Who’s replacing Reed Blankenship? How much will Christian Parker be missed? Biggest defensive questions for the Eagles ahead of OTAs
Vic Fangio is back to guide the defense but will have some key decisions to make on Eagles personnel playing that side of the ball.
With organized team activities for the Eagles set to commence next week, we are taking a look at the biggest questions for a team with Super Bowl aspirations that is trying to manage substantial change. Just as they did for the offense, The Inquirer’s Eagles reporters, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, and Ryan Novozinsky, identified the most significant storylines for coordinator Vic Fangio and the defensive side of the ball.
What’s going to be different for the Eagles after Christian Parker left to become Dallas’ defensive coordinator?
With Parker leaving for the Cowboys, the Eagles are splitting up his previous titles — defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach — between two coaches. Joe Kasper has been promoted from safeties coach to defensive passing game coordinator, and Mike Pellegrino has been hired as the secondary coach.
In just two seasons, Parker made a massive impact on a young Eagles secondary, helping Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell earn All-Pro honors in 2025. At the end of the season, DeJean said he wouldn’t have had the success he has attained in the NFL without Parker.
Still, Kasper is equally revered in the locker room — and equally qualified for the job. He is going into his eighth year as a coach in the NFL and his fifth with the Eagles. It’s also his fourth year with Fangio. After Kasper’s stint as a defensive quality control coach with the Eagles in 2021 and 2022, he joined Fangio’s staff with the Miami Dolphins in 2023, then returned to Philadelphia when Fangio became defensive coordinator in 2024.
Ultimately, Fangio still leads the defense, and Kasper’s promotion ensures that there will be some consistency in the way details and fundamentals are coached within the scheme. — Olivia Reiner
Who’s in the mix at safety following Reed Blankenship’s defection to Houston?
The guess here is that this is not the group of safeties the Eagles will carry into training camp. But for the sake of this exercise, we can only analyze who the Eagles have right now.
The expectation was that Drew Mukuba, last year’s second-round pick, would be ready for spring practices after suffering a fractured fibula during a Week 12 game at the Cowboys. One of the more intriguing things to watch during OTAs is who gets the first reps next to him in the post-Blankenship era. The likely answer now is Marcus Epps, who started next to Blankenship down the stretch last season.
The Eagles brought Epps back on a one-year deal, and while safety depth is pretty thin, Epps does have a few challengers for the job. The Eagles seem prepared to test Michael Carter II at safety. Carter has played most of his NFL snaps at nickel, but the Eagles think he can play safety. We’ll see how many reps he gets there during spring practices. The Eagles also have veteran safety J.T. Gray, Andre’ Sam, and seventh-round pick Cole Wisniewski on the depth chart.
I’d be surprised if the Eagles didn’t add another veteran safety option to the mix before July. Mukuba was finding his footing before the injury, but a starting duo of Mukuba and Epps, or Mukuba and Carter, is begging for an upgrade. — Jeff Neiburg
Where is Jonathan Greenard going to line up? What are the Eagles’ expectations about his impact?
If you only looked at his sack total (three), Greenard had a down year in 2025. According to those closest to him, this because the Vikings used him wrong — he often would drop back in coverage, instead of leaning into his primary skill as a pass rusher. This won’t be a problem in Philadelphia. The Eagles acquired Greenard for a simple reason: They needed a No. 1 edge rusher after Jaelan Phillips left in free agency. Coaches across the sport are bullish about what Greenard will do in Fangio’s defense.
“Vic will know how to use him,” said longtime NFL coach Bill O’Brien, who was head coach and general manager of the Houston Texans when they drafted Greenard in 2020.
» READ MORE: What the film says Eagles pass rusher Jonathan Greenard does best, and how it will lift Vic Fangio’s defense
As far as expectations, the Eagles (rightly) think highly of their new linebacker. There’s a reason they handed him a $98 million extension. Despite his low sack totals, Greenard still had a high pressure rate in 2025 (47). Philadelphia’s top brass expects that to translate to sacks this season. — Ryan Novozinsky
What about Riq Woolen?
After signing a one-year, $12 million contract, the most lucrative one-year deal of the Eagles’ free-agent class, Woolen is poised to assume the starting outside cornerback spot opposite Mitchell. Given his contract value and his body of work with the Seattle Seahawks, it’s unlikely that the 27-year-old Woolen will face any real competition in OTAs and training camp, unlike last year’s battle for the CB2 spot between Adoree’ Jackson and Kelee Ringo.
Even as the presumptive starter, Woolen still has plenty to prove. He was demoted from his starting role in Seattle as last season progressed. Woolen wasn’t the best scheme fit in Mike Macdonald’s zone-heavy defense and also racked up a league-high three taunting penalties in the regular season and playoffs combined.
Woolen will have a chance this season to show the league that he’s capable of holding down a starting role full-time and keeping his cool. If so, he could play his way into a hefty payday, in Philadelphia or elsewhere, next offseason. — Reiner
How do free-agent additions Arnold Ebiketie, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, and Jonathan Jones fit in?
The greatest need entering the draft was a toss-up between safety and edge rusher. The Eagles addressed the edge in a big way during draft weekend, when they traded for Greenard and signed him to a big contract.
Acquiring Greenard means the Eagles won’t have to rely heavily on Ebiketie, a second-round pick by the Falcons out of Temple and Penn State who had two sacks in 2025 after six in each of the previous two seasons. But having Ebiketie as the fourth edge defender is pretty solid when it comes to depth at an important position. Greenard, Nolan Smith, and Jalyx Hunt make up a formidable trio at the top of the depth chart.
Where does that leave Tryon-Shoyinka? He struggled a bit while dealing with some injuries in 2025 and failed to register a sack in 72 pass-rushing snaps with the Browns and Bears. He had 15 sacks during his first four NFL seasons with Tampa Bay.
The Eagles kept five edge rushers on their initial 53-man roster last year and six a year prior. With limited depth options behind Tryon-Shoyinka, the 32nd pick in the 2021 draft certainly has a path to a roster spot.
Jones is interesting. Signing him gave the Eagles a ton of depth at corner. Nickel packages will put Mitchell, DeJean, and Woolen on the field together. So the reserves include Jones, Jakorian Bennett, Ringo, Mac McWilliams, and others.
Jones has played a lot of football and provides some veteran help with inside-outside versatility. Signing him makes others expendable. Howie Roseman hasn’t been afraid to make August trades. One of the other backups could be a trade chip for a team needing corner depth during or after camp. — Neiburg
What’s the plan for NFL International Pathway program additions, DT Uar Bernard and LB Joshua Weru?
The key to Bernard and Weru having success is patience from the organization. Luckily for both players, the Eagles have been here before. Jordan Mailata, then a football novice, went through a similar process with the Birds in 2018. He did not play in a regular-season game until his third season.
Of course, Mailata is an outlier in the International Pathway program. He’s the program’s biggest success story by far. But with him and the Eagles overseeing Bernard and Weru’s development, it’s certainly not impossible for both players to eventually get some playing time on Sundays. Just don’t expect it to come during their rookie year. — Novozinsky
