Birds Likely to be Livin’ on the Edge Again Next Season

Idon’t think it’s all that debatable that the most important position in sports is the quarterback, which perhaps in theory would render the second most important position in sports to be the backup quarterback is, right?  But for our purposes let’s keep this simple; if thee QB is the most important position in sports, the second most important position in sports is the position on the defensive side of the ball, that stops the quarterback.

That’s why philosophically it’s so important to the success of your football team to PROTECT  your quarterback from an offensive perspective and to AFFECT their quarterback from a defensive perspective.

If you need that statement validated just watch the tapes from from Super Bowls 57 and 59.  The Chiefs’ offensive line kept Patrick Mahomes upright and his jersey clean in Super Bowl 57  and in Super Bowl 59 Mahomes played almost the entire first half with his jersey over his head and looking out his ear hole and the results from both games reflect that.

Eagles Nation has the team’s pass rush to thank for that.

Here’s a list of team’s that failed to cross mid-field in their first nine drives of a game this year:

The Kansas City Chiefs – Super Bowl 59, February 9, 2025

The Eagles made their living on the edge in the post season this year, 16 sacks in four post-season games, many of them resulted in 13 take-aways which the the offense turned into 48 of the 55 total points that resulted from the turnover bonanza.

But as they say about a lot of high-end perennially successful teams, they don’t rebuild, they reload and the Birds are at that embryonic stage of that process already in terms of replacing two of the holes that are about to appear in their defensive line.  

It might be the deepest position in this year’s class.  This is also a great opportunity for pass-rush-needy teams across the league to harass Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry’s cell phone with offers for former Defensive Player of The Year, Myles Garrett because the Birds are most likely going to lose not one but two key cogs from last season’s dynamic Super Bowl run in edge rusher Josh Sweat and defensive tackle Milton Williams.

Sweat made a compelling case for Super Bowl MVP, as a catalyst for the sclerotic and relentless barrage of pressure the Birds’ defense put on Mahomes throughout the night. With the exception of the Chargers’ Khalil Mack, Sweat is the top available edge rusher, a position that teams are willing to spend more and more on each offseason because of its outsized impact both on a defense and the outcome of games. 

Expect Philadelphia to be aggressive in trying to keep him, especially after how little the Eagles got out of 2024 offseason pickup Bryce Huff, but, Sweat may ultimately fetch more than Roseman can reasonably justify. Last season, Sweat logged 54 quarterback pressures to go with his eight sacks. With so many teams brimming with money to spend, because of the salary cap infusion, and desperately needing disruptive game-wreckers off the edge,  Sweat may command one of the most lucrative contracts handed out this offseason. 

Williams could have won an Oscar for best film in an audition role as he sacked Mahomes twice, logged four total tackles, and strip-sacked the Chiefs’ quarterback in a pivotal moment to all but secure the Eagles’ second Super Bowl championship.  At age 25, the former third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft produced 31 total tackles with seven sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery last season. If Williams reaches free agency, a bidding war could ensue for his services among some of the teams with the most spending flexibility in the league. 

However, it is just a mediocre year to be shopping for a free-agent edge rusher. 

As free agency nears, the former Grand Poobah of game-wreckery, Khalil Mack, is likely the best available at the position, even at age 34, despite having posted just one double-digit sack season since 2019.

Still, given the value placed on pressuring the quarterback, as seen in the most recent Super Bowl, Mack could see a robust market come to fruition. 

“Philadelphia could easily replace Josh Sweat with him,” a veteran NFL scout told Matt Lombardo from Between The Hashmarks last Friday.  “He’s an ideal fit.” 

The connection between Mack and the Birds is an obvious one, and not just because Philadelphia enters the offseason with upwards of $19.5 million to continue fortifying its lines of scrimmage with, but also because Mack played some of his best football under Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. 

“Coach Vic, he was a mastermind,” Mack said, during an appearance on the Pardon My Take Podcast recently. “With him understanding the players he had, making sure before the week we were prepared for every guy, what we would do, we expected to dominate every team we played.”

From  2015 through 2018, Mack wrecked opposing quarterbacks while wracking up 49 sacks playing in Fangio’s defense for the Chicago Bears, so there’s obvious mutual interest for Philly to continue to reload along the front seven. 

Philadelphia, though, will not be the only suitor in the pursuit of Mack this off-season. 

The Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills are likely to make strong plays for Mack’s services according to Lombardo.

Adding Mack into a more pressure-oriented defense may elevate his game as well. After all, Pro Football Focus points out that Mack generated 49 total pressures last season for the Los Angeles Chargers while garnering an elite 90.4 overall grade as the outlet’s fifth-ranked edge defender. 

Mack might not be the game-changer he once was, but he’ll remain a high-impact player in the right scheme. 

Roseman’s motto is “Let’s Hunt!”  With a draft class fortified with young pass rushers and a free-agent market thin on game-changers, Mack’s stock could soar.  If he does touch down in Philly, it could just mean that other teams hunting down pass rushers, could just find themselves hunting the big dog from a serious distance, for some time to come.

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