What departures of standouts means for Eagles defense

The losses of Sweat and Williams are notable, but the departures of veteran starters Slay and Gardner-Johnson are major blows to the secondary. So expect even bigger roles in 2025 for CBs Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell, who had outstanding rookie seasons for the Eagles.

During his five-year stint in Philly, Slay earned three Pro Bowl nods and helped lead the team to two Super Bowl berths. 

Gardner-Johnson, who started all 20 games for the Eagles in 2024, led the Eagles with six interceptions last season (third in the NFL). 

On top of being excellent players, both Pro Bowl defensive backs were vocal leaders of a vaunted defense that provided mentorship when needed. 

“I think anytime you have a veteran who is so transparent about his struggles as an early player, whether it's stuff on and off the field, and he shares those experiences with young guys, that’s so valuable,” Eagles secondary coach Christian Parker said of Slay  (per NBC Sports Philadelphia) during Super Bowl media day. 

“He really embraces that role because he had great leaders when he was a young player in Detroit. And so he really embraces the fact that he knew how impactful that was for him. So he tries to have the same impact for those guys. He's a phenomenal teammate."

Last season, Slay was the only member of the secondary who was older than 30. Gardner-Johnson, 27, was the second-oldest defensive back on the roster.

Now, with Slay and Gardner-Johnson about to wear new uniforms, the Eagles are seemingly passing the torch to their talented core of young defensive backs — specifically, Defensive Rookie of the Year finalists Mitchell and DeJean.

DeJean played just eight defensive snaps prior to the team's Week 5 bye, then played at least two-thirds of the team's snaps in every game the rest of the season. He finished the season allowing only 329 receiving yards and zero touchdowns out of the slot, according to Pro Football Focus, checking in ninth among the 42 corners who played at least 100 slot snaps in yards allowed per coverage snap. DeJean didn’t allow a touchdown into his coverage all season on 606 coverage snaps. 

Mitchell was equally as impressive while manning the outside across from Slay. The former Toledo star finished the season allowing a target only once every 8.3 coverage snaps, per PFF, which ranked 16th out of 127 qualifying corners. His nine pass breakups ranked 11th among that same group of players. Through Week 15, Mitchell did not allow a receiving touchdown. 

After such impressive rookie seasons, their former teammate expects them to stand out in 2025 and beyond.

"They're detailed. They pay attention. They listen. They learn," Slay said of Dejean and Mitchell.

In other words, it appears the Eagles are in good hands.