Young Eagles Cooper DeJean, Moro Ojomo, Jalyx Hunt, and Sydney Brown could be called on to contribute more

Howie Roseman said at the NFL scouting combine last week that the Eagles have to get creative — to make sure they’re retaining as many of the free agents they want back as they can — and play young players.

Roseman, the Eagles’ general manager, almost batted 1.000 last year in the acquisitions he made. And to Nick Sirianni’s credit, he and his staff coached up those players.

But some of them, such as free agents Milton Williams and Josh Sweat, could be in line for major paydays elsewhere unless Roseman can work his magic. We’ve already started to see a shift with the release of cornerback Darius Slay, although there is a chance the 34-year-old returns.

Either way, Roseman and Sirianni are counting on a young crop of players to be ready to make the next jump in their careers should they be needed.

Before the Eagles cleaned out their lockers at the NovaCare Complex for the offseason, these up-and-comers addressed their development and headspace with unCovering the Birds.

It’s likely Slay isn’t back unless he’s willing to take a significant pay cut. The Eagles have as much young depth at the position as they’ve ever had, and it starts with Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, who had stellar rookie seasons — outside in Mitchell’s case and in the slot for DeJean.

It seems probable that DeJean would remain inside in nickel personnel, but the Eagles also scouted him on the outside. Would he be open to a full-time move?

“Yeah, I’m definitely willing to if that’s where I end up — or if I do both, whatever it is,” DeJean said. “I’m really happy playing inside and being around all the action and close to the ball. I like being able to affect the run game and the pass game.”

The Eagles were in their “base” defense about 15% of the time last season, so it’s not as if it kept DeJean off the field for long. But he said he would invite more playing time.

“I haven’t really thought about it, to be honest, a whole lot, but it’d be fun to be out there every single snap,” DeJean said. “If a team’s going to bigger personnels and things like that and we go to our base personnel, I’d like to get in there.”

» READ MORE: Cooper DeJean shares what gave him ‘chills’ before the Super Bowl — and what Chiefs fan Caitlin Clark said after it

A permanent move outside also increases DeJean’s worth. But that might not come until his third or fourth season. Whatever the plan, the Eagles are likely to need someone new on the outside for the interim.

Kelee Ringo is the most obvious in-house replacement, going into his third season. Ringo is on the larger side and has been up and down when called upon. Will the Eagles entrust him to start?

If not, they could just re-sign Isaiah Rodgers, who’s slated to become a free agent. Rodgers was ahead of Ringo on the depth chart and stepped in whenever Slay got hurt or needed a breather last season. He may be a more cost-effective solution and is seven years younger than Slay, but it will be tough to replace the six-time Pro Bowler.

The consensus is that Williams will command much more on the open market than the Eagles will be willing to pay, considering the investment they have already made in the position. When they drafted Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter in back-to-back first rounds, it was a fait accompli for Williams. And then he went out and had his best season in a contract year.

If Williams walks, the onus will be on Davis, who played only 37% of snaps last season and only 21% of the time in the postseason. The Eagles drafted Davis where they did, at No. 13 overall in 2022, because they thought he could play on all three downs. They know he can defend the run. Developing pass-rushing moves has not come as easily. But if Davis can’t take advantage of the opportunity, Moro Ojomo is ready to take it.

“I’m obsessed with being great, and I’m obsessed with getting better,” Ojomo said. “I want to make jumps in my career every year, and I think that if you look at my career from a zoomed-out perspective, I’ve always done that. And I don’t have any plan of plateauing. I don’t have any plan of not making ginormous jumps each year.”

Ojomo played as many snaps as Davis in the regular season, with the emphasis on passing downs. He had just one sack — in the playoff win over the Rams — but according to Pro Football Focus, his pass-rush win rate was second only to the Chiefs’ Chris Jones.

As for whether Ojomo would step into Williams’ shoes as a 4-technique run defender, Ojomo doesn’t think his lack of size hinders him. At 282 pounds, he’s only eight pounds lighter than Williams. “In anything, you play to your strengths,” Ojomo said, “and maybe some other things, you figure out a way to make it work for you.”

Another big decision looms after the draft with the deadline for Davis’ fifth-year option. Will the Eagles pick it up? That’s ensuring him a $12.4 million salary for 2026. That is to be determined.

But there may be more than just one edge defender they’ll replace on the defensive line. Sweat could leave via free agency, and Brandon Graham is still considering retirement.

There’s also the matter of Bryce Huff, who didn’t even dress for the Super Bowl. Roseman has said he still thinks the story is yet to be written on Huff, but he can’t be going into the offseason thinking the $51 million man will contribute in Vic Fangio’s defense next season. Roseman will try to trade Huff, but it’s going to be hard to move that contract.

The good news for the Eagles is that Nolan Smith made a massive jump in his second season. But that still leaves the Eagles without a starting-caliber defensive end on the other side. Perhaps Huff figures it out. But Roseman will have to likely look elsewhere if both Sweat and Graham don’t return.

Ideally, Jalyx Hunt comes off the bench as part of a three- or four-man rotation. He made strides in his rookie season. He notched 1½ sacks in the regular season and matched that number in the postseason, with a half-sack in the Super Bowl. As well as he played down the stretch, Hunt sees a lot of room for growth.

“I’m definitely excited to get back to work,” Hunt said. “I just watched the [Super Bowl] game back, saw some things I’ll be able to improve upon.”

At off-ball linebacker, Zack Baun agreed to terms on a three-year contract, but Nakobe Dean is unlikely to be back by the opener because of the knee injury he suffered in the first round of the playoffs. Oren Burks played well in Dean’s place, but he’s also a free agent. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. could be the next man up.

» READ MORE: ‘Always Sunny’ star Rob McElhenney offers to pay Jalyx Hunt’s $5,690 fine for Super Bowl celebration

The Eagles are expected to return both of their starting safeties — C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship. In fact, one or both could be in line for a contract extension with Gardner-Johnson only signed through 2026 and Blankenship entering a contract year.

But that hasn’t stopped Sydney Brown’s belief in himself that he could start in the NFL.

“I didn’t come here to just play special teams, obviously, so I’m motivated,” Brown said. “It’s going to be awesome to have an offseason. Last year was a little weird just because I had one leg [in good health after surgery on the other], so it’s just different. I’m able to approach this offseason that way I’d wanted to — have the OTAs, have a training camp, have every reason to go out there and do what I need to do to show that I was drafted where I was drafted [at No. 66 overall in 2023]. Those are my intentions.”

Brown’s second season was delayed because of the torn ACL he suffered at the end of the 2023 season. He didn’t play until Week 7. And even when he did return, he was still behind Tristin McCollum. Brown said that had more to do with missing time than ability. He accepted his role on special teams and especially made an impact as the gunner opposite Ringo on punt coverage.

“It was an emotional roller coaster for sure during the season just trying to understand what my role was on defense,” Brown said. “I was trying to knock that out early on and then once I kind of figured that it was going to mainly be special teams, I just owned it.”

Given the opportunity to start in the season finale against the Giants, Brown played well, especially in the post, and had the game-ending interception. Even if he can’t supplant Gardner-Johnson or Blankenship at safety, there could be a role for Brown in sub packages on defense.