PHILADELPHIA − It seems like the Eagles are on the every-other year pattern, meaning that this year could be a Super Bowl season.
They went to the Super Bowl in 2022, regressed in 2023. They went back to the Super Bowl in 2024, winning it. Then regressed again last season, leading to changes in the offensive coaching staff while revamping the wide receiver room with the trade of A.J. Brown.
This time, however, there are more question marks compared to the Eagles going into the 2024 season. After all, the offensive schemes are new under first-year coordinator Sean Mannion even though 10 of the 11 starters are the same.
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The defense, meanwhile, should be among the NFL’s best, especially once edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, the Eagles’ big offseason acquisition, returns from his pectoral muscle strain at some point in the first few weeks of the season.
How will it all play out? Here are 9 bold predictions, including the Eagles’ final record and whether they’ll reach the playoffs for the sixth straight season. And if so, how far they’ll go:
Jalyx Hunt will be Eagles’ most dominant defensive player
Defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, and Greenard at edge rusher, all got contract extensions with average annual values of at least $25 million per season. But Hunt, the third-year edge rusher, will be the Eagles’ most dominant player. Consider that last season, Hunt became the first player in Eagles’ history to lead the team in both sacks (6.5) and interceptions (3). He should double the sack total, but he probably won’t lead the team in INTs this season, through no fault of his own.
It’s remarkable how far Hunt has come since beginning his college career at Cornell as a safety, then transferring to Houston Christian, far from the power college football conferences, to now, in his third season with the Eagles.
“I would say from the first time we saw him … he’s definitely surpassed what we thought he would be,” Eagles edge rusher coach Jeremiah Washburn said. “But we thought highly of him through the whole thing.”
Saquon Barkley will run for 1,500 yards
The big question facing the Eagles is what can they expect from running back Saquon Barkley? In 2024, he ran for 2,005 yards. He had 1,140 yards last season.
The new blocking schemes will help. So will the health of the offensive line. But it’s not outlandish to say that Barkley at 1,500 yards could be just as effective as Barkley at 2,005 yards because the Eagles should get plenty of additional rushing yards from Jalen Hurts and RB2 Tank Bigsby.
Makai Lemon will surpass 500 yards receiving
Lemon has had a rocky start to the beginning of his Eagles career. He missed multiple weeks in both spring practices and training camp with a hamstring injury. And Lemon wasn’t very impressive in the only preseason game that he did play in, the finale against the Bengals on Aug. 28.
It will take him some time into the regular season for Lemon to get acclimated. But 500 yards receiving is a realistic goal for Lemon as a rookie, mostly operating from the slot.
DeVonta Smith will finish in NFL top 10 for receiving yards
It’s not that DeVonta Smith hasn’t had breakout seasons before. After all, he has surpassed 1,000 yards receiving in three of the last four seasons. But that was with A.J. Brown as WR1. Brown is gone, leaving Smith as the clear No. 1 receiver. And the Eagles are expecting Smith to have a similar jump in production as Seattle’s Jaxson Smith-Njigba after the Seahawks traded DK Metcalf to the Steelers in the spring of 2025.
Smith-Njigba went from 1,130 yards in 2024 with Metcalf, to leading the NFL in receiving yards with 1,793 in 2025. The Seahawks won the Super Bowl. Even if Smith gets to 1,400 or 1,500 yards, that should enable the Eagles to adequately make up for Brown’s absence.
Markel Bell will play more snaps than Eli Stowers
Throughout training camp, the Eagles’ most impressive rookie was third-round pick Markel Bell, the 6-foot-9, 346-pound offensive tackle. But Bell is blocked by anchors at right tackle in Lane Johnson and left tackle in Jordan Mailata. It is a long season, and injuries do happen. Mailata was on injured reserve and missed five games in 2024. Johnson missed the final eight games, including playoffs, last season.
At some point, Bell will get a chance. The problem is second-round pick Eli Stowers, a tight end, probably won’t get much of a chance to play. Stowers is relatively new to tight end and needs more reps than the Eagles can afford to give him.
Even if Dallas Goedert were to get injured, the Eagles would likely look outside the organization for help before trusting Stowers.
Jalen Hurts will throw for 3,500 yards, run for 600
Will Jalen Hurts ever quiet the doubters? Probably not. But a season more like 2024 as opposed to 2025 should make the Eagles much more effective. That includes throwing over the middle more (without the interceptions), and being a plus-one in the running game. The Eagles don’t need Hurts to throw for 5,000 yards. They do need him to stay healthy, limit turnovers, and help in the run game. Hurts is more than capable to do all of that.
Quinyon Mitchell will lead Eagles with 4 INTs
Quinyon Mitchell is already considered a lock-down cornerback. He was an All Pro last season, just his second in the NFL. But there’s one thing that Mitchell has never done − intercept a pass in the regular season. Mitchell does have 4 interceptions in the postseason. And he did pick off two passes in training camp. Mitchell has worked hard on the JUGS machine. That will pay off this season.
Zach Ertz will play for Eagles, break Harold Carmichael’s record
Eagles GM Howie Roseman danced around the question about whether he has talked to tight end Zach Ertz about a return. Ertz played for the Eagles from 2013 through the middle of the 2021 season. He’s 11 receptions shy of setting the Eagles’ franchise record for receptions, held by Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael.
Ertz tore his ACL last December while playing for the Commanders. But he is medically cleared to play, and a return to Philly, especially if there’s an injury to Goedert, makes sense. It might not happen until October or November. But Ertz, at 35 years old, is still a good receiving tight end.
Eagles will win NFC East, reach NFC Championship game
Unlike the AFC, where any number of teams could win the conference and reach the Super Bowl, the NFC has a pecking order. The Rams have the most talent on offense and a dominant defensive line after trading for Myles Garrett and getting Aaron Donald out of retirement. But the Eagles are in the conversation, along with the Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl champions.
If it comes down to an NFC Championship game between the Eagles and Rams, and both teams are relatively healthy − and that’s no guarantee, especially with a Rams roster that’s the second oldest in the NFL − the Rams have enough to win.
Still, expect the Eagles to go 12-5 this season and win the NFC East for the third straight season.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Sign up for the “Eye On The Eagles” newsletter, emailed to your inbox every Friday morning. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Eagles have new defense star, and 8 more bold predictions for 2026 season
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