Why Buccaneers must watch these 3 Eagles defensive players

The Philadelphia Eagles are the defending Super Bowl champions. After dismantling the Chiefs in last year's big game, the Eagles have aspirations to go back-to-back this season. If they are to achieve that goal, it will be because of the incredibly deep and talented roster that GM Howie Roseman has assembled over the past several years.

Offense, defense, it doesn't matter — the Eagles are absolutely loaded with star power at nearly every position. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also very deep at a variety of key positions, at least when they're at full strength.

Let's take a closer look at some of the Eagles' most important players on the defensive side of the ball who Josh Grizzard, Baker Mayfield and the rest of the Bucs offense will need to pay special attention to on Sunday if they hope to steal a victory against the defending Super Bowl champions.

Quinyon Mitchell

Although he’s just a couple of games into his sophomore season, the former Toledo Rocket has firmly established himself as a true shutdown corner for the Philadelphia Eagles. Mitchell’s length, athleticism and instincts have allowed him to skip the learning curve that plagues so many young corners and find great success early in his NFL career. Mitchell has the ability to shut down even the NFL’s best receivers, which he’s done each of the last two weeks when matched up with Davante Adams and Terry McLauren.

Quinyon Mitchell shadowed Davante Adams on 27 of 34 routes in Week 3 (79.4%). It was the first game of his career where he shadowed a receiver on over 60% of their routes.

Mitchell matched up against Adams 22 times after the snap, allowing just 2 receptions for 12 yards on 5… pic.twitter.com/1v6IyFjI1N
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 21, 2025

Quinyon Mitchell lined up against Terry McLaurin on 36 of his 48 routes (75%), aligning in press coverage on half of those matchups.

Mitchell allowed just one reception for 7 yards on 4 targets against McLaurin, including a fourth quarter interception.#WASvsPHI | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/umbdPA5yNJ
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 26, 2025

Zack Baun

Zack Baun spent the first four years of his NFL career with the New Orleans Saints, where his role and impact never really blossomed. Last year, though, in his first season with the Eagles, Baun proved to be one of the NFL’s best inside linebackers.

His athleticism and instincts allowed him to excel both in coverage and as a tackling machine within Vic Fangio’s scheme, where Baun put together a truly incredible season. When it was all said and done, Baun put up 151 total tackles and 3.5 sacks en route to securing his first Defensive Player of the Year Award and a Super Bowl ring.

Jalen Carter

It wasn’t exactly a mystery why Jalen Carter slipped all the way to the ninth pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Despite having first-overall pick talent, character concerns resulted in him falling right into the Eagles’ lap. Howie Roseman isn’t afraid to take chances, and in this case, it appears to have paid off in a big way.

Carter is a dominant force within the interior of the Eagles’ defense, and when playing alongside his former teammate at Georgia in Jordan Davis, Carter has the ability to destroy an offensive game plan with his length, power and aggressive style of play. The value of Carter extends beyond his ability to slow down rushing attacks, as he’s also able to present challenges as a pass rusher due to his impressive agility for a 6’3”, 313-pound player.

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