Will the Philadelphia Eagles stress defense in the 2023 NFL draft?

The reigning NFC champions lost their share of talent this offseason, namely on defense. The Philadelphia Eagles need to plug some holes in late April.

Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is one of the best in the business at his job. The reigning NFC champions had 16 veterans hit the unrestricted free-agent market back in mid-March. It would be interesting to know if he expected to lose so many productive players all in one offseason.

Linebackers T.J. Edwards (159) and Kyzir White (110) and are now members of the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals, respectively. Safety Marcus Epps (92) signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, while Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (67) joined the Detroit Lions. Finally, 2021 Pro Bowl defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (60) inked a lucrative deal with the San Francisco 49ers.

As for the enclosed numbers, those are the number of total stops those players totaled during the regular season. In fact, these were the Eagles’ top five tacklers in ‘22. Also, Gardner-Johnson tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions and Hargrave had 11 of Philadelphia’s league-leading 70 sacks.

While these are significant losses, it’s worth recalling that while Nick Sirianni’s team allowed the second-fewest total yards per game in the league and the fewest passing yards per contest in the NFL this past season, the Eagles were mediocre (tied for 18th) when it came to stopping the run. Those shortcomings really came back to haunt them in the second half of the club’s 38-35 Super Bowl LVII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Sean Desai is the Birds’ new defensive coordinator, replacing new Cardinals’ head coach Jonathan Gannon. The veteran newcomers include safety Justin Evans and defensive tackle Kentavius Street, a pair of former Saints. There’s also linebacker Nicholas Morrow (Bears), cornerback Greedy Williams (Browns), and safety Terrell Edmunds (Steelers).

Getting back to the Super Bowl for a second straight year is not easy. It becomes even harder when one of your biggest deficiencies involve the defense. The Eagles need to be much better when it comes to stopping the run, especially in a league that saw a revival of the ground game in 2022.

As mentioned, Roseman has added some experienced performers in free agency. Will he address these issues early in the draft with one of both of the team’s first-round picks? Or does the resourceful executive have something else in mind?