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There's no two ways about it, the Philadelphia Eagles have one of the most stacked teams in the NFL.
Sure, they lost multiple players over the course of the offseason, including Josh Sweat, Darius Slay, and Brandon Graham, but Howie Roseman has built an impressive farm system that has proven remarkably resilient, with young draftees routinely replacing aging starters after a year or two of seasoning.
But which players on the Eagles are underrated? Which players deserve the “underrated sleepers” tag on a team filled with household names?
Well, while the Eagles will largely live or die based on the strength of their top-line talent, these players have a chance to fill similarly important roles on the Eagles this fall, too, as they will all be competing for massive roles in the starting lineup.
3. Matt Pryor
Who will be the Eagles' Week 1 starter at right guard? Well, based on how OTAs and minicamp have shaken out so far, it would appear third-year, third-round pick Tyler Steen has to be the favorite in the clubhouse.
Originally selected with the 65th overall pick out of Alabama, Steen transitioned from tackle to guard as a rookie and looked like a legitimate candidate to start during camp last season, only for Mekhi Becton to take his job due to injuries and a strong late push at the end of training camp. While Steen did still appear in all 17 regular season games for the Eagles, his PFF grade was among the worst marks of any offensive lineman in the NFL, with just two players falling below his 40.7 overall rating.
Unfortunately for Philadelphia, one of the players who snuck in below Steen was Kenyon Green, who was shipped to Philadelphia in the CJ Gardner-Johnson trade with the Houston Texans.
With two new draftees joining the team in Myles Hinton and Cameron Williams, the Eagles have plenty of options to take Becton's spot, but one player who has largely been overlooked is another Philadelphia draftee from all the way back in 2018: Matt Pryor.
Originally drafted as a tackle out of TCU, Pryor transitioned to guard at the NFL level, where he has started all 39 of his NFL games. Bouncing around the NFL from Philly to Indianapolis, San Francisco, and finally Chicago last season, Pryor started 15 of the Bears' 17 games last season, and was pretty good.
Taking the field for 1,004 offensive snaps, Pryor was a bright spot on an overall disappointing Bears offensive line, ranking 21st among all guards with a 69.9 offensive grade from PFF, with his run blocking grade coming in at 65.9 and his pass blocking grade, 78.1, the fifth best among all qualifying guards. Like Becton, Pryor is a 6-foot-7 monster in the trenches with the size of a tackle, and thus, could theoretically slide in and play a similar style of football should he rise from the second team to the first for one reason or another.
Will Pryor start for the Eagles right out of the gates? Probably not, as he was working with the second team at OTAs and minicamp, but if another injury happens or Steen struggles once more, don't be surprised if the TCU product once again take the field and doesn't give his spot back, bringing things full circle with the team he was originally drafted by.
2. Moro Ojomo
There's no two ways about it: replacing Milton Williams will be tricky for the Eagles in 2025.
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Beginning his career as a part-time player in Philadelphia, Williams proved he can be one of the best interior pass rushers in the NFL last season, routinely dominating against opposing guards while ranking top 3 on the Eagles in PFF grades in the Super Bowl.
Who else was on that list? Well, that would be Cooper DeJean and Moro Ojomo, the defensive tackle many fans expect to take his spot in the rotation this fall.
Originally drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Texas, Ojomo was a force for the Eagles in the playoffs, amassing a sack, seven hurries, and four tackles over just 102 defensive snaps. Like Williams, Ojomo was largely used as a pass rusher, both with the Patriots' $104 million man and alongside Jalen Carter, and despite his inexperience as a defensive tackle, coming into the NFL as a defensive end, he looked absolutely at home in Vic Fangio's defensive rotation.
Like at right guard, the Eagles did add some depth at the position, most noticeably fourth-round pick Ty Robinson, but the team didn't add multiple stopgap players at edge rusher because they clearly believe Ojomo can take on a bigger role, as well as incumbent starter Jordan Davis.
Will Ojomo start for the Eagles this fall? Probably not, unless they use a three-man defensive front full-time, but don't be surprised if he takes over for Davis when the Eagles need to pressure a quarterback on money downs, and he becomes the next rotational rusher in line for a big-money extension either in Philadelphia or elsewhere.
1. Kelee Ringo
And last but not least, if any player has the potential to go from a depth piece to a certified starter with sky-high expectations for the future, it's 2023 fourth-round pick Kelee Ringo.
After watching many of his Georgia Bulldogs teammates become certified stars in 2024, Ringo has already begun turning heads as one of the standouts of the Eagles' organized team activities so far, with WIP's Eliot Shorr-Parks naming him one of the MVPs of minicamp alongside Jalen Hurts.
Despite his status as one of the Eagles' elder statesmen of the cornerback position, Ringo is still only 22, having been drafted by the Eagles before he could drink alcohol. While he doesn't have as much time left on his contract as DeJean or Quinyon Mitchell, he's been in Fangio's system longer than newcomers like Mac McWilliams and Adoree' Jackson and remains one of the better athletes on the team, running a 4.36 at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds.
Despite his stop-and-start play in 2024, recording double-digit snaps in just three games last fall, Ringo was still an above-average cornerback for the Eagles, with his 65.8 overall grade ranking 79th out of 222 players, while his coverage grade of 67.2 was even better, coming in 64th.
Could the Eagles go out and add another major talent at the position, bringing Philly native Jaire Alexander to town after being released by the Green Bay Packers? Sure, that's possible, but Roseman doesn't, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise if Ringo becomes a starter this fall opposite Mitchell and DeJean, as he's been on that track all spring long.
