Former NFL Head Coach Ranks Eagles Defense No. 2 Post NFL Draft

The Philadelphia Eagles will have a lot of new faces on the defensive side of the ball and a new coordinator calling the defense this season.

However, former NFL head coach and defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, who served as the Indianppolis Colts head coach for five seasons and served as the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens in 2011 and of the Chicago Bears from 2019 to 2020.

He writes for the website, The33rdTeam.com, which is staffed by former players, coaches, front office executives and veteran NFL writers.  In a piece he writes about the Top 5 NFL defenses post NFL draft and free agency.

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The Eagles have lost both their starting safeties and linebackers, along with Javon Hargrave who was an important part of their defensive line. In there place are many young players and veterans who have yet to establish an NFL identity.

Even with the changes, Pagano ranks the Philadelphia Eagles as the No. 2 defense in the NFL at this point, only behind the San Francisco 49ers.

Now they have Sean Desai, who coordinated in Chicago and was associate head coach in Seattle last season. He’s a rising star in the business. There are big shoes to fill, but Sean is more than capable. He’s a bright guy and knows defenses inside and out. He’s young, but he’s mature beyond his years. It’s just a question of how quickly can they play his system and whether he will keep any terminology.

Pagano likes the young talent the Eagles have to work with, like Jordan Davis, Nolan Smith, Jalen Carter, Sydney Brown and Nakobe Dean, but thinks the teams has plenty of talent to work with to remain a upper-echelon defense in the NFL.

Other than some time to transition early in the season to a new coordinator, it could come together for the Eagles. There is plenty of talent to work with in Philadelphia.

Rounding out the Top 5 behind San Fran and Philadelphia were the Jets at No. 3, Dallas at No. 4 and the Miami Dolphins at No. 5.