As training camp nears, we already took a look at 15 intriguing Eagles offensive players to watch.
Today, we’ll take a look at the defense.
This list isn’t about the stars. We’re obviously going to watch Jalen Carter, Quinyon Mitchell and Zack Baun. But here are 15 more under-the-radar players to follow this summer:
DT Jordan Davis: The Eagles already picked up Davis’s fifth-year option for the 2026 season and this will be a big year for the former first-round pick. We heard that his conditioning level started to really improve during last season and continued this spring. We’ll see if he can play a larger percentage of snaps in the 2025 season — he’ll need to.
DT Moro Ojomo: After Milton Williams left to join the Patriots in free agency, Ojomo is poised to take a big jump in Year 3 of his career. In Year 2, the former seventh-round pick from Texas gave the Eagles some solid snaps and got his first-career sack in the fourth quarter of the divisional round game against the Rams.
DT Ty Robinson: The fourth-round pick from Nebraska has a chance to join the Eagles’ defensive rotation as a rookie. A massive defensive tackle, Robinson is listed at 6-foot-5, 288 pounds. He had a productive final season at Nebraska and is an older rookie. He looked good in the spring and batted down the final pass of mandatory minicamp.
OLB Jalyx Hunt: The 2024 third-round pick from Houston Christian went from being a healthy scratch in the opener to a major contributor in Super Bowl LIX. And now he projects as a starting outside linebacker opposite Nolan Smith as he enters his second NFL season. Even though he was still raw last training camp, Hunt turned some heads. I’d expect more of that in his second training camp but with a better understanding of how to win. I also expect him to provide juice in practice.
OLB Azeez Ojulari: The Eagles were quiet in free agency this offseason but Ojulari was their biggest acquisition on a one-year, $4 million deal. Ojulari, 25, was a second-round pick in 2021 and has been productive in his career with 22 sacks in 46 career games. But since his rookie season, Ojulari (6-3, 240) has struggled to stay healthy. In the last three seasons, he has played in 29 of 51 possible regular season games.
OLB Josh Uche: Another veteran free agent pickup on a one-year deal, Uche (6-1, 240) spent the first 4 1/2 years of his career in New England before getting traded to the Chiefs during last season. Things didn’t work out in Kansas City and he was a healthy scratch in the Super Bowl. Uche’s best season came in 2022 when he had 11 1/2 sacks in 15 games but he has just 9 sacks combined in his other four seasons.
OLB Antwaun Powell-Ryland: The rookie sixth-round pick from Virginia Tech had 25 1/2 sacks over his final two college seasons, but sometimes college production doesn’t always translate. He’ll be someone to watch in those OL vs. DL 1-on-1 drills.
LB Jihaad Campbell: The Eagles moved up one spot and drafted Campbell out of Alabama with the No. 31 overall pick in April. Campbell is coming off a shoulder surgery in March and finally returned to linebacker drills on the final day of spring practices. Vic Fangio said Campbell is with the linebackers now because there’s more to learn at that position but it’s also possible that Campbell might be a starter next to Zack Baun this season, at least until Nakobe Dean returns. The Eagles are really excited about Campbell and it should be fun to watch him this summer. Fangio said he expects Campbell back in August. It’ll be worth monitoring Campbell to see if he gets some time with the outside linebackers too.
LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr.: With Campbell and Dean both sidelined during the spring, Trotter got all the first-team reps at inside ‘backer next to Baun. Those are valuable reps for the 2024 fifth-round pick, who is a fallback option to start next to Baun. Trotter mostly played special teams as a rookie but he seems to have earned the trust of Fangio.
LB Smael Mondon Jr.: The Eagles took the Georgia linebacker in the fifth round. Mondon was a multi-year starter for the Bulldogs so he has a ton of experience at a really high level. Mondon (6-2, 224) should be a huge special teams contributor from the jump. He’s looking forward to earning his roster spot on teams.
CB Kelee Ringo: The 2023 fourth-round pick from Georgia is the favorite to take over the outside cornerback job opposite Quinyon Mitchell. Ringo (6-2, 207) has a unique blend of size and speed. He has all the physical tools to give him an extremely high ceiling but he’s still refining his game. Ringo actually played more as a rookie than he did in his second year. But now the Eagles might need Ringo to step into a much bigger role.
CB Adoree’ Jackson: The player tasked with pushing Ringo for that outside job is the nine-year veteran, who comes to Philly after four years in New York. Jackson is 29 now and is probably past his prime but GM Howie Roseman said this offseason that he thinks Jackson hasn’t yet played his best football.
CB Mac McWilliams: The fifth-round pick from UCF won’t be competing for a starting spot but should provide the Eagles some quality depth at both outside cornerback and at the nickel position. He should also be a special teams contributor.
S Sydney Brown: The most exciting position battle of the summer should be for the starting safety spot next to Reed Blankenship. Brown was the first guy up at that position during the spring but he’s being pushed hard by the rookie Andrew Mukuba. Brown is entering Year 3 and was behind a bit last season because of an ACL tear that ended his rookie season early. Brown (5-10, 211) has a fun and intense play style that should be fun to watch at camp.
S Andrew Mukuba: The Eagles used the No. 64 overall pick to select Mukuba out of Texas. While he’s a tad undersized at 5-foot-11 and 186 pounds, the Eagles don’t seem too concerned about that size. During his college career, Mukuba showed good speed, instincts and coverage ability. And in his one season at UT, he showed off his ball skills with five interceptions and 11 pass breakups.
