The Eagles draft for need and talent, and they’ll need all hands on deck to replace the legendary Fletcher Cox at defensive tackle.
Philadelphia has a loaded roster, but any questions about depth come when you start to discuss the rotation at defensive tackle and linebacker. ESPN recently looked at the biggest remaining roster hole for all 32 NFL teams, and defensive tackle made the list for the Eagles.
For a long time, the strength of the Eagles’ 4-3 defense was the ability to constantly rotate defensive linemen to keep the defense fresh. Now Philadelphia will play a 3-4 defense, and the depth suggests there will be a lot less rotation. Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter and Milton Williams are a good set of starters, and it’s certainly possible the Eagles will play a lot of 2-4-5 nickel and need only two of those players at a time. Behind them are some question marks. Marlon Tuipulotu has proved himself to be a useful player in three NFL seasons. He had two sacks and 22 combined tackles last season. However, Moro Ojomo had just three tackles as a seventh-round rookie, and PJ Mustipher had just four tackles playing for the Saints.
Ojomo could benefit the most from Fletcher Cox’s departure, while veterans like Calais Campbell could be on the shortlist of late-summer additions.
