For the Eagles, running back Saquon Barkley so far has been worth every penny of his three-year deal worth as much as $37.8 million. In fact, you can make the case that the Eagles would be 0-3 without Barkley as opposed to 2-1 after Barkley rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns in the Eagles’ 15-12 win over the Saints in New Orleans.

But edge rusher Bryce Huff, on the other hand, has not come close to justifying the three-year deal worth as much as $51.1 million. Huff has yet to register a sack or a tackle through three games. And his playing time has diminished to where he played just 32% of the snaps against New Orleans.

Yet the Eagles also need some of their low-cost free agents to shine, much like Jason Kelce did as a sixth-round pick in 2011.

That has been the case with linebacker Zack Baun, who signed a one-year deal worth $3.5 million. Baun had 13 tackles Sunday, which came two weeks after he had 15 tackles and 2 sacks against the Packers.

Here, then, is a look at the Eagles’ studs and duds through Week 3:

Studs

Saquon Barkley, running back

Barkley has easily been the Eagles’ best player. He leads the NFL with 351 rushing yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. But it’s Barkley’s impact that has made a difference. Barkley ran for a 65-yard touchdown run Sunday, one play after DeVonta Smith left the game with a concussion. Instead of wallowing in losing their second top receiver, Barkley put the Eagles up 7-3.

It’s not a reach to say the Eagles have not had a running back with that kind of impact since LeSean McCoy a decade ago.

Zack Baun, linebacker

What makes Baun’s play so remarkable is that he rarely played inside linebacker during his first four seasons with the Saints. But Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio liked Baun’s size and speed for the position, and decided to try him there during spring practices.

“Was I going to bet my life savings on it? No,” Fangio said recently. “But I had a good feeling that he could do it. And he can.”

Baun has 37 tackles through three games, already beating his previous career high of 30. Let’s just say if this keeps up, Baun could make himself a lot more money in 2025, whether it’s a new multi-year contract with the Eagles or somewhere else in free agency.

DeVonta Smith, wide receiver

In many ways, this has been Smith’s most challenging start to the season, and that was before he took Khristian Boyd’s cheap shot to the head on Sunday that left him with a concussion.

That’s because A.J. Brown has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, meaning Smith has gotten much more attention from opposing defenses. Yet Smith has recorded at least seven receptions for 75 yards or more in three consecutive games. That makes Smith one of only five Eagles to accomplish that feat since 1970. Irving Fryar (four games in 1996), Harold Jackson (four, 1971), Brown (three, 2023), and Zach Ertz (three, 2015 and 2019) are the others.

As for the hit for Smith, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said: “I love Smitty, and I’m really sad that that happened to him … Just hoping that he’s continuing to recover here. That was a tough play to watch on film.”

Fred Johnson, Tyler Steen

Johnson and Steen will never make anyone forget about right tackle Lane Johnson, a perennial Pro Bowl selection, or right guard Mekhi Becton, who beat out Steen for the starting job. But Fred Johnson and Steen did their job when both Lane Johnson (concussion) and Becton (finger) left the game in the second quarter.

For Fred Johnson, it was the first time getting meaningful snaps in a game since 2021 when he was with the Bengals. Johnson said before the game that he downloaded a meditation app to help calm his anxiety. That was before he knew he would be playing.

“I took some deep breaths, calmed down, and went out there, and played the best I could,” Fred Johnson said. “If I had bad plays, I focused on the next one.”

Duds

Bryce Huff, edge rusher

The Eagles are not giving up on Huff, not after three games. But it was telling that the Eagles decided they were better off moving defensive tackle Milton Williams outside rather than use Huff. Huff played two more snaps than defensive tackle Moro Ojomo (18-16), a seventh-round pick in 2023.

“Just keep plugging away,” Sirianni said about Huff. “I believe sacks and pressures come in waves … I got a lot of faith in Bryce and the things he can do. That’s why he’s here.”

But not stopping the run and not getting pressure on the QB is a bad combination.

Nolan Smith, edge rusher

Smith is in that same category as Huff as a first-round pick in 2023 (No. 30 overall) who hasn’t made an impact. Then to add insult to injury, Smith was run over on the Saints’ punt block. To his credit, Smith did recover and make a touchdown-saving tackle.

Jahan Dotson, wide receiver

Dotson deserves credit for running a precise route that caused two Saints players to collide, thus freeing up Dallas Goedert to continue down the field on his 61-yard reception that set up Barkley’s game-winning touchdown with 1:01 left.

But Dotson, whom the Eagles traded for last month after he was the Commanders’ first-round pick in 2022, has just 3 catches for 14 yards. Remember, Dotson was acquired to serve as a No. 3 wide receiver behind Brown and DeVonta Smith. Dotson was technically the No. 2 wide receiver with Brown out the past two games. He had 1 catch in each game.

Dotson might be the No. 1 if Brown and Smith can’t play, not to mention Britain Covey, who has a shoulder injury and was in a sling after the game.

Devin White, linebacker

White is another disappointing free agent signee. The Eagles gave him a one-year deal worth as much as $7.5 million. He has yet to play a down for the Eagles. White hasn’t even been on the game-day roster the last two games as Baun and Nakobe Dean have been the only linebackers to play.

Martin Frank: