New Eagles should mask defensive weak spot

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The Eagles are building a wall that would make President Trump proud.

With the additions of Haloti Ngata (6-4/345) and Michael Bennett up front to an already stacked defensive line, the Birds are going to be a nightmare for opposing teams to try to run and pass against.

Even if you exclude Vinny Curry, who may be cut or traded at some point, the Eagles' front four is deep and talented. Brandon Graham, Tim Jernigan, Fletcher Cox, Derek Barnett, along with Chris Long, Haloti Ngata and Destiny Vaeao represents as good a defensive line as there is in the league.

The Ngata deal is yet to become official but the guess here is at his age and coming off a season when he played only five games because of a biceps injury, he will come on the cheap. And he'll fill the void left by the younger Beau Allen, who will get paid well elsewhere. As Dave  Zangaro pointed out, Ngata's impact when playing for Detroit last season versus when he wasn't was stark.

A Howie Roseman offseason is always filled with surprises so neither the Bennett deal or Ngata signing should come as a shock. Unexpected? Perhaps. But we could be seeing a pattern here. Back to that in a moment.

Staying on the eyebrow-raising theme, there are multiple reports that the Eagles want to re-sign cornerback Patrick Robinson. With Sidney Jones, Ronald Darby, Jalen Mills and Rasul Douglas, you would have thought Robinson would be a cap casualty. If they bring back Robinson, that could mean someone is going via a trade. But if they all return, along with a strong safety corps, the defensive backfield, much like the defensive line, would have great depth.

Are Howie and Joe Douglas loading up on the front and back ends knowing the middle could be a little soft?

Nigel Bradham appears to be headed out the door. If he does walk, the Eagles' linebacking corps could be very suspect. Jordan Hicks has missed 17 games in his three NFL seasons. As good as he is, he is difficult to count on. Mychal Kendricks had a major comeback season in 2017 but is the organization convinced it will see the same player in 2018? Could he be on the trading block? You get past those three and you have Joe Walker and Najee Goode. The Eagles did add a linebacker, reportedly agreeing to a deal with former Denver Bronco Corey Nelson, but he's primarily a special teams player. So not much. 

Jim Schwartz played a great deal of nickel after Hicks' season-ending injury in Week 7. You could see much of the same in 2018. Even if that's the case, the Eagles will need to draft well and/or bring in an impactful linebacker for cheap. Not an easy task. Let's make the linebackers great again.

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