Homegrown Eagles Defense Developing, Serving Up Unprecedented Youth

The Eagles are young and, as was the hope, getting better each week with a starting group filled with Howie Roseman draft picks.

Philadelphia Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (8) reacts to intercepting a pass with other members of the Philadelphia Eagles defense in the fourth quarter of the NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the first time in a very long time, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman sat on his hands as the NFL trade deadline came and went.

The defense looked like it could use some help – back in early October, anyway. Since then, the unit has begun to develop, and it is doing so with a youth movement the Eagles have never had before. Not all at once, at least.

The starting lineup they ran out there in Sunday’s 28-23 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars was believed to be the first time in franchise history that featured all 11 players who were 27 years old or younger, per NBC Philly’s Reuben Frank. Not having 33-year-old Darius Slay, who missed the game with a groin injury, made that possible.

“I don't see it as an age thing or an experience thing,” said defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. “I see it as a production thing - who can play the best - and we put them out there regardless.

"Would you like experienced guys right in the middle of the prime of their career, 11 of those? Sure, you would, but in today's day and age, that's not going to happen very often, but we are not afraid to play young players. I never have been. Never will be. So as long as they can do their job.”

Of the 11, eight are Roseman’s draft picks.

That is called homegrown.

Nov 3, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean (17) celebrates with teammates and fans after an interception late in the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The only three who came from elsewhere were Zack Baun, Isaiah Rodgers, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

Seven are 25 or younger, with Reed Blankenship at the top of that scale at 25. The six under 25 are Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Cooper DeJean (who is the youngest at 21), Quinyon Mitchell, and Nolan Smith.

It was expected that the unit would take time to jell, though maybe some fans expected more sooner - like Week 1. With a defense so young, and led by Vic Fangio, a 66-year-old defensive coordinator who has been coaching defense longer than many fans have been alive, things are coming together nicely.

The defense is ranked third overall in the NFL, giving up 290.1 yards per game. They are fifth in rush defense and seventh in pass defense.

They have allowed just eight passing touchdowns. Last year they were next-to-last in the league giving up 35, just four fewer than the worst team in 2023, the Commanders.

A defense that had forced just two turnovers in the first six games has now forced five in the last two games. The surge has helped them to climb back to respectability in the takeaway/giveaway ratio at minus 2, which ranks 20th.

Sacks have begun to come, too. The defense had just six in the first for games of the year, but 16 in the previous four games.

That is called development.

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