One Free Agent Who Can Still Fix Eagles Guard And Safety Problem After OTAs
Mandatory minicamp begins for the Philadelphia Eagles this week, and there are still some question marks regarding the roster.
The Eagles are a Super Bowl contender, although the Los Angeles Rams got better this week by acquiring Myles Garrett and the Eagles traded A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots.
The Eagles question marks existed before they traded Brown, and it won't cost them much to fix if they go the free agent route. Even after the Brown trade, the Eagles have between $25-26 million in salary cap space.
Adding a free agent or two at safety and guard won't cost the Eagles much, if they decide to go that route. There are some options where the Eagles can improve depth.
Which free agent could help the Eagles at safety? What about at guard?
Guard: Mekhi Becton
Is a Becton reunion to the Eagles even possible? This would be more likely if Jeff Stoutland was the offensive line coach instead of Chris Kuper, and the Eagles are running a completely different offensive system under Sean Mannion.
Becton could still be a fit, and the Eagles need some depth at guard. This is the battle for the No. 3 guard spot right now -- Micah Morris (sixth-round rookie), Willie Lampkin (2025 undrafted free agent), Hollin Pierce (2025 undrfated free agent), Drew Kendall (2025 sixth-round pick). None of these players have played a regular seaosn snap at guard.
The Eagles' depth at guard is severely tested, but they will likely play this thing out into the summer. They like the young players they have developing at guard.
Wasn't like Becton was great last season either. Becton allowed four sacks and 33 pressures at right guard last season, a pressure rate allowed of 7.7%.
The Eagles could choose to just rely on their young players this summer and not bring back Becton, but he would provide some much-needed veteran depth at guard.
Safety: Donovan Wilson
The free agent pool isn't deep at safety, and Wilson is the best player remaining. The biggest question regarding Wilson? Are the Eagles in-house options better?
A starter in Dallas over the past four years, Wilson had 101 tackles and 5.0 sacks in 2022 and has recorded 80+ tackles in three of the past four seasons. That's worthy of a starting job right?
Wilson's coverage numbers are why he likely remains unsigned. Opposing quarterbacks targeting Wilson had a 94.8 passer rating against him as the primary defender last season. He allowed eight touchdown passes last year and 13 total over the past two seasons. Not exactly a fit for a Vic Fangio defense.
The Eagles are likely to hit the trade market to find a safety in cas ethey want to improve the position. For now, they are going to ride with Marcus Epps starting opposite Andrew Mukuba.
If the Eagles did bring in Wilson, he would compete for a starting job. The options on the depth chart aren't great, which makes bringing in a safety via free agency or trade all the more plausable.
The safety competition will be intriguing to watch this summer regardless.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/eagles/onsi as One Free Agent Who Can Still Fix Eagles Guard And Safety Problem After OTAs.
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