The Philadelphia Eagles are one of only two undefeated teams in the NFL right now, but the defending NFC champs haven’t really been playing their best football.
Only one of their wins has come by a double-digit margin, and defensively, they have some issues, especially when it comes to stopping opposing teams’ passing offenses. Heading into Thursday, they ranked 25th in passing yards allowed and 30th in passing touchdowns allowed.
Last season, the Eagles’ passing defense was very solid. But with this year’s trade deadline less than three weeks away, they could stand to improve their secondary in order to bolster their chances of winning the Super Bowl.
Ed Kracz of Sports Illustrated FanNation’s Eagle Maven identified three defensive backs Philly should target.
One is the Carolina Panthers’ Jeremy Chinn.
“The Panthers aren’t going anywhere, and Chinn is in the final year of his rookie contract,” wrote Kracz. “Chinn is listed on the Panthers depth chart as the nickel cornerback. Perfect.”
Chann, a safety in his fourth NFL season, has shown some promise after he was a second-round draft pick in 2020, and perhaps his asking price would be reasonable.
Another proposal Kracz made was sending offensive lineman Jack Driscoll and little-used wide receiver Quez Watkins plus a low draft pick to the Los Angeles Chargers for safety Asante Samuel Jr.
“This is probably a longshot because the Chargers are sitting at 2-2 and certainly still believe they can make the playoffs, but they lost receiver Mike Williams for the season with a torn ACL, so adding more depth at the position might be something they would consider,” wrote Kracz.
“Samuel, who is the son of former Eagles standout of former three-time Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel, also is signed through next year on his rookie deal.”
Samuel, who is in his third pro season, has had 11 passes defended and two interceptions in each of his first two years. The Chargers already traded away cornerback J.C. Jackson this year and could have a pathway to the playoffs despite their usual rash of injuries, so perhaps Philly would have to pay a relatively high price to get Samuel.
The third player mentioned as a possible target is Arizona Cardinals free safety Budda Baker.
“The Cardinals’ safety has wanted out for some time now and, while a fourth-round pick may be low, it could go higher depending on how much of the contract Arizona picks up,” wrote Kracz.
“Baker, 27, is scheduled to count $18.5 million against the salary cap in 2024. He can be released prior to June 1 and there would be a cap savings of $14.6M, but why trade for him then cut him?
“There’s no doubt he would be a great fit for the defense, though.”
Baker is 27 and has made five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro First Teams in six previous seasons. Arizona has nothing to play for this season and perhaps many reasons to tank and try to position itself to be able to draft University of Southern California phenom quarterback Caleb Williams.
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