36-year-old Brandon Graham didn’t plan on suiting up after the triceps tear in Week 12 last season. But as the Eagles went strength to strength scoring a symbolic 55 points—the same as the defensive end’s jersey number—over the Washington Commanders’ 23 in the NFC title game, it was as if the universe had sent a special message to the veteran. Soon, the Super Bowl LIX approached, and so did Graham’s knack to make an iconic return.

He played 13 snaps on the big night, brace and all, fully aware that he was risking re-injury. It didn’t matter. That was the exit he wanted. And so, despite that unavoidable re-injury, a surgery shortly after, and a retirement announcement, the veteran regrets nothing at all. In fact, even in those final moments, Graham wasn’t trying to make it about himself.

As the locker room emptied out post-game, he turned to Nolan Smith and gave him a sentence that now hangs over the franchise’s defensive future. “Hey man, this your room,” Graham told Smith. “Now you the guy. You the oldest guy in that room. So, let’s go out there. Let’s go take care of business.” Smith is 24. A former first-round pick who took a while to find his legs, but transformed himself into the Eagles’ second edge rusher with 9.5 sacks in a season before turning 24, after Reggie White. No wonder Graham’s faith in Smith is still intact.

“Nolan (Smith) for sure. He got the torch right now. I mean, that room changed drastically real fast. Now he’s the guy,” Graham said on the Ross Tucker Podcast, while addressing the Eagles’ defensive unit. “Sweaty (Josh Sweat) gone, myself, Milt (Milton Williams) left, I mean, all the guys, everything…all signs point at this.” Besides Nolan, the Eagles’ D-line is currently stacked up with the likes of Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis.

This is the first spring in years where the Eagles’ defensive line room has no active player over 27. The group is young, athletic, and largely unproven. What it lacks is something the franchise had in abundance for over a decade: Internal leadership.

But the Eagles’ legend believes that Smith will need to take that big leap entering his third season, given that he’s the outside linebacker for Philly. “Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis in the tackle room,” B.G. added. “Then you got, you know, Nolan Smith, who got to make a big leap. He already did in the…planwise. Now, you got to make sure that they vocally address stuff that needs to be addressed because we’ve got to make sure we practice in a certain way.”

“So [Nolan] got to be able to lead by example and what he does on that field… Now, he got to take the next step of leadership, and I think he will,” Graham concluded.

Nolan Smith enters Year 3 coming off a late-season surge that finally validated the Eagles’ long-view bet on his upside. After logging just 203 snaps in his rookie season, Smith saw his role expand dramatically in 2024. The staff has challenged him to lead vocally, but the mandate is clear: Turn flashes into full-season consistency.

On the other side of the spectrum, B.G. also shed light on the disastrous season of the now former Eagles’ defensive end.

Brandon Graham believes Bryce Huff didn’t fit in Vic Fangio’s system

Last year, when the Eagles handed Bryce Huff that sweet three-year $51.1 million deal, they weren’t just paying for potential. In fact, they were banking on him bringing four years of experience straight to Philly. But let’s be real—a season marred by injuries, the player appeared in just 12 games (six starts) and recorded 13 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. The result?

Well, the Eagles are reportedly shipping him off to San Francisco. Not the kind of farewell he wanted for sure. Now that he’s packing his bags to leave, many are wondering what went wrong with Huff and the Eagles. And recently, Brandon Graham shed light on why this situation was already doomed from the start.

“I’ve seen different guys flourish in different systems, and then you see him (Huff) get in another system,” Graham explained on the Ross Tucker Podcast. “It’s different, and what they asked of him this year, it just wasn’t a great marriage, I will say, because I know Huff can rush. I’ve seen him doing all that, but sometimes, it’s just different with the type of scheme and what people ask of you and they want you to be able to do, and maybe it just wasn’t that for Vic Fangio.”

The silver lining? The Eagles are now trading Huff, and in return, will receive a draft pick. As for Huff, he’s gearing up to reunite with his former coach, Robert Saleh, who’s now the DC in San Francisco.

But while Huff’s brief stint in Fangio’s system didn’t turn out well for him, Brandon Graham still has high hopes for his former teammate. “I just know that he’s a baller man and hopefully for him, I wanted to be a win-win for the team and a win for him, but you know in this case I want him to be happy.”

How will Huff’s next season turn out? We’ll see.