One Pro Bowl Upgrade Who Could Bolster Eagles' Defense

"Eagles acquire Jessie Bates III to patch up pass coverage," Moton speculated. "The Philadelphia Eagles are sorely lacking in quality experience at safety. They lost Reed Blankenship in free agency and traded Sydney Brown to the Atlanta Falcons. Andrew Mukuba has started in 10 career games. Philadelphia re-signed Marcus Epps, who only played 33 percent of the defensive snaps last year. Last season, Mukuba made plays on the ball, recording three pass breakups and two interceptions, but he allowed a 113 passer rating in coverage.

"While edge-rusher stands out as another position of need, the Eagles don't have a surefire starter at safety. They must add a reliable deep-cover defender before the draft. ... Nonetheless, in the final year of his contract, Bates has an inflated cap number of $24.8 million. With a new regime in place, Atlanta may consider trading him for draft capital. If that's the case, the Eagles can pounce on an opportunity to add a Pro Bowl-caliber defender to their secondary."

The idea makes sense from the perspective that Bates would be an upgrade at safety. He's an eight-year veteran and one-time Pro Bowler with 27 total interceptions, including three in 2025. The pass rush is the big hole for Philadelphia right now. Safety would be No. 2 or No. 3, depending on how you view offensive line depth. If the Eagles view safety as the No. 2 need on the team, then it would make sense to give the Falcons a call and see if they can pluck Bates away. He is expensive, though, with a salary cap hit over $24 million for the 2026 season. Arguably, that's too high if the Eagles view safety as the team's No. 3 problem and maybe even if they view safety as the No. 2 problem for the team.

There's no doubt that Bates would be an upgrade and help, but everything starts with the pass rush. If the Eagles can bolster it for cheap, then this route makes sense. If not, then Bates likely would be too expensive for really what the Eagles need.