PHILADELPHIA — Doug Nussmeier first looked left, then twitched right. It was a humorous pantomime, although the quarterbacks coach was indeed peppered with a clash of questions on Monday during his first news conference since being hired in February.
Interest abounds in just how the Philadelphia Eagles intend to build their new offense around Jalen Hurts in a revamped backfield that includes Saquon Barkley, how an overhauled coaching staff with two new coordinators intends to deploy new players within a holistic repair of flawed schemes that foundered in 2023, how a relatively young head coach, Nick Sirianni, intends to reset the franchise’s trajectory toward its second Super Bowl championship.
Advertisement
Those storylines largely begin today, the official start of mandatory minicamp. All players must report to the NovaCare Complex or risk being fined, a league-wide contractual standard that ensures these next three days will be the most attended and most instructional period of the 2024 offseason yet. All but eight players attended both OTAs available to the media. Those voluntary workouts provided the first look at another Eagles team that should contend for the NFC East title. Mandatory minicamp will be the final image before the silence of summer.
Live contact is still forbidden in this final offseason phase. They’re “playing in pajamas,” as newly hired linebacker coach Bobby King said. A full-contact installation in training camp awaits. With that in mind, what must the Eagles accomplish this week? Here’s a short list straight from my notebook.
Establish a “clean” initial installation of the offense with Jalen Hurts
One of the downfalls of the Eagles’ 2023 offense was its discombobulation. The dynamism of the system — Hurts threw a career-high 23 touchdowns and ran for an NFL-record 15 scores — was nullified by its frequent gaffes. Hurts threw a career-high 15 interceptions and lost five fumbles. He tossed a fatal pick while freelancing against the Seattle Seahawks, and, in Philly’s NFC wild-card loss, he sailed a third-and-2 attempt incomplete when DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert only saw one of what was supposed to be two pre-snap signals.
New offensive coordinator Kellen Moore spent a large portion of his first news conference talking about how important it is for the Eagles to create a “clean operation” for Hurts. Moore and Sirianni must not only concoct a successful blend of their offensive systems but combine each system’s corresponding language into a form of communication the players can speak fluently.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Buy
This may seem like a low bar to clear. (“Duh,” right?) But before we all start breaking down how many pre-snap motions the Eagles use during preseason games, before we start calculating how many air yards per attempt this system yields compared to last year’s, before we start quantifying whether the offense’s Expected Points Added reflects what is quite likely the most skilled unit in the Sirianni era, it should at first be apparent if Hurts appears comfortable in this system at all.
Advertisement
There should be plenty of seven-on-seven, nine-on-seven, and even 11-on-11 drills to secure a reasonable sample size. Hurts threw two interceptions during last week’s OTA viewing. Does that become a trend? Does he instead appear comfortable and in command? Does he make the defense pay with deep completions? Owner Jeffrey Lurie, Sirianni, Moore and Nussmeier have all stated their belief in Hurts, a “franchise quarterback” who’ll average $51 million per year through 2028 — fifth-most at the position league-wide, per Over the Cap.
“Every day has been growth,” Nussmeier said. “Obviously, it’s all new. So, we’ve got a lot of work to do from now until we open the season.”
Find a “home” position for Cooper DeJean
Christian Parker, who, as the Eagles’ new defensive passing game coordinator, also oversees the team’s defensive backs, lauded second-round pick Cooper DeJean’s versatility. That trait has frequently been associated with DeJean, who played 77.3% of his career defensive snaps at Iowa lined up as an outside cornerback, 10.6% in the slot and just one snap at free safety, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Eagles do not yet appear interested in playing DeJean as a deep safety. He mostly played outside corner during the two viewings of OTAs, with a larger devotion in the second viewing as a nickel defender than in the first. New defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said it’s his philosophy to start versatile defenders out first at a primary position, then “start giving them the secondary position, and you go from there.”
GO DEEPER
Scoop City: Ranking the NFL's contenders
Where does DeJean belong in this defense?
“We’re kind of in that process now,” Parker said. “We’ve moved him around a little bit. He can handle it mentally. And I think as we move on through this phase right now when going into training camp, then he’ll have a home. But he’s playing corner, he’s playing nickel, he’s handling those things well. We’ll continue to put more on his plate and see how he handles it.”
Advertisement
The sooner the Eagles find DeJean a home, the better. It’s true that position versatility is virtually a prerequisite for NFL defensive backs. It’s quite likely DeJean eventually alternates between cornerback and nickel multiple times during his career. But if the Eagles intend to deploy DeJean early in 2024, it’s best they identify a home position before training camp begins.
Of course, unexpected events change plans. DeJean’s versatility makes him a valuable asset in the event of a sudden injury or transaction. But if, for example, the Eagles believe they already have two solid starters at cornerback, it’d benefit both DeJean and the idea of a “field-the-best” nickel if the rookie’s training camp development begins there. But, first, mandatory minicamp will help the Eagles identify whether DeJean can even cut it as a nickel defender, or if he’s better suited in another spot.
Identify contingency plans along the offensive line
Tyler Steen fits the mold of an offensive guard, according to respected offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. The 2023 third-round pick remains the presumptive starter at right guard, replacing Cam Jurgens as Jurgens slides over to center in the post-Jason Kelce era. It’s quite possible that fielding a 2024 Eagles offensive line will be a simple and seamless transition.
Perhaps it won’t. Few things can disrupt an offense than the sudden disorder of its line. The Eagles spent two Day 3 picks on offensive linemen (Trevor Keegan, Dylan McMahon) partly to ensure they’re prepared for the unpredictable. If the starting line eventually deviates from the expected — LT Jordan Mailata, LG Landon Dickerson, C Jurgens, RG Steen, RT Lane Johnson — for any reason (injury, unmet expectations, regression, et. al), the Eagles must lean on contingency plans.
Philadelphia was in a better position last year simply because the Kelce-Jurgens transition hadn’t yet occurred. Now that it has, the Eagles don’t have the same degree of depth available. Jurgens was a 2022 second-round pick. Behind Jurgens and Steen, the most dependable option for the Eagles is Matt Hennessy, a former depth lineman for the Atlanta Falcons who last played in 2022.
General manager Howie Roseman’s recent transactions underline an intent to secure more dependable depth. In April, the Eagles signed former New York Jets offensive tackle Mekhi Becton, the No. 11 pick in 2020. Becton has “swing value,” Stoutland says, and has been taking snaps at guard. On Monday, the Eagles signed Max Scharping, who logged a total of 43 snaps in his last two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. Who will the Eagles depend on if a talent-laden starting rotation needs reinforcements?
(Top photo of Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley: Bill Streicher / USA TODAY Sports)
