The new-look Eagles secondary will be tested by a high-powered Cowboys passing attack Thursday
With CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott both healthy again and the addition of George Pickens, the Cowboys pose some top matchups.
Vic Fangio will normally answer most questions with a direct and honest answer, and he was probably briefed Monday afternoon and asked to temper and deflect inquiries about who won starting jobs at the multiple positions on his defense where there was uncertainty.
Who’s starting at cornerback?
“I’m not sure yet,” Fangio said. “I’ll let Nick [Sirianni] announce that.”
I guess you could say the same for linebacker, too?
“Yeah,” Fangio said. “Nick will announce that.”
Safety?
“Howie [Roseman] will announce that,” Fangio quipped.
Spoiler alert for anyone thinking Sirianni will announce a starter publicly: There is a better chance of snow Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field.
It is most likely free agent signing Adoree’ Jackson starting at outside corner opposite Quinyon Mitchell. It is most likely rookie Jihaad Campbell at inside linebacker next to Zack Baun. It is most likely Sydney Brown at safety next to Reed Blankenship, with rookie Drew Mukuba still limited in practice with a hamstring injury. But regardless of who won those key position battles, the Eagles begin their 2025 season with a somewhat new-look defense that will immediately be tested out of the gate.
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The Cowboys have one of the NFL’s best receivers in CeeDee Lamb. They traded for one of the sport’s best young receivers, George Pickens. Dak Prescott is back from the hamstring injury that ended his 2024 season in November. Jake Ferguson is a dangerous tight end.
“They’re three bona fide really good players, and Prescott is obviously one of the top quarterbacks in the league,” Fangio said. “They’ve got a lot of talent on offense.”
The Eagles spent nearly all of training camp figuring out what they had at cornerback after losing Darius Slay and Isaiah Rodgers in free agency. Jackson seemingly won the job over Kelee Ringo and Jakorian Bennett, who was acquired via trade in early August. But the Eagles’ strength at defending the pass in the secondary will instantly be tested, and there are enough moving parts and new faces to wonder how the first test might go.
Mitchell, who was a really good cover corner as a rookie, spent some of training camp moving around to different parts of the field, and Fangio alluded to Mitchell possibly traveling with an opposing team’s best receiver. That would be Lamb in this scenario, but Lamb and the Cowboys bring a versatile passing attack that might make Mitchell moving with him less than ideal.
Lamb, who has four consecutive 1,000-plus-yard seasons, lined up in the slot on 396 of his 826 snaps (47.9%) last season, according to Pro Football Focus. He was out wide for 413 snaps (50%). Mitchell, meanwhile, was outside on 1,066 of his 1,158 defensive snaps, more than 92%. He spent less than 1% of the time lined up in the slot, where Cooper DeJean roams most often.
Mitchell and DeJean each allowed two receptions on four and five targets, respectively, during a Week 10 win in Dallas last season, the only of the two Eagles-Cowboys matchups that Lamb played in — though it was Cooper Rush at quarterback and not Prescott, a major caveat. Lamb had six catches on 10 targets for just 21 yards, and his longest reception went for just six yards.
But the addition of Pickens brings another major weapon that will test the Eagles’ ability to defend. Pickens, according to Next Gen Stats ran 20-plus air yards on 23.8% of his routes last season, the seventh-highest deep rate in the NFL. He was targeted on 30 of those routes for 15 receptions and 515 yards, which amounted to the most deep receptions in the NFL last season. Lamb, meanwhile, ran 20-plus air yards on just 12.4% of his routes last season and thrived in the short passing game, catching 72 of his 103 targets under 10 air yards for 546 yards, which accounted for nearly half his 1,194 receiving yards last season.
Lamb has also proven to be difficult to tackle in space and gained more additional yards off missed tackles than any other receiver did last season, according to Next Gen Stats.
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“It’s all about communication, just making sure we’re communicating and doing what we’re supposed to do, being on the same page,” Jackson said. “That’s really what it’s all about, understanding our details and our fundamentals of the scheme and the technique that we do. Everything else will play itself. I know they got new pieces and different things like that. As long as we can hone in and do us and worry about us, we’ll go out there and execute.”
The Eagles clearly weren’t comfortable with what they had at cornerback in camp before they traded for Bennett, and it’s unclear how comfortable they are with the current group. The same can be said for safety, where Brown is the likely starter with an undersized and twice-injured Mukuba on his heels. They will know where things stand during and after Thursday’s opener. They will know how capable Jackson is as he nears 30. They will know if help from the outside may be needed.
The Eagles will have an advantage along the defensive line, which could prove to be the neutralizer, but there are enough question marks beyond the line of scrimmage that make Thursday intriguing and will make it instructive.