The NFL is a copycat league so it stands to reason that every front office will be putting the Philadelphia Eagles‘ success under the microscope to see if they can replicate it and also triumph.
We’ve already seen the rise in the “Tush Push,” and I’m sure teams would love to get their hands on the next Saquon Barkley, but the most likely Eagles imitation in 2025 will come in the form of an elite pass rush, especially with this incoming draft class.
Eagles blueprint
The Eagles reminded us that the blueprint to beat all-time great quarterbacks starts with an elite four-man rush. Philadelphia pressured Patrick Mahomes on 41% of his dropbacks in the Super Bowl and sacked him a career-high six times. He was running for cover seemingly all game, just like in his other Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers when the Chiefs were without both starting offensive tackles.
Credit the Eagles’ front for taking advantage of Kansas City’s offensive line, which cycled through four different left tackle starters last season. The best part about the Eagles’ Super Bowl performance is they did not blitz a single time. Not once. This did not come out of nowhere, either. Vic Fangio’s defense was able to get pressure all year (seventh-highest rate in the league) despite blitzing at the fourth-lowest rate in the NFL.
They were the only team in the NFL last year that ranked top 10 in pressure rate, but bottom 10 in blitz rate. It’s a combination that usually nets good results. Thirteen teams have ranked in the top half of the NFL in pressure rate and bottom half in blitz rate in the last two years. Only two did not have winning records (2023 Jets, 2024 Seahawks).
Personnel had a lot to do with the success, too. The combo of Jalen Carter, Josh Sweat, Milton Williams and Nolan Smith were one of three quartets with 50+ pressures each last season, including playoffs (Rams, Broncos).
Most pressures on Eagles defense last season (including playoffs)
| Player | Pressures | Drafted |
|---|---|---|
|
Jalen Carter |
75 |
2023 first-round pick |
|
Josh Sweat |
66 |
2018 fourth-round pick |
|
Milton Williams |
54 |
2021 third-round pick |
|
Nolan Smith |
50 |
2023 first-round pick |
The Eagles’ pressure rate was a ridiculous 62% with all four on the field at the same time in the Super Bowl. It was 43% all of last season, which would have been the highest pressure rate of any team in 2024.
That’s a nice tribute to the Giants‘ NASCAR package, a group of four defensive ends (Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka, Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora) that terrorized Tom Brady in the Super Bowl in 2011, after Michael Strahan and Co. followed a similar formula in 2007.
The Eagles may not have used a lineup of four defensive ends, but they didn’t need to with Jalen Carter and Milton Williams applying pressure up the middle and Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith crashing off the edge.
Now, there’s a reason for the old saying “often imitated, never duplicated.” It will be tough for teams to copy the success of the Eagles’ pass rush, especially since Philadelphia drafted both Carter and Smith in the first round in 2023. They were fortunate to get Carter, who was viewed as perhaps the best defensive prospect in 2023 before falling down draft boards due to off-field issues. They ended up drafting him ninth overall after trading up one spot.
However, if there were ever a time for the rest of the league to attempt to imitate the Eagles, it would be in 2025.
Draft loaded with pass rushers
The strength of this draft class is on the defensive line, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see records set for most defensive lineman drafted. The most drafted in the first round was 12 in 2011, which netted the most loaded group of pass rushers in one class ever. Von Miller, Aldon Smith, JJ Watt, Robert Quinn, Ryan Kerrigan, Cam Jordan and Cam Heyward. Not bad.
Ten of CBS Sports’ top 32 prospects are defensive lineman or edge rushers in 2025. The front four also accounts for 23 of the top 64 and 34 of the top 102 prospects. So this could shatter draft records for front-four players taken in the first two rounds (current mark is 17) or top three rounds (mark is 26).
Contending teams that already have productive pass rushes will be licking their chops on draft day with hopes of landing multiple studs to get after quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts, among others.
Teams in position to copy Eagles
Here’s a look at the teams most likely to emulate the Eagles. Reminder, we’re looking at probable contenders here, so as much as we would all salivate over a Browns team with Myles Garrett and Abdul Carter, we’re passing on bottom feeders like Cleveland.
Los Angeles Rams
No defensive front outside of Philadelphia enters 2025 with more momentum than the Rams after a dominating performance in two playoff games. A pass rush that was average across the board in the regular season went to a new level with 16 sacks (most in two-game span in playoffs in NFL history), a 21.1% sack rate (highest in playoffs in NFL history, minimum two games), and 21 QB pressures per game for a 52.5% pressure rate (both the most by any team since pressures started being tracked in 2017).
Les Snead and Sean McVay had the unenviable task of replacing future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald’s production, but they’ve taken a big step in doing so by adding Florida State teammates OLB Jared Verse (first round) and DE Braden Fiske (second round) in 2024 to 2023 third-rounders DE Kobie Turner and OLB Byron Young. They have needs at cornerback and inside linebacker, but if an edge rusher like Donovan Ezeiruaku out of Boston College is available at the 26th pick, the Rams could take him and make their 2024 playoffs pass rush the norm in 2025. — Ryan McGrady
Rams’ pass rush last season
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |
|---|---|---|
|
Sacks |
38.0 |
16.0 |
|
Sack pct |
6.6 |
21.1% |
|
Pressure pct |
34.5% |
52.5% |
The Texans have one of the best young defenses in the NFL with Will Anderson Jr., Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter, among others. It all starts up front, though, as Anderson is already one of the best players off the edge in the NFL. He combines with Danielle Hunter to create one of the best pass-rushing duos in the league, too (one of two teams with multiple players in the top 10 in sacks last season, Vikings being the other).
While Houston needs help on the offensive line, the Texans could surprise us with a defensive tackle like Derrick Harmon at the 25th pick. They also have four picks within the first 89 overall selections. — Douglas Clawson
Denver Broncos
Denver was a playoff team in 2024 that’s already ahead of Philadelphia’s pass rush in terms of production. The Broncos had the second-highest pressure rate in the league (40%) with an NFL-high and franchise-record 63 sacks in 2024. They got their league-best 282 pressures and 9.4% sack rate in a completely different way than the Eagles, though. Denver blitzed 37% of the time last year, the fourth-highest rate in the league. A blitz-heavy approach worked for Todd Bowles’ defense in 2021 when the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl, so the Broncos could take a page out of that book.
Denver became the first team in NFL history to lead the league in sacks without any of them coming from former first-round picks. This year they’ll likely go offense with the 20th pick to help Bo Nix heading into his second season, but imagine if the Broncos added an explosive edge rusher like Marshall’s Mike Green to an already elite unit that includes Nick Bonito who had the third-most sacks in the league in 2024 (13.5) and Zach Allen who led the league in QB hits (40). — McGrady
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the Lions could copy the Eagles blueprint. It’s easy to forget Detroit had a top-five defense up until December last year and they have two stars up front with Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill, albeit coming off injury. Hutchinson got pressure on 25% of his pass rushes last year, significantly higher than any other DE last season with 100+ pass rushes (Myles Garrett was second at 18%).
Detroit also filled a hole in the secondary by signing CB D.J. Reed so they are in a prime spot to add another edge rusher in the first round this year. It would be really intriguing if the Lions landed combine warrior Shemar Stewart and took a shot at his high ceiling. The one thing probably holding Detroit back from being truly elite like Philadelphia is its blitz rate, which was among the five highest in 2024 and should remain high even with DC Aaron Glenn getting hired by the Jets. –– Clawson
Green Bay might be the closest team to actually replicating the Philadelphia model because it has four former first-round picks on the defensive line with Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness and Devonte Wyatt. Green Bay got one less pressure (227) than the Eagles (228) last season and blitzed even less than they did at 18.2% (second-lowest blitz percentage in the league).
With starting DT T.J. Slaton signing with Cincinnati in free agency and DT Kenny Clark entering his 10th season, the Packers could use someone like Oregon DT Derrick Harmon to replenish the tackle position. Yet if an edge with upside like Georgia’s Mykel Williams is still available, he might be tough to pass on. The Eagles blueprint has shown, you can’t have too many Georgia pass rushers. — McGrady
Eagles and Packers pass rush last season
| Eagles | Packers | |
|---|---|---|
|
Pressure pct |
36.8% |
35.2% |
|
Sack pct |
7.0% |
7.4% |
|
Blitz pct |
20.2% |
18.2% |
Honorable mentions
- The San Francisco 49ers will look to get pressure with just four with DC Robert Saleh, but this isn’t the pass rush that Saleh coached to the Super Bowl in 2019 (Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner, Dee Ford). San Francisco does have four picks in the top 100, including the 11th overall selection, but it also has three starting spots to fill on the defensive line after releasing Leonard Floyd, Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins this offseason. Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. at 11 would be a start (he led the SEC in sacks, pressures and quarterback hits in the last two years), but San Francisco has work to do to catch up with the Eagles. –– Clawson
- The Dallas Cowboys have the best pass rusher on planet Earth (Micah Parsons) and a defensive tackle (Osa Odighizuwa) who had more pressures and a higher pressure rate than Jalen Carter last year. They also signed Dante Fowler Jr. after an underappreciated year in Washington. I expect the Cowboys will be focused on filling needs at RB, WR and OL in the draft, though. –– Clawson
- Nobody can dial up a blitz like Brian Flores (highest blitz rate in NFL last year), which is one reason I’m not as high on the Minnesota Vikings for this exercise. They do have a formidable edge rush duo in Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard, but we’ll see what veteran DTs Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen can bring off injury. –– Clawson
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