah Scott last week to play the slot in place of Roby, and also moved Eli Ricks there last week -- and he played well.
Don't expect the Eagles to make an upgrade here. Roby and the in-house options are good enough.