Best- and worst-case scenarios for Eagles' additions in free agency

The Eagles had a much quieter first wave of free agency this year.

In fact, the biggest headlines were that they lost players like Milton Williams, Josh Sweat and Mekhi Becton. They also traded away C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Their biggest move was actually re-signing linebacker Zack Baun before free agency even began

Because of their cap situation and because of how many big-time contracts they already have on the team (and a few more coming in future years) the Eagles really went to the bargain bin in free agency this year.

Here’s a look at all of their acquisitions, analyzing the realistic best-case and worst-case scenarios for each of them:

OLB Azeez Ojulari

The former second-round pick signed a one-year deal with the Eagles (reportedly worth $4 million) after he played the first four seasons of his NFL career with the New York Giants. He has been productive with 22 sacks in 46 games but missed significant time the last three years with various injuries.

Best case: Ojulari, who won’t turn 25 until June, has a productive season and really bolsters the Eagles’ edge rusher group. He fortifies a unit led by Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt and becomes a starter and three-down player. Ojulari is able to stay healthy for the first time in years and finally plays a full season for the first time in 2021, when he had a career-high 8 sacks as a rookie. It’s unfair to think his best-case scenario will be a Pro Bowl-type season but staying healthy and producing would be a huge win.

Worst case: After playing just 29 games in the three seasons before joining the Eagles, that trend continues. Ojulari isn’t able to stay on the field long enough to have the type of impact the Eagles are hoping he has and because of that their depth at edge rusher is tested even more. It becomes a weakness on a defense that takes a significant step back after being the best defense in the NFL in 2024.

RB A.J. Dillon

The former second-round pick signed a one-year contract to join the Eagles after missing the entire 2024 season with a neck injury.

Best case: Dillon is productive as the No. 2 back behind Saquon Barkley and even takes some of the load off the defending Offensive Player of the Year. Dillon at age 27 doesn’t show any of the effects of missing last year and is actually fresh without the year of wear and tear. He finds a role as a backup, rotational piece and perhaps even two-minute or goal line back in the Eagles’ offense. And if Barkley misses time, Dillon is able to fill in adequately.

Worst Case: The neck injury isn’t better. Despite getting cleared by multiple doctors to return to action, anytime there’s a neck injury, it’s a concern. The Eagles were relying on Dillon to be a part of the offense but his body won’t let that happen.

CB Adoree’ Jackson

The Eagles signed Jackson to a one-year deal a few years after he was a real option to join the team in the 2021 offseason coming off his years in Tennessee.

Best case: Jackson plays better in Vic Fangio’s defense than he did when called upon by the Giants in 2024. He gives the Eagles at least solid-level starter play at the position or pushes Kelee Ringo in a competition to get the former fourth-round pick on the field as a long-term starter. Then Jackson provides solid depth and a veteran voice in the cornerback room.

Worst case: At 29 years old, Jackson just doesn’t have the ability to play at a high level anymore and isn’t able to help the Eagles on the field. Not only can he not help but he doesn’t push Ringo, who also struggles, leaving the Eagles with a weakness at cornerback and the difficult decision as to whether or not they need to move Cooper DeJean out of his nickel corner spot to the outside, at least on base downs.

OT Kendall Lamm

The 32-year-old is signing a one-year deal with the Eagles after back surgery ended his 2024 early. This will be his 11th NFL season.

Best case: Lamm is actually an upgrade over Fred Johnson as the Eagles’ swing tackle. While Johnson performed well in his five starts last season, Lamm is a 10-year veteran with a lot more NFL experience. Lamm's back holds up and he plays well whenever Jordan Mailata or Lane Johnson have to leave or miss a game.

Worst case: Lamm is either a downgrade over Fred Johnson in that swing tackle role because of diminishing play or because there are lingering issues with the painful back injury he dealt with during 2024. Lamm plays poorly when a starter misses time, which forces an inexperienced player on the field too early.

OLB Josh Uche

The second-round pick from the 2020 draft signed a one-year deal with the Eagles. Uche, 26, played the first 4 1/2 years of his career with the Patriots before getting traded to the Chiefs in 2024 before the deadline.

Best case: Like Ojulari, Uche helps bolster that edge rusher group with Smith and Hunt leading the way. He provides the type of depth the Eagles need, especially if Bryce Huff either gets traded or if he continues to struggle to find his footing in Vic Fangio’s defense. It’s unfair to think that Uche will be a starter or that he’ll duplicate his 11.5-sack season in 2022 but his ceiling could be as a veteran depth piece who picks up a few sacks and provides good snaps off the bench.

Worst case: The Chiefs were on to something when they didn’t play him almost at all in the second-half of the 2024 season. He follows in the footsteps of Julian Okwara and Terrell Lewis as veteran edge rushers who fail to make the team and in a year you forget that he was even here.

PR/KR Avery Williams

The return specialist signed a one-year deal with the Eagles after playing out his rookie contract with the Falcons.

Best case: Williams handles both punt and kick return duties for the Eagles and provides some juice at the position. He gives the Eagles a sense of security in their return man but also gives them some big returns to set up the offense with great field position. He also gets some snaps gadget guy on offense.

Worst case: Williams is a downgrade from Britain Covey and Cooper DeJean and the Eagles feel like they need to go back to DeJean as a punt returner. That’s a role DeJean had for most of his rookie season but one veteran defensive coordinator Vic Fangio would like him to avoid going forward.

TE Harrison Bryant

The 2020 fourth-round pick played out his rookie contract with the Browns and signed a one-year deal with the Raiders in 2024. He played in 13 games with 9 catches for 86 yards last season.

Best case: The best-case scenario with both of the Eagles’ free agent tight ends would be that Dallas Goedert remains as the starter after both sides figure out some sort of compromise. Because the Eagles are still better in 2024 with Goedert. Because of the uncertainty there, it’s tough to really get too deep into these tight ends. But Bryant is a versatile player and the Eagles find a way to utilize that versatility, lining up him up several different spots. We find out the reason he didn’t produce last year in Las Vegas was just because he was buried behind two good tight ends in Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer.

Worst case: Goedert is gone and the Eagles need to rely on some combination of Grant Calcaterra and Bryant to replace him and it doesn’t work. The Eagles miss that true TE1 on their roster.

TE Kyle Granson

After playing out his rookie contract with the Colts, Granson signed a one-year deal with the Eagles. His most productive season came in 2023 with 30/368/1.

Best case: Like we mentioned above, the tight end situation is hard to figure out without knowing if Goedert will be here. But Granson makes the team and provides some depth behind the top guy or guys on the roster and also becomes a key special teams player, a role he had with the Colts in 2024.

Worst case: Again, Goedert leaves and the Eagles fail to replace him adequately. Granson ends up in a role that’s too big for him and struggles.

OLB Patrick Johnson

The Eagles brought back their former seventh-round pick on a one-year deal after he spent most of the 2024 season with the Giants. The Eagles cut Johnson in September and he was claimed by the Giants. In his first three years with the Eagles, Johnson was a major special teams contributor.

Best case: Johnson makes the team after a strong summer where he again shows some pass rush prowess. He provides depth on the edge but he really settles back into his role as a core special teamer for Michael Clay and helps steady those special teams units that had some ups and downs in 2024 after Johnson left.

Worst case: The Eagles can’t find a spot for Johnson on their 53-man roster and fail to sneak him through to their practice squad again. Johnson ends up helping some other team as a special teamer in 2024 when the Eagles could have used him.

LS Charley Hughlett

The Eagles made a change at long snapper this offseason, signing the 34-year-old who has spent the last decade with the Cleveland Browns. He replaces Rick Lovato, who is a free agent.

Best case: After a bunch of seasons with Lovato, the Eagles find a modest upgrade at the position and a piece that helps settle the field goal unit. He works great with Jake Elliott and Braden Mann and Elliott kicks better in the regular season.

Worst case: Oops. The Eagles made a mistake by letting their two-time Super Bowl champion long snapper go. Either Hughlett ends up being a downgrade or fails to stay healthy and the Eagles look silly for making this change.

OG Kenyon Green

There was a pick-swap too, but Green was the major return in the Gardner-Johnson trade with the Texans. The former first-round pick started 23 games in his career in Houston but did not play very well.

Best case: Jett Stoutland works his magic and helps the former No. 15 overall pick finally live up to his potential. Green not only pushes Tyler Steen but ends up winning the starting right guard job and plays at a similar level to what the Eagles got from Mekhi Becton in 2024 but for a fraction of the cost of what Becton is now making with the Chargers.

Worst case: Stoutland isn’t a miracle worker and Green continues to be a first-round disappointment. He struggles to move from the left side of the line to the right and follows in the footsteps of Chance Warmack and not Becton on the long list of Stoutland projects. Green doesn’t even push Steen for the starting job and Steen struggles. Meanwhile, Gardner-Johnson has a tremendous year with the Texans to add salt to the wound.

QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson

The Eagles got Thompson-Robinson back in their trade with the Browns that sent Kenny Pickett to Cleveland. Thompson-Robinson was a fifth-round pick out of UCLA in 2023.

Best case: Thompson-Robinson proves that his struggles in Cleveland were more about being thrown into the fire in a bad situation rather than his talent. He impresses during training camp and provides the Eagles with a competent No. 3 quarterback behind Jalen Hurts and Tanner McKee and shows that he has a future in the NFL. The QB Factory rolls on.

Worst case: It’s a bad training camp for Thompson-Robinson and he doesn’t begin to develop the way the Eagles hope. He probably still sticks around on the roster but the Eagles don’t feel nearly as good about their depth in 2025 as they did with Pickett and McKee in 2024. DTR ends up seeing time in the regular season and it doesn’t go well either. His 1-10 TD-to-INT ratio was no fluke in Cleveland and he’s not an NFL player.