The Philadelphia Eagles have spent the offseason reshaping parts of the roster, and that kind of turnover always comes with a little risk. But for a team this talented and this well put together, the baseline in 2026 still looks strong.
That’s the bigger picture. The more interesting part is what happens if a few key players take another step and turn in the best seasons of their careers. That kind of leap happens all over the NFL, and the Eagles have a few names that fit the bill.
DeVonta Smith is the easiest place to start. With A.J.
Brown no longer in the picture, Smith should see a wave of targets his way, and he now stands as the most talented wide receiver on the roster. General Manager Howie Roseman adjusted the room this offseason, but Smith still stands out as the clear focal point.
His top statistical season came in 2022, Brown’s first year in Philadelphia, when Smith posted 95 catches, 1,196 yards and seven touchdowns. He has never topped those reception or yardage totals, though he did score eight touchdowns in 2024. Even while sharing the field with Brown, Smith was still a steady high-volume producer and cleared 1,000 receiving yards in each of those seasons.
Now the Eagles are expected to lean on him even more heavily. With Brown gone, Smith should become a central piece of the passing game, and Jalen Hurts will likely look at him as both a safety valve and the offense’s primary option.
Andrew Mukuba also looks set up for a bigger year. He appeared in 11 games in 2025 and still managed two interceptions, three passes defended and 46 total tackles. With the path to a starting role much clearer in 2026, there’s room for a noticeable jump.
Mukuba already shows the kind of traits teams want from a starting safety. He plays with maturity, handles the harder assignments well, and has the look of a defensive back who can keep climbing if he stays on the field for most, if not all, of the season.
Then there’s Riq Woolen, who feels like a strong fit for Vic Fangio’s defense. Woolen is big, tough and sticky in coverage, which is exactly why his signing stood out. The penalties are still something to clean up, but a change of scenery could help with that.
Across his first four seasons, Woolen has produced 12 interceptions and 53 passes defended. Pro Football Reference lists his career coverage passer rating at 70.6, and it also notes that 2023 was the worst coverage season of his career even though he still allowed a 79.8 passer rating, which is excellent.
Philadelphia needed a reliable presence opposite Quinyon Mitchell, and Woolen has the traits to fill that role. If he cuts down on the occasional mistake and settles into the system, he has a real chance to thrive and maybe even work his way toward a long-term extension as 2026 unfolds.
In Other News...
Cooper DeJean Practice Clip Has Eagles Fans Talking For The Wrong Reason
Joint practices usually provide the cleanest snapshot of where a roster stands before the games start counting, and one of the most watched matchups on the field Thursday in New England came with Cooper DeJean lined up across from DeMario Douglas. The Eagles defensive back entered the offseason with plenty of momentum after earning first-team All-Pro honors as a slot defender last season, so every rep against a quick, elusive receiver was going to draw attention from fans looking for clues about how Philadelphias secondary is coming together.
Douglas made the most of the spotlight, winning all three of their 1-on-1 reps by snapping off sharp cuts and exploding into separation, and the clip moved quickly through social media as Eagles followers reacted to what they saw. It is still only a practice setting, of course, but when a player with DeJeans reputation looks out of sync in a widely shared drill, it is the kind of thing that tends to linger until the pads come on and the matchup gets another chance to play out. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Bubble Players Suddenly Feel Like Real Trade Candidates
With roster cutdown day looming on Aug. 30, the Eagles are at the point in camp where the back end of the roster starts to matter as much as the headline names. The usual churn of preseason competition has turned into a real evaluation of who can help Philadelphia now, who has a future here, and who might bring back something useful if the front office decides to move a player instead of simply waive him.
That is why a few bubble cases suddenly carry more trade intrigue than they did a week ago. Andy Dalton, Smael Mondon Jr., Hollywood Brown, Jakorian Bennett and Fred Johnson all sit in different spots on the depth chart, but each comes with a mix of team need, contract situation and performance questions that could make them attractive to another club before the deadline. Nothing is settled yet, but this is the part of camp when a player can go from fighting for a roster spot to being discussed as a legitimate trade chip. [Read more 🡒]
Former Penn State Standout Sees Strong Eagles Camp Cut Short
Tariq Castro-Fields had been one of the more intriguing names in Eagles camp, trying to turn a strong summer into a legitimate push for a 53-man roster spot while working back from a heel injury. The former Penn State standout brought enough familiarity and upside to make him worth watching in a secondary that always seems to have room for another corner to force the issue.
Instead, Philadelphia moved Castro-Fields to injured reserve, which ends his training camp and likely his season before the real evaluation could even finish. The Eagles also waived/injured wide receiver Johnny Wilson while adding center Zeke Correll and wide receiver Brandon Hayes, a reminder of how quickly roster opportunities can shift at this stage of camp, especially for players trying to survive on the margins. [Read more 🡒]