Eagles' Best Answer On Edge Should Come In The Draft

Arnold Ebiketie and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka could be the next great one-year signing, perhaps the next Zach Baun, who was the last one-year prove-it player signed by the Eagles to spin his one-year deal into the gold of a three-year deal with $34 million guaranteed and an average annual value of $17M last March.

Or Ebiketie and Tryon-Shoyinka could be the next Azeez Ojulari and Josh Uche. There was excitement around those two free agents, signed within a four-day span last March.

Many thought Ojulari, signed a year ago on March 17, would end up being the best of a group of players signed to one-year deals. He wasn’t. He was inactive for the first four games of the season, was inserted into the lineup due to injuries in Week 5 and lasted just 67 snaps over the next three games before he got hurt and was never seen again, except for the random locker room sighting over the final months.

Uche, signed on March 13, at least had one sack in his 244 snaps spread over 12 games. He was the forgotten man over the final five regular season games then inactive again in the wildcard playoff loss to the 49ers.

Ojulari and Uche were both young when they signed, like Ebiketie and Tryon-Shoyinka, who general manager Howie Roseman revealed during the owners’ meetings in Arizona was signed on Monday night.

Can Arnold Ebiketie Spin Gold Like Zach Baun?

Arold Ebiketie — Sep 28, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons linebacker Arnold Ebiketie (17) on the field during the game against the Washington Commanders at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The excitement for Ebiketie and Tryon-Shoyinka is similar, too. At least Ebiketie has a cleaner injury history than Ojulari, so perhaps he can stay healthy once he earns playing time.

Taken two spots ahead of the Jets’ selection of receiver Elijah Moore, who is also now with the Eagles on a one-year deal, and five picks ahead of the Eagles’ selection of three-time Pro Bowl guard Landon Dickerson, Tryon-Shoyinka has failed to live up to being the 32nd overall pick of the Bucs in 2021. He has just 15 sacks in 82 games, but none when he split time between the Bears and Browns last season.

One-year contracts are gambles, something that fails more than it helps. It’s designed to create competition, and maybe one of those players will rise above that, like Baun.

Adoree Jackson and Kylen Granson were pretty good on one-year deals last offseason. Not great, not bad. Pretty good. AJ Dillon never really got an opportunity, though he was on the roster. Avery Williams didn’t make it out of training camp.

These band-aid efforts on the edge can be overcome by a well-scouted investment in April's draft, perhaps in the first round where candidates such as Keldric Faulk or Akheem Mesidor could be waiting, or players such as Gabe Jacas and Malachi Lawrence could be sitting in the second round.

The Eagles drafted Nolan Smith in the first round in 2023 and Jaylx Hunt in the third round in 2024, but the last time they went for a defensive end/edge rusher on the first two days of the draft was Derek Barnett in the first round in 2017.

Josh Sweat was a good find in the fourth round of 2018, but there is a greater risk the longer you take to find one in the draft, and that has led the Eagles to such unimpactful third-day picks such as Shareef Miller, Casey Toohill, Kyron Jackson, Tarron Jackson, and Patrick Robinson.

It’s the draft where the Eagles should find somebody to really get excited about.

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