Five Eagles Who Could Break Through In A Rare Offseason Of Uncertainty

On Sunday night, the Eagles’ reign at the top of the NFL will officially end.

Either the NFC’s Seattle Seahawks or the AFC’s New England Patriots will take the baton in Super Bowl LX from Philadelphia, which bowed out unceremoniously in the wild-card round after being upset by a short-handed San Francisco team, 23-19, on Jan. 11.

A week later, the Seahawks dismantled the Niners 41-6, highlighting the kind of opportunity the Eagles left on the table during a disjointed offensive season, which has already resulted in significant change on the coaching staff.

The changing of the guard tonight features only nine players with previous Super Bowl experience, and 44.4 percent of them got it playing for the Eagles, something that highlights just how good the Philadelphia roster has been over the past four years.

Four ex-Eagles are set to play in the Super Bowl, most notably DT Milton Williams of the Patriots, who is attempting to pull off the reverse Chris Long tonight.

The Pats also have LB Christian Elliss and WR Mack Hollins, while CB Josh Jobe is representing the Seahawks.

The uncertainty surrounding the Eagles entering the offseason is higher than it’s been in years and that could provide an opportunity for some younger players who may have not had similar chances when Philadelphia was more entrenched as a significant Super Bowl contender.

Breakthroughs?

Eagles rookie Drew Kendall gets ready to snap the ball with veteran Kenyon Green at left guard during an OTA on June 3, 2025. | Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

Here are five young players who could break through in 2026:

WR Darius Cooper

Cooper did a nice job as an undrafted rookie in 2025, first catching the eye of the coaching staff in training camp with the playmaking skills he developed at Tarleton State where he was an FCS All-American in 2024 and second in the NCAA Division I in receiving yardage with 1,450 yards.

However, Cooper got on the field for 212 offensive snaps as a rookie by being able to use his powerful 5-foot-11, 210-pound frame in a physical fashion, often in 13 personnel.

With Jahan Dotson likely to move on via free agency, the WR3 role under a new offensive coordinator in Sean Mannion is projected to be far more important and having a player who can catch and block is paramount.

TE E.J. Jenkins

Jenkins was making a run at the roster last season until a late drop spree in training camp relegated him to the practice quad for the season, although he was elevated for two games.

With Dallas Goedert, Grant Calcaterra, and Kylen Granson all set to become unrestricted free agents in March, Jenkins almost surely will compete for a role again next season.

At 6-6 and 245 pounds, the former college WR has been lauded for his behind-the-scenes development as a blocker, and the Eagles’ new run game coordinator/tight end coach, Ryan Mahaffey, will surely be trying to emphasize that aspect of the role, especially for the backups.

OL Drew Kendall

The Eagles are set to enter to ender a season without Jeff Stoutland for the first time since 2012 with a shift in emphasis to a lot of wide-zone concepts designed to stretch defenses horizontally and create cutback running lanes.

A high-IQ player who is a bit undersized, Kendall could find his niche in that kind of offense if his movement skills are up to par. The key for Kendall will also be versatility because there could be openings at guard if Landon Dickerson’s health problems persist or the Eagles want to go in a different direction and away from Tyler Steen.

OL Cameron Williams

The book on Williams coming out of Texas was that if he stayed in school, he was on the trajectory to be a top 100 pick and maybe much more than that in 2026.

The Eagles bought low in the sixth round on Williams, and the 6-6, 317-pounder was raw as advertised. That said, when he was finally thrown into the deep end of the pool in Week 18 against Washington, he was by no means overmatched or out of place.

The key for Williams moving forward will be adding strength in the offseason.

With all the talk of finding an heir-apparent for Lane Johnson over the past few years, the Eagles may have quietly added one without many realizing it.

Philadelphia should have more time with Johnson leaning toward coming back, and the developmental onus will shift from Stoutland to the next O-Line coach, but Williams was a more-than-worthy roll of the Day 3 dice last year.

DB Brandon Johnson

A rookie free agent last season after finishing his college career at Oregon, Johnson made some waves over the summer and continued building throughout the season on the practice squad to the point that Vic Fangio, Christian Parker, and Joe Kasper were more comfortable playing Johnson at both nickel and safety than some of the other backup DBs.

Johnson started the Week 18 game at safety and was being elevated before that until an ankle injury knocked him out. His versatility to backup both Cooper DeJean and the safeties should give Johnson a leg up for a 53-man roster spot during his second summer with the team.

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