The Eagles failed to repeat as Super Bowl champions this past season primarily because of the drastic drop off they saw on offense from their Super Bowl year after losing offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and replacing him with a now fired rookie in the role. If the Eagles plan on recapturing Super Bowl caliber offensive form heading into 2026, they will not just need the coaching to be better, but their personnel will also need to be strong as well. Here I will do an assessment of the skill position players that the Eagles have headed into the 2026 season.
Starting at wide out the Eagles will need to overcome the loss of superstar wide receiver A.J Brown who was traded from the team this offseason. His counterpart over the years in DeVonta Smith is in line to presume the leading wide out duties after being one of the top if not the top secondary wide out in the NFL thus far in his career. I think Smith is more than capable of presuming the role, but it remains to be seen if he can be as effective as Brown was.
The Eagles also acquired several players this offseason cycle to try to attempt to offset the loss of A.J Brown at wide out. The team drafted Makai Lemon in the first round of the 2026 draft who was considered one of the top wide receiver prospects entering the 2026 draft. Lemon won the award for being the best receiver in all of college football during his last year in college while also being a unanimous All-American.
The team also acquired wide out Dontayvion Wicks from the Packers this offseason who could be a sneaky good pickup. Wicks had a very strong rookie season in 2023 and was line to become a potential star after it. Wicks dropped off the past few seasons although still playing solid at times for Green Bay. However, Wicks was often buried on the Packers’ wide receiver depth chart and perhaps did not get a chance to thrive. Wicks could prove to be a very strong depth option for the Eagles in their wide out core this upcoming season.
The team also acquired former first round pick wide receiver Marquise Brown this offseason as well. Brown was a highly touted prospect entering the NFL and has had an up and down career, however. Brown has played at an above average clip half the time and has been below average the remainder of the team. Brown is known for being a speedster running a rare sub 4.3 40-yard dash, much has been made of Brown not having ideal circumstances to thrive in thus far in the NFL, but he could certainly finally have that with the Eagles next season.
Additionally, the likes of 2021 2nd rounder Elijah Moore and 2022 3rd rounder Danny Gray were both drafted pretty highly, and both players could still live up to their potential. Wide receiver Elijah Moore was drafted at the top of the second round and had a strong rookie season but has nosedived since. However, Moore started off his career with the Jets and Browns who consistently put their offensive players in particular in positions to fail while not getting much of a chance to play outside of those two teams. While wide out Danny Gray was drafted quite high for a wide out and has never truly gotten a chance to shine as of yet.
From a running back standpoint, the Eagles have one of the best units in the NFL highlighted by standout Saquon Barkley along with the team making a key addition in the unit this offseason. Barkley is among the better overall running backs in the NFL although he is not in the discussion for being the best and is slightly overrated in my estimation. Barkley, after a historic 2024 season, struggled during 2025 as Pro Football Focus graded him as below average at his position.
The Eagles onboarded former third round pick running back Tank Bigsby to complement Barkley in the unit with Bigsby being very underrated at running back and potentially being even better than Barkley. Bigsby was graded as a top 10 overall back during the 2025 season albeit in limited snaps. Bigsby in my estimation will be among the premier #2 backs in the NFL during this upcoming season. While the likes of Dameon Pierce is also very talented for the Eagles and is in the same realm as Bigsby as a talent although he remains buried on the Eagles’ depth chart.
At tight end the Eagles are led by veteran former 2nd rounder Dallas Goedert who has always been underrated at the position in my estimation. Goedert has shown a slight decline over the past few seasons since approaching/turning 30 years old and dealing with injurie(s) but is still very good. Goedert will turn 32 years old at the tail end of next season so it remains to be seen if he will still be in his prime. Goedert prior to the 2024 season graded in the top ten among all qualified tight ends according to Pro Football Focus in every season of his career while still looking solid the past couple of seasons.
Because of Goedert’s age/injurie(s)/decline the Eagles drafted a tight end in the 2nd round of the 2026 draft to supplement him in the unit. Stowers was among the top tight end prospects entering the 2026 draft receiving first team All-Sec honors in each of his last two seasons for Vanderbilt which is not easy playing in likely the toughest conference in the country. While also receiving the award for being the best tight end in all of college football while being a unanimous All-American in his final collegiate season.
Overall, the Eagles are very good from a skill position standpoint and could be elite. How good they will be will largely depend upon how well DeVonta Smith adjusts to being a WR1, how strong rookies Makai Lemon and Eli Stowers are in year 1, and how good Dallas Goedert will continue to be as he ages. The high-end talent that Philadelphia has in their skill position grouping is very strong but not quite elite while the depth the Eagles have in their skill position grouping is expectational. A breakdown of the skill position grouping for the Eagles headed into the 2026 season can be found below.
Notable 2026 Eagles’ Wide Receivers
WR – Devonta Smith – B+, will have to adjust to being WR1
WR – Makai Lemon – 2026 1st rounder
WR – Dontayvion Wicks – C+ to B-, elite rookie season, has tailed off since
WR – Marquise Brown – C+ to B-, highly touted 1st rounder entering NFL, has had ups and downs
WR – Elijah Moore – 2021 2nd rounder, very strong rookie season, has nosedived since
WR – Danny Gray – 2022 3rd rounder, not much of a chance to play thus far
Notable 2026 Eagles’ Tight Ends
TE – Dallas Goedert – B to B+, consistently borderline elite before ’24 and ’25, aging is concern, still will turn only 32 at end of 2026 season
TE – Eli Stowers – 2026 2nd rounder
Notable 2026 Eagles’ Running Backs
HB – Saquon Barkley – B+ to A-, a bit overrated, still borderline elite running back
HB – Tank Bigsby – B+, underrated, may end up being better than Barkley, one of premier #2 backs in NFL
HB – Dameon Pierce – C+ to B-, very strong depth player at running back
