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The DiCecco Daily: Looking At Eagles Unrestricted Free Agent Class, Who Should Stay? · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: What's going on. Everybody welcome in. This is the check
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: O Deli. I am Andrew Decheco, Eagles beat reporter for
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: insidethebirds dot Com. I know on the last podcast that
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: I told you I was going to focus on the
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: offensive line as I go through my position groups and
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: give you a good assessment and overview going into the
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty six offseason. But because it's a snow day
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: and I hope everyone's staying safe, and I imagine that
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: there's some downtime here, I wanted to go through the
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: stay or go as it pertains to the Eagles twenty
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: twenty six on unrestricted free agents, and we'll start with safety.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: Read Blanket Ship great story.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Came to the Eagles in twenty twenty two as an
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: undrafted free agent, started fifty games for the team. He
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: was a first year captain for the Eagles in twenty
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: twenty five. Look, I don't think they're gonna have to
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: break the bank to keep Red Blankenship. By imagine he'll
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: have a handful of suitors out there. Probably has more
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: value to the Eagles than he would maybe another team.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: I still think that the Eagles should draft another safety
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: to add another young piece to complement what they have
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: there and Drew mccouba. But I think Blankenship would be
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: a stay because there are not a number of players
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: at that position as it is. He gives you familiarity, continuity,
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: has a good rapport with Cooper dejen and he's sort
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: of a homegrown talent that I believe the Eagles would
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: want to keep in the building. But I don't think
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: that that should preclude the Eagles from trying to add
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: a little bit more athleticism to that position. So I
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: say stay, and I would say under the conditions that
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: Blankenship is not signed to a long term deal. Tight
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: End Grant Calcata. The Eagles drafted him in twenty twenty
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: two in the sixth round, and just forty two career
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: catches just under five hundred yards, has a couple of touchdowns.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: This is a player that that I know has been
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: heavily scrutinized from the outside in terms of his blocking.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: I maintained that the Eagles put him in a situations
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: that don't accentuate what he does well. He's a receiving
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: centric tight end, but even as the number two tight end,
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: he doesn't have as much of an involvement into the
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: offense as you would expect the second tight end to do,
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: certainly not for as much as he was playing. I
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: still think because there's three tight ends, all free agents
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Dallas Gotter, grant Ka Katerra, Kylon Grantson, you can't rip
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: out the foundation and start bare bones with free agency
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: in the draft. I don't know if that's the way
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: to go. And because of that, I would say grant
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: kaal Katara would be a stay. But here's the important piece.
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: Keep him in a role that he's better suited for.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: So I think as a third tight end he would
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: be fine. They still need to figure out tight ends
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: one and two.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: But I don't know that you.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: Can completely blow out that whole tight end room and
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: try to piece it together in one offseason. So Kyle
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: Katara would be a stay for me. Linebacker Nakobe Dean.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: I've talked a ton about Nikobe Dean. I've written a
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: lot about Nakobe Dean, third round pick in twenty twenty two,
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: overcame a ton of injuries, is a tremendous leader, and
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: then on the field you see his ability to affect
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: the run game, to get after the quarterback as a
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: blitzer had four sacks last season. He embodies what it
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: means to be a Philadelphia Eagle, and losing to Kobe
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: Dean would be a tremendous blow for the football team.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: But you look at the linebacker situation. They drafted Jahid
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: Campbell in the first round. It's really tough to envision
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: the Eagles being willing to sit Jahid Campbell or have
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: him take a back seat for a second consecutive year.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: The Kobe Dean, I go back to the injury history.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: I think he's gonna get paid on the open market.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: There's a lot of teams in need of a linebacker,
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: certainly a young player like the Kobe had just under
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty tackles in twenty twenty four. And
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: so for all of those reasons, I say go as
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: it pertains to Nikobe Dean, I just don't see a
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: path where he would be coming back to the Eagles
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: and then having Jahid Campbell take another back seat. As
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: I say often, it's a luxury to have three starting
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: caliber off ball linebackers, hardly a necessity. And for those reasons,
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: I have Nikobe Dean as a go running back.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: AJ Dion. Look.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: When he was signed, there were a lot of folks
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: who were intrigued and some who were even excited at
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: the prospects of AJ Dillon being a bargain signing coming
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: off a year in which he missed the twenty twenty
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: fourth season with a neck injury, and he had been
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: a productive player in Green Bay in a one to
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: two punch with Aaron Jones, So the prospects of pairing
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: him with Saquon Barkley, I'm sure conjured a lot of intrigue.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: But he had just sixty yards on twelve carries, three
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: catches for twenty one yards, and I mentioned the gas
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: that he had, the gaffes that he had in that
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: first Giants game, fielding a ball and stepping out of
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: bounds a kickoff and stepping out of bounds at the
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: five yard line, fumbled on the ensuing drive. They added
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: Tank Bigsby and worked him into the offense, and Shipley
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: already had a defining role. So it's hard to activate
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: four running backs if one is rendered on relatively unplayable
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: or if he doesn't have a clear cut role, and
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: AJ Dillon spent the majority of the season from there.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: From there on, as a weekly inactive and I believe
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: that he'll go somewhere else in hopes of trying to
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: carve out a more prominent role for an offense. It
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: won't be in Philadelphia. AJ Dillon go wide receiver Johan Dotson.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: I've talked to plenty about him, and look, thirty seven catches,
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: four hundred and seventy eight yards and one touchdown combined
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: over the two seasons in which the Eagles acquired him,
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: and he just in a low volume passing attack. He
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: doesn't see enough, He doesn't see enough targets for the
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: Eagles to want to bring him back at his age.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: He's young. I think he can.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: Offer a little bit more to another team who will
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: utilize him more consistently. And he sort of admitted as
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: much when I spoke to him at locker clean out.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: Look.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: I think it was a big swing, knowing that at
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: the time Kellen Moore had a history of leaning on
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: and involving the number three wide receiver and eleven personnel
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: never manifested here in Philadelphia, and he was sparsely utilized.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: He said it, and I'll repeat it. He believes that
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: he's his best football is in front of him. And
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: that he can help with the football team win a
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: lot of games. So for those reasons, and I do
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: believe the Eagles will look towards the draft to add
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: a wide receiver, maybe even in free agency to replace Dotson.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: But for those reasons, Johan Dotson is a go for me.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: Safety Marcus EPs. This is a good story because he
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: joined the Eagles practice squad after he didn't make the
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: new England pays roster, elevated to the active roster for
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: the first three games, signs to the fifty three.
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: Then he ended up.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: Having to start a number of games when Drew mccouba
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: was out, and I thought he did a nice job.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: But he's best suited to be a number three safety.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: This is a player who's not going to break the bank.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: He gives you a base level production. He's consistent, he's tough,
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: he's smart. All those things really carry a lot of
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: weight when you're looking at pic Vangio and what he
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: really covets in terms of safeties. Safeties and linebackers carry
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: a considerable amount of responsibility in his system. But I
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: had blanket hip staying mccooba's back. Sidney Brown will be back.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: I think they draft a safety. I don't know that
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: Marcus EPs will have a huge market. Probably will be
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: out there later on in the second and third wave
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: of free agency if the Eagles decide that they want
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: to bring him back and add some more competition to
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: that room. But for right now, I have Marcus Epps
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: as a go, which brings us to tight end Dallas Goddard.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: Goddard had a tremendous season last year eleven touchdown receptions,
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: broken Eagles tight end record for most tight touchdowns in
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: a season, and started ninety one games, over four hundred catches,
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: four six hundred and seventy six yards, thirty five touchdowns.
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: Has a rapport with Jaywen.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: Hurts that really revealed itself in the regular season and
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: has in years past.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: But a big body player, his.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: Blocking has tailed off a little bit in his career,
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: but can be an effective red zone presence, and I
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: believe he's still playing at a high enough level. He
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: avoided the injury bug aside from Week two, and for
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: all of you know, it feels like he's been around forever.
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: But I still think that he can give you another
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: year production if you can work it out. They agree
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: to a restructure at last may to keep him in
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: the building. I think you can still bring him back
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: for another year. I look at the age, I look
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: at the injury history. The Eagles have a lot of familiarity.
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: He loves being in Philadelphia. It's not always that simple,
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: but you can certainly see a path for Dallas got
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: at returning if for only another season, while the Eagles
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: draft the tight end in the first or second round
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: maybe and then they're able to kind of learn under
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: Dallas Goddard. I think that would be the most logical
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: course of action. So if you look back, I had
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: Grant cal Katara coming back, I have Dallas Goddard coming back,
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: and I have a draft pick sort of filling out
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: that room. So Dallas Goddard's going to be a stay
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: for me. Another tight end, Kylon Granson, he came over
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: in free agency, was one of the one year you know,
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: sort of swings in freegency last year because he did
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: carry some intrigue in the sense that he can play
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: a number of different you can align him a lot
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: of different areas backfield, out wide, everything. He's not really
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: an inline blocker. But he played in all seventeen games,
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: just seven catches, forty yards.
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: I imagine that he came in hoping to.
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: Have a larger impact on the offense that didn't manifest.
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: And I think he can help another team more than.
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: He would help the Eagles.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: He was one of the best special teams players the
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: Eagles had last year. I think he had eighteen tackles,
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: so that carries some weight.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: But he's still a.
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: Younger player and he's not going to factor into the
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: offensive equation here. And so for those reasons, I have
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: Kylon grants in going he would be a go for me.
• 10:36
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• 12:59
  Speaker 1: Quarterback Sam how The Eagles traded for him before Week one,
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: and that was sort of insurance when Tanner McKee injured
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: himself in training camp, and he was always the emergency
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: third quarterback for the Eagles in every game and didn't
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: really I mean, they didn't need to call upon him,
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: which is obviously really good news. But I think Sam Howell,
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: being a young player, is someone who could be a
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: number two for a lot of teams, and a lot
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: of this will be predicated on what happens with Tanner McKee.
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: The Eagles aren't obviously going to move Tanner McKee, who
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: of course is the number two quarterback, unless they're blown
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: away by a trade from some team. And for Sam Howe,
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: I believe that he's better than a number three quarterback.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: I think he can be a number two somewhere. So
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: perhaps he'll test the market and find what he's looking
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: for in free agency. Sam Howell right now would be
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: a go for me. Which brings us to cornerback of
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: Dory Jackson. A Dory spent He was draft in the
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: first round by the Tennessee Titans. He goes to the Giants.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: After that, signs a one year prove it deal with
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: the Eagles in twenty twenty five. They threw a lot
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: at him. They throw a lot of players, whether it's
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: Keiley Ringo or trading for Jacoryan Bennett in training camp,
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: and you have to give a Dori Jackson credit because
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: he was the last man standing. And I thought that
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: while it was a little bit of a shaky start,
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: he ultimately settled in and gave the Eagles some quality
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: snaps from that number two cornerback spot.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: And I almost wonder.
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: If that's a player or a position where you can't
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: spend everywhere, and you can't necessarily depend on a draft
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: pick to step in and give you high level production
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: unless they're drafted on Day one or day two. So
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: they did a nice job of sort of disguising him
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: a little bit and not necessarily allowing teams to highlight
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: him and target him heavily in the past game. I
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: think the pass rush certainly helped, but Adri deserves a
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: lot of credit for being a quote unquote survivor. As
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: Vic Vangiel referred to him later in the season. Look,
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: I think that he would be a wise retention because
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: he gives you experience, He gives you insurance depending on
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: what else happens there. So I'm going to say, I
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: don't know that we'll get a lot of traction early
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: in free agency. I think that's more of a second
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: wave type of signing. But I think he stays, so
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: a Dorri Jackson would be a stay for me. Tackle
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: Fred Johnson. Look, I think that was one of the
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: more savvy offseason additions for Howie Roseman, and you have
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: to give him credit. He signed Kendall Lamb in free agency.
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: He signed Matt Pryor. Both players underwhelmed Kendall Lamb even
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: more so, did not make the roster. And you can
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: clearly see as the summer was developing that the Eagles
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: didn't have a surefire answer or a swing tackle on
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: game day that the Eagles would feel comfortable in. And
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: so they go back to the well and they bring
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: Fred Johnson back in a trade, and Fred Johnson left
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: the Eagles after winning the Super Bowl in suit of
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: a starting job, and he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: It didn't happen there, which is kind of curious because
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: their offensive line certainly wasn't anything to write home about.
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: But anyway, he ends up in Philadelphia, where I believe
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: he just had more value. He really took to Jeff
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: Stotlin's coaching. He started eight regular season games for the
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: Eagles and the postseason game. But still I think he's
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: just twenty eight years old. He put even more on.
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: Tape this year.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: He started six games for the Eagles in twenty twenty four,
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: and then another eight regular season and then the postseason
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: game last year. So you have to think that there's
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: enough on tape, enough of a sample size, And you
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: take one look around the NFL and you look at
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: the state of offensive line play, I have to think
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: that Fred Johnson will be given a more prominent an
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: opportunity to carve out a more prominent role somewhere else.
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: So I think he goes. I'll be a go for me.
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: But it's not because I didn't think he played well
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: or I don't think that it would be a good insurance.
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: To have him there.
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: Barring injuries, he could step in and perform well. I
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: think he's going to have another opportunity out there that
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: gives him that chance to start, which later in his
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: career you would hope, I mean you would think that
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: a player would jump at. So Fred Johnson will be
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: a go punter.
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: Braiden Man he joined the Eagles in twenty twenty three.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: He's bounced around a little bit Jets, Steelers, and had
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: a career high in gross punting average with just under
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: fifty It was forty nine point nine. I think Braiden Man,
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: when you look at how much the offense struggled last season,
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: he bailed them out from being pinned back and being
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: in disadvantage, being at a disadvantage, and I think that
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: that was kind of lost in last season a little bit.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: You know, as far as frustrated as many were with
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: the offense, I thought that while they were struggling, braiden
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: Man helped the Eagles win the field possession battle, especially
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: in some of the those bad weather games like in
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: Buffalo and some of those really windy games where he
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: found a way to whether it was line drive kicks
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: or penning teams deep inside the inside the twenty which
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: he had twenty of those last season. He's just an
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: invaluable piece to the special teams COG and I think
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: the Eagles would would want to keep him in the
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: in the fold, and I think it would make a
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: lot of sense. I don't know that he'll break the
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: bank to do that or be cost prohibitive. So I
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: have Braden Mann returning, and I think that's one of
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: the more underrated important free agent retentions for the Eagles.
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: Outside linebacker is he's Ojalari Aziz Ojulari.
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: When he was signed, I had this sort of temper
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: expectations because there was a lot of excitement. He was
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: drafted by the Giants out of LSU and he was
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: struggling with injuries. Young player, so many believe that in
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: Philadelphia in a rotational type of role. He could be
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: sort of one of those upside signings that can step
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: in and give you some some quality snaps. As it were,
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: he had a hamstring injury put him on ir Before that,
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: he wasn't playing all that much. I saw him late
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: in the year started to come around a little bit.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: He had his twenty one day practice window open when
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: the Eagles reached the playoffs and then obviously was never
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: activated from there, so played very sparingly. I know that
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: he's young, I get that he's not going to cost
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: a lot, but I think the Eagles go to a
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: different direction there and trying to fill out that edge room,
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: and I don't believe azizo Ja Lari will be a
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: part of it.
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: He's a go for me. Obo Okoronkwo.
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: I spoke to Obo after the season during locker clean out.
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: He tour his triceps against the Buccaneers the Week four game.
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: That was really his first opportunity to play any snaps
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: for the Eagles. He played just four snaps, tour his
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: triceep and was out for the season. Didn't see him
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: all that much during the year at all, and I
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: saw him during locker clean out, said that he was
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: feeling like himself, hopes that it becomes appealing to you
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: another team in for agency.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: If not, the Eagles see him coming back, but a
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: good locker room guy.
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: I enjoyed my conversations with him, and I think if
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: he had been able to play a little bit more
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: and you get a better sense of how he fits
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: into the system, maybe you could make a case for
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: him staying, especially for a cheap, a low cost veteran
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: piece that can give you some snaps in training camp.
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: I think he'll hang out on the open market for
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: a little bit. If the Eagles want to fill out
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: the room, maybe he would make some sense there. But
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: he'll be a go for me, Which brings us to
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: Jaywen Phillips. Jalen Phillips should be the priority. The Eagles
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: traded a third round pick to get him ahead of
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: the NFL trade deadline, and he had two sacks, thirty
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: four quarterback pressures, which is the key number to look at,
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: force to fumble, had a fumble recovery. Sometimes you have
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: to look beyond the box score. And I feel like
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: I'm echoing a lot of what I said about Jalen
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: Phillips throughout the offseason thus far.
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: But he is a front end edge.
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: Rusher if he can stay healthy, and there's no mistake
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: that other players around him got better when he arrived.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: I look at j Loox Hunt. He had five and
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: a half sacks from week ten on and that was
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: the Packers game.
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: That was Jay when Phillips' first game.
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: Long player, physical, can play the run, can get after
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: the quarterback. I'm curious to see what his market will
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: be because he does have significant injuries in his past,
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: whether it was the Achilles or whether it was the
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: acl But this is a player who's proven in Philadelphia
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: that he fits the Vic Fangio defense. He can play
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: a healthy amount of snaps and be that frontline player
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: that they need to complement Nolan Smith and jay loox Hunt.
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: So I think he stays.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: I have a hard time imagining the Eagles being willing
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: to let a player walk whod they just gave a
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: third round pick who they just acquired for a third
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: round pick. I think they'll do everything that they can
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: to keep him in the building, unless the market is
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: a little bit unreasonable and would prohibit them from doing
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: other things. But I have Jalen Phillips right now as
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: a stay offensive lineman Matt Pryor would be next on
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: the list, and Matt Pryor has a long history with
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: the Eagles. He was drafted in the sixth round in
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: twenty eighteen. He played over a thousand snaps for the
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: Chicago Bears at guard. I believe in twenty twenty four
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: played in all seventeen games for the Eagles.
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: He started one game.
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: But I think that there was a little bit I
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: don't want to say loftier expectations, but I believe the
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: Eagles had a vision in where Matt Pryor could be
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: the Fred Johnson in twenty twenty five. That never happened.
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: I thought Matt Pryor struggled. Was primarily a right side guy.
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: In training camp, he didn't acquit himself particularly well and
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: fell out of favor. He got a little bit of
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: an opportunity early in the year, it was clear that
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: he was overmatched, and for a veteran player like that,
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: I mean, the Eagles don't have any ties to him
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: right now, They don't have a huge investment there. They
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: can certainly upgrade from that. I have Matt Pryor going.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: We also have another offensive lineman in Brett Toth. Brett
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: Toth goes back a while with the was as well
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: assignment as an undrafted free agent in twenty nineteen. You
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: know the story. I've written about it, I've talked about it.
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: He's a great story of perseverance. He spent time on
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: the practice squad on the active roster, was a really
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: good practice player, which is a big reason why he
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: stuck around. Was really instrumental in helping the starters, and
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: invaluable in the film room. And then this year he
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: plays in all seventeen games, starting four games, one of
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: them being the season finale, but the game against the
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: Giants where he started at center for the first time
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: in his career. That second Giants game, the tape was
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: really stewar and I think that he in this particular
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: offense under Sean Manney and where you need the lineman
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: presumably to be more athletic and be able to play
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: horizontally and get out in space. He's proven that that
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: he can do that, and I think he gives you
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: an experienced player to step into a reserve row immediately,
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: and the Eagles are really young there on the offensive line.
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: I mentioned Drew Kendall, who I do like quite a bit.
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: The Eagles drafted him in the fifth round. I thought
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: he did a nice job in the season finale and
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: his first extended opportunity. But then you have Willie Lampkin
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: young player, and then of course the two young tackles
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: from last season, and Cameron Williams and Miles Hinton.
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: I think adding.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: Another veteran player who may run you two three, four million,
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: I think it makes a lot of sense to try
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: and keep him in the fold.
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: He's a stay for me.
• 24:37
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• 26:53
  Speaker 2: Pass Rusher, josh Ushe and Free Agency.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: He signed a one year deal and and I know
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: that there were a lot of folks who were split
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: on that because he's bounced around from the Patriots to
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: the Chiefs, and he wasn't really a scheme fit for
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: the Chiefs. And there's been times of his career for
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: while he's flashed in moments, he's been inactive and hasn't
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: really been a consistent force.
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: On a defense. That was kind of the same thing
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: in Philadelphia.
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: You know, when the Eagles acquired jaywhen Phillips, they had
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: Brandon Graham come out of retirement. It rendered josh Ushe
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: inactive because they didn't have a role for him. He
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: was on kickoff they opted to go in another direction there.
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: I think he's a consummate professional. I can't emphasize that enough.
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: I've had many quality conversations with him. He worked hard
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: on his power rush. That's something that we spoke about
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: at different points of the season, and he never complained
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: about his role. I think that he deserved more of
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: an opportunity. I thought he performed well in the snaps
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: that he was given in the role that he had,
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: and he sort of was pushed down the depth chart
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: through no foot out of his own. I think he
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: goes somewhere else, to another team that will value what
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: he can bring as a fourth edge rusher, maybe because
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: I do think that he can help a defense, and
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: I don't think it'll be in Philadelphia. So for as
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: much as I am a josh Yushe guy and enjoy talking.
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: To him, he will be a go for me.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: Another edge rusher in that room is Brandon Graham, who
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: of course came out of retirement at thirty seven years
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: old to help the Eagles in light of the retirement
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: of Zadarias. Smith played nine games for the team, three
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: sacks on the year, played one hundred and thirteen snaps
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: for the Eagles, which accounted for about nineteen percent of
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: the defensive total. I think if you're the Eagles and
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: you're trying to fill out this room, I imagine it
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: would include a world where Brandon Graham isn't in it.
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: I think they move forward and try to add some
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: younger pieces there to supplement what they already have. And
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: for those reasons, I had Brandon Graham as a go
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: and then of course rounding things out a restricted free
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: agent full back bench Van Suomer, and the Eagles aren't
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: going to tender pen Van Sumer and they don't typically
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: do that, so he'll become an unrestricted free agent and
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: depending on where he is in terms of his recovery,
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: and my understanding is that he's very far ahead as
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: that goes, and I think he can make another potential
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: run at a roster spot this year and another player
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: who's he loves Philadelphia.
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: I believe that if all.
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: Things being equal, assuming the Eagles are in the are
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: in the market forum, he would come back to Philadelphia
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: and compete with Carson Steel or Cameron Lattu, whoever for
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: a full back spot. And he can also be a
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: key component on special teams. He's the kind of guy
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: you want your locker room if he's healthy, and I
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: can't say enough good things about him as a person
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: and resilience in bouncing back from injuries. I mean, he
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: just recovers at a remarkable pace. So if he's healthy
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: enough to give it another run, I think the Eagles
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: bring him back, He'll be stay for me. Well, we
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: just ran through the entire group of free agents that
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: the Eagles have upcoming. I figured i'd give you guys
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: something a little bit different to sort of sink your
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: teeth into on a on a snow day like this.
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: And I'm curious where a lot of folks are weigh
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: in on the extensive list of free agents.
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: But that's kind of the way that I see it
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: right now.
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: I fly out to the NFL Scouting Combine tomorrow and
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: you'll have plenty of content on here and on inside
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: the birds dot Com, So keep an eye out for that.
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: That's going to do it for this edition of the
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: Checko Deli Andrew de Checo here and I'll catch you
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: all on the next one.