With the start of the new league year kicking off Wednesday, March 9, the off-season free agency frenzy has commenced.

The Philadelphia Eagles took to the new league year by making huge moves in hopes of fixing the problems left behind by former head coach Chip Kelly, who recently became the San Francisco 49ers’ new head coach.

With the announcement of former Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator Doug Pederson, becoming the new head coach of the Eagles, the team’s future looks bright.

The Pederson regime began on Jan. 18, with Jim Schwartz, longtime Detroit Lions head coach, being named the Eagles’ new defensive coordinator. The acquisition will hopefully bolster a stagnant defense that failed miserably under former head coach Chip Kelly.

Kelly left a mess for Pederson to clean up and thus far he has lived up to the task.

After resigning in-house players such as tight end Zach Ertz, tight end Brent Celek, offensive tackle Lane Johnson, defensive end Vinny Curry, safety Malcolm Jenkins and quarterback Sam Bradford, the team made key moves to bring in outside help as well during the free agency period that is still ongoing.

The team addressed needs in its defensive secondary, which ranked almost last in all categories, along with padding its abysmal offensive line.

Philadelphia brought in former Buffalo Bills’ cornerback Leodis McKelvin on a two-year deal, which will certainly help a struggling secondary.

The Eagles needed a lot of help on the defensive side of the ball after shipping cornerback Byron Maxwell and linebacker Kiko Alonso to the Miami Dolphins to move up to the eighth overall pick in the NFL draft. They formally owned the 13th overall pick, but traded the pick away to the Dolphins, giving the Eagles a better shot at signing impressive college standouts in the draft.

This was not the only key move in free agency, as the Eagles cut ties with disappointing running back DeMarco Murray in a trade that sent him to the Tennessee Titans.

In that trade, the Eagles swapped fourth round draft picks with the Titans, moving Philadelphia up a couple spots in the fourth round.

Another key transaction came with the signing of former Houston Texans offensive guard Brandon Brooks, which will add experience and leadership to a longtime struggling offensive unit.

The defensive unit is looking more respectable with the acquisition of former St. Louis Rams safety Rodney McLeod, who looks to make a mark on Philadelphia and its defense.

McLeod’s signing marks a stepping-stone in rebuilding the defense to its former prestige.

Ron Brooks was another defensive back picked up in free agency for the Eagles. Coming from the Buffalo Bills, Brooks was under the defensive control of Jim Schwartz, who was the defensive coordinator for the Bills just a year ago.

The flood of Bills defensive players coming to Philadelphia shows leadership from Schwartz and his likeability by players.

One position still in question is the quarterback position.

Since Bradford was signed to a two-year, $36 million dollar contract, it seemed as though he was the starter, but the Eagles brought in former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Chase Daniel to compete for the position.

Daniel was a reliable backup in Kansas City, under former Eagles head coach Andy Reid.

The purging of players that Chip Kelly brought to Philadelphia saw Mark Sanchez as its most recent victim as he was traded to the quarterback-less Denver Broncos for a 2017 conditional draft pick.

With all of these moves, the Philadelphia Eagles hope to stay competitive in the NFC East.

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