Philadelphia Eagles 2026 preview: Philadelphia returns one of the NFL's most talented rosters

• Still among the NFC's elite: Philadelphia returns one of the NFL's most talented rosters despite a wild-card exit in 2025.

• Replacing A.J. Brown is the biggest challenge: Dontayvion Wicks, Makai Lemon and DeVonta Smith will shoulder a larger share of the passing game.

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The Philadelphia Eagles repeated as NFC East champions in 2025 but saw their season come to an abrupt end with a wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Even so, they remain one of the NFL's most talented rosters and will once again enter the season as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

Here is our 2026 preview of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Key Free Agency/Trade Additions

The trade for edge defender Jonathan Greenard made an already strong front seven even better. He has earned PFF pass-rush grades above 70.0 and generated at least 45 pressures in each of the past three seasons. Philadelphia also added Arnold Ebiketie to bolster its edge depth. He generated pressure on 13.6% of his pass-rushing snaps last season and has earned PFF pass-rush grades of at least 68.0 in three consecutive seasons.

Dontayvion Wicks is expected to take on a key role following the trade of A.J. Brown. He has been a productive receiver through his first three NFL seasons, averaging 1.60 yards per route run. Wicks has also added value as a run blocker, earning PFF run-blocking grades above 65.0 in two of the past three seasons. That ability should help him stay on the field for an Eagles offense that ranked 11th in the NFL with 478 rushing attempts last season.

2026 NFL Draft Class

Makai Lemon should make an immediate impact in Philadelphia after a stellar final college season. He earned a 91.4 PFF receiving grade while averaging 3.13 yards per route run in 2025 and finished his college career with a 3.01-yard average. Lemon also dropped just 3.0% of his catchable targets and was one of the most dangerous receivers in the country after the catch, forcing 21 missed tackles on 79 receptions last season.

The Eagles used a fifth-round pick on North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton, giving him an ideal landing spot to develop behind Jalen Hurts. Payton earned a 94.6 PFF passing grade, posted an 11.3% big-time throw rate and rushed for 894 yards in his final college season. He should be one of the more intriguing quarterbacks to watch during the 2026 preseason.

Reasons for optimism

The Eagles boast arguably the best offensive tackle tandem in the NFL. Left tackle Jordan Mailata has earned PFF grades above 80.0 in five straight seasons. While he is at his best as a run blocker, he remains an excellent pass protector, allowing just 28 pressures on 601 pass-blocking snaps in 2025.

Lane Johnson missed time last season, but he continued to perform at an elite level at 35 years old. He earned a PFF pass-blocking grade above 80.0 for the sixth straight season, with 2019 marking the last time he fell below that threshold. Johnson allowed just seven pressures on 262 pass-blocking snaps in 2025.

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Reason for pessimism

Trading A.J. Brown made long-term sense for the Eagles, netting them a first-round pick in the 2028 NFL Draft, but there's no replacing a player of his caliber in the short term. Even in what was widely viewed as a down season, Brown still topped 1,000 receiving yards in 2025. His departure should lead to a larger target share for DeVonta Smith, but it also places greater expectations on newcomers Dontayvion Wicks and Makai Lemon.

Breakout Candidate

With former first-round picks Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter also on the defensive line, it's easy for a former seventh-round pick like Moro Ojomo to fly under the radar. The former Texas standout has quietly developed into one of the Eagles' most reliable interior pass-rushers, earning PFF pass-rush grades above 70.0 while generating 93 pressures over the past two seasons.

As he enters a contract year, don't be surprised if Ojomo starts to draw much more attention if he maintains that level of production.

Key roster battles

The battle to back up Jalen Hurts is one of the more intriguing position competitions in Philadelphia. Tanner McKee, a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, started the Eagles' regular-season finale last year but completed just 52.5% of his passes and earned a 52.9 PFF grade. The Eagles also traded for veteran Andy Dalton, but at 38 years old, he is coming off the lowest-graded season of his career and earned just a 43.1 PFF grade in his lone start of 2025. It is probably too early for rookie Cole Payton, given the jump in competition, but a strong preseason could quickly put him in the conversation.