With training camp wrapping up, the Eagles have secured their first 53-man roster and are gearing up for Week 1.
It’s football season.
But it’s been a long time since the last mailbag too. We had a lot of questions and we will answer them in the next few days. As always, thanks for all the thoughtful questions.
Let’s go to it:
The Eagles added a number of high-impact players this offseason, but most of them were on the defensive side of the ball. One starter they added to the offense was AJ Brown. So in answer to this question, I give him a slight edge over Haason Reddick.
The Eagles ranked 25th in passing offenses in the NFL last year. Everyone expects him to be better in 2022 — myself included — and Brown is a big reason for that. Howie Roseman traded his first-round pick off him for which he was handed a $100 million contract. And this summer, Brown has already shown me that he’s the real deal, sure DeVonta Smith is going to get better in his second year and Zach Pascal is a great addition and I was initially thinking It was more important than anything else.
But a lot of this team’s success this season will depend on Jalen Hurts’ play. And the biggest move to help Hearts improve was to bring in his best friend, who happens to be a dynamic receiver.Brown, as a rookie, he appeared in all 16 games, but in 2020, he won his 2 games, and in 2021 he will miss 4 games. The Eagles can make it through in 2022 even if he misses two games, but they really need him.
The news that Andre Dillard has broken his forearm is disappointing, especially since he was the insurance policy for Jordan Mailata. But it’s also important to note that there aren’t many teams three-deep at that position. And having Dillard as a backup in the first place is a bit of a luxury.
We’ll see how it goes, but Dillard is definitely on his way to an IR. The top backup tackles on the 53-man roster are Jack Driscoll and Josh Sills, who played Wright’s only tackle all summer. Sills played guard and tackle and had work on the second and third teams at left tackle. But if Mailata goes down, will the Eagles really throw in an undrafted rookie? Probably not.
As such, Mailata’s most likely backup is on the practice team. Kayode Awosika is also on the Eagles practice team. Awosika didn’t make the roster, but at least he’s in the NFL for his year.
It was one of the roster surprises in the Final Cut: The Eagles held off Oklahoma’s UDFA Sills over Anderson, who was on the roster last year. The Giants immediately requested Anderson’s waiver. I agree that Anderson is definitely the more advanced player now. Heck, I’d simply say he’s a better player now. He played every position on the line during his college career, offering guard/tackle versatility rather than guard/center like Anderson. The Eagles probably found more value in the versatility of their backup tackle.
No, the Eagles have Deon Cain, Devon Allen, and Britain Covey on their practice team, so having only four receivers on the roster (for now) shouldn’t be nerve-wracking. Anyway, I wasn’t expecting much from Jaren Rieger this season, so it’s not a huge loss. In all honesty, Cain deserved more of that roster than Reagor anyway. And Coby could be a return game upgrade.
Carter had a lot going for him, not just playing poorly on the field. He has dealt with substance abuse issues and truly credits his release with turning his life around. Lieger has struggled with his poor playing and loss of confidence.
I think the leaguer could go to Minnesota and a fresh start could jumpstart his career. If he turns his career around, don’t worry about him. I think it’s fair to say that it never happened here.
You may call me Dave. Honestly, only Ray Didinger calls me David. That’s a fair question about Sanders, especially since he’s entering a contract season. . With that matter hovering over him, it will be difficult to pay him with a huge contract.
But next year may be the time to use relatively high picks for running backs. The Eagles drafted Kenny Gainwell fifth last season. There’s this idea that you can find a running back in any round of the draft, and that’s kind of true. However, most of his backs in the NFL’s elite were recruited fairly early.
Let’s take a look at a rusher with 1,000 yards per draft round for the past five years.
First round: 10
Round 2: 8
Round 3: 3
Round 4: 1
5th round: 2
Round 6: 0
Round 7: 1
UDFAs: 3
To be clear, I’m not advocating running backs using first-round picks. But it also usually doesn’t make sense to pay a lot for a running back, especially if the running back isn’t special.
It’s always fun to talk about special teams.By the end of last season, cornerback Zek McPherson had become a pretty decent gunner, and Josiah Scott would eventually fill that role in the playoff games. Both are on the roster again, so this would be a good place to start.
Sean Bradley and Patrick Johnson return as key contributors to Special Teams. Bradley was one of his players on his NFC better team last year. The Eagles also added a starting player for those units in sixth-round pick Kyron Johnson. The Kansas product was a big player for the Jayhawks, but he also excelled on the team. He’s his 6-foot, 235-pound edge rusher and on pro day he recorded a sub 4.4 on his 40-yard dash. This is a good start for Johnson’s excellence in coverage units.
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