The Philadelphia Eagles report to the NovaCare Complex for the start of 2025 Training Camp, presented by Independence Blue Cross, on Tuesday, July 22. PhiladelphiaEagles.com will get you ready by previewing the top storylines at each position. Today, a look at the edge rushers, featuring former first-round pick Nolan Smith, who had a breakout 2024 campaign.
Did You Know?
Nolan Smith set an Eagles record with 4.0 sacks in the 2024 playoffs.
Returning Starter
Head Coach Nick Sirianni called Nolan Smith "a nasty, violent football player" during the 2024 playoffs. The second of two first-round picks in 2023, alongside his college teammate Jalen Carter, Smith (6-2, 238 pounds) blossomed after ascending to the starting lineup midway through last season. His toughness allows him to set the edge, while his relentless motor and hustle make life tough for opposing quarterbacks. He had 6.5 sacks in the regular season, but added four more in the playoffs.
And Smith was reliable, playing at least 80 percent of the snaps in the first three playoff games before the blowout win over the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. But he was still productive late into games with a strip-sack in the fourth quarter of the Divisional Round win over the Rams and another fourth-quarter sack in the NFC title win over Washington.
In the Mix
A converted safety in college, Jalyx Hunt was a third-round pick a year ago who honed his craft behind the scenes and capitalized on an opportunity to get on the field, starting with the Week 10 win in Dallas. Through the latter half of the season, Hunt played at least a third of the defensive snaps in the final seven games before earning more than 100 snaps in the playoffs, when he matched his regular-season total with 1.5 sacks. The athletic Hunt (6-3, 252 pounds) looks to continue to refine his technique in an effort to start alongside Smith in 2025.
K.J. Henry and Ochaun Mathis finished the 2024 season on the Eagles' practice squad. Henry (6-4, 255 pounds) played in four games for the Bengals and Cowboys last season before landing in Philadelphia. A fifth-round pick in 2023 out of Clemson, Henry has 2.5 sacks in 14 career games, 10 of them with Washington.
Mathis (6-5, 250 pounds) joined the Eagles' practice squad in November after spending the first half of the season with New England. Mathis suited up for the December 1 win over Baltimore. Mathis started his career as a 2023 draft pick of the Los Angeles Rams, where he played in eight games as a rookie.
Patrick Johnson started the 2024 season with the Eagles, playing in the season-opening win in Brazil over the Packers, before he was waived and claimed by the Giants. A seventh-round pick of the Eagles in 2021, Johnson (6-2, 248 pounds) has played in 61 regular-season games (49 with Philadelphia) and five postseason contests. From 2021-23, Johnson amassed 15 special teams tackles. In the Super Bowl LVII season, Johnson was on the field for nearly 20 percent of the defensive snaps while chipping in with 11 QB hits and pressures.
New to the Nest
Veterans Azeez Ojulari and Joshua Uche look to parlay one-year contracts into longer-term security in Philadelphia. Both players have been productive in the NFL. Ojulari (6-3, 240 pounds) spent the first four seasons with the Giants, where he had 22 sacks and 100 QB pressures in 46 regular-season games. A former second-round pick out of Georgia, Ojulari burst onto the scene as a rookie with eight sacks and 51 QB hits and pressures in 17 games (13 starts).
Like Ojulari, Uche was a second-round pick of the Patriots in 2020 out of Michigan. Uche (6-1, 240 pounds) authored an 11.5-sack season in 2022 to go along with 48 QB hits and pressures that year. Uche was traded to Kansas City midway through the 2024 season.
Antwaun Powell-Ryland is the only rookie edge rusher in Training Camp. The sixth-round pick out of Virginia Tech finished third in the country among FBS schools with 16 sacks last season. Over the past two seasons, Powell-Ryland (6-3, 258 pounds) was credited with 25.5 takedowns. He started his college career at Florida and spent three years there before transferring to Virginia Tech where he thrived.
Bird Call
"(Brandon Graham) just told me, 'Be you.' And til this point, that's what I got on my mirror, my goals, 'Be you.' Nobody can make you be anything other than yourself and as long as you work and put in that dedication and that effort every day. And that's why I work so hard. I just want to be me. And it's not for me. It's for B. It's for B when he was doubted when he first got here and so was I. He just kept pushing me and he leaned into me. As we say in the south, he just poured into my glass just a little bit more. He just kept pouring into my glass and he believed in me." – Nolan Smith on what he learned from Brandon Graham, who retired after the Super Bowl LIX win.
Storylines to Follow
Who will capitalize on the opportunity for more playing time with Brandon Graham (retirement) and Josh Sweat (free agency) no longer on the team? ... Can Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt build off the momentum of their strong second-half performances? ... Will Azeez Ojulari and/or Joshua Uche provide a veteran presence in the gameday rotation?
How Many Made the Initial 53 in 2024? 6
