The spring weather is here. The NFL Draft beckons. Before we know it, OTAs will arrive in South Philadelphia. Ahead of all of that, however, I have a stack of Eagles mailbag questions to go through from our loyal readers who have posted them in The Feed. I’ll tackle some now and turn this into a little mini-series this week.
Let’s get after it!
don’tknowitall2: Ranking positional value:
I dig this as we prepare for the draft. I’ll throw them into tiers…
Tier 1: Quarterback, Offensive Tackle
Tier 2: EDGE, Interior Defensive Line
Tier 3: Wide Receiver, Cornerback
Tier 4: Offensive Guard, Center
Tier 5: Linebacker, Tight End
Tier 6: Running Back, Safety
Tier 7: Specialists
It’s all about the QB, right?
You want a quarterback and then two tackles to protect the QB. After that, you want a bunch of guys who can get after the quarterback. From there, you want someone who the QB can throw to and, conversely, someone who can stop those guys.
After that, I’m still building the offense line and then it jumbles all together a bit.
Bo Hickam: At what point does Jeffrey Lurie step down and his son takes majority control? Is there a timeline? With that being said, where does that leave Howie Roseman? Is there someone currently in the organization to step into Howie’s shoes that is not named Joe Douglas?
I want to preface this by saying none of what I’m saying is a report or sourced information. It’s just speculation and ultimately my take. It’s no secret that Jeffrey Lurie is preparing for his son Julian, whose current page on the Eagles’ official website simply lists him as “Business and Football Operations Strategy,” to eventually run the whole organization.
The elder Lurie is 74. Going by this story from Bo Wulf in The Athletic a few years ago, the younger Lurie would now be roughly 31.
To my knowledge, there’s no public timeline for a change in power, but, hey, it could always happen sooner than people think. Talks about the future of Lincoln Financial Field, or even a replacement stadium for the Birds, will only intensify. Just throwing out a guess… maybe when the Eagles have a new home, maybe Julian finally takes the reins?
A friend of mine earlier this year half-jokingly threw out an idea I love… The Luries should buy the Sixers and have Julian run the team for a couple years to get his feet wet before having to take over the city’s preeminent sports franchise. The Sixers sure could use a management refresh anyway…
As for Howie Roseman, he’s only 50 years old. No executive in the sport, and maybe all of sports, has more job security than Roseman. Given how close his relationship is with the Lurie family and his track record of success, would you really be surprised if Roseman was still the Eagles’ top football decision-maker for another decade or even more? I would severely doubt there’s any semblance of a succession plan in place for Roseman at this point, who’ll probably remain a member of this organization in some capacity, even if it’s not as general manager, for a long, long time.
GoldStandardQBFactory: How might Sean Mannion use his two tight end sets based on whatever evidence we have for the offense he runs, given that Johnny Mundt and Dallas Goedert are now rostered.
The Eagles’ usage of multiple-tight end sets in 2025 didn’t fit their personnel. They needed extra bodies in the run game given their offensive line woes, but Goedert had a massive down year as a blocker despite previously being an absolute mauler. The likes of Grant Calcaterra and Kylen Granson were wholly overmatched on that front. For an Eagles team that had a wealth of issues that go well beyond that, I’ve rarely been as infuriated about a low-level position in my time watching the Birds than I was about the 2025 Eagles’ backup tight ends.
Given his track record, you’d hope Goedert bounces back a bit as a blocker as well as a yards-after-the-catch threat on top of his work as a great red zone threat this past season. He’s not a major concern for me as he enters his age-31 campaign. While Goedert can be a “do-it-all” guy to some degree, I’m juiced up to see how new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion incorporates Johnny Mundt as a block-first TE2. Mundt should be able to move off the line of scrimmage as a blocker and be a threat to hit defenders at the second level, particularly on outside runs. Those types of plays were disasters for the Eagles in 2025 after their otherworldly rushing attack in their Super Bowl-winning 2024 season.
I’m certainly not saying the Eagles are going to reach those definitive highs again in 2026, but I’m bullish on Mannion mixing the continued rushing success of the Sean McVay-Matt LaFleur scheme and melding it with the improved personnel here in Philly.
On a more esoteric note, a guy named “Johnny Mundt” just sounds like an awesome blocker, right?
Delco4DawkinsFolesStoutlandU: How would you rank the highest Howie would trade up by position in the first round if a top OL or edge rusher or TE or WR falls?
Just knowing the roots of this organization for a quarter of a century, trading up for a player in the trenches is always going to feel most likely in my guts. You obviously can’t dismiss trading up for the other two positions though. In 2018, the Eagles traded out of the first round and then traded back up in the second round for Goedert as their first drafted player that spring. Of course, after some pre-draft maneuvers, the Birds went from the 12th pick to the 10th pick in 2021 to land Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith. Both moves have worked out pretty dang well for the organization!
There’s precedent on some level all around in the Roseman era, but as of now, I’d have them as: OL, EDGE, wide receiver and then tight end.
More mailbag answers to come!
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