Philadelphia Eagles continue to fortify their defensive line

DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 09: Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz of the Philadelphia Eagles and formally head coach of the Detroit Lions watches his defense at Ford Field on October 9, 2016 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 09: Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz of the Philadelphia Eagles and formally head coach of the Detroit Lions watches his defense at Ford Field on October 9, 2016 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

The Philadelphia Eagles failed to defend their Super Bowl LII title a year ago. And the team has put an onus this offseason on bolstering a very key area.

Earlier this week, general manager Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles added an efficient piece to a defensive unit that fell off a bit this past season from the unit that helped pave the way for a Super Bowl title in 2017. The Birds signed linebacker Zach Brown, cut loose by the Washington Redskins in mid-March, to a one-year, $3 million contract.

But over the last few months, the organization has spent quite of time shoring up a defensive line that saw its share of changes the previous offseason. And now thanks to some work by Roseman, the Eagles’ front appears to be formidable and deep once again.

A year ago, defensive end Vinny Curry was a salary-cap casualty and wound up signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Interior presence Beau Allen also left for Tampa via unrestricted free agency. When it was all said and done, defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan played in only three regular-season games and two postseason contests.

The Birds did trade for end Michael Bennett, who finished second on the team with nine sacks, and added veteran defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. The former was dealt to New England this offseason and Ngata announced his retirement after 13 NFL seasons.

So Roseman went out and grabbed defensive tackle Malik Jackson, cut loose by the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason. The Eagles also brought back Curry and on the third day of the draft last month, sent a seventh-round pick in 2020 for Hassan Ridgeway.

Philadelphia used a fourth-round pick this year for Penn State defensive end Shareef Miller. They all join a group that includes Cox, ends Brandon Graham, Chris Long and Derek Barnett and a number of younger players.

Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had plenty of depth on the defensive line in 2017 when the Eagles captured Super Bowl LII. It was one of the factors in the fourth quarter of that game, when Graham sacked Tom Brady and Barnett recovered his fumble. Once again, the team looks formidable in this department and that could add up to some big things in 2019.