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13 young Eagles worth watching in what's left of a lost season
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- 13 young Eagles worth watching in what's left of a lost season
13 young Eagles worth watching in what's left of a lost season originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles aren't even at the halfway point yet.
There are still nine games to go in this miserable 2026 season. And now that the Eagles are sitting at 2-6 with a point differential of -65 it probably feels a little daunting to have to watch this team play nine more times.
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Maybe some Eagles fans really will do something else on Sundays — not to mention Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve — but let's be honest: Most of you are still going to watch when the Eagles play.
So other than rooting for a good draft pick, how do you find enjoyment out of a lost season like this? The answer is pretty easy. You get to monitor the development of the young players on the team. And, hopefully, you'll be able to see their progress in the second half of this season.
With that in mind, here are 13 young Eagles who are worth watching the rest of the way:
QB Joe Milton: Maybe the Eagles really do just ride it out with backup quarterback Tanner McKee in place of Jalen Hurts. But there's some definite intrigue with Milton. The Eagles signed him off the Cowboys' practice squad on Oct. 16 and it didn't take long for Milton to supplant Cole Payton as the new backup. The 26-year-old Milton (6-5, 236) has played in just five career games but the former sixth-round pick has plenty of arm talent. His highlight reel from his 2023 season at Tennessee is littered with highlight plays. Milton has a big arm and can elude pressure. He just wasn't very consistent. But in this lost season, if McKee continues to struggle, it would be fun to see Milton get a chance.
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QB Cole Payton: The Eagles on Sunday night made an interesting decision. They kept Cole Payton active over offensive lineman Jake Majors but Payton didn't play. My first thought was that Payton would have a role on special teams but he didn't. So perhaps there was an offensive role in mind for Payton that the Eagles didn't get to in their 27-10 loss — or maybe he was just an emergency RB option. Payton is a heck of an athlete and while he's developing as a QB behind the scenes, maybe there's a chance to get him on the field in some other roles.
RB Jaydon Blue: In the loss to the Commanders, Blue played just 8 snaps on offense and 7 snaps on special teams, despite Saquon Barkley being banged up and others missing. Blue 22, was a fifth-round pick out of Texas last year but played in just five games with the Cowboys as a rookie. Blue has an intriguing skillset. He ran a 4.38 at the Combine last year and also showed an ability as a receiving threat at Texas. He's a different kind of back and it would be fun to see him get some burn.
WR Makai Lemon: The first-round pick from USC got off to a slow start in his rookie season but has been getting better and better once the Eagles scrapped the portion of the playbook that had him going backwards. Over the last couple of weeks without DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks, Lemon has played more and has had his two biggest games of the season. Overall, Lemon has 31 catches on 45 targets for 251 yards and a touchdown. Among rookies, Lemon is sixth in receiving yards behind Carnell Tate, Denzel Boston, KC Concepcion, Germie Bernard and Antonio Williams. But Lemon has been coming on stronger recently.
WR Darius Cooper: The UDFA from Tarleton State is still just in his second NFL season. He made the roster again in 2026 and has 11 catches for 175 yards and 4 touchdowns this year. But he has caught just 45.8% of his targets, which is a very low number. Cooper hasn't been a star but he has made some big-time catches and should continue to get some run the rest of the way.
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TE Eli Stowers: The second-round pick from Vanderbilt missed the first six games of the season on Injured Reserve with a quad injury. But Stowers made his NFL debut in Week 7 and then made his first NFL catches in Week 8. A couple of those catches came in garbage time but it was still good to see him finish with 3 for 53. When the Eagles drafted Stowers, we knew he was a developmental tight end. The best way to develop is to get him more playing time this season. Stowers is far from a finished product but he has the type of athleticism that's worth developing.
OL Willie Lampkin: The Eagles have had Landon Dickerson back in the starting lineup at left guard the last couple of weeks, but it'll be interesting to see if Dickerson remains with the team through the trade deadline. If not, maybe we see a bit more of Lampkin. The 5-foot-11 offensive lineman started a couple of games at left guard in between Cam Jurgens and Dickerson. Even if Lampkin can't get back on the field as a starter, the Eagles could find some unique ways to use him. He lined up as a fullback on the Saquon Barkley direct-snap touchdown on Sunday night.
OG Micah Morris:The sixth-round pick from Georgia has played just one snap all season so he probably won't get many chances to play this season. But if more injuries hit, Morris could get some chances. He's a really athletic rookie who is worth developing.
C Drew Kendall: The Eagles drafted Kendall out of Boston College in the fifth round last year and have been high on him for a while. We saw that this year when they got him into the starting lineup from Week 2. Kendall has now started five games at center this season and could be the Eagles' long-term fix at the position. The Eagles traded away his predecessor Cam Jurgens earlier this season, so if Kendall plays well the rest of the way, he could keep that job for a while.
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OT Markel Bell:The third-round pick from Miami has had some ups and downs this season. Nick Sirianni seemed impressed by Bell's performance against the Cowboys, but Bell didn't have his best game against the Commanders. Lane Johnson started the first three games of the season before he abruptly retired and Bell has now started the last five games. According to PFF, Bell has given up 17 pressures and 5 sacks this season. He has had some good moments in the run game too. Johnson seemed really impressed by Bell in training camp; we'll see if Bell ends up being his long-term replacement.
DT TY Robinson: Robinson played 104 defensive snaps as a rookie fourth-round pick last year. Through eight games this season, Robinson has played just 52 snaps and is firmly behind Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo and Byron Young on the depth chart. Robinson has played just 9% of the snaps, while Young has been on the field for 27%. Robinson had a solid training camp and preseason so it might make sense to start having him eat into Young's snaps.
LB Jihaad Campbell: This is a tricky one because Campbell began the season as a full-time starter next to Zack Baun and then the Eagles started up a rotation between Campbell and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. While it looks like Trotter might simply be the best option right now, Campbell was a first-round pick and has a ton of athletic ability. Campbell hasn't lived up to expectations but he's in Year 2 as a first-round pick. The only way for him to get better is to continue to play.
S Drew Mukuba: Mukuba is in a similar position as Campbell but there's no one like Trotter pushing him. The second-year, second-round pick from Texas has had a mostly disappointing season as a full-time starter in 2026. But he did have a good game against the Commanders with a forced fumble and an interception that was negated by a penalty. Through eight games, Mukuba has played 556 of 558 snaps. We might learn a lot about him over the final nine games of the season.
