After months of waiting, the 2026 Eagles season is almost here. In Nick Sirianni’s five seasons at the helm, the Eagles have been to the playoffs five times, they’ve been to the Super Bowl twice and they won the Super Bowl to cap the 2024 season. This really is the golden era of Eagles footba ll. And expectations are high again as the Eagles enter the 2026 season after a first-round playoff exit last year. The Eagles return with a stacked defense and an offense that underwent major changes this offseason. Let’s take a look at this roster with one question for each position group: Quarterback: Will Jalen Hurts take to this new offense? By all accounts, Jalen Hurts has embraced the offensive scheme changes Sean Mannion has brought to Philadelphia this offseason. That’s a big deal. Because, sure, the Eagles have gone through a bunch of different coordinators over the past five seasons but they were basically running different versions of the same scheme. Mannion is bringing a bunch of new ideas and the Eagles are going to run a version of a Shanahan offense that’s tailored to the Eagles’ roster. That obviously includes the quarterback.  There were some ups and downs for Hurts during training camp; that’s to be expected given all the changes. But this new offense should be able to better help maximize the Eagles’ talent on offense after a year where it felt like that side of the ball was simply stuck in the mud. For this offense to run efficiently, it’s important that Hurts not only buys in, but is able to run it at a high level. We saw some good signs this summer but the whole offense might be a work in progress in September. The hope is that the ceiling for this unit is now much higher. Running back: Will Saquon Barkley have a bigger role as a receiver? One intriguing element of this offense could be the way the running backs are used. On the ground, the Eagles are moving to a wide-zone blocking scheme and that’s something that excited Saquon Barkley. He spent his offseason studying and preparing as much as he could. But let’s be real: Barkley can fit in pretty much any running scheme. The intriguing thought is that maybe the Eagles will use Barkley a tad more in the passing game this season. We saw that in training camp but we have been teased with that possibility with Eagles backs before. In his first two seasons with the Eagles, Barkley had 33 and 37 receptions. His career-high came in his rookie season with the Giants in 2018, when he had 91 receptions for 721 yards. We’re not expecting that type of production but maybe there will be a slight increase in his usage in the passing game this year. Here’s a look at Barkley’s receiving history: 2018: 121 targets, 91 catches, 721 yards, 4 TDs2019: 73 targets, 52 catches, 438 yards, 2 TDs2020: 9 targets, 6 catches, 60 yards2021: 57 targets, 41 catches, 263 yards, 2 TDs2022: 76 targets, 57 catches, 338 yards2023: 60 targets, 41 catches, 280 yards, 4 TDs2024: 43 targets, 33 catches, 278 yards, 2 TDs2025: 50 targets, 37 catches, 273 yards, 2 TDs Tight end: Is another move coming? The Eagles kept four tight ends on their initial 53-man roster: Dallas Goedert, Johnny Mundt, Eli Stowers and E.J. Jenkins. But this position still feels a bit unfinished. Because what happens if Goedert has to miss a few games at some point this year? The depth at tight end is a bit sketchy, especially because it doesn’t appear that the second-round rookie Stowers is ready to contribute. Johnny Mundt is a solid blocker and knows this system, so maybe he is the right fit as the TE2 when the Eagles use their 12 personnel package, but he’s not much of a receiving threat and it wouldn’t be ideal to ever have to go into a game with him as the starter. It would make sense if Eagles GM Howie Roseman tried to add at this position. Maybe that means giving a call to 35-year-old Zach Ertz, who is coming back from an injury that ended his 2025 season early. Or maybe that means scouring other rosters for a trade candidate. Roseman doesn’t often sit on his hands when there’s a position that needs to be addressed. And tight end on this roster seems to fit that bill. Receiver: Can Makai Lemon catch up? After he already missed OTAs with a hamstring injury, the Eagles’ first-round pick missed nine days of training camp and the first two preseason games with another hamstring injury on the same leg this summer. Lemon returned to practice toward the end of training camp and played in the final preseason game — a performance he’d like to forget — but won’t be able to get back the time he missed. Even though Lemon might have been behind, the Eagles didn’t waste any time getting him back on the field with the first-team offense in practice. Going into this season, it seems pretty obvious that Lemon is going to be their slot receiver. DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks are expected to start on the outside with Lemon in the slot. The others will fill in after that. The Eagles used a first-round pick on Lemon and seemed impressed by how he handled his injury behind the scenes. It seems very likely that Lemon is going to have a significant role in this offense but it’s unclear how ready he is for that after all that missed time. Lemon will have a unique role in this offense. He’s going to be in motion a ton, they might line him up in different spots and he is the type of player for whom Sean Mannion will likely manufacture touches. Offensive line: Will they stay healthy? This is really the biggest question about the 2026 Eagles because it’s going to determine their offensive ceiling. A healthy and effective offensive line can cover up a lot of deficiencies. This line was not very healthy in 2025. Both Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens battled through injury all of last season and ended up in Colombia for stem cell therapy in the offseason. Meanwhile, Lane Johnson contemplated retirement after missing the back half of last season but decided to return for one final season in 2026 — it’ll be his 14th in the NFL. On top of the health concerns, the Eagles have a new offense and a new offensive line coach. After 13 years of Jeff Stoutland leading that room, Chris Kuper took over this offseason. The Eagles’ offensive linemen seemed to embrace Kuper, who brings a deep understanding of offensive line play in this system. This is a run scheme that utilizes the athleticism of offensive linemen, who need to cover a lot of ground to reach blocks. That means health is extremely important going into this season. The one legitimate concern might be with 27-year-old Landon Dickerson, who wasn’t injured in this camp but did get a couple of rest days. His body has seen a lot of wear and tear over the last decade and the fear is that there could be a cumulative effect of all that. We’ll find out soon enough. Defensive tackle: Is Jalen Carter back to being his dominant self? One of the biggest questions entering this offseason was about if/when Jalen Carter was going to get his mega contract extension. It came just before the Eagles began training camp and made him the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history. His four-year, $152 million contract gives Carter an average annual salary of $38 million — that’s ahead of Quinnen Williams and Jeffery Simmons. Carter is one of the most talented defensive players in the NFL and his flashes are dominant. But now it’s about finding more consistency. He was unable to do that in 2025 as shoulder injuries sapped his strength. But Carter came to training camp in 2026 healthy and in great shape. He could be gearing up for a huge season. Edge rusher: When will Jonathan Greenard contribute? The Eagles’ biggest offseason addition came during the draft when they pulled off a trade to acquire Jonathan Greenard from Minnesota and then gave him a four-year, $98 million contract. Unfortunately, Greenard strained his pec while working out at the facility just a few days before the start of training camp and missed all 17 days of training camp practices. Even though Greenard is a 29-year-old veteran, he missed valuable time in Vic Fangio’s defense all summer. But after Greenard spent training camp on the Active/PUP list, the Eagles elected to activate him to the 53-man roster as they cut their roster down. That was a clear signal that they expect Greenard to play within the first four weeks of this season, perhaps even in Week 1. But it’s also probably fair to assume that if Greenard returns early, he’s going to be on some sort of a pitch count as he works his way back. Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith will probably begin the season as starters but Greenard is a major piece to the puzzle. Linebacker: How much will they miss Nakobe Dean? The Eagles have good linebackers. Zack Baun is an All-Pro who is still in his prime and Jihaad Cambell is a former first-round pick with a ton of potential. But they’re going to miss Nakobe Dean. Dean left in free agency to join the Raiders and the Eagles had to let him go because Campbell was waiting, but it doesn’t mean they won’t miss Dean. Dean was super instinctive, great against the run, a phenomenal blitzer and played extremely well next to Baun. The defense is going to be different without him. The good news is that the ceiling for this linebacker duo is extremely high. The combo of Baun and Campbell has the potential to cover every blade of grass and should be excellent in pass defense. They also have great depth with Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Smael Mondon Jr. coming off the bench. Cornerback: Will this group be elite? The Eagles’ weakest position on defense last year was at CB2. While Adoree’ Jackson battled and ended up being OK, the Eagles went for an upgrade this offseason when they signed Riq Woolen to a one-year deal. Now, they have Woolen in a trio that already included All-Pros Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. That has the potential to be the best trio of cornerbacks in the NFL. Woolen had a flashy spring and ended his training camp with a strong joint practice against the Patriots. He has the potential to be a great fit with the Eagles in 2026. Do the Eagles have the best cornerback trio in the NFL? It’s close. The other team with a case is the Texans, who have Derek Stingly, Kamari Lassiter and Jalen Pitre. And then the Broncos have Patrick Surtain II, Riley Moss and Jaquan McMillian. But the Eagles have a great case too and it’s going to be fun watching this group in 2026. Safety: Will Drew Mukuba make the Year 2 jump? The Eagles lost Reed Blankenship in free agency and will go into the season with Drew Mukuba as their top safety. Cooper DeJean will play safety in the base defense (around 20-25% of their snaps) and it seems likely Marcus Epps will be the other starter. Mukuba is entering Year 2 of his NFL career after showing some promise as a rookie. Mukuba got off to an uneven start in 2025 but eventually found some more consistency before he fractured his ankle in Dallas in late November. We always hear in the NFL that the jump between Year 1 and Year 2 can be pretty big. The Eagles are hoping that’s the case for Mukuba, especially now that he’s the top safety in the group. The Eagles have an elite trio of corners and if their safeties are just average, that secondary will be very good. Special teams: Can Jake Elliott get back on track? Despite his struggles over the past couple of seasons, the Eagles are sticking with Jake Elliott in 2026. Back in the spring, special teams coordinator Michael Clay talked about the need for Elliott to get back to the basics and to fall in love with the game again. Over the past two seasons, Elliott has made just 48 of 63 field goal attempts (76.2%) and is just 5 for 15 from 50+ yards. The Eagles have Super Bowl aspirations, and even though Elliott has been a very good playoff performer in his career, he’s definitely a concern going into 2026. ...read more read less