Three New Eagles That Need to Make an Impact in 2024
The Eagles may have made some drastic changes throughout the roster, but there’s still some uncertainty about the depth chart.
With the new coaching changes and acquisitions made in the offseason (and yet to come), plenty of players will have the opportunity to make an impact on the roster.
Below are a few standouts to look forward to in the regular season.
Bryce Huff
The biggest change to the Eagles’ defensive line will be the swap of Haason Reddick for Bryce Huff.
In his 4 seasons with the Jets, Huff put up 17.5 sacks (with 10 coming in his last season), as well as 21 QB hits and 10 TFL in the 2023 season. During that season, Huff only played 480 defensive snaps (42.22%). When you look at the workload that Haason Reddick had on the Eagles last year, with 862 defensive snaps (74.18%). Reddick posted 11 sacks, 23 QB hits, and 13 TFLs.
Huff will have big shoes to fill in his opening season with the Eagles. But with a defense, the Eagles have gone all out on, hoping to turn things around from the #26 rank they had last season and 31st in passing defense.
Will Shipley
With the 127th pick in this year’s NFL Draft, the Eagles selected running back Will Shipley. Shipley had 827 yards and 5 rushing touchdowns in his final season at Clemson. Could the Eagles need to reduce Saquon Barkley’s workload? Shipley should be the best available backup. Fans and opponents saw the Eagles overuse Kenneth Gainwell last season, with only 364 rushing yards. Unless his offensive woes(4.3 YPC) were also due to Brian Johnson’s uncreative offense, he should be on a very short leash as the Eagles’ longest-tenured back.
There won’t be much to expect from Shipley in his rookie season if all goes well. But in the event of injury, the Eagles’ RB depth will need to come into play.
And if Kellen Moore’s new offense can bring out the best in all 3 backs, perhaps they’ll be able to make their way into more top-10 rankings.
C.J. Uzomah
Something I spent most of last season hoping the Eagles would address was adding another tight end to the roster.
When they signed CJ Uzomah, Kellen Moore became the new offensive coordinator. The offense was going to get some new looks. Uzomah might not have had much to show for his 2 seasons with the Jets, but joining a backup role behind Dallas Goedert might be the perfect setup for his next season.
Throughout Moore’s OC seasons, his team’s 1&2TEs had the following stats:
2019 (Dallas Cowboys)
- Jason Witten – 63Rec, 529Yards, 4TD
- Blake Jarwin – 31Rec, 365Yards, 3TD
2020 (Dallas Cowboys)
- Dalton Schultz – 63Rec, 615Yards, 4TD
- Blake Bell – 11Rec, 110Yards, 0TD
2021 (Dallas Cowboys)
- Dalton Schultz – 78Rec, 808Yards, 8TD
- Blake Jarwin – 11Rec, 96Yards, 2TD
2022 (Dallas Cowboys)
- Dalton Schultz – 57Rec, 577Yards, 5TD
- Jake Ferguson – 19Rec, 174Yards, 2TD
- Peyton Hendershot – 11Rec, 103Yards, 2TD
2023 (Los Angeles Chargers)
- Gerald Everett – 51Rec, 411Yards, 3TD
- Donald Parham – 27Rec, 285Yards, 4TD
- Stone Smartt – 11Rec, 155 Yards, 1TD
With productive seasons from multiple TEs across multiple seasons, including a second team, it should mean good things for the Eagles’ upcoming offense.
If Dallas Goedert stays healthy for all 17 games of the season, the Eagles might be able to expect a 1,000-yard season from him, let alone how many yards they’re able to get from their TE2, arguably C.J. Uzomah, until listed otherwise.
There’s more than just the 3 players who need to make their impact known.
But from the draft and free agency, these are the roles that could help define this Eagles season as a success, from positions they could have been lacking in the last few years.
We only have to wait 19 more days until Training Camp starts.
After that, the pre-season will be right around the corner.
PHOTO: ClutchPoints
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