Zack Baun Was An Eagles Breakout Player Last Year - Who's Got Next?

The excitement generated by the revealing of the Eagles’ opening night opponent – yes, it’s the Dallas Cowboys – now feels like a good time to speculate on their breakout candidates for the upcoming season.

Zack Baun won’t make the list, but he was probably the biggest breakout star from last year, among several others, such as fellow linebacker Nakobe Dean. Baun's resume from 2024 is a high bar for him to clear.

Nolan Smith won’t be on this list, either. His snap count went from 188 to 586, and his production went from one sack and three quarterback hits as a rookie to 6.5 sacks and 11 QB hits.

Have both reached their ceilings, or could they be even better in 2025? Again, Baun’s bar is high. Smith’s probably isn’t. He has more room to reach his ceiling and could be a double-digit sack producer this season. If Baun does better than last year or repeats his performance last year, he will win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, a season after being a finalist for that honor.

Granted, this is a list subject to change once training camp gets roll. Maybe even OTAs, too, which begin May 27 and 28. Here are five candidates as of May 12:

Jalyx Hunt. The second-year outside linebacker/edge rusher came on strong at the end of last season and in the playoffs. He can carry that momentum and build off a rookie year in which he played 241 defensive snaps in the regular season with another 103 in four playoff games. He is a favorite of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

Moro Ojomo. Drafted before Fangio arrived, the defensive tackle also improved as the year went on. He is undersized, at 292 pounds, but he is fast off the ball and maybe, just maybe, could get some snaps on the outside.

Kelee Ringo. It’s time for the third-year player to make a mark on the defense after being a special team standout. The Eagles have players in house, such as Smael Mondon, to name one, who can take some of the load off Ringo’s special team plate and allow him to focus on playing cornerback. He will have to fend off a challenge from veteran Adoree Jackson to make it happen and better the low defensive snaps he played in his first two years – 17 percent as a rookie and 11 percent last year.

Either way, Fangio will play the player who wins the job in training camp. It won’t matter that Ringo was taken in the fourth round two years ago.

Will Shipley. It’s hard to find a player on offense who can have a breakout year, because all the key ones have already done that. So, the running back gets the call here. There’s no way the Eagles can let Saquon Barkley touch it another 592 times again this year, can they? If A.J. Dillon proves to be healthy after missing last year, he could be the one to spell Barkley, but Shipley will be in the mix, and maybe he can break out of Barkley’s shadow like Keny Gainwell managed to do last year.

Drew Mukuba. Yep, going with a rookie here. The safety has a chance to be a difference-maker in Year 1, the way Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell were last year.