No longer a Philadelphia Eagles employee, Jason Kelce practiced for his new role as an ESPN analyst by evaluating his former team during this week’s episode of New Heights.
‘As an unofficial Eagles scout and coach, what do you think of the 2024 Eagles, brother?’ Jason’s brother Travis asked.
For those unfamiliar with the jawn in Philly, the Eagles went from NFC champs and a Super Bowl berth in 2022 to a 10-1 start in 2023 before nose diving to an 11-6 mark and a first-round playoff exit.
Since then, the Eagles have added star running back Saquon Barkley, edge rusher Bryce Huff, strong safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and two key rookie cornerbacks in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, not to mention coordinators Kellen Moore (offense) and Vic Fangio (defense).
‘I think they’re immensely talented,’ Jason said of his former teammates. ‘I think they had a lot of talent last year, especially on offense. I think some things stalled out. I think that this year, they’re gonna be really good. They improved on defense, they added new pieces in the secondary, they drafted some guys, have a more well-rounded group. Defensive line-wise, I think they’re very good.’
Jason Kelce practiced for his new role as an ESPN analyst by evaluating the Eagles this week
Although he has no official role with the Eagles, Jason Kelce helped out at training camp
The question mark, according to Kelce, is at linebacker, where the team added Deion White on the inside, while trading away edge rusher Haason Reddick to the Jets.
‘I think [they’re] waiting to see how Nakobe Dean comes back and how some of these new guys fit in,’ Kelce said referring to the inside linebacker coming off a Lisfranc injury that ended his 2023 campaign.
‘I like the linebackers coach [Bobby King] and I’ve talked to him,’ Jason continued. ‘I just think they’re gonna be really good. They’ve got a lot of talent. I think Jalen Hurts is gonna have a bounce-back year. I think they have two coordinators who have proven success in the league in Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio.
‘For whatever reason, it didn’t work [last year],’ he said. ‘There’s a lot of reasons for that. But I think with these two guys here, they’ve won a lot of football games, they’ve done a great job of calling plays on both sides of the ball. I think when you take in to account good play calling with really highly talented individuals, it would be shocking to me if they don’t perform at a high level this year.’
One familiar name to Eagles fans is rookie linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr., whose father had three separate stints in Philadelphia.
Travis, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end vying for a fourth Super Bowl title this season, appeared to agree with his brother.
‘They got a whole lot of talent, that’s for damn sure,’ Travis said.
Of course, the Eagles did lose their center who had anchored the team’s offensive line since 2011 and helped Philadelphia win its only Super Bowl along the way.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts has admitted to dealing with more responsibility without Kelce
Jason is being replaced by his former backup, Cam Jurgens, whom he helped to scout when he was still playing in Philadelphia.
For Hurts, that means there is going to be an adjustment.
‘We had a great player in Jason Kelce who took on a lot of responsibility and as a result of that I was told not to worry about a lot of things,’ Hurts told 94WIP during training camp. ‘And so my eagerness to learn over the years kind of was halted…but now times are different.’
As for Jason’s future as a coach or scout, it’s something he would consider – just not yet.
‘Partly not accepting a position because I want to be able to be honest in my assessment as an individual media member, although everybody knows I’ll always be biased towards personal relationships that I have with the Eagles, maybe that’s in the future, but not in the cards right now,’ Jason said.
When reminded by his brother that Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni has left he door open for Jason to become a coach in Philadelphia, the elder Kelce brother said he’s admittedly considering it. ‘Maybe one day,’ he said. ‘I know, selfishly, I would love coaching, but that’s a big-time commitment that at this time I’m not willing to make. Maybe down the road.’
