A group of NFL analysts put out potential mock trades for this NFL offseason and one of them included the best pass rusher in the NFL heading to... the Eagles? Could you imagine if Trey Hendrickson ended up alongside Jalen Carter? In other news, CJ Gardner-Johnson clapped back at recent comments from Vic Fangio about his departure. Lastly, Reed Blankenship and Cooper DeJean provided some interesting thoughts on this defense and their roles. Today, RB discusses all of this and more!
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00:00Could you imagine if the rich got even richer? No, seriously, I'm talking about one of the most
00:05dominant pass rushers in the game coming to Philadelphia. Well, today we'll talk about a
00:10mock trade scenario proposed by an NFL analyst that would make the Eagles defense completely
00:16unfair. Also, CJ Gardner Johnson can't seem to let anything go anymore. And we'll hear some
00:22intriguing comments from some current members of the Eagles defense about Vic Fangio and the system.
00:28We'll get into all of it and more right here on A to Z Philly. But welcome into the show.
00:32I'm RB. Apologies in advance. If I sound a little bit under the weather, that's because I am. But
00:38the grind continues. And speaking of the grind, Saquon Barkley is still out here grinding. He is
00:43coming back from, let's just say, maybe one of the greatest seasons ever. And he's going to continue
00:49to do it. But what if Saquon Barkley retires abruptly? He said that, quote, I'll probably be one of those
00:55guys that do it out of nowhere. I'll probably just wake up one day, whether it's next year,
01:00two years, four years, and just be like, yeah, it's over. Shout out to Saquon. Look, if he brings
01:05back four Lombardis, I mean, I'm not going to be mad at that. Win us some championships and then
01:10ride off into the sunset. Shout out to Saquon Barkley. We appreciate him so much. Let's talk
01:16about the defense, man. Ron Jaworski was asked about the Eagles defense. Could they potentially take a
01:22step back this year? And he called Vic Fangio one of the best coaches in NFL history. He says,
01:28to me, it's about who you didn't lose. How about Vic Fangio? Start right there. Vic's out there
01:32playing golf right now. Awesome guy. I've known him for 40 years. He's one of the best coaches in
01:37NFL history. The guy's always been successful as a defensive coordinator. He is top notch.
01:43We were not talking about this defense last year in the preseason. That's a fact.
01:47Vic Fangio system is very translatable and it feels like whatever pieces you plug in
01:53are going to be successful. It feels like he has mastered the blueprint. And I would kind of
01:59disagree with Ron Jaworski though, that Vic has been successful everywhere. It didn't really work out
02:05at the end of his tenure in Miami. And Reed Blankenship actually talked about that today,
02:10saying that he loves playing for Vic Fangio quote, whatever was said in Miami, that's their locker room.
02:16Our locker room is completely different. I believe in my opinion, we've got guys that
02:20like to be coached and like to be held accountable. And obviously that shows on the field. We're a
02:24young group, but we understand if we want to win the big things, we've got to be coached hard.
02:29And I think he is spot on right there. I think he hit the nail. Those dolphins players that cried
02:35about Vic Fangio and were whining when he left and throwing shots. Those guys didn't want to win.
02:41They were whining crybabies and you saw how bad Miami was. You saw how good the Eagles were just
02:48because Vic Fangio is an old school coach and he was probably very hard on them and they didn't
02:53take it well. You know, they pushed for him to be out instead of taking self accountability.
02:58So I think Reed Blankenship kind of threw shots there without even knowing it. And he's exactly
03:03right. And I'm so glad that Vic Fangio is here. I'm glad that he's old and doesn't want to be a head
03:08coach again. And I think he can do the same thing he did last year. I think he can replicate that
03:12success. Shout out to Vic Fangio and shout out to one of his most important pieces, Cooper Dejean,
03:18who commented today on his position and said, quote, no problem moving inside, outside, back to safety,
03:25whatever it is. That is the type of mentality you want to hear from a guy on this team.
03:29And that is the type of mentality that Vic Fangio breeds. Well, one guy that might not really embody
03:36that mentality. And look, I've been a big CJ Garner Johnson fan, but it's getting tiring hearing
03:40this guy yap every time something happens. And I know he's a Twitch streamer and, you know, he's on
03:47social media a lot. He's very present, right? But now after a report came out, or let's just say a
03:53comment from Vic Fangio directly about CJ being a salary cap move, CJ felt the need to have to refute
04:01it and give his thoughts on IG story. He says, I was a test dummy for them. Now they can be like
04:07my scheme works or did my skillset make it work? I had zero issues. People had issues with me.
04:13So yeah, let the salary cap be the excuse. Look at the end of the day, man, Eagles fans really
04:19appreciated CJ. He did what he had to do while he was here. The Eagles could have kept them around for
04:25another year. They didn't want to probably have to go into next season with this whole negotiation ahead
04:29of them. So yeah, I do think partly it was a salary cap thing, but we also heard rumors that look his
04:35mentality, the way that he holds himself, his personality isn't favorable to everyone. So maybe
04:40they did not want to set that precedent and they didn't want to move forward with that.
04:45Nobody is denying that CJ is a hell of a player. I think this team is going to really severely miss
04:50his impact, but you don't have to come out every single time and start complaining. We appreciate you
04:56for what you did. You have a new opportunity in Houston. Go earn your money this year. Go do
05:01your thing. Speaking of not letting things go, Trey Hendrickson has not let things go with the
05:06Bengals. He wants to be paid like one of the most dominant pass rushers in the NFL. And that brings us
05:11to today around the NFL and NFL.com put out a list of big time blockbuster moves that they want to see
05:19happen for the rest of this off season. And as you can see right here in the headline, number one is
05:24Trey Hendrickson to the Philadelphia Eagles. So is there any possibility of this happening? Could
05:31it actually go through and would it really make the Eagles the best team in the NFL? Well, for one,
05:38I think they're already the best team in the NFL, but would it make them completely on another planet
05:42unfair? Yeah, probably, probably, which is why I don't think the NFL would even let this happen. But
05:49here's what was said on NFL.com from Mark Ross. He says Trey Hendrickson to the Philadelphia Eagles
05:55Eagles dominated the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, but they have questions on the front heading into 2025.
06:01The loss of Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith is coming off an injury, and the inherent need for guys like
06:07Mauro Ojemo and Jalix Hunt to step up. GM Howie Roseman hit big on the trade for AJ Brown. So trading
06:15for Hendrickson, who's in a contract standoff with the Bengals could provide a similar effect on the
06:19defense. Plus the Eagles just cleared up more cap space by dealing Bryce Huff. This would be a case
06:24of the rich getting richer. So could Trey Hendrickson come to Philadelphia? Well, I'm not going to put it
06:30past Howie Roseman. And I remember we visited this convo a few months ago and everybody said, no,
06:35no, don't trade for this guy. You know, we don't want that. We want the young guys to develop. Look,
06:41I completely get that argument, but I'm also going to play devil's advocate here. And there's no
06:47certainty that the Eagles young guys are going to be able to survive on their own without any
06:53veteran presence. Look, I believe wholeheartedly in Nolan Smith and his capabilities. I believe in
06:59Jalix Hunt. I think these guys are going to be really, really, really good. I think they're vital
07:03pieces, but you lose Brandon Graham, right? The veteran presence, one of the best Eagles ever.
07:08You lose Josh Sweat. You lose Milton Williams on that D line. So I still think they're going to
07:14need some veteran help. We may get to week four, five, six, whatever. And we're like, Hey,
07:19they just need a little bump in terms of veteran presence. But right now, Trey Hendrickson is in a
07:25clear standoff with the Cincinnati Bengals. Here was another article put out on ESPN.com.
07:30And it said the latest on a Trey Hendrickson trade. He turns 31 in December, wants a long-term
07:36contract. He's set to earn 15.8 million this season and is an unrestricted free agent next
07:42year. The all pro edge is the NFL's reigning sack leader with 17 and a half. Cincinnati doesn't have
07:48many proven pass rush options outside of them. They granted him permission to seek a trade back in
07:54March. So they said, look, you can go try to get a trade and do your thing. Nobody bid on it. So
08:00obviously the asking price for Hendrickson is going to have to come down and Cincinnati may not want to
08:06continue to go through this. They may want a trade package that features a potential
08:10multi-year starter and one or two top 100 draft picks to help the Bengals better maximize
08:16the championship window with Joe Burrow. So if they get to a point where they don't feel like this is
08:22worth it anymore and they want to add more young pieces, they could definitely deal Trey Hendrickson.
08:28And I remember a lot of people saying this isn't worth it. Let's all be honest, right? When Miles
08:32Garrett was seemingly available, there was a little part of all of us that wanted Miles Garrett,
08:37his dominance, his one-on-one ability to just change games. There are guys in that elite tier that
08:44are game changers and Trey Hendrickson is one of them. Now, do I think the Eagles should trade for
08:49Hendrickson, give up multiple picks and then pay them 35 million a year? No, I don't think that's worth
08:55it. I don't think Howie Roseman would even get near that with a 10 foot pole because he has enough
09:00draft picks and he believes in his ability to hit on these young guys. But if he's weighing his options
09:06going into this season, right? And they didn't really address this position in the draft. They
09:10went and got Aziz Ojolari and Josh Uche. Those are, you know, hope and pray they work out type of guys.
09:16I mean, I think it would be a very good trade. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I think Trey
09:23Hendrickson would be absolutely unstoppable next to Jalen Carter. I mean, you think about both of
09:30their presences and what they do on a week to week basis, how much fear they instill in coordinators
09:37trying to game plan against them. You have Trey Hendrickson and Jalen Carter on that line. I didn't
09:42even name the rest of the guys on the front. I mean, the Eagles would be unstoppable. Four out of
09:48the last five years, Trey Hendrickson has gone above 13 sacks. Let's keep in mind the Bengals defense was
09:55not even that good last year. And this guy's out on an island eating every single game. He is dominant.
10:03He is an absolute force. I get why the Bengals don't want to pay him for the next four years for
10:0840 million a year, right? He's not going to get a Miles Garrett contract, but if he wants to come
10:13somewhere where he can win, have a really good chance to show off his talents and hopefully get
10:19a bigger contract next year, maybe Philadelphia is the place. And for the people that say he's not a
10:25good fit, he's not a good scheme fit with Vic Fangio. He's going to be another Bryce Huff.
10:29Let's get it straight. Trey Hendrickson is not Bryce Huff. Bryce Huff had one breakout season as a
10:36former undrafted player and barely played 50% of the snaps. Trey Hendrickson has done this year
10:42over year over year. Let's say they have to give up multiple day two picks to go out and get Trey
10:46Hendrickson. You know, is it worth it to try to bring in a veteran dominant talent who led the NFL
10:52in sacks last year, by the way, led it by three and a half sacks and is an absolute force into this
10:58defense. I am not at all against this trade. I think it would make the Eagles absolutely unstoppable.
11:04I think Trey Hendrickson and Jalen Carter would be that duo. And while I don't think it'll actually
11:11happen because Trey Hendrickson wants a multi-year deal, I don't think Howie Roseman is willing or
11:16able to commit to that. If somehow, some way they could convince Trey to have another prove it deal,
11:23you know, and be somewhere where he knows he's going to go on a deep playoff run and win and
11:26showcase his talents. Maybe that could just be enough. But at the end of the day, give me your
11:31thoughts down below. What do you think about Trey Hendrickson? Would he be worth it as a trade
11:36target for the Eagles? Where would this put the Eagles defense? Give me your thoughts down below.
11:41Appreciate everybody for tapping in. As always, be sure to like, comment, and subscribe,
11:45and I'll catch you on the next one.