After addressing its atrocious secondary through the NFL draft and free-agent signings, the Philadelphia Eagles can focus on one perfect move to fill out the roster before the 2024 training camp opens. And believe it or not, it's in the secondary.
From the you-can-never-have-too-much-of-a-good-thing department, it's easy to see the Eagles returning to the Super Bowl picture if their defense is above average. And they could get there by adding former Denver Broncos standout safety Justin Simmons.
The 6-2, 202-pounder was drafted in 2016, and became a model of consistency. One of the top safeties in football, Simmons earned All-Pro honors in four of the last five seasons while also grabbing a pair of Pro Bowl nods. The Eagles renovated their defensive backfield, so why not make another addition?
Free agent safety Justin Simmons seems to fit with Eagles
Cornerback turned into a glaring weakness for the Eagles in 2023. Philadelphia couldn't stop even marginally good receivers with semi-adequate quarterbacks. The Eagles allowed 35 passing touchdowns last season, the second most in franchise history. Perhaps the secondary could have hung a sign in the end zone, proclaiming, “Open 24 hours a day!”
The lack of ability to guard air attacks pushed the Eagles into rebuilding mode for that unit, and it appears the front office did a nice job. The Eagles grabbed Quinyon Mitchell (Toledo) in the first round (No. 22 overall) and then selected Cooper DeJean (Iowa) in the second round (No. 40 overall).
Mitchell slipped later into the first round, giving the Eagles a bonus. Draft experts tabbed Mitchell more toward the middle of the first round. His selection at No. 22 turned out to be the latest first grab of a defensive back since 1995. That's when the Carolina Panthers picked Tyrone Poole.
With those rookies joining Darius Slay and James Bradberry, a weakness looked more like a strength. The picture became more clear when the Eagles landed C.J. Gardner-Johnson in free agency.
Bringing the rookies in creates a daily practice battle with the savvy veterans trying to hold their ground. And that's a good thing, said general manager Howie Roseman to espn.com.
“We wanted to create incredible competition at all positions,” Roseman said. “That was a position we hadn't addressed a lot early in the draft. We felt like we still had some veteran guys on the roster and we were going to get back … but we wanted to add some youth.”
Head coach Nick Sirianni agreed, saying, “Just excited about the competition. Competition is just going to make everybody better, and we're really looking forward to getting those guys out there.”
Another veteran like Justin Simmons could make things stronger
Enter Simmons. He's not only a perennial star, he's also been nominated three times for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award. Simmons has been credited with inspiring and mentoring countless youth and providing steady support to the community.
Additionally, Simmons attained ironman status with the Broncos. He started all 105 games in which he appeared over the last seven years in Denver. Simmons played more than 3,200 consecutive snaps from the start of 2018 until the early part of the 2021 season.
And he produced, too, totaling three interceptions in each of the last six seasons. That made him the only NFL player in that club.
In a division where the main competition comes from Dallas, and it's elite receiver Cee Dee Lamb, adding another piece to the Eagles secondary puzzle makes perfect sense.
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