The 2024 Philadelphia Eagles finished the season with the fewest passing attempts by a wide margin at 448. Only three other teams had sub-500 pass attempts while the Cleveland Browns led the NFL with 661.
Philadelphia boasted — and still boasts — the NFL’s best offensive line, per PFF grading. The Eagles’ defense allowed the second-fewest points per game at 17.8. With favorable game scripts, a formidable offensive line and Saquon Barkley rumbling for 2,005 yards on the ground, it’s no wonder Jalen Hurts threw only 361 times last season. Philadelphia had a +160 point differential last season, second only to the +222 of the Detroit Lions.
Here, we’re taking a look at whether the Eagles’ passing game takes a step forward in 2025 as new season approaches. Read on for target share projections for star fantasy players like A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and more.
Eagles overview
The Eagles had one of the easier schedules in 2024. Per Sharp Football Analysis, Philadelphia has the fourth-hardest for 2025. That’s important because more competitive games could mean more pass attempts.
The 361 pass attempts by Hurts were the lowest since his rookie season when he started only four games. Over his last three campaigns before 2024, Hurts attempted 538, 460 and 432 passes. Things ran pure for Philadelphia last season culminating in a Super Bowl win, and while the Eagles are still going to play to their strengths, it wouldn’t surprise if Hurts has to attempt over 400 passes this season.
Kellen Moore was the offensive coordinator for Philadelphia last season. He took the head coaching job in New Orleans, so Kevin Patullo will be calling the shots this season for the Eagles.
Patullo was the wide receivers and pass game specialist for the Indianapolis Colts from 2018 to 2020. He joined the Eagles’ staff in 2021 and has been the pass game coordinator since. This will be his first time calling plays in the NFL. As a result, there is a smidge of uncertainty for the Eagles offense.
The Eagles are a veteran group and the offense should essentially be on auto, but it is an artform to sequence plays and adjust to what defenses are doing. A repeat of last season is unlikely.
Now, let’s take a a look at how the targets should be distributed in Philadelphia this season.
Wide receivers
A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith were the top target-earners for the Eagles last season with 97 and 89 looks. From a target share perspective, Brown commanded a 34.4% mark. Only Malik Nabers of the New York Giants had a higher number. Smith’s target share was 28.6%. Both Brown and Smith should command similar percentages in 2025.
Jahan Dotson ended with 33 targets and a 7.9% target share. He finished with one target in a game eight times last season, but when both Brown and Smith were out, he received 11.
Tight ends
Dallas Goedert received 52 targets and a 19.3% target share last season. He only played 10 games, though. Injuries have been a big roadblock for Goedert as he started 14, 12, 14, nine, nine and eight games over the prior six seasons.
Goedert’s loss was Grant Calcaterra’s gain as he finished with 30 targets. However, the latter tight end only garnered a 7.2% target share. Calcaterra was a sixth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and received 13 targets over his first two seasons in the league. He is athletic, running a 4.62 40-yard dash with a 101.2 Explosive Rating per PlayerProfiler.
Running backs
Saquon Barkley garnered 43 targets and an 11.4% target share last season. Kenneth Gainwell had 22 targets and a 5.3% target share. Gainwell is now in Pittsburgh. A.J. Dillon is second on the depth chart with Will Shipley underneath. Dillon has a career-high of 43 targets in a season and is more of a bruiser. Shipley is known as a good pass catcher.
During Barkley’s rookie season, he received a whopping 121 targets! That was with Eli Manning under center, though. Once Daniel Jones took over, the targets never topped 76. Jones was/is a dual-threat quarterback, so checking down to the running back was often eschewed for running the ball himself. That same dynamic is in play with Hurts, who often falls in line with quarterbacks who target running backs the least at around 11%. For perspective, the quarterbacks that check down to running backs often are in the 25% range.
