Jalen Hurts steered a measured Week 1 win for Philadelphia, distributing to DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown while keeping the run game active. The offense leaned into efficient, timely plays rather than fireworks downfield, setting up a Week 2 showdown with Kansas City as a meaningful test of pace and balance.

Defensively, Cooper DeJean anchored the nickel with a versatile toolkit, while Nolan Smith, Jordan Davis and Milton Williams supplied disruptive interior pressure. Reed Blankenship held things down in the back end, and talk around adding Mike Hilton signals ongoing depth tweaks. Overall, the Eagles flashed floor with room to grow, especially in the passing varieties and edge pressure.

Za’Darius Smith joins Philadelphia, bringing a veteran, violent edge presence to an already deep group. His nine sacks last year and proven ability to win with power should upgrade the third-edge role and provide a cushion for Nolan Smith’s youth. The move signals a smarter, deeper rotation and could unlock more interior pressure as Philadelphia retools its pass rush.

Nolan Smith and Josh Uche gain a steadying influence, Aziz Ojulari’s upside remains high, and Jalen Carter’s development gets a clearer path with veteran heft around him. Expect Philly to lean into more stunt work and inside-out pressure looks, raising the floor for the defense and giving fantasy streaming options for the unit and its edge players.

Jordan Davis anchored the Eagles’ interior, flashing 11-plus plus plays and high-impact run stops while playing around 87% of snaps, a dramatic leap that sparked optimism for Philly’s front end after Jaylen Carter’s early ejection. Davis’ late-night burst and secondary burst showed real conditioning progress and a potential weekly floor as the middle of Philly’s defense stabilizes.

Jihad Campbell and Zach Bond anchored Vic Fangio’s Tampa-2 look, with Sydney Brown and Drew Makuba mixing in dime and nickel roles to keep the middle of the field from becoming a soft spot. On offense, Hurts’ improvisational ground game and Sharpe- Dodson- Smith timing combined with AJ Brown’s health to push the Cowboys out of rhythm, while Rozier-like scrambles kept drives alive and fantasy owners excited about Philly’s ceiling.

Zadarius Smith joins the Eagles on a one-year deal, instantly upgrading the team’s edge depth as Nolan Smith and the young rotation look to take bigger steps. Smith’s pedigree—69 career sacks and three Pro Bowls—gives Philadelphia a trusted answer on the outside as they balance a roster focused on young talent with veteran punch. Early expectations suggest a measured ramp, with a handful of snaps to legitimize the fit before a fuller rollout.

The discussion circles around when Smith can contribute after his street signing, the ceiling for usage, and how this shapes the rest of the depth chart, including roles for Nolan Smith, Josh Sweat, and the rest of the pass-rush group. Week 1 versus the Chiefs could test how quickly he can blend into a defense that needs juice on rushes, especially with question marks at edge depth and the development timeline for the younger players.

Eagles preseason finale teases an all-in-one fantasy narrative: the QB2 battle between Adoree' Jackson and Jacorian Bennett has kept the room buzzing, but the real drama centers on the secondary where Keely Ringo is firmly in the doghouse and Cooper DeJean might force a late-season reshuffle. Philadelphia’s offense leans on elite targets in Devonte Smith and AJ Brown, while the O-line rotation—Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, and Drew Kendall—offers but signals of depth at guard/center. The defense buzzes with a live-wire DL trio (Carter, Smith, and Ojomo-like potential) and a linebacking corps that could be among the most athletic in the league. Week 1 against Dallas looms as a test both for the QB2s and for a CB2 plan that will determine where risk and upside meet in fantasy play.

Outside the field, bets and fantasy leanings hinge on 3- to 4-week timing: how quickly the Eagles unlock a true QB2, who emerges as the top CB2 option, and which pass-catchers soak up targets in a run-first system that still produces efficient volume. Lane Johnson’s looming top-15 potential discussion adds intrigue to blockers and line depth, while the WR duo of Brown and Smith remains the backbone for fantasy rosters, with DeJean and Ringo offering long-term upside in a defense that could flip games with pressure and turnover.