Eagles grades by position after a quarter of the 2024 season originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
There’s a long way to go.
But after just about a quarter of the 2024 season, the Eagles are coming off their early Week 5 bye with a 2-2 record. You can view that record a couple different ways. On one hand, the Eagles have overcome some stuff and emerged with a .500 record. On the other, this team might not be as good as you thought it was entering the season.
After starting off the season with a tough win on a bad field over the Packers in São Paulo, the Eagles returned to the Linc and lost an absolute heartbreaker late against the Falcons. Then they outplayed the Saints and escaped with a tight win in New Orleans, only to go to Tampa and lay an egg against the Buccaneers.
It has been a roller coaster so far.
But before we look ahead to the final 13 games of the 2024 season, let’s take a look back at the position grades for the first quarter(ish) of the season. All of these position grades were handed out after each game. We’ll take an average of them, weighing each game equally:
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts: 68.2%, 930 yards, 4 TDs, 4 INTs, 85.7 rating; 42 attempts, 163 yards, 2 TDs, 3 fumbles lost
Grades: C+, B-, B-, D+
Hurts has done some really good things through four games but all of that is being overshadowed by his turnover problem. Hurts has 7 turnovers through 4 games and is behind just Will Levis (9) this season. Hurts has turned the ball over in all four games this season. What’s worse is that 3 of Hurts’ 7 turnovers this season have come in the red zone, so he’s taking points off the board.
Grade: C (2.25)
Running back
Saquon Barkley: 73 carries, 435 yards, 4 TDs; 12 catches, 85 yards, 1 TD
Grades: A+, B+, A, A-
Sure, Barkley had a drop at the end of the Falcons game and it was a big one. If he catches that ball, the Eagles are 3-1 right now. But even after dinging him in that game, Barkley deserves his A. He has been the Eagles’ best player through a quarter of the season and is among the league leaders in rushing yards. He is averaging a robust 6.0 yards per carry and has also been a factor in the passing game a bit too. We’ll see if Barkley can keep this up for a full season but for now this is looking like a huge Howie Roseman offseason win. Kenny Gainwell still has a small role and has made a few plays. Will Shipley has played just a handful of snaps in the 21 personnel package.
Grade: A (3.83)
Receiver
DeVonta Smith: 21 catches, 239 yards, 1 TD
Grades: A-, B-, B, C-
In his only game this season, A.J. Brown had 5 catches for 119 yards and a touchdown. But then he hurt his hamstring in practice in Week 2 and has missed the last three games. Missing Brown has obviously hurt the Eagles but he should be back after the bye week. DeVonta Smith had a strong start to his season but missed the Bucs game with a concussion. Right now, this should probably be an incomplete grade. But it’s worth noting that the receivers outside of Brown and Smith are still a concern. The Eagles traded for Jahan Dotson and he has just 5 catches for 25 yards in 4 games.
Grade: B- (2.78)
Tight end
Dallas Goedert: 24 catches, 301 yards
Grades: B, C, A+, B-
It was strange that Goedert just wasn’t a big part of the Eagles’ game plan in their loss to the Falcons but he had a career game in the win over the Saints with 11 catches for 170 yards. Thanks to that big performance against New Orleans, Goedert is now on pace to have a career season with over 1,000 yards receiving. But there’s a long way to go. TE2 Grant Calcaterra has 4 catches for 56 yards and now Jack Stoll is back on the roster as a blocking option at the position. It’ll be interesting to see how those snaps get split up the rest of the year.
Grade: B (3.00)
Offensive line
Grades: B, A-, B+, C+
The Eagles had to play their Week 4 game without Lane Johnson and they clearly missed the All-Pro right tackle. Even at age 34, Johnson is still such an important piece of the Eagles’ offensive line. So far, the Eagles are getting very good tackle play out of Johnson and Jordan Mailata. Cam Jurgens has been solid replacing Jason Kelce. And Landon Dickerson and Mekhi Becton have both been good at guard too. Here’s a look at the PFF rankings for each Eagles’ offensive lineman among their respective position groups:
Jordan Mailata: 2nd/77
Landon Dickerson: 17th/69
Cam Jurgens: 7th/35
Mekhi Becton: 21st/69
Lane Johnson: 4th/77
Grade: B (3.08)
Defensive line
Brandon Graham: 5 tackles, 1 sack, 2 QB hits
Grades: C, D, A, C-
Through four games, the Eagles had just six sacks, which ranked 29th in the NFL. And their leader is sacks is off-ball linebacker Zack Baun with two. The only sacks from the defensive line are one apiece from Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, Milton Williams and Jordan Davis. That’s not great. While he doesn’t have a sack, Jalen Carter completely took over the Saints game and played at an All-Pro level but he definitely needs to find more consistency. The Eagles have given up 5.0 yards per carry, which ranks 29th in the NFL. While that’s a team stat, the defensive line is where it starts. This unit needs to play better.
Grade: C (2.18)
Linebacker
Zack Baun: 43 tackles, 2 TFLs, 2 QB hits, 2 sacks
Grades: B-, B-, A, D-
The linebacker play has been a little up and down so far this season. Baun got off to a great start this season and through four games has been a steal of the offseason. He’s among the league leaders in tackles and has been all over the field at times. Nakobe Dean has had some good moments but some struggles too, especially in the loss to the Buccaneers. But Dean won the job over Devin White in training camp. The Eagles’ linebackers aren’t the best in the league but they’ve gotten a decent level of play from them so far.
Grade: B- (2.53)
Secondary
Reed Blankenship: 2 INTs, 3 PBUs, 25 tackles
Grades: B-, C+, B+, D
The Eagles have just two interceptions as a team and both of them have come from Blankenship and both have come in wins. The Eagles are 0-2 without an interception this season. The cornerback play from Darius Slay has been OK but the play from rookie Quinyon Mitchell is incredibly encouraging. The rookie should probably have a couple interceptions already and it’s looking like the Eagles nailed that pick. Avonte Maddox has had enough struggles in the nickel spot that it might be time to play rookie Cooper DeJean over him. While Blankenship has made some plays, the Eagles’ other safety, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, is off to a bit of a shaky start, especially in coverage.
Grade: C+ (2.33)
Special teams
Jake Elliott: 4/5 on FGs, 0/1 on 50+; 8/8 on PATs
Grades: B+, B+, C, C-
The Eagles have had good and bad moments on special teams so far. Against the Bucs, they had some rough plays on punt returns without Britain Covey. Elliott has made all but one of his field goals; he missed badly on an attempt from 60 against the Saints. Braden Mann is off to a great start, averaging 51.9 yards per punt. The NFL’s dynamic kickoff hasn’t been all that dynamic so far. But eventually cold weather in the Northeast could change that.
Grade: B- (2.58)
Coaching
Record: 2-2
Grades: B, F, C, F
The lowest grade through a quarter of the season goes to the coaching staff. Some of Nick Sirianni’s in-game decisions have been baffling and the experiment of bringing him back for the 2024 season is off to a rocky start. The whole premise was that Sirianni would manage in-game situations and deal with culture while Vic Fangio would run the defense and Kellen Moore would run the offense. Fangio had a great game plan against the Saints but then struggled against the Bucs. Early in the season, there were glimpses of an exciting, brand-new offense under Moore but things have become more static in recent games. It’ll be interesting to see what adjustments the coaching staff makes after the bye week.
Grade: D+ (1.25)
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