Subscribe
Follow Us
Despite making a point of not signing any major free agent deals this offseason, opting to instead focus on re-signing their own while collecting compensatory picks, the Philadelphia Eagles did leave the first two waves of free agency with ten new players signed to their roster, some of them potential starters, others falling into more of the depth category.
They landed help on the edge, with Azeez Ojulari and Josh Uche set to compete with Jalyx Hunt and any soon-to-be rookies for the spot opposite Nolan Smith. They found a new right guard in Kenyon Green to compete with Tyler Steen for the spot vacated by Mekhi Becton. The Eagles even addressed their special teams unit, hoping that the additions of returnman Avery Williams and long-snapper Charley Hughlett would elevate Michael Clay's unit to new heights.
But which of these signings are sneaky or at least underrated? Which move doesn't look like a game-changer but could very well fit that mark this fall when the season kicks into gear?
It could be a tight end like Kylen Granson or Harrison Bryant if Dallas Goedert is traded. It could also be a player like Adoree Jackson or Kendall Lamm if the Birds were to suffer a long-term injury at one of the most important positions on the team. Or it could be AJ Dillon, the running back Howie Roseman signed away from the Green Bay Packers who has a chance to elevate the Eagles' offense not just because of what he can do, but how his talents could make Philadelphia's best player, Saquon Barkley, work just a little bit less on the way to a Super Bowl defense.
The Eagles can't run Saquon Barkley into the ground
In 2024, the Eagles had a pretty tried and true strategy to win games: Nick Sirianni's squad got a lead early, played stout defense against increasingly one-dimensional opponents, and ran out the clock with the incredible play of Barkley as their lead back.
Granted, the Eagles never needed an excuse to run the ball, as they finished out the season with the most rushing attempts and the second-most rushing yards of any team in the NFL. Barkley's 5.8 yards per carry effectively allowed the team to pick up a first down every two runs, and even if they found themselves on fourth down, they could easily convert the play with their signature contribution to the NFL world: the Tush Push.
While Barkley didn't look gassed when it came time for the playoffs, as he ran the ball more often than anyone else in the NFL over his 16 games of action, his 2024 workload is likely untenable moving forward, especially if the Eagles again find themselves playing a 21-game season on the way to the Super Bowl.
Enter Dillon, a certified power back who knows a thing or two about playing alongside and in place of a slasher from his time in Green Bay.
AJ Dillon could become the Eagles' closer in 2025
Originally drafted in the second round out of Boston College, Dillon is one of the more powerful rushers in the NFL, with his 700-plus pound squats earning him the moniker “Quadzilla” along with the respect of Barkley himself.
While Dillon doesn't share Barkley's versatility, and has never even been a full-time lead back for a team because of his time playing with Aaron Jones in Green Bay, the collegiate Eagle is more than capable of picking up the slack and shouldering a heavy load between the tackles at the end of games, where his trucking could allow him to pick up hard yards as the clock ticked down.
Over his four-year NFL career – he missed 2024 due to injury – Dillon averaged 4.1 yards per attempt. He did catch the ball on occasion as a weapon out of the backfield, catching 86 of the 110 balls thrown his way for 763 yards and two touchdowns, but was mostly used as a powerful change of pace when Jones left the field.
When things got interesting, however, is when Dillon didn't exit the field before Jones checked in, and the Packers decided to deploy the elusive 21 personnel, or Pony package, where the two backs worked together to confuse opposing defenses.
Because of this experience, Dillon got extra work as a lead back, where his size, strength, and blocking abilities made him a natural fit next to the shiftier Jones. With Ben VanSumeren returning but coming off of an injury, the Eagles may opt to give Dillon a chance to play some fullback this fall, with his ability to block, run the ball, or catch a pass in the flat, unlike any look Philadelphia deployed last fall.
Throw that all together, and Dillon has the potential to be much, much more than Kenneth Gainwell 2.0.
In 2024, the Eagles really didn't have a fifth offensive option behind Barkley, AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, and either Dallas Goedert or Grant Calcaterra, depending on who was healthy for the game. They tried various WR3s, from Johnny Wilson to Jahan Dotson, attempted two tight end looks, and even broke out the fullback to see if they could borrow a page from Kyle Shanahan's playbook back in San Francisco.
And yet, in the end, the Eagles remained what they were: a run-first team with Brown and Smith getting the bulk of the downfield opportunities created by stout boxes loaded up by Barkley's presence.
So, if the Eagles will likely stick to this same strategy moving forward, as there's little reason to believe Kevin Patullo will divert too sharply from the success Kellen Moore found last year, why not add another running back who could make their ground attack even harder to stop, especially with a whole new world of possibiltities opened up with potential pony packages. If opposing teams had that much trouble slowing down Barkley on his own, how much better could he be if Dillion takes 15 snaps per game when opposing defenders are selling out to win the yardage battle an inch at a time?
