These 4 Eagles players are primed for a breakout season in 2025

AtoZ Sports

The Eagles are coming off a Super Bowl season in 2024-25, but the craziest thing to consider is how young their roster still is. There is still tons of room for development, and for the Eagles to have a chance at repeating, they will need a couple big breakout seasons from certain players. More specifically, there are 4 candidates who are primed to have breakout seasons in 2025. Today, RB discusses all of this and more!

Transcript

00:00Given how much success the Eagles had this past year and ultimately how young the roster was,

00:06there is a huge opportunity for some breakout seasons in 2025. So today we will go over our

00:13top four breakout candidates for the Eagles and talk about why each of their successes

00:18is so vital to this team getting the job done again. We'll talk about all of it,

00:24but welcome into A to Z Philly. I'm our B. We started off with our boy, Nolan Smith. That is

00:31right. It is the middle of the off season, but sometimes I just replay the Superbowl parade day

00:38in my head. And I think about Nolan Smith and how turnt he was. This guy was off of it. He was

00:44having so much fun, even with an injury. I think that's the most impressive part and his spirit

00:50and his attitude really changed the dynamic of this team. I think I've said it probably 10 times

00:56over the last two months, but without Nolan Smith, the Eagles do not win the Superbowl. For instance,

01:02let's look at Nolan Smith this past season, right? 2023. He was very raw and nobody thought that he

01:11would have the kind of jump he did in 2024. And the crazy part is that it really started to come later

01:17in the season. When Brandon Graham went down, they needed one of these young guys to step up and it

01:22was Nolan Smith. He finished with six and a half sacks in the regular season. And then look at what

01:28he did in the post season for sacks. He almost became the first Eagle to have a sack in all four

01:33playoff games from the wild card all the way to the Superbowl. He almost made history, but

01:38four sacks in the playoffs is just utter dominance and his spirit, his mentality, his attitude really,

01:45I think had a big impact on the defense overall. And it's why Vic Fangio loves him so much. The fact

01:51he played through the Superbowl with torn triceps is insane. But anyway, as we mentioned before,

01:58Nolan Smith was predicted to be the X factor again for the Eagles this season. And I think he can

02:03really do it. So I want to bring it over to an article over on Yahoo Sports. Nolan Smith is my first

02:10breakout candidate. Nick Faria here says that after being taken 30th overall in 2022, Smith has grown

02:18from a spot edge rusher to being one of the best every down rushers in the game today. And it's crazy

02:24how much his increase in snaps didn't even have an impact on him. Like his conditioning was awesome. And he

02:31really was in good shape last year as he prepares for his third season with the team. By the way, only 24

02:37years old, recovering from a torn triceps injury in the Superbowl. He is excited to take control of

02:44the adversity challenge before him. My mom always told me adversity builds you, it builds your character.

02:49You ask God to build your character. He's going to give you adversity in your life so you can be

02:54that person. If there's one thing Smith has shown, it's his ability to be at his best during the

03:01playoffs. That's a big thing, right? Even a lot of the great players in the NFL just finally get that

03:06moment in the postseason and they don't show up in the bright lights. And Nolan Smith does.

03:11He has four and a half sacks in his postseason career, which is already third most in franchise

03:17history behind Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat. That is insane. Think about all the great Eagles

03:23players. He's already third in franchise history and he's only 24 years old. The future is so bright

03:30for this kid. And I think even though he's only 24 and yes, they had to sign some veterans and sure

03:36they may need to sign another one come the season or preseason or whatever, he's going to really

03:42emerge and be that guy. And anytime you hear Brandon Graham talk about Nolan Smith, he's always,

03:47you know, advocating for him saying that he's ready to be that leader and take that step.

03:51It's not something we typically hear about a 24 year old. So I'm really excited to see what he can do

03:56this season. The second breakout candidate, as we go over to an article on Sports Illustrated from Pat

04:03McAvoy is Jalix Hunt. Jalix Hunt on the other side. He talks about some of the internal guys that

04:11are getting bigger roles this year. Amoro, Ajomo, Jalix Hunt. They also obviously drafted a bunch.

04:17We're not including any draft picks because they're new to the team, but guys that have been here that

04:22have to have a breakout season. He's another guy that came out of nowhere, right? You draft Jalix Hunt

04:26in the third round last year. Nobody really knew who he was. You know, not a lot of college film on

04:31him. Went to Houston Christian University and look at what he was able to do. Eagles lose Milton Williams

04:38in free agency. They lose Josh Schwett. They trade Bryce Huff. BG is gone. But guess what? Jalix Hunt

04:45also showed up big time in the playoffs. Last year in the regular season, only played 25% of the

04:52defensive snaps as a rookie with one and a half sacks. And then in the postseason, when he started

04:58to play more and Vic Fangio got comfortable, once again, playing another young stud, he notches up

05:04one and a half sacks in the postseason. He matches his regular season total and he had half a sack in the

05:10Super Bowl. So when the lights get bright on the biggest stage, you have guys that are already

05:16ready to step into that moment, which is just so huge. And it just goes to show the kind of culture

05:22that the Eagles are building. I talked about this a few days ago. They have flipped it on its head.

05:28It's no longer you need the 28 and 30 and 31 year olds. The Eagles have 22, 23, 24, 25 year olds

05:35who are getting it done, who have won a Super Bowl, know what it takes to be in that moment

05:40and get the job done. And it's like, we've only just kind of peeked into the bag of tools when it

05:45comes to Jalix Hunt. We haven't even seen close to what this guy can be. You give him more

05:51responsibility this upcoming year. You let him take that step. Imagine what this guy is going to turn

05:57into. We've talked about edge rusher a lot. It has to be Nolan Smith and Jalix Hunt. They have some

06:02vets. They have other guys they can go out and get to patch it up. But those two, if those two

06:07take the step, boy, watch out, watch out. The third guy we will talk about is somebody that we

06:14actually just mentioned. Dave Zangaro put out a important list for 2025. They're counting down

06:20Moro Jomo, right? Another guy, where did he come from? Seventh round pick Moro Jomo in line for a

06:28bigger role in 2025. He was taken with the 249th pick in 2023, and he's improved year over year.

06:37As a rookie, he played in just eight games, had three combined tackles. Then last year during the

06:43Super Bowl season, he played in every game, had 388 snaps, the same exact amount as former number 13

06:50pick Jordan Davis. And let's not discredit Jordan Davis. He was a great run stuffer. I feel like he was

06:57in a lot better shape. He got better as the season went on, but they needed a Jomo to be that

07:02compliment to kind of take some of that burden off Davis. Yes, they've picked up Davis's fifth year

07:07option, but who knows what he's going to continue to develop into, right? First round pick, can he

07:12really reach that ceiling? We don't know. But what we do know is that Ojemo in the seventh round is

07:18turning out to be supreme value. And he got better as the year went on. He got more comfortable. And again,

07:23it just goes to formulate that system where you can plug in guys like Moro Ojemo, and they're ready

07:30to produce. It's incredible how the Eagles have developed some of these young players. In the

07:35divisional round against the Rams, Ojemo picked up his first career sack. The Carter sack later in

07:41the game will always be remembered, but Ojemo's sack was also in the fourth quarter. His sack on first

07:46down with 618 left in the game led to a three and out. Saquon then scored on a big touchdown.

07:51And here's what Vic Fangio said during the playoffs. Mo has done a really nice job with

07:55the snaps he's gotten over the last few months. We have total confidence in him when we're in there

08:00and nothing changes. He has some athleticism. He seems to show up. He was more disruptive in the

08:06postseason, 17 regular season games. He had 23 pressures at a 9.1% clip. Then it rose up to 10.9 in

08:13the playoffs. So I think that this is another guy you give more opportunity to think about Jalen Carter,

08:19who they're obviously going to pay this next season, Jordan Davis. They have to figure some

08:23things out. Guys like Ty Robinson can hopefully emerge as a rookie, and I wouldn't be surprised

08:28if he does. But Moro Ojemo's been here. He's been in the system. He's put in the work. He has

08:33developed. And if they can get some major snaps out of him this upcoming year, then the defensive

08:38line continues to look even more impressive than we can probably already imagine. So Moro Ojemo looks

08:45like a major steal. 42 players taken in the 23-7th round. Just four have played in more games and only

08:51two have played more defensive snaps. So looking like an absolute steal. Ojemo says, I think one

08:57of the things I pride myself on is getting better every single year. I feel like that's been since

09:01I was in junior high. That is the plan. So shout out to Moro Ojemo. I believe in that guy. I really do.

09:08And lastly, maybe the biggest breakout candidate. We've talked about him a lot. It's Keeley

09:14Ringo. Eagles didn't go out and get Jair Alexander. They didn't go out and get anybody else.

09:19They are locked in on Keeley Ringo. And I am excited to see what he can do.

09:26Reed Blankenship says that Keeley has been ready. He's a great player, great athlete.

09:31Year number three, he's just turning 23. I mean, the youth, I don't have to say it again.

09:36It's incredible what Howie Roseman has built. Ringo got some playing time in a disappointing

09:40year as a rookie. And then obviously the Eagles go out and they upgrade their cornerback position,

09:46right? They get Quinion Mitchell and they pick up Cooper Dejean. They sign Isaiah Rogers. So

09:51there just wasn't enough spots on the field. But Christian Parker talked about the internal

09:57development. Dory Jackson is even impressed by Keeley Ringo. Here's what he had to say during OTAs.

10:02What stands out most about Keeley, he's a freak of nature. Just his tangibles, being that tall,

10:09being able to have speed, his movements. We talked about his ability to maybe get a little

10:14bit handsy sometimes and go over the edge. But those technique things like just learning

10:20by doing and getting more experience is really going to help him out. He's 6'2", 207,

10:25ran a sub 440 in the 40-yard dash. He's been great on special teams. But now it is Keeley

10:32Ringo's time to shine. Like this is your opportunity. And this quote right here from Keeley really

10:37kind of cements the confidence that he has. He says, talent only takes you so far. Coming

10:43into the league, seeing that talent, of course, can help you get to places where you want to

10:48go. But taking that next step of focusing on your technique from the little things like stretching,

10:55learning the playbook, all different things that can help you get an edge overall besides your talent.

11:01That is the main thing I've been focusing on right now. I'm excited for this kid, man. I mean,

11:07if he steps up and the Eagles have two lockdown corners in Quinion and Keeley Ringo, obviously,

11:13Degene's in that mix as well. I mean, how can this defense not be top five again? Just on paper,

11:20the guys that they have, they're young, they're athletic, they're not injury prone, and they

11:25continue to get better. And they have already won a Super Bowl being this young. So I think the future

11:31is so bright. If these four players step up, there's just no way that the Eagles will not have

11:38a successful season. But give me your thoughts down below. Who's your top breakout candidate?

11:42Who do you want to see step up for the birds this season? Appreciate everybody for tapping in.

11:47Be sure to like, comment and subscribe. And I'll catch you on the next one.

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