Eagles’ initial Week 1 depth chart on defense signals more moves coming

It took a series of savvy trades and some tough decisions to arrive at this point, but the Philadelphia Eagles have finalized their initial 53-man roster for the 2025 season.

“Initial” is the key word, though, as some glaring problem areas remain for general manger Howie Roseman as he works to build another Super Bowl roster.

While undrafted rookie Darius Cooper making the team makes for a great story, Philly’s fourth or fifth wide receiver won’t decide its season. The Eagles remain stacked on offense across the board, with two-thirds of their current salary cap committed to that side of the ball, per ESPN’s Dan Graziano.

The big questions fall on defense, where Vic Fangio will be relying on a number of young players, first-year starters, and other newcomers at just about every position. Analyst Anthony DiBona dropped a first glance at Philly’s Week 1 depth chart following Tuesday’s roster cuts, and the secondary sticks out like a sore thumb.

The Philadelphia Eagles clearly aren’t done making moves on defense

Eagles fans should be watching two starting positions in particular when opening night arrives on Sept. 4 — free safety and No. 2 cornerback.

Veteran safety Sydney Brown worked with the first-team defense alongside Reed Blankship throughout training camp, but second-round rookie Andrew Mukuba made a grand impression in his lone preseason action and should challenge for game reps in short order.

The top problem area is obviously CB2, where Adoree’ Jackson is poised to start opposite Quinyon Mitchell on the outside, with Cooper DeJean in the slot in nickel packages. Roseman snagged a potential steal in a trade with the Raiders for Jakorian Bennett earlier this month, and third-year pro Kelee Ringo is also in the mix. But no one really won the job in training camp, leaving Jackson, who turns 30 in September, as the starter basically by default.

As Graziano wrote in a recent breakdown for ESPN, Philly’s unsettled secondary after the first major checkpoint of the season signals more “tinkering” could be coming on the 53-man roster.

“Not every development timetable goes as planned, and asking younger players to take on larger roles brings some risk. This Eagles group has no interest in stopping at one Super Bowl title. They're thinking dynasty thoughts. We've already seen GM Howie Roseman make multiple trades this month, including one that brought in cornerback Jakorian Bennett from the Raiders to address a potentially thin area of the defense. Roseman won't sit on his hands if more questions rise.”

Unfortunately, the writing is on the wall for Ringo. He entered camp with a clear path to a prominent role, but lost the job to an aging player in Jackson, whom Fangio hasn’t sounded too excited about. Bennett emerging as dependable CB2 is Philly’s best-case scenario, but it feels more likely than not that a roster shakeup is coming between now and this year’s trade deadline.