Eagles' $100M edge rusher gets bold career-year prediction from ESPN analyst

The Philadelphia Eagles lost Jaelan Phillips to the Carolina Panthers in the offseason, but wound up landing a different veteran edge rusher who could be a big help.

In a trade with the Minnesota Vikings, the Eagles acquired Jonathan Greenard, shortly after the deal signing a $100 million contract extension with the edge rusher. He's a huge pickup, but he also hasn't been on the field all summer due to a pec injury.

And yet, ESPN's Seth Walder is predicting that Greenard won't just play well, but will have a career year for the Eagles with a new single-season high in sacks.

Eagles' Jonathan Greenard predicted to set new career-high in sacks

"Bold prediction for 2026: Jonathan Greenard will record at least 0.8 sacks per game," Walder predicts. "... Once he's on the field, I expect big things from Greenard playing alongside the rest of the defense, even after a down year in Minnesota."

This is a very bold prediction from Walder, as Greenard is currently dealing with a pec strain and might miss the start of the season. But if he does suit up in Week 1, which is a possibility, he'd set a new personal record for sacks in a season with Walder's prediction.

While 0.8 sacks per game might not seem like much, if he played in all 17 games, he would put up 13.6 sacks in the year, which would be a strong mark, and also set the previous career-best of a 12.5-sack season with the Houston Texans in 2023.

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He recorded 12 sacks in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings, but had a down year in 2025 with just 3.0 sacks in 12 games. But now, he's with the Eagles and could be in for a big season.

Playing with Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter in the interior, along with Nolan Smith Jr. and Jalyx Hunt at edge rusher, plus some quality depth, makes for a strong defensive line.

Since Greenard hasn't played at all this summer after his pec strain, this 0.8 sack-per-game prediction is quite the bold one.

But with how good the Eagles' defense can be under Vic Fangio, it wouldn't be a huge surprise if Greenard thrived. While bold, this is also a prediction within the realm of possibility for the veteran edge rusher.

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