PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - Emergency Pod: Eagles trade for Jaelan Phillips! Has Howie Roseman fixed the pass rush?

Episode Date: November 3, 2025

Howie Roseman has done it again, this time fortifying the pass rush by trading a third-round pick to the Dolphins in exchange for productive, young pass-rusher Jaelan Phillips, who has 26 sacks over an injury-affected five-year career. With Nolan Smith and Brandon Graham both returning to the lineup soon and Jalyx Hunt ascending, all of a sudden the Eagles' pass-rush looks a lot more formidable. Fran Duffy and Bo Wulf react to Howie's big move. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, live from the Xfinity Mobile Studio. This is the P.H.L.Y. Eagles podcast on a beautiful Monday morning, another emergency podcast edition. Bo Wolf and Fran Duffy presented by Bet365 and Ashley. We are here to talk about Howie's big move. You knew he had three third round picks in his coffer. One of them are projected one that will come as a compensatory pick so he couldn't trade it yet. But with a team in a Super Bowl window, Howie Roseman, is not going to let the trade deadline go by and not use one of those picks.

And he has decided to send it to the Miami Dolphins Fran in exchange for talented, oft-injured, pass rusher. Jalen Phillips, what do you make of it? What does he bring? Yeah, I mean, certainly one of the bigger names on the market as a former first round pick, a guy that's had a lot of success in the NFL, and he's got all the tools. I mean, this guy that was a former five-star recruit, was one of the top players in the country, coming out of high school.

So to me, like this one, he fits the profile, right? Now, as you mentioned, off injured, has had two season-ending injuries, each of the last two seasons, had injury issues going back to his days in college as well, which we can get into. But he is a very talented player who went healthy. Like, if he's at his peak, he's the best edge rusher on the Eagles right now. Can you hear me? Not at all. There, there, I think I got you.

Okay. All right. Yeah, so listen, as you said, the injuries. Yep. We're on Achilles in 2023. knee injury last season, and yet he has come back this season and has played all nine games. You know, he played 17 games the first two years of his career, eight and a half sacks as a rookie sort of, you know, looked like, oh, the league missed on this guy.

You know, he's going to be a star. And his production has diminished a little bit since then when you talk about the kind of player he is, Fran, at 6'5-263, I think, and I was surprised when you told me this, but Eagles fans might be surprised to learn the way that he has been productive this season. Yeah, I mean, the big thing is that when you talk about his size at 65-260, that's like prototypical defensive end size, like line him up over tackle and just, you know, cut him loose. And in the past, that has been where he has gotten most of his, where he's gotten most of his work. This year, they've got a little bit more creative with his usage and they've kicked him down inside more. He's had 33 pressures

this season according to next gen stats. And so going back through and watching those pressures back, over a third of those pressures have come against guards and centers where he started the play lined up on the inside. And they've got really creative in terms of all the different stunts and twists. Sometimes they're just letting them loose, you know, hey, off the ball, go and win with your quickness against those interior offensive linemen. But very similar to the conversation we had when the Eagles acquired Zadaria Smith

back in late August after week one. And similar to the conversations we've had about Brandon. and Graham and his usage. The Eagles have gotten better and a little bit more voluminous with the way that they've been utilizing stunts and twists and, you know, varying the front. I think you want to continue to do that with Jalen Phillips. This is a guy that this year, I don't know if it's just some tweaks that they wanted to make to the system. I don't know if it's, hey, you know, he's not quite as explosive as he was in 2020. Now that we're two injuries removed, you know, hey, we want to try and give him a little bit of a leg up where we can. But I think the Eagles, it would definitely behoove the Eagles to continue to use him in that way because that is, where he has had the most success this year. Okay, let's keep focusing on the player, and then we'll pivot from that to sort of the resource allocation

and what you make of this from a, you know, a Howie Roseman standpoint. But as Gillian Phillips as a player, this team is also struggling in run defense. How does he look to you as a run defender? He's solid, and he's always been regarded as a solid player. You know, I don't think, when you think of like Brandon Graham at his best,

you know, like you're talking like 2018, 2019, 2020, Brandon Graham, where he's like the tone, setter and resetting the line of scrimmage. Like, he's not to that level. But he's a solid run defender. Like, he, it's not a weakness in his game whatsoever. He's going to hold the point against tight ends. He's going to hold the point against tackles.

You know, the big thing that did stand out, just kind of going through some of the next gen numbers, he's got more mistackles in the run game this year than really like the rest of his career combined. Like he's just, he's had, he's had trouble finishing. And that has been kind of a resounding theme as well going through this year. And I think there's a, there's a, there's some. that we can make of that from a, you know, from like a health standpoint, like him coming off the injury. I do, I do think he's a little bit tight and some of that tightness. We've talked about that

in the past when it comes to draft prospects. Guys are a little bit stiff. Sometimes they can struggle to like break down and finish as a tackler. And so some of that has popped up here this year. And then back to him as a pass rusher just in terms of the production. It's a little bit pressure heavy as opposed to like actual quarterback hit heavy. I think if you if you sort by like 100 pass rush snaps just this year. He's eighth in pressure rate, but 44th in quarterback hit rate, which is below Jelix Hunt, below Jalen Carter, you know, some of those guys. So you see anything that would explain that?

Yeah, a lot of his pressures this year were, you know, him basically like flashing in front of the quarterback's face and forcing him off his spot or flashing behind the quarterback and forcing the quarterback to step up in the pocket. And that goes back to kind of like that the lower body. that I was pointing to a little bit. Again, coming off an ACL, coming off the Achilles, you know, two, two straight years with those injuries. I think he is just, you know, still kind of rounding into form in that way.

So I think that can explain some of that. They've been really good with like their complimentary rushes where like they understand, okay, there was a there was a sack that he had where it's like, all right, he's got a two-way go against the tackle. He's going to work inside. And now you've got the defensive tackle looping outside. I've talked with Chris Long about this in the past in terms of like defensive linemen complimenting each other on the rush.

where it's like, hey, I'm going to get the free reign. You play off of me. And so I do think that they have an understanding, hey, you know, I'm going to create some havoc here. And then you clean it up. He's been that kind of a player. But yeah, when you look at like pressure rate stuff, it's all pretty high. The sack rate is low.

The QB hit rate is low. But that's why there are a lot of people that will say like, hey, like pressure rate is a little bit stickier. Obviously, it's a wider sample because it's a little bit more generous in terms of, you know, how often you guys, you get credited with. the pressure. But look, I went through and I, just through next gen stats, all the edge rushers with at least 175 pass rush snaps this year, he's fifth in pressure rate. He's fifth in average time to pressure. So he's getting home quickly. So that's something that has played the eagle.

They don't have anybody right now. They can win quickly. So I think that's a good sign as well. But if he's coming from the inside, that explains it a little bit. A little bit. I mean, you know, this was a player who I think, if I can, if I can speak freely, entering the draft. You were a little bit lower on than consensus, right? And part of that, I think, was the calculation of you retired because of the concussions. Like, this is a tough bet to make. He has been injured a lot. Do you view him as a difference maker for this defense? Yeah, I think that, and there were some, like, maturity stuff when he was in college as well. Again, this was a big time recruit, goes to UCLA. You mentioned he had reportedly three concussions that forced him to step away from

the game briefly. And so he briefly retired and then it ends up resurfacing at Miami. And he has that huge year for the hurricanes, declares for the draft, and goes in the first round. So there were certainly a little bit of boom bust with the profile. Everybody I've talked to in Miami that has covered the, covered the dolphins and been in that organization, I actually messaged with somebody in that building this morning. And they were like, yeah, like, he's been awesome. So I think from a like a maturity standpoint, he has certainly grown up a lot since the pre-draft process.

And he's a guy that I think you can rely on. I don't think that he's someone that if you were worried, oh, you know, like you're trading for a guy mid-season. like is he going to be able to kind of incorporate into the fabric in the locker room and the culture? Like he should step right in and be a fit from what I understand. And also, too, again, from what I gather, Vic Fangio was like on board with this move. This guy that coached Jalen Phillips in Miami in 2023. And Vic Fangio was very much on board with this acquisition from what I understand.

Right. Anytime we were talking about a defender on the dolphins, you were going to say, oh, like, you know, those guys didn't like Vic. You know, you wonder how that relationship goes. obviously Vic is aware of those things and to hear that Vic was still pushing for that tells you tells you where that stands. What do you make of this from Howie Roseman's perspective, Fran, if you think that, okay, how we knew all along he was going to trade a third round pick. He was going to try, his priority was to try to help the past defense.

In lieu of being able to find a corner, he adds a player on Jalen Phillips. What do you make of that decision? You know, I think that, look, they go out and they get two DBs in a four. day stretch, three-day stretch with Michael Carter and with Jayae Alexander, then you add your blue chip talent with Jalen Phillips. I think that makes sense. And honestly, like, when you look at the way that the weekend kind of laid out this past weekend in the NFL and you see what happened in the division and you see Detroit lose, you see Green Bay lose, I don't, I actually, I, I, I completely understand this from Howie standpoint where it's like, hey, you know what? Like,

we have this window. We're keeping A.J. Brown. Let's push these chips in. Let's make another run at it, guys. And I think that this one, this certainly makes a lot of sense from that angle. I think that from a like supply demand standpoint, there was a little bit more of a supply for pure edge rush than pure outside corner help. And so you're going to kind of play the hand that you're dealt. I will say, it reminds me a lot of the Golden Tate trade. Okay. Not not because, not just because one of the co-host was in Europe when it happened. It, listen, I think, I think, I think, the likelihood is that in May we're going to look back and say, man, like, I really, really could have used that third round pick that we spent on Jalen Phillips. However, you have to

understand for the reasons you're saying this is a team in a Super Bowl window, you have a pick to spend. Like, I don't love playing that, well, we're going to get a comp pick back anyway because, you know, that means you can't sign free agents and there's no guarantee of that. But given what this team needs, it makes sense. Now, we should, we should, we should say Jalen Phillips is in the final year of his rookie contract. The Dolphins had picked up his fifth year option. Reports are that the Dolphins picked up a bunch of cash to make this happen to get a better draft pick in response.

It's also the Eagles draft pick. I think Jimmy Kemsky reported not the Jets third round draft pick that they own. So it's a later third round pick. And then they're also going to get the comp pick later. It is a reasonable deal to make. I think it is unlikely to turn out like equal value, but you get it for a team that thinks that they have a chance to win it all. Exactly. This is one of those like calculated risks you try and take where you're going to gamble on a guy with talent that has familiarity with the scheme. There's multiple coaches on the staff that have been around them. So I think that from that end of it, you're making your best educated guests. And again, trying to take advantage of the window at your disposal to go for another championship.

E.J. Smith says in the chat, is your suitesole. We have a super chat from Pat Fieness, our friend, who says, oh, Jelon, Philippe. And then another super chat. We have a super chat from Pat Fiena, our friend, who says, oh, Jean-ho, Jean-ho. And then another, from Dave, who says, I understand the hesitancy, but overall, I'm hyped by this move at worst. He wants to do the best he can to boost his next contract, and then he goes get a comp pickback. Yeah, and look, this is, again, the film, I was very interested going into the film, because I hadn't studied the Miami defense really much at all this season. So I was like, all right, let's, I'm going in completely, because you don't want to just lean on your priors with a player like this as a profile like this with these two injuries. He's like, I didn't know what I was walking into. And I think the film was pretty encouraging.

He did not look like a guy that was, you know, like completely washed. And you couldn't get off the ball. Like the film was solid. All right. This conversation will continue. Tap into Anthony's show. I'm going to go on right after we're finished here. And Fran's going to go on later.

So we get all kinds of Jaylon Phillips discussions here on PHOI. And then at 2 o'clock, you've got Jamie and Rich with the regular PHOY Eagle Show. I think it's possible you might be checking out. I'm jumping on with them as well. Yep. So, exciting day for the Eagles. We got a lot to talk about. Deadlines tomorrow at 4 o'clock.

I do think that now how he is done. You think he's done? Do you think you don't have another one in you? Tonight? We'll say like right around bedtime, right around like right around when little kids are going to bed. You think they'll have another one? Well, you're probably right. Yeah, you got us right in the middle of morning drop off.

This one I think is okay. I will say there there's a bit of a roster. right now. Yeah. Just numbers-wise. So I wouldn't be surprised if they flip something to get like a late round pick. It's possible. You think someone's trading for a Dory Jackson? Like Keeler Ringo. Yeah, maybe. I don't know. It's possible. All right, a big move from Howie Roseman. Jalen Phillips is here. We've got a lot to talk about the rest of the week on PHLY. But that's the scoop for now for friend Duffy on Bo Wolf. We'll talk to you soon. And as always, we love you