Eagles player under most pressure entering 2026 NFL season

For the first time in several seasons, doubt is beginning to spread about Hurts. In fact, NFL sources ranked Hurts as the 17th best quarterback in the league headed into the new season.

The changing narrative around Hurts, plus Philly’s desire to make noise in the playoffs, should put the veteran quarterback under a lot of pressure.

All of that said, the biggest hurdle for Hurts in 2026 will be learning Mannion’s new offense. Philly hired Mannion to replace Kevin Patullo and to bring a Sean McVay-style offense to the team.

This will be a big change for all Eagles offensive players. But Hurts alone will be tasked with calling plays in the huddle and reading the defense before the snap.

As for Mannion, he’s already taken the time to heap praise on Hurts after getting to know him.

“Jalen’s been awesome. I really think he can do anything we ask of him. He’s accurate. He’s a great athlete. He really attacks the fundamentals,” Mannion said in May per Eagles reporter Dave Zangaro. “That’s what’s been really fun to watch these last two weeks of phase two. He’s always wanting more things to work on, wanting more things regarding fundamentals, timing, understanding the scheme. He’s hungry for more. Those are the guys that are really fun to work with.”

It will be clear starting in Week 1 how good of a grasp Hurts has on Philly’s new offense. Hopefully he can hit the ground running right away.

Makai Lemon will be tasked with replacing A.J. Brown’s production as a rookie

One of the biggest, and most expected, offseasons moves of the past few months was Philadelphia trading A.J. Brown to New England.

It was an expected move after Brown was disgruntled with Philly’s offense throughout most of the 2025 season. The Eagles also made their intentions clear well before the trade by laying all the necessary groundwork.

Philadelphia prepared for the Brown trade by trading for Dontayvion Wicks and moving up to grab Makai Lemon in the first round.

Now the Eagles have Lemon, Wicks, and DeVonta Smith as their projected starters ahead of the new season. They also have Hollywood Brown in reserve alongside other backup-level players.

On paper, Lemon will enter his rookie season as Philadelphia’s unquestioned WR2 behind Smith. That is a lot of pressure for the young rookie to take on right away, especially on a contending team.

It is difficult to know how much the Eagles will ask Lemon to do this fall. Remember, Brown received a whopping 121 targets back in 2025. Those targets have to go somewhere, and Lemon could be the prime beneficiary.

Of course, Philadelphia’s new offense makes it almost impossible to know for sure how much work each player will get.

Either way, Lemon will not have the luxury of making rookie mistakes during the 2026 season.

Can Jonathan Greenard be the face of Philly’s pass rush unit in 2026?

One of the other big moves the Eagles made this offseason was acquiring Jonathan Greenard from the Vikings.

Philadelphia needed to replenish the edge rusher position after losing Jaelan Phillips in free agency earlier this offseason. They also saw Josh Sweat leave in free agency last year.

It is good to see that Philadelphia found a solid veteran to replace Phillips. But the repeated attrition that the Eagles have endured at the position has left them vulnerable heading into the fall.

Greenard projects as a starter next to Nolan Smith on the edge. Behind them are Arnold Ebiketie and Jalyx Hunt as the primary backups. Philadelphia will be asking a lot from Greenard, as he’s been much more reliable than Smith over the past few seasons.

2025 was a down season for Greenard. He only managed 38 total tackles with three sacks and one forced fumble in 12 games played. That was an underwhelming performance after posting back-to-back seasons with 12+ sacks the previous two years.

On a positive note, Greenard is now in a better overall situation on a defensive unit that is brimming with talent. That is a vast improvement from his situation in Minnesota last season.

Hopefully Greenard can provide some consistent pressure on the edge. Otherwise, Philadelphia’s defense may not be as dangerous as they’ve been in recent years.