Eagles could afford to lose key defensive free agents due to their incredible youth

Some may have already forgotten the fact the Philadelphia Eagles are in fact the defending Super Bowl champions if you're judging social media reactions to how Philly's offseason is going so far, especially given the fact that key defensive free agents Josh Sweat, Milton Williams and Isaiah Rodgers have all left this week.

Perhaps it's time to pump the brakes a bit though, particularly when looking at the fact that nobody has drafted better than the Eagles over recent years and that's a massive credit to general manager Howie Roseman.

Suddenly though, it seems like everyone on the outside has forgotten about this fact. Philadelphia just won a Super Bowl after the majority of its starting defense was under the age of 25. Heading into next season, just two projected starters are older than that age, with Zack Baun and Reed Blankenship serving the role of veterans.

Eagles GM Howie Roseman has prepared for losing several free agents by adding depth on day two and three of the NFL Draft.

Milton Williams ➡️ Moro Ojomo
Josh Sweat ➡️ Jalyx Hunt
Oren Burks ➡️ Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
Isaiah Rodgers ➡️ Kelee Ringo pic.twitter.com/xTGy0PR0l3
— Anthony DiBona (@DiBonaNFL) March 10, 2025

Clearly there was always going to be a market for Philly's key free agents, which was put onto display by the fact that players like Sweat and Williams received monstrous contracts to play elsewhere in 2025.

That being said, given Roseman's success in the draft, there's no reason to believe that the Eagles haven't already found their solutions despite losing those players. Last season, Cooper DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell and Jalyx Hunt were all drafted in the first three rounds and the thing they all had in common was that they each played in the Super Bowl and made massive contributions.

Only two of the Eagles current defensive starters are older than 25.

IDL: Jalen Carter
IDL: Jordan Davis
IDL: Moro Ojomo
EDGE: Nolan Smith
EDGE: Jalyx Hunt
LB: Zack Baun
LB: Nakobe Dean
CB: Quinyon Mitchell
CB: Kelee Ringo
NCB: Cooper DeJean
S: Reed Blankenship
S: Sydney Brown pic.twitter.com/k9rgY1P0cX
— Anthony DiBona (@DiBonaNFL) March 11, 2025

And it's not just the defensive side of the ball where Philly has had this incredible success, especially with how effective the offense was during the playoffs.

Jalen Hurts, Devonta Smith, Dallas Goedert and many of the team's offensive lineman were all drafted by Roseman, and he's been able to fill in the pieces when he can through trades and free agency to get elite players like A.J. Brown and Saquon Barkley.

It's simply way too early to overreact to anything that's happening to the Eagles this offseason, especially when nearly everything the team has done in recent years has put them in positions of success to win not only one, but two Super Bowls in less than a decade.

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