Taking stock of the Eagles’ internal options following the Brandon Graham injury

Brandon Graham’s season-ending (career-ending?) triceps injury raises questions about how the Philadelphia Eagles will move forward at the edge defender position. Graham ranks second among Philly pass rushers this season in snaps played (28.3 per game).

We previously looked at some external free agent options that the team might consider. Now let’s take stock of the internal options.

EDGE RUSHERS ON THE ROSTER

JOSH SWEAT

Sweat also got banged up against the Los Angeles Rams. It’s unclear if his injury will prevent him from playing.

Sweat leads all Eagles edge rushers in snaps played and total sacks this season. He’s averaging 39 snaps per game and he’s pretty consistently played around that number; his season low is 35 and his season high is 45.

The read here is the Eagles don’t want to burn out Sweat like they did last year. But they might need to rely on him a bit more now.

NOLAN SMITH

The 2023 first-round pick has been making progress recently with 3.5 sacks and six quarterback hits in his last seven games. Smith’s inconsistent as a pass rusher but he can provide some splash plays in addition to setting the edge as a run defender.

The Eagles should increase Smith’s workload a bit with the hope he can continue to improve.

JALYX HUNT

Hunt saw 25 defensive snaps in Week 10, which was one game after Bryce Huff suffered his wrist injury. But then Hunt didn’t play a single defensive snap in Week 11. Maybe the coaches didn’t love what they saw? Huff’s injury forced the Eagles to rely on Hunt again in Week 12. And now the team really has no choice but to count on the 2024 third-round pick to be a rotational contributor.

Back when Hunt was drafted, it seemed like he might need a full year to see meaningful playing time. But he appeared to be more advanced than expected in the summer. What Hunt lacks in experience he might be able to make up for with athletic tools.

EDGE RUSHER ON INJURED RESERVE

BRYCE HUFF

The Eagles placed Huff, who had wrist surgery on Thursday, on injured reserve prior to Week 12. He’s therefore eligible to return to the field as soon as the Week 16 game against the Washington Commanders.

It’s not clear if Huff will actually be healthy enough to play at that point. And if he is, Huff has not really played well this season ... even prior to his injury.

GETTING CREATIVE

ZACK BAUN

Tough to move Baun out of his inside linebacker role when he’s legitimately been playing like an All-Pro at that position. But the Eagles might need to him to contribute some more snaps as an edge defender. He obviously has experience in that role. The Eagles could look to put Oren Burks or Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (guessing the former is more likely) in next to Nakobe Dean to free up Baun as a pass rusher.

MILTON WILLIAMS

Williams has defensive tackle/defensive end versatility. His best work has come as an interior defender but he might be able to fill some snaps as an edge defender. The Eagles have more DT depth to lean on if Williams plays more DE.

PRACTICE SQUAD

TARRON JACKSON

Placing BG on injured reserve and signing Jackson to the roster seems like a logical move. The Eagles’ 2021 sixth-round pick only has one career sack in 308 career snaps played, so, he’s far from a proven commodity.

But Jackson did flash a bit this summer. He had one sack, two TFLs, and two QB hits in the preseason. For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus had Jackson as their seventh-best graded edge rusher from the preseason.

The Eagles waived Jackson in part due to a numbers crunch. He caught on with the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad and was signed to their roster before being waived a month later. Jackson returned to Philly earlier this month.

The Eagles could give Jackson a shot and see if he’s able to contribute in a rotational capacity.

OCHAUN MATHIS

The Eagles only signed Mathis to the practice squad on Friday. Guessing they’re not about to immediately make him part of their edge defender rotation. But worth noting he’s around.

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