Eagles Have 'Most Stacked' D-Line? 'Come on Man!' Says Josh Sweat

Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat isn't running from high expectations.

PHILADELPHIA - Over recent days, coach Nick Sirianni and defensive coordinator Sean Desai have bent over backward to inform those observing the Philadelphia Eagles that the organization is still very early in the process of trying to cobble together a worthy sequel to what was an NFC championship season last year.

You don’t need a larger sample size to figure out that the Eagles remain loaded on the defensive front despite some shuffling with youth and upside replacing veteran experience.

On the edges, position coach Jeremiah Washburn has an embarrassment of riches with Defensive Player of the Year candidate Hasson Reddick and the emerging Josh Sweat buttressed by the venerable Brandon Graham, rookie standout Nolan Smith and Derek Barnett, a 2017 first-round pick set to return from ACL surgery with an amended contract that will enable GM Howie Roseman to keep Barnett as an insurance policy if he wants.

Inside, Tracy Rocker has a similar situation with No. 9 overall pick Jalen Carter joining a room that includes Fletcher Cox, Jordan Davis, Milton Williams, and Marlon Tuipulotu.

A rival NFC executive noted that the Eagles have probably 16 or 17 NFL players on their 90-man roster when it comes to the defensive front, a nod to the fact that lesser know edges like Patrick Johnson, Janarius Robinson, and Tarron Jackson as well as defensive tackles like Kentavius Street and Moro Ojomo are good enough to be on 53-man rosters somewhere in the league.

Sweat, coming off a career-high 11 sacks last season, was asked if the Eagles had the best group of edge rushers in the NFL after practice on Sunday.

The rangy, defensive end smiled.

“Come on man. After what we’ve done?" he said.

What the Eagles' defensive front did last season was become the fourth team in NFL history to reach 70 sacks and the first ever to have four players in double-digits: Reddick (16), Sweat (11), Graham (11), and the departed Javon Hargrave (11).

Hargrave left for the big money with the San Francisco 49ers but he was replaced by a more gifted player in Carter while Smith figures to be a massive upgrade over what the Eagles got on the edge from the fourth man in the rotation last season.

The original plan was Barnett for that role but he suffered a torn ACL in Week 1, leaving it for Patrick Johnson before a trade acquisition for the aging and injured Robert Quinn.

Inside, better conditioning from Davis, who seems primed for an increased role in his second season, the uber-talented Carter, along with the return of Tuipulotu brings perhaps an even more significant upside than Hargrave with in-season additions Lival Joseph and Ndamukong Suh.

Sweat, meanwhile, has set his sights high.

“I ain't got [a ceiling], for real,” he said. “Every year, every stat gotta be just a little bit better for me. So, wherever I can find that edge is how I approach my day. So it ain't gonna stop here. I am definitely gonna do better this year too."

Perhaps to a Reddick-like level.

"Hopefully when I get up to that 15-20 [sacks] I keep going," said Sweat. "I don't want to have no down years. That's my goal."

As for the whole defensive front, Sweat didn't beg off from any expectation.

"Some people will tell you otherwise but no, no. We the most stacked D-Line for sure," he said.

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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen