Our annual Eagles under-25 list comes with a different feel this year. The roster is older than it has been in recent seasons, but there’s still plenty of young talent worth circling. Only four players in the top 10 will turn 25 before next year’s opener, and several of these names are already playing like key pieces.
The Eagles are the 17th-youngest team in the NFL, according to the Spotrac database, with an average age of 26.7. That’s up from 26.1 last year, when they ranked fifth-youngest, and 25.6 in 2024, when they were third-youngest. It’s also their highest average age since 2018, when they checked in at 26.9 and were the fourth-oldest team in the league.
Even with that shift, the top of the list is loaded with players who already matter a lot. Cooper DeJean sits at No. 1, and for good reason.
He won’t turn 24 until Feb. 19, and despite everything he’s already done, he’s still just 23. He’s the youngest player in NFL history with a Super Bowl pick-6 and the Eagles’ youngest 1st-team all-pro in more than half a century.
After a huge 2025 season, DeJean is taking on even more this year, with work at safety in base and nickel when opponents go three wide. He and Quinyon Mitchell both have a shot to become the first Eagles defensive players to earn 1st-team all-pro honors in back-to-back seasons since Brian Dawkins in 2001 and 2002.
Jihaad Campbell comes in at No. 2 and enters Year 2 as a starting linebacker after opening 10 games last season before Nakobe Dean returned healthy. Campbell flashed as a rookie, and Pro Football Focus ranked him 13th out of 64 linebackers who played at least 500 snaps, with an overall grade of 76.1.
His coverage grade of 78.6 was fourth-best. He finished with an interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, three pass breakups, two tackles for loss and 80 tackles while working both linebacker and edge.
Staying at one spot this season should help him settle in, and the size, athleticism and playmaking traits are all there.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is technically a backup, but that only tells part of the story. He’s coming off a huge training camp and showed he can play at a starting level.
Trotter may not have the classic size or speed, but his instincts and football IQ jump off the page, and he always seems to find the ball. His turn will come at linebacker, and until then he remains one of the team’s best special teams players.
He was second on the Eagles last year with 350 special teams snaps, just two behind Sydney Brown.
Drew Mukuba lands at No. 4 after a rookie season that started slowly but was trending up before a fractured fibula in Week 13 in Dallas. He’s healthy again and back in the starting lineup, looking to resume the progress he was making before the injury. Mukuba picked off two passes last year, the most by an Eagles rookie safety since Nate Allen had three in 2010, and tied for second among all rookie safeties in the league last season.
Markel Bell checks in at No. 5 even though he may not play a snap this year. Lane Johnson’s belief that Bell will be the heir apparent at right tackle when he retires carries real weight here.
Veteran Fred Johnson could still be the first tackle off the bench if something happened to Lane Johnson or Jordan Mailata, but Big Fred is 29 and entering his eighth season. Bell, the rookie third-round pick from Miami, is the clear long-term answer at the spot.
Darius Cooper is one of just two wide receivers on the current roster who was here last year, along with DeVonta Smith, and he’s also one of only two on the team younger than 25, with Makai Lemon being the other. Cooper caught only nine passes last season in limited work, but he has been so sharp this summer that people inside the building believe he could help if called on in high-leverage situations.
Kelee Ringo lands at No. 7, and the reasoning is tied more to special teams than cornerback. He hasn’t done much to impress when given chances at corner, but that’s not why he’s on this list.
Ringo has been excellent on special teams, and that’s a separate skill set. His 331 special teams snaps last year were third-most on the team, behind Sydney Brown’s 352 and Jeremiah Trotter Jr.’s 350.
Will Shipley is next, and while Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby are ahead of him, there’s still a role here. He probably won’t get a huge workload, but his 4-for-77 rushing day in the 2024 NFC Championship Game - including a 57-yard run and a touchdown - won’t be forgotten.
He also looked strong this summer, including an 11-for-56 rushing performance in the second preseason game in Foxborough. Add in his kick-return work, special teams value and ability as a receiver, and he remains a useful backup, even if the touches are limited.
Makai Lemon comes in at No. 9 after being selected 20th in this year’s draft. He missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury and only produced two yards on four touches in his lone preseason game, one that included a drop that became an interception and a muffed punt return.
Still, the Eagles are clearly betting on the upside. Howie Roseman hasn’t missed on a first-round pick in six years, dating back to Jalen Reagor, and Lemon should get a chance right away in the slot, where the team likes his short-area receiving and yards-after-catch ability.
Drew Kendall rounds out the top 10 after edging Willie Lampkin for the final spot. Both are 24, and Lampkin has plenty of upside, but Kendall appears to be the next man up if Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens or Tyler Steen go down. A fifth-round pick a year ago, Kendall made a noticeable jump from his rookie year to this training camp, and the Eagles now view him as a dependable interior backup in the role Brett Toth filled last season.
In Other News...
Eagles Fans Are Losing A Familiar Game Day Voice This Season
Ron Jaworski will be a familiar voice no longer on Eagles game days next season, after announcing he will not return to ESPN or NBC Sports Philadelphia for the 2026 NFL season. The former Eagles quarterback spent four years on the teams pregame and postgame shows, bringing the perspective and polish that come with a long broadcasting career built after his playing days.
Jaworski said the decision comes from a desire to spend more time with family, closing a run that stretched well beyond Philadelphia and into national NFL coverage. NBC Sports Philadelphia acknowledged his departure and praised what he brought to its coverage, leaving the Eagles broadcast setup facing a noticeable change as another season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Suddenly Have A Very Different Week 4 Problem
For much of the week, the Eagles were preparing for a familiar kind of headache, the sort that comes with lining up against Myles Garrett and everything he can disrupt off the edge. Instead, Garrett is expected to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery and land on injured reserve, which removes him from the Rams Week 4 matchup and changes the conversation in a hurry.
Philadelphia now has to redirect its attention toward the rest of a Rams defense that still has plenty of bite, with Aaron Donald looming as the obvious central concern. The Eagles game plan will look different without Garrett in the picture, and while the broad strategic adjustments are easy to imagine, the real question is how much this sudden shift alters what had been a very specific week of preparation. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Finally Showed Their Hand Behind Jalen Hurts
The Eagles spent the week keeping their backup quarterback plan under wraps, and on game day they finally revealed who would be behind Jalen Hurts. Andy Dalton will serve as the No. 2 quarterback against the Washington Commanders, a choice that had been intentionally left open as Nick Sirianni tried to preserve a competitive edge.
Dalton and Tanner McKee both worked as possible options throughout the week, so Philadelphia was able to keep Washington guessing until shortly before kickoff. It is a small detail in the larger game plan, but one that shows how carefully the Eagles are managing even the spots behind Hurts as they head into a divisional matchup. [Read more 🡒]