‘Make or Break’

The Philadelphia Eagles defense will rely on young pieces to make up for the losses in free agency.

On the latest episode of “Inside The Birds,” Geoff Mosher and Adam Caplan identified the defensive players that are most under the microscope in 2025. 

GETTY IMAGES: Philadelphia Eagles DT Jordan Davis has an opportunity for more snaps in year four.

Moro Ojomo

Geoff Mosher: “I don’t think Moro Ojomo has to be Milton Williams, but he just has to be good at his job.”

Adam Caplan: “Moro Ojomo and Jordan Davis played exactly the same amount of snaps [in 2024]: 388. Ojomo is more explosive as a pass rusher, longer, has a great first step.”

Jordan Davis

Mosher: “If by the end of next year, we’re saying still only playing 13 to 15 snaps per game, then it didn’t work out and maybe the coaches were overstating the improvement as a pass rusher.”

Caplan: “His snap total went down from 2023 to ’24, but he definitely looked better late in the season. The expectation is in year four, he’s supposedly in really good shape. It’s a technique issue.”

Jalyx Hunt/Nolan Smith Jr.

Mosher: “Jalyx Hunt, a second-year player, and Nolan Smith, a third-year player, have combined for 11 starts in the NFL. Jalyx Hunt has one. You look at their trajectory and you’re thinking good. However, progression isn’t always linear.”

Kelee Ringo

Mosher: “It’s year three, it’s time to either make or break.” 

Caplan: “They know what they have here. They know what the challenges are, they know what he has in his body: the length, the speed. He’s doing all of the right things, he just has to put it together. It’s their sincere hope that he wins the starting job.”

Sydney Brown

Mosher: “You hope it’s not too late. The Eagles made moves at safety and Sydney Brown right now finds himself looking up at Reed Blankenship and maybe Andrew Mukuba. You don’t draft a guy in the second round who fits your scheme to a T to not get that guy on the field, so Brown has a lot of work to do to show that he’s a disciplined player, that he can function within the scheme, that he is some kind of fit somewhere in this defense.”

Caplan: “Mukuba has better versatility and ball skills. Brown’s more physical.”

– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.