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The Philadelphia Eagles are still basking in the glory of their recent Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, which gave them their second championship in the last eight seasons. The Eagles shocked fans with their dominant performance on both sides of the ball, but it was their defense in particular that generated most of the headlines in the aftermath of the victory.
This offseason, several key players for Philadelphia are slated to hit free agency, where they could command major paydays in the wake of the team's Super Bowl run. One of those players is Josh Sweat, who played a huge role in the Super Bowl victory.
Recently, Jordan Reid of ESPN speculated on what the Eagles might opt to do in the event that Sweat leaves in free agency, highlighting Tennessee star James Pearce Jr. as a potential draft target.
“If the Eagles can't bring back Sweat, Pearce would be a great replacement and addition to an already deep and tenacious defensive front,” wrote Reid. “His 19.0% pressure rate was the second best in the FBS, resulting in 7.5 sacks. The Eagles can let the board fall to them and take the best player available, which ends up being Pearce here.”
Can the rich get richer?
The Eagles' defensive line was already far and away the best unit in the NFL this year, led by some outstanding play from second year star Jalen Carter out of Georgia.
However, if the team were to have to part ways with Sweat in free agency, Pearce could certainly be the type of player who would be ready to step in on day one and start contributing, especially considering the depth of talent that he would be surrounded by.
The good news for the Eagles is that most of their key personnel on offense are locked down for the foreseeable future, including Saquon Barkley, who put together one of the best seasons for a running back in NFL history this past year.
In any case, the NFL Draft is slated to get underway in late April from Green Bay.
