Nick Sirianni became Philadelphia’s head coach in 2021 and has led the Eagles to 2 Super Bowl appearances in the last 3 years. Philadelphia beat the Chiefs in an 18-point rematch of the championship game, after falling to them two years prior by a field goal.
Philadelphia lost its offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore, this offseason as he moved on to become the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. New OC, Kevin Patullo has been with Sirianni since 2018, spending the last four seasons as the pass game coordinator and the assistant head coach for the last two years. It should be a seamless transition.
QB: Jalen Hurts
In the first 4 games of the year, Hurts was without A.J. Brown for 3 games and DeVonta Smith for 1. He attempted 30+ pass attempts in each game. He threw 4 TDs and 4 INTs with the team going 2-2.
Over the next 10 games, Hurts had only 1 game with 30+ pass attempts and 2 games with more than 25 pass attempts. He completed 70% of his passes for 14 TDs / 1 INT while rushing for 400+ yards and 12 TDs, and the Eagles went 10-0.
RB: Saquon Barkley
In Barkley’s first year with the Eagles, he became only the 9th player to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season and won a Super Bowl as well. It was a great year for the talented back, who totaled 15 TDs with 33 receptions as well. He improved almost 2 full yards on his yards per carry year-over-year after averaging 3.9 in his last year with the Giants to 5.8 in 2024.
RB: A.J. Dillon
Dillon has seen his yards per carry drop each year since entering the NFL in 2020. As a rookie with limited touches, he averaged 5.1 ypc. The next three seasons, he saw that drop to 4.3, then 4.1, and finally 3.4 in 2023. During those three seasons, his reception total per year also dropped.
At the end of the 2023 season, he suffered a neck injury that kept him out of action. Another stinger to the neck before the 2024 season would keep out all of last year. The Eagles decided to bring him in for 2025, as he has been cleared, in hopes that he can regain his previous form.
RB: Will Shipley
Shipley didn’t get much work as a rookie, as Barkley was impossible to take off the field during his 2,000-yard campaign last year. When he was given a chance, he didn’t flourish. To be fair, the bulk of his few carries came in blowouts or when they rested starters.
All 4 of his receptions came in Week 18 on 4 targets that he took for 35 yards (8.8 ypr). If Dillon is back to full health, he could take some of the physical reps off of Barkley, whereas Shipley is most likely to contribute as a receiving option out of the backfield.
WR: A.J. Brown
After playing in all 34 games in his first 2 seasons with the Eagles, Brown missed 4 games in 2024 with 3 straight in the first 4 games and 1 in Week 18 when the team elected to rest starters for their playoff push.
The missed action brought his production back down to his first three seasons with the Titans, when he averaged 98 targets with 62 receptions, 998 yards, and 8 touchdowns for 16.2 yards per reception. Last season’s totals saw him record 97 targets for 67 receptions, 1,079 yards, and 7 touchdowns on 16.1 yards per reception (3rd highest among qualified WRs).
Brown finished the year on a strong note with a TD reception in each of his last 3 regular season games and then 2 more in the playoffs most pivotal games, with 1 each in the NFC Championship game and the Super Bowl win.
WR: DeVonta Smith
Like Brown, Smith missed 4 games, which led to his career-low in receiving yards, but he also set a career-high in receiving TDs (8). Smith has also bested his catch rate every year since entering the NFL in 2021. It’s grown from 61.5% as a rookie to an astounding 76.4% (4th highest among qualified WRs) in 2024.
Also like Brown, Smith ended the regular season on a high note with half of his TD receptions (4) coming in his last 4 regular season games along with his only two 100-yard games on the year. He caught a TD in the Super Bowl win while averaging 17.3 yards per reception, recording exactly 4 receptions in all 4 playoff games.
WR: Jahan Dotson
In his first two NFL seasons with Washington, Dotson had 500+ receiving yards in each, with 7 TDs as a rookie, followed by 4 in 2023, before being traded to the Eagles in 2024. He was targeted an average of 72 times over those first 2 years.
In Philadelphia, his role was minimal. In Week 18, when the starters were out, Dotson was targeted 11 times with 7 receptions for 94 yards. Before that, his best games were the 2 November games in which he had 1 catch for 36 yards and the next week, 1 catch for 27 yards. In the other 10 games, he was targeted 20 times with 10 catches for 59 yards.
WR: Ainias Smith
Smith started his rookie season behind the eight ball due to an injury, which led to him missing the first 6 games of the year. He was used minimally following his return, with 3 catches on 3 targets for 6 yards.
In Week 18, he saw his first real action, where he caught 4 passes for 35 yards and a TD on 6 targets. Smith has an opportunity to overtake Dotson for the #3 receiver role behind Brown and Smith in 2025.
TE: Dallas Goedert
Goedert missed five straight games in 2022 due to an injury, then three straight in 2023 with a different injury. Finally, last season, he had a stretch where he missed three straight games, returned, and later missed five straight games from two separate injuries. It’s become troubling.
When he’s healthy, he performs, as seen in his Week 3 game of 2024. In that game, with Brown out, Goedert was targeted 11 times, catching 10 passes for 170 yards. He also shows up and plays in the playoffs. In his last 10 playoff games, he’s hauled in 50 passes for 542 yards and 3 TDs.
BREAKOUT PLAYER: Will Shipley
Shipley is a legit threat as a receiving back and can kill on angle routes similar to Alvin Kamara. He’ll record 30+ receptions in 2025. As a rusher, he’ll benefit from the Eagles’ rushing attack, which has seen several varying backs flourish under Sirianni.
In 2023, D’Andre Swift averaged 4.6 ypc, then left for the Bears and saw it drop to 3.8. Miles Sanders averaged 5.5 and 4.9 in 2021 and 2022, and quickly saw his average drop to 3.5 over the next 2 years in Carolina. Jordan Howard even averaged 4.7 in 2021 at the end of his career. Shipley will rush for over 500 yards and have a combined total of 7 TDs.
BUST: Dallas Goedert
The injuries are mounting for Goedert. The Eagles know it so they’ve brought in different tight ends that can fill his receiving role if he continues to miss significant time, yearly. Grant Calcaterra showed to be reliable when Goedert was limited or missing time last year.
The Eagles also brought in Kylen Granson and Harrison Bryant at the position. Granson has 2 seasons of 30+ receptions and 300+ receiving yards. Bryant caught 3 TD passes in 3 different seasons while also putting up 20+ receptions and 230+ receiving yards in each of his first 3 years as a backup tight end.
SLEEPER: Ainias Smith
Smith missed a pivotal time during his rookie season. Now, he’ll come in and compete to be the third receiver behind the top duo of studs. He’ll compete with Dotson and Terrace Marshall Jr., who each have career catch rates of only 58%. They’re former 1st and 2nd-round picks who are “names,” but will likely be outperformed when competing head-to-head with Smith.
When Brown was out for 3 straight weeks, Dotson didn’t step up, putting up 5 catches for 25 yards on 8 targets in total. Later in the year, DeVonta Smith missed back-to-back games in which Dotson totaled in those games 2 targets for 2 receptions and 11 yards. Ainias will win the 3rd receiver role and have multiple games in which he steps up while Brown, DeVonta and/or Goedert are out.
BOLD PREDICTION: Saquon Barkley
Backs have a down year after they rush for 2,000 yards and/or hit 2,000 total yards rushing and receiving. It happened with Derrick Henry missing half the season following his 2,000-yard season. Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Taylor, David Johnson and Le’Veon Bell are other good examples.
Barkley’s rushing yards will be cut by more than half as he fails to hit 1,000 yards rushing. He’ll also fail to hit 30 receptions and double-digit total TDs.
