Here’s your weekend dose of Eagles observations: Tackle woes, injury-prone free agents, and Tanner McKee’s historic start

1. Fred Johnson’s departure from the Eagles is more impactful than it may seem. Johnson performed well in his five starts last season—one at right tackle and four at left tackle. His exit leaves the Eagles without a clear candidate for the swing tackle role, one who can effectively play both sides. Johnson, who turns 28 in June, signed a one-year deal with the Jaguars, where he will compete for a starting spot. The Eagles now have several potential candidates to fill the void, including Brett Toth, Darian Kinnard, Tyler Steen, and Jack Driscoll. However, the ideal replacement may still be someone the Eagles haven’t signed yet—a veteran or rookie addition. With Jeff Stoutland's coaching expertise, though, there’s confidence that the situation will be resolved.

2A. The Eagles saw 17 players aged 27 or older start at least one game last year, but only six of them remain: Lane Johnson, Dallas Goedert, Zack Baun, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, and Jordan Mailata. The others have either retired, signed elsewhere, or are still unsigned.

2B. Only five players remain on the roster who were here before Nick Sirianni took over: Lane Johnson (2013), Jake Elliott (2017), Dallas Goedert (2018), Jordan Mailata (2018), and Jalen Hurts (2020). Brett Toth, who has been on and off the roster since 2019, also falls into this category.

3. Tanner McKee has made NFL history as the only quarterback to complete at least 65% of his passes, throw two TDs, and not have any interceptions in each of his first two career games. Donovan McNabb, Randall Cunningham, Carson Wentz, and Jalen Hurts all had similar performances, but none did it as consistently in their first few games.
   
   

4. Jordan Mailata's performance last year was stellar. He played 530 pass-block snaps and allowed just two sacks, no quarterback hits, and earned a Pro Football Focus grade of 95.1—the highest among all positions. However, despite this, he didn’t make the Pro Bowl. In comparison, other NFC Pro Bowl tackles allowed significantly more sacks and hits with lower grades. Mailata’s performance was a major snub.
   
   

5. Among the free agents that Howie Roseman has signed on a budget, two stand out: Azeez Ojulari and A.J. Dillon. Both come with injury concerns, but they are former second-round picks with impressive production when healthy. Ojulari has averaged nearly half a sack per game across 46 career games, and Dillon, from 2021 to 2023, was one of only four running backs to hit 2,000 rushing yards, 80 catches, and 8.5 yards per reception. If they can stay healthy, both could provide valuable depth for the Eagles.
   
   

6. Brandon Graham, the last player remaining from Andy Reid’s era, got me thinking about who remains from previous coaching staffs. There are still four players from the Doug Pederson years: Jake Elliott, Jordan Mailata, Dallas Goedert, and Jalen Hurts.
   
   

7. Zack Baun had a breakout season with 184 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, and three interceptions. While his stats were impressive, he’s still relatively new at his position and in Vic Fangio’s system. Expect Baun to improve further in his second year in Fangio’s defense.
   
   

8. The Eagles' defense in the late 80s—featuring legends like Reggie White and Jerome Brown—was one of the most talented in NFL history. Yet, between 1988 and 1990, the Eagles ranked just 14th in total defense. How could such a talented defense underperform? Buddy Ryan’s coaching tenure has been a subject of debate, with many questioning his inability to maximize such incredible talent.
   
   

9A. The Eagles have only had one rushing touchdown over four yards in their five Super Bowl appearances—LeGarrette Blount’s 21-yard touchdown in Super Bowl LII. All other rushing touchdowns came from Jalen Hurts.

9B. Jalen Hurts joins an exclusive group of quarterbacks with multiple Super Bowl touchdown passes over 45 yards. He threw a 45-yard touchdown to A.J. Brown in Super Bowl LVII and a 46-yarder to DeVonta Smith in Super Bowl LVIII.

10A. Saquon Barkley accounts for 19% of the Eagles’ 60-yard rushing touchdowns in franchise history.

10B. Barkley’s two 60-yard rushing touchdowns in 2024 were as many as the Eagles had in 611 games from 1959 to 1998.