The Eagles’ snap counts from Week 4 tell a rough story, and not just because of the loss to the Rams. The offense had to shuffle bodies all over the place, the defense got hammered with an absurd workload, and a few roles are starting to shift in ways that matter.
Start with the offense, where Jordan Mailata, Tyler Steen, and Cam Jurgens remain the only players to have played every offensive snap this season. Jurgens, though, probably should not be out there at this point.
Markel Bell made his first career NFL start with Lane Johnson unavailable, and the Eagles also had to lean on Willie Lampkin in a couple of specific packages. Lampkin came in for a tush push that failed, in part because it was a long 4th-and-1, and later showed up as an extra blocker in a jumbo look on 3rd-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Micah Morris made his NFL debut on offense in that same goal line package.
At receiver, Dontayvion Wicks led the group in snaps but ranked third on the team in targets with five. Darius Cooper, meanwhile, outsnapped Makai Lemon as WR2 and added value on special teams with a tackle on punt coverage. He also got the kind of workload people had been asking for: a team-high seven targets, three catches, 33 yards, and two touchdowns.
Lemon still had his moments. He was second on the team with six targets and caught three passes for 27 yards, with all three receptions coming on the Eagles’ third drive. After that, he never got another touch.
Johnny Mundt’s usage stood out for all the wrong reasons. He played 80% of the offensive snaps, a number that feels excessive given what he offers.
The holding penalty didn’t help his case, and the passing game contribution is close to nonexistent. With Dallas Goedert and Eli Stowers unavailable, the Eagles still gave Mundt far too much runway.
He even played more than the Eagles’ 2026 first-round pick.
Elijah Moore is still searching for a role. He was a healthy scratch as WR7 in the first two games, then injuries got him active for the last two, but he still hasn’t touched the ball.
He also drew attention early when Jalen Hurts yelled at him to line up off the ball. Moore doesn’t give them anything on special teams, either, which makes the roster spot look shaky.
The running back picture got thinner too. Will Shipley and Tank Bigsby were pushed into larger roles after Saquon Barkley suffered a hamstring injury, and Bigsby later got banged up himself.
Zach Ertz’s workload dipped as well, with just 21% of the snaps after playing 38% in Week 3.
On defense, the biggest point is simple: don’t pin this one on them. They were on the field for 84 snaps.
That is way too many, and by the end they were running on fumes. The offense gave them almost no breathing room.
The number is only three fewer than the Eagles’ defense faced in last year’s loss to the Chicago Bears, and it came after they played 70 snaps in Week 1 and 72 in Week 3.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. had a busy day in his first regular-season game where the Eagles weren’t resting starters. He finished with 15 total tackles and played the whole game, while Jihaad Campbell did not. That’s worth noting.
Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell entered the game as the only Eagles defenders to have played every defensive snap this season, but both left at different points because of injury. DeJean returned; Mitchell did not.
Michael Carter II started at safety in place of Marcus Epps and looked solid. He tipped a pass that led to DeJean’s interception, and the Eagles should probably keep rolling with him there.
Up front, Jalen Carter continues to be managed carefully as he plays through a hairline fracture in his wrist. Nolan Smith was the top edge rusher in both usage and performance, logging just one more snap than Jalyx Hunt, who did not start while sitting behind Smith and Jonathan Greenard. Jonathan Jones had to take on a larger role after Mitchell went down, and Arnold Ebiketie saw more action than usual when Greenard got hurt.
Jordan Davis had a season-low snap rate at 34.5%, and his season usage remains low relative to his standing in the league. He ranks 60th out of 177 interior defenders in total snaps played this season, despite being the eighth-highest paid player at his position on an annual basis.
There were more injury-driven shuffles behind him too. Mac McWilliams came in at nickel corner when DeJean was briefly unavailable, and Kenny Moore made his Eagles debut with one snap on defense.
Special teams had a few notable moments. Kelee Ringo was active there with three tackles, Josiah Deguara handled only special teams duty after being temporarily elevated from the practice squad as a fourth tight end, and Britain Covey helped set up one of the Eagles’ two touchdowns with a 41-yard punt return.
As for the inactive list, Lane Johnson, Fred Johnson, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Zack Baun, Marcus Epps, Hollywood Brown, and Cole Payton did not play. Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton were active.
Lane and his family are hopefully OK. Fred Johnson missed his second straight game.
DeVonta Smith is expected to miss at least one more game with his hamstring injury, and Goedert could miss another one as well. Baun might be able to return from concussion protocol this week, though that remains to be seen.
Epps may not get his starting job back even once he’s healthy. Brown missed his second game in a row, and with Cooper rising, there doesn’t appear to be much room left for him in this receiver rotation.
Payton will keep being a healthy scratch as QB4, while McKee is reportedly QB2 now and Dalton has been pushed to QB3. The Eagles should just cut Dalton.
There’s no point of him being on the roster. There never was.
The roster spot is more valuable than he is.
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