Here’s the biggest problem with the NFL - only one team gets to win the Super Bowl. That makes it hard to stomach the situation the Eagles are in at times. It’s tough to look at your team and say “Hey, we could have won it all this year. We just didn’t.” It’s tough to retool and just try to run it back. But the reality here is that the Eagles have a lot of the major pieces they need to win. 

And, despite another sad ending, they should be right back in the mix in 2024. So, let’s take a moment to look at the contracts and depth chart for the Eagles weapons from both an NFL standpoint and a fantasy football perspective. 

*The salary cap numbers referenced in this article come courtesy of our friends over at Spotrac.com*

Fantasy Relevant Depth Chart

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts

Marcus Mariota

Tanner McKee

Running Back

D'Andre Swift

Kenneth Gainwell

Boston Scott

Wide Receiver

AJ Brown

Britain Covey

 

Wide Receiver

DeVonta Smith

Olamide Zaccheaus

 

Wide Receiver

Quez Watkins

Julio Jones

 

Tight End

Dallas Goedert

Jack Stoll

Grant Calcatera


 

White = unrestricted free agent

Green = role is safe

Yellow = role could be in jeopardy

Red = could be traded or released

PROJECTED 2024 SALARIES: ~$224M

ESTIMATED 2024 CAP SPACE: ~$21M

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: The Eagles have their franchise QB, and he’s locked in through 2028. No debate there.

Marcus Mariota: The 2023 season proved that you need to have a viable backup QB if you are going to compete - especially if your starter is a mobile QB. It would be wise to bring Mariota back if it’s affordable, otherwise they should probably look to another veteran.

Tanner McKee: McKee is on a cheap deal so they can keep him as their 3rd QB that runs the scout team. But would they trust Tanner McKee to win a couple games in a pinch if need be? The Eagles saw just how crucial every game is this season as they let the division slip away down the stretch.

EAGLES QB FREE AGENCY TAKE: If my thoughts weren’t clear already, the Eagles need to have a viable QB that can step in and run this offense at a high enough level to keep the ship afloat if need be. I think Marcus Mariota is that guy. Here are some other options.

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Jacoby Brissett, Tyrod Taylor, Drew Lock, Gardner Minshew, Tyler Huntley, Joshua Dobbs

Running Back

D’Andre Swift: Swift is an unrestricted free agent, so the Eagles have a decision to make here. On one hand, Swift has his most productive season yet rushing by the Eagles offensive line with the 5th most yards of any RB. On the other, Miles Sanders was productive with Philly, and we all saw how that looked in Carolina. 

If Swift wants to get paid here, the Eagles might be better off paying a high-end option or drafting an RB. If he is the starting running back for the Eagles again in 2024, there’s no reason he can’t be a productive player once again.

Kenneth Gainwell: Gainwell had an interesting seasons with some minor mistakes both on and off the field. But, in the grand scheme of things, a couple fumbles and arguing with fans on social media isn’t the end of the world. And he’s the only RB under contract (though he could be released with over a million in savings and less than $100K in dead cap). 

I think he remains with the team in 2024 as he’s a solid pass blocker with decent hands. He’s not likely to ever be the full-time back but, if they go with a cheap committee, he could have some fantasy relevance. 

Boston Scott: There are two reasons to keep Boston Scott. One is familiarity. Two is the return game. I guess you could make it three if you consider how well he plays against the Giants. They aren’t likely to just ride with a backfield of Scott and Gainwell, but I could absolutely see them bringing Scott back on an affordable deal considering Gainwell is the only one under contract now.

Rashaad Penny: The idea wasn’t bad considering Penny has shown explosive ability at times. But this one just never really panned out as he was not really able to compete to be active on gamedays. Perhaps he never fully recovered from the injury last year, but I can’t really imagine they bring him back. 

EAGLES RB FREE AGENCY TAKE: Recently the Eagles have opted to go cheap at running back. Having a QB who is incredible at QB sneaks makes the easier. The Eagles COULD surprise everyone and go all in with a top free agent back at time when they are both available and affordable. 

It’s fun to imagine Saquon Barkley or Josh Jacobs behind this line but the Eagles do have needs elsewhere like linebacker so they might just cobble it together with a high-risk option (say a JK Dobbins) and then some fallback plans. I’ll list the options out there from “most fun” to “most reasonable”.

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, JK Dobbins, Zack Moss, Gus Edwards, AJ Dillon, D’Andre Swift, Boston Scott

Wide Receiver

AJ Brown: There were some rumors floating around about issues in the locker room and a possible trade. While the reports of some moral issues might be true, it seems the trade reports have widely been shot down. So, AJ Brown will remain an Eagle. In fantasy football, it wouldn’t necessarily matter even if he were traded because he’ll remain a stud regardless.

DeVonta Smith: The former Heisman Trophy winner is also a stud and he’s not going anywhere - not this year or next year as they can pick up his fifth-year option if they don’t work out an extension before then. So, he’s locked in too.

Quez Watkins: This is where it gets interesting. Quez Watkins has been their slot man for a couple years now. And the idea was that you had AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert so you didn’t need to spend up much here. But now Watkins is an unrestricted free agent. So you have to ask yourself whether it's worth it to pay the familiar face Watkins or try to upgrade this role. I say go for the upgrade. 

Olamide Zaccheaus: Zaccheaus is a professional wide receiver, no doubt. He’s proven over five years that he can go out there and do his assignment, whether that’s blocking, running routes, playing a little special teams. But he’s not the answer as a starter. He could be back for depth if it’s the right price. 

Brittain Covey: Like most guys that get elevated from the practice squad, he’s technically under contract but there are zero guarantees tied to it. So he’ll need to earn his roster spot form scratch if he wants to make the team. 

EAGLES WR FREE AGENCY TAKE: The fact of the matter here is that they have pass-catching weapons. They aren’t going to go to free agency and grab someone that’s going to overtake AJ Brown or DeVonta Smith (or even Dallas Goedert). There’s only one football. They can either upgrade the slot position or save some money, however. And they’ll need to fill in the depth chart as they have a lot of free agents here. 

The most exciting role is the slot one if Quez Watkins isn’t back and the draft might be the best way to attack it but here are the guys that would best fit the bill without breaking the bank..

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Curtis Samuel, Tyler Boyd, Kendrick Bourne, Van Jefferson, Quez Watkins, Cedrick Wilson, Laviska Shenault

Tight End

Dallas Goedert: Dallas Goedert is under contract for this year and next so he’s pretty locked in. For fantasy football Goedert is an interesting one. He’s pretty dug in as the third target on the team which offers a nice floor when he’s healthy, but it caps his ceiling unless one of AJ Brown or DeVonta Smith get hurt. Saying “when healthy” is important because Goedert has missed time in five straight games. 

The quiet issue for Goedert is his lack of endzone targets - in the regular season, he only has 11 endzone targets over the last four years. And the most he had in a season was four in 2019 when Carson Wentz was QB for most of the year. The Tush Push does not do Goedert any favors. So, this is a player I’m probably selling on.

Jack Stoll: Jack Stoll actually plays quite a bit as their second blocking tight end, something they needed ever since they moved on from Ertz and slid Goedert out of that role. He’s a restricted free agent and my initial thought was that they wouldn’t tender him at the ~$2.8-million-dollar price but, when I look at the contracts for guys like Ian Thomas, Mo Allie-Cox, Chris Manhertz, Ryan Griffin etc., that actually doesn’t sound like a bad deal. Might make sense to do a couple years at closer to $2 mil a year if Stoll is on board.

Grant Calcaterra: Calcaterra is on his rookie deal, and I fully expect him to be back for one key reason - he plays on FIVE different special teams units. Versatile guys like that are good to have around, especially since he can contribute at his actual position of tight end as well. 

Albert Okwuegbunam: It was worth giving him a look, but he really didn’t make it onto the field all that much. Maybe they keep him since he can play a little bit of fullback too, but they don’t necessarily need him either.    

EAGLES TE FREE AGENCY TAKE: The Eagles are honestly pretty set here, even if they let Albert O walk. I don’t foresee them making any sort of impactful move in free agency given Dallas Goedert is easily better than any tight end available. At some point they’ll likely draft a tight end of the future but that really doesn’t have to be this year either. 

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