Three Eagles players who could bounce back in 2024

The Philadelphia Eagles have three players looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2023 season.

(QB) Jalen Hurts

Not only did Hurts set career marks with 3,858 yards and 30 touchdowns through the air last season, his 15 rushing touchdowns were also a career-best. So why did he and the team struggle so badly in 2023?

His four lost fumbles and 15 interceptions were also career-highs while his 3.9 yards per carry marked a career-low. Hurts looked lost for much of the season while his quarterback rating dropped 12.4 points from the year before.

Recovery won’t be easy for the 25-year-old quarterback. Playing for Kellen Moore, his third offensive coordinator in as many years, Hurts will start from scratch in a system he believes will be 95% new . If he’s successful, there’s no reason to believe Philadelphia can’t bounce back to their 2022 NFC Championship form.

(S) C.J. Gardner-Johnson

Not long ago, Philadelphia rode Gardner-Johnson and the league’s top-ranked secondary to Super Bowl LVII. Gardner-Johnson led the Eagles with six interceptions despite missing five games with a lacerated kidney in 2022.

He signed with the Lions in 2023 but aside from a healthy kidney, things didn’t go as well as he hoped with Detroit. A torn pectoral muscle in Week 2 forced Gardner-Johnson to miss 14 regular season games in 2023. He returned to give the Lions 12 tackles and an interception in the playoffs but with 26 games missed over the last two seasons, Gardner-Johnson must prove he can stay healthy in 2024.

(LB) Nolan Smith

The second of Philadelphia’s two first-round picks in 2023, Smith played just 16% of defensive snaps with one sack and no starts as a rookie. Former Eagle and two-time Pro Bowler Haason Reddick got most of the playing time but that should change now that Reddick is in New York

The Eagles and Jets swapped pass-rushers in the offseason with Philadelphia adding Bryce Huff to their roster. Huff had 10 sacks in a situational role playing 42% of the team’s defensive snaps last season.

His presence and Reddick’s absence could be just what an athletic player like Smith needs to break out in 2024. As CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso points out, Smith was the No.1 overall recruit in the country before scores in the 40-yard dash, broad and vertical jumps put him in the 95th percentile or better for his position at the scouting combine.

He’s also younger than Laiatu Latu and Jared Verse, two edge-rushers taken in the first round of this year’s draft so look for Smith to have a solid performance in 2024.