Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter (98) against the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline
The Eagles aren't trading any of their stars anytime soon. They have no reason to. None of them are in major contract disputes and there aren't any complaints about touches. Everyone seems happy.
That doesn't mean it's not an interesting exercise to see how much the Eagles could get if they traded any of their top talent. Based on some of their best players' age and production in the NFL, the Eagles could get a haul for some of their guys.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell hypothesized which players across the NFL are worth at least one first-round pick if they were to be traded. The Eagles had eight players listed, which was tied for the Detroit Lions for most in the league.
Barnwell started off by saying Jalen Hurts and Jalen Carter are the Eagles' most valuable players, saying they're worth two first-round picks.
"Go back and watch the final two snaps of the Rams' 2024 season if you have any questions about Carter. He doesn't have spectacular numbers, racking up 10.5 sacks and 25 knockdowns over his first two seasons, but the tape shows a player who consistently pushes the pocket and presents an incredibly difficult matchup for interior offensive linemen. He's on the verge of a 10-sack season, which might come as early as 2025."
When writing about Hurts, Barnwell pointed out that some teams might not adhere to Hurts' style of play, while noting that the Eagles' passing game was lackluster at times last season. He also explained the positives he brings:
"At the same time, Hurts is propelling the run game forward, with his actual running and with his gravity as a potential threat to keep the football. He has dropped his interception rate below 1.5% in two of the past three seasons, and while he does take too many sacks, that's his only statistical weakness as a passer. He has also been lights-out in the postseason, arguably outplaying Patrick Mahomes in each of their two Super Bowl matchups. There's a wider range of opinions on Hurts than on other star quarterbacks, but he's a 26-year-old with a meaningful MVP push and two Super Bowl appearances in the past three seasons."
A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jordan Mailata and Quinyon Mitchell fell into the next category, which was players worth a first-round pick and more.
Brown is one of the most productive wide receivers in the league, while Smith could easily be a No. 1 option if he went elsewhere, so it's not surprising they're highly regarded. Mailata performs well at one of the most premium positions in the NFL and the same could be said about Mitchell, who's also extremely young.
Barnwell's players that would be worth just a first-round pick are Cooper DeJean and Landon Dickerson. Again, Dickerson (26) and DeJean (22) are in the prime of their careers, meaning they could garner some good trade value.
Under the "missing out" section, the most notable name is Saquon Barkley.
"Teams would love to have the 2024 version of Barkley, but that's not guaranteed going forward. Given his significant injury history with the Giants, the inherent benefits of playing behind a dominant offensive line and alongside a quarterback who changes the numbers in the run game and a new deal that will pay him more than $20 million per season, my guess is most teams wouldn't be able to justify shipping out a first-round pick for the 28-year-old. (The Giants might be the exception.)"
Other players included Cam Jurgens, Lane Johnson, Nolan Smith, Jordan Davis and Zach Baun.
Again, this is all hypothetical thinking. The Eagles aren't thinking about trading any of these players. If they did, it'd certainly be stunning.
However, this experiment does show that the Eagles have plenty of valuable assets, which is a testament to their team building over the past few years.
