Three’splash’ moves Eagles will make in 2024

After a disastrous end to the 2023 season, the Eagles might use a little boost. These moves would have a significant impact on Philadelphia in 2024.

1. Sign Saquon Barkley.

This isn’t the first time the Giants’ running back has been linked to the Eagles, and considering the city’s fondness for the ground game, it won’t be the last. D’Andre Swift made his first Pro Bowl with the team, completing 2023 as the NFL’s fifth-leading rusher, but faded at the end of the season and is still unsigned for 2024.

Swift should expect to receive a multi-year contract worth approximately $6 million per year, but not from Philadelphia. The franchise isn’t inherently adverse to paying running backs, but a four-year deal is asking too much from the Eagles’ front office.

Barkley, who is already 27 years old, is certainly due for a shorter contract, albeit one that pays more than Swift. With 25 games lost in five years, including three due to a high ankle injury last season, the Giants are unlikely to re-sign their former first-round pick.

If he’s willing to sign a one-year “prove it” contract with a former division opponent, Barkley would look fine running RPOs behind Philadelphia’s offensive line.

2. Draft Bo Nix.

The Oregon quarterback may not be on Eagles fans’ radars, but neither was Jalen Hurts when the team selected him in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Most evaluators considered Nix a second-round prospect, but he failed to impress during Senior Bowl practice, forcing ESPN’s Jeff Legwold to grade him third-round.

Nix, who was sometimes compared to Hurts as a dual-threat athlete, rebounded from three poor years at Auburn by throwing for 8,101 yards and 74 touchdowns, with 20 more on the run in two seasons at Oregon.

After leading his club to Super Bowl LVII, Hurts appeared overwhelmed at times in 2023. He has a $104 million cap hit in 2024, but if the Eagles regard Nix as a project like the Packers’ Jordan Love, acquiring Hurts’ successor for third-round money might be a wise move.
3. Trade up for Brock Bowers.

When Philadelphia drafted Dallas Goedert in 2018, it already had Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz on its roster. Goedert has two years remaining on his contract, but the Eagles have an out option at the end of the 2024 season.

At 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, Bowers is widely regarded as the finest tight end in this year’s draft. He amassed 2,731 yards and 31 touchdowns at Georgia and would fit in into new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s system. He may not make it until the 22nd pick, but the Eagles may easily move up, as they did for Goedert in 2018.