Eagles Team Needs For The 2026 Offseason: Will A.J. Brown Stick Around?

The Eagles Super Bowl encore featured Jalen Hurts and company capturing a second-straight NFC East title—something that no team in the division had accomplished since the 2003-04 Eagles—but at the end of the day, the team's unimaginative and ultimately mediocre offense couldn't come through when it mattered most against the 49ers.

2025: 11-6 (+54 point differential, preseason win total: 11.5)
Points per game: 22.3 (19th)
EPA per pass: +0.09 (15th)
EPA per rush: -0.05 (13th)
Points per game against: 19.1 (5th)
EPA per pass against: -0.02 (11th)
EPA per rush against: -0.1 (9th)

Never fear, GM Howie Roseman is here, and he has over $20 million in cap space and picks No. 23, 54, 68 and 98 to work with during the first two days of the 2026 NFL draft. Perhaps more high-end draft capital will be gained if the team decides to part ways with their disgruntled No. 1 WR, but if not, it'd make sense if the front office mostly focuses on the following three needs.

What Do The Philadelphia Eagles Need To Address In The 2026 Offseason?

Tight End

Dallas Goedert is entering free agency fresh off scoring 13 touchdowns in 16 games, although a whopping 10 of those scores came from inside the 10-yard line—and many were heavily schemed up. Not to completely take away the credit for Goedert, just realize he averaged a career-low 9.9 yards per catch, and his 39.4 receiving yards per game were his fewest since his rookie season.

Bringing back the 31-year-old tight end would obviously fill this need in a hurry, but even then, depth is needed with backups Grant Calcaterra and Kylen Granson also hitting the open market. Considering Calcaterra (Round 6, 2022) is the only tight end Philly has drafted since Goedert back in 2018, it's probably about time for the team to add some new blood at the position.

EDGE

Midseason addition Jaelan Phillips joins unretired Brandon Graham as free agents. This leaves the Eagles with the sixth-fewest 2026 dollars devoted to their EDGE room, although simply bringing back Phillips would make a lot of sense—the ex-Dolphin was excellent while wearing green during the second half of 2025.

Phillips was PFF's 18th-highest graded EDGE defender during the second half of 2025
Phillips racked up 41 pressures in Weeks 10-18. Only Josh Hines-Allen, Myles Garrett, Danielle Hunter, Will Anderson and Aidan Hutchinson had more during this stretch.

The Eagles managed to generate the league's fifth-best pressure rate while blitzing at the third-lowest rate. A great combination, but something that could be tough for defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to replicate without his top dawgs back in 2026.

Secondary

Starting safety Reed Blankenship and corner Adoree Jackson are hitting free agency, leaving the Eagles with the league's sixth-cheapest secondary overall. Of course, having cornerstones like Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean makes this far from a weakness—this pass defense was pretty lethal throughout 2025:

6.4 yards per attempt allowed (fifth-best)
75.4 passer rating allowed (second-best)
11.6% explosive pass play rate allowed (eighth-best)

The team has done a great job drafting early-round plus starters in the secondary in recent years; this might again be necessary should Howie Roseman and company not love the available options in free agency.

Honorable Mention

Wide receiver will become a need in a hurry should the team decide to part ways with A.J. Brown, although his contract could be tough to move on from. Regardless, No. 3 WR Jahan Dotson is a free agent, and DeVonta Smith remains the only wide receiver that the team has drafted inside the first three rounds during the last five drafts. … Offensive tackle is a strength between Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson, although the team has really fallen off without the latter stud in the lineup over the years. Johnson turns 36 in May—at a minimum, the team needs to add some better depth if the Injury Gods don't chill out.

If I Were The GM …

I'd call Howie Roseman and ask for help, but if that's also out of the question, I'd take A.J. Brown out for a nice steak dinner in an attempt to calm the longtime stud No. 1 WR, devote most of the Eagles early-round resources to the defense, and look to mostly improve the offense through a new-and-improved offensive coordinator. This roster remains rather loaded, and the youthful defense could be on the verge of a dominant 2026 campaign with just a bit more talent on the EDGE and backend.

Players Mentioned in this Article

A.J.Brown
WRPHI
PPG
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