Examining The Eagles' Edge-Rushing Situation

From there, the Eagles have numbers on the 53 and have three veterans inactive last week to pull from in Azeez Ojulari, Ogbo Okoronkwo, and Patrick Johnson.

In Tampa this weekend for a battle of 3-0 teams, at least one and perhaps two of that trio should be up for the game.

“This is why you have depth,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said on Friday. “We’ve got a lot of depth there, so it’s never … ‘Who replaces this guy’s production?’ Well, it never just has to be one, right? Just like how you play defense. It’s not one guy just doesn’t have to make the tackle. Sometimes he does, but you play as a team.

“It’s the same thing. You got group tackles, you got gang tackles, and it’s the same thing here. Not one guy has to take the production or take the reps.”

The 'it takes a village' approach is a smart one for Sirianni, but the issues run deeper than that.

GM Howie Roseman has been questioned since the spring about adding a difference-making pass rusher, and until Za'Darius Smith arrived late in the process, it was the most curious development in the well-regarded GM's approach this offseason, considering the losses of Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, and Bryce Huff.

A reported swing-for-the-fences offer for former Dallas superstar Micah Parsons before he was sent to the Packers was never seriously considered from the other side, but it did highlight that Roseman was aware of his potential deficiency.

Through three games, the Eagles have generated just one-half sack from Za'Darius Smith among their edge-rushing group. Per Pro Football Focus, Nolan Smith and Hunt have generated 8 pressures, with Nolan producing a 16.7% win rate and Hunt just 7.8%. Uche is at 25.0% and Za'Darius Smith is at 14.8% in smaller sample sizes.

Ojulari and Okoronkwo have yet to play on defense this season, and Johnson is more special-teamer than pass-rusher, although he has 8 rushing opportunities with minimal success.

Before Nolan Smith's injury was revealed, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio seemed okay with how things were developing on the pass rush when asked by Eagles On SI.

"Yeah, I didn't think the lack of pass rush was an issue in the [Los Angeles Rams] game," Fangio said. "Like you said, [Matthew Stafford] gets it out fairly quickly. We had some good heat at times. We could have run a stunt or two better than we did. But yeah, we didn't have any [sacks] -- well, we had one [by Jordan Davis], but I don't think that's reflective of the pass rush overall."

The Eagles' pie-the-sky approach of leaning on Nolan Smith and Hunt was precarious to begin with, and the absence of Smith somewhat mirrors the time before the trade deadline of Nov. 4, giving Hunt, Uche, and Ojulari or Okoronkwo a small window to keep the answers in-house by performing well.