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The DiCecco Daily: Ranking The 'Bama Birds · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Hey, what's going on? Everybody?
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: Welcome into another episode of the check O Deli. It's
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: Andrew de Checko here, Eagles beat reporter for Inside the
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Birds dot Com. The offseason continues and Inside the Birds
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: continues to deliver with content. And today I'm gonna.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Do something a little bit different.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: I took a look at the Eagles players who attended
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: the University of Alabama, and there's eight players.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: But I'm going to rank them one through eight.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: Well, but we'll count down eight to one in terms
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: of their level of importance within the context of the
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: twenty twenty sixth season. And we'll kick things off with
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: number eight, rookie free agent guard Jaden Roberts.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Jaden Roberts is the classic case of.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: A player that when he signed and you see that
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: he's from a big time program, there's always a level
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: of intrigue there. He has a very difficult climb to
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: make the roster. They have a number of players there.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: They signed a veteran at, Michael Jordan, and they drafted
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: Michael Morris.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Out of Georgia.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: There's other players who were holdover from last year who
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: can maybe play some guard like Jake Majors or Willie
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: Lampkin maybe even so he has some hurdles to clear
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: before he even can enter that conversation, and reps are
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: going to be really sporadic for Roberts in training camp.
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: But I did like what I saw from him at college.
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: He was a consistent player, and I mean, those are
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: things that are all worth noting. But when you look
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: at the Eagles roster and how it's constructed, it's really
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: difficult for me to see a path where he's able
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: to suddenly factor into the roster conversation. And as I mentioned,
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: a lot of his reps in training camp are likely
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: going to come via developmental period after practice.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: So he's number eight for me.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: Number seven rookie free agent linebacker Deontay Lawson.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: So Deontay Lawson's.
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: A player that I was a little surprised when undrafted.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: He was a productive player, but he did struggle with
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: a lot of injuries, and he's not the biggest guy
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: in the world, so he leaves something to be desired there.
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: But when I look at Lawson in the way that
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: he plays the game, very instinctual, very fundamentally sound, you
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: have to love the starting experience that he's coming into
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: the NFL with playing at Alabama and being a defensive
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: leader there. But the Eagles, let's not forget beyond Zach
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: Bond and Jahad Campbell, whose name will be mentioned shortly.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: They also have Jeremiah Trotter junior. They have Smile Mandan,
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: they have Chance Campbell, who I think is going to
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: make a little bit of noise in training camp. So
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: it's really difficult to see a path for Lawson. But
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: he could depending on how he plays, if he's able
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: to stay healthy and make an impact on special teams.
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: If they are losing him via waivers to another team,
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: maybe he can elbow his way into the conversation. But
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: for me right now, it's difficult to see that. Again,
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: much like Jayden Roberts, I'm imagining Deontay Lawson having to
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: get a lot of his reps in the developmental period,
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: so there's not a ton of opportunities there, and then
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: you're talking about the deep into the preseason games in
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: the fourth quarter and things of that nature.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: So it's very.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Difficult to carve out a role or be able to
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: garner some attention and traction that you need to be
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: able to cling on as an undrafted free agent. So
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: while I like what he brings to the table from
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: a skill set standpoint, right now, he's number seven for me,
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: number six, Cameron Lattu the Eagles tight end, and he's
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: also a fullback. I love the versatility that he brings.
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: He is a key piece on special teams. Those who
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: have listened to me or follow along with my coverage,
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: you already know that I've been bullish on Cameron Latto
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: since last summer when I watched him in camp Stonewall
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: a surging Jahad Campbell, and Campbell was wrecking shop. He
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: was flying around almost like a bowl in a china
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: shop and was getting behind the line of scrimmage, disrupting plays,
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: and there were a lot of tight ends that struggled
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: to be able to contain him. But Latsu on multiple
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: occasions in one practice Stonewall, he made the notebook and
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: I was monitoring his progress throughout the camp. But I
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: also liked him at Alabama and it didn't work out
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: for him with the forty nine ers. But he's sort
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: of caught on a little bit with the Eagles and
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: he has.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: Some hurdles to clear.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: We talked about that with some of the other players
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: to stick as probably a fourth tight end, and we
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: don't yet know if the Eagles planned to implement a
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: fullback in this new look offense under first year coordinator
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: Sean Mannion. So I still believe that Latu will be
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: able to to make the fifty three men roster. He's
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: too good on special teams.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: In theory, he has.
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: More upside than some of the other players, because I
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: view him as a two way talent where he can
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: factor as a receiver, though I don't think that that
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: will be his calling card in this offense on this
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: team with the talent that they have already above him.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: But he's also someone that can block and he can
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: play special teams. A really good story of the Eagles
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: taking a chance on him and then working with him
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: because last summer he was buried on the depth chart,
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: but he did some things on special teams in the
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: preseason that I think, from an athletics standpoint, probably gave
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: the Eagles some curiosity there to continue to work with
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: him on the practice squad, and then last September he
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: was signed to the fifty three and he remained there
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: all season and became a mainstay on special teams. Cameron
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: Lattu player number six on this list. Number five, I
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: went with b Y Byron Young, defensive tackle who really
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: enters his third season in Philadelphia. He didn't really play
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: until last season. He played three hundred and thirty eight
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: snaps as the fourth defensive tackle and was really called
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: upon to take on a larger role late in the
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: year when injuries mounted with Jalen Carter and he was
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: shelved towards the backstretch. He had I think seventy four
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: snaps over that span Byron Young two and a half sacks.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: And the effort that he exhibits when he's out there
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: is apparent to me. There's a.
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: There's an urgency when you see him. He has some
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: quickness to his game. I think he offers some versatility.
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: And I think it's also notable to mention that Vic
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: Vangeos seems.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: To like him a little bit.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: He's the one who calls him b Y, and anytime
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: a defensive coordinator gives you a nickname, that typically bodes
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: well for that player. But he's also important in the
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: sense that he's going to in all likelihood be the
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: immediate backup to Jayalen car And in the spring it
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: was Byron Young, who was getting reps with the first
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: team when Jayalen Carter wasn't participating in team drills, and
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: when jayal when Carter had to miss some time last year,
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: it was Byron Young.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: So he's a very.
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: Key depth piece on this team and someone who I
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: believe will be able to stave off a ty Robinson
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: because I just think he's a better football player and
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: he seems to really Sometimes it takes a little bit
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: of time for players to grow into their role and
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: have an understanding of who they are and what their
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: assignments are, and it seems like Byron Young is really
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: fitting in with this defense and hitting his.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: Stride by the way.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: He's also in the final year of his rookie deal,
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: so plenty to play for from a motivational standpoint as well.
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: He's number five for me.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: Four well, I went with right guard Tyler Stein. It
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: speaks volumes that the Eagles didn't do anything this offseason
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: to address the right guard spot, and I thought that
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: Tyler Steen was solid last season. I know that there
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: are many who are comparing him to McKay Beckton.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: They're two different players.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: Tyler Steen moves better and in this offense, I would
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: argue that he stands to benefit more than hypothetically mckaye
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: Beckton would have, and I just I think because of
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: the injuries across that line, he more than held his own.
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: I thought when players around him weren't at full strength
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: and was it perfect. No, But the Eagles clearly so
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: enough in him to commit to him for another season
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: as a starter. And keep in mind, he was a
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: college tackle who transitioned to guard at the NFL level,
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: and I think that there's more there than what we've
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: seen with Tyler and I don't think his play last
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: season was a drastic difference from what the Eagles got
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: from mckaye Beckton. With another season under his belt as
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: a starter with healthy components around him, I'm expecting Tyler
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: Steen to kind of pick up where he left off,
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: not only that, but take it to another level and
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: just be a steady and consistent player.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: I'm not sort of forecasting in an.
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: All Pro campaign or a Pro Bowl campaign, but he's
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: going to be solid and he's going to be consistent.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: I can tell you that. Number three.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: I went with Jahad Campbell, Eagles second year linebacker whom
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: they drafted in the first round last year. Started ten games,
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: appeared in all seventeen. You do worry that he missed
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: his second consecutive spring session, if you will, while recovering
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: from a different shoulder injury. And that's something that is
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: going to be worth monitoring throughout the season, of course,
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: because now it's become a prevailing theme. But Jahad Campbell
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: last season, when he opened the year as a starter,
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: I didn't think that he did anything really to lose
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: his starting spot. I thought Nakobe Dean was just the
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: better player for that team for what Fick Fangoe was
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: looking for. And there's not any guesswork with Nikobe. He
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: can be the quarterback of that second level. He is
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: a terrific blitzer. There's not going to he's not going
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: to be prone to mistakes. And Fick Fangio went with
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: the option, the surefire option there rather than maybe an
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: upside player like Jahide Campbell. And he doesn't rotate linebackers traditionally,
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: so Zach Bond and the Kobe Dean were the guys.
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: Now they tried to find different ways to get you
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: hot on the field, and it was clear that he
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: needs a ton of work as a pass rusher, but
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: the tools are there.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: His ability is evident, and I would argue.
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: That they've upgraded pretty significantly from an athletics standpoint at
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: that position. Opposite Zach Bonn, he gives you length, he
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: gives you speed to cover running backs and tight ends,
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: and he can drop into coverage. He's fluid in space.
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: But Nakobe was so consistent in that he was always
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: in the right place. He was always a Simon sound.
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: He sort of took the crown as being the leader
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: of that group. It's difficult to fill his spot, and
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: I'm not suggesting that Jahat Campbell has to fill the
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: shoes of Nacoby Dane. That's a big void that was
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: left there, that was created when he left. But the
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: Eagles are in good shape because I thought Jahatt Campbell
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: last season fared pretty well when he was out there,
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: and now he I think paris pretty favorably ideally complimenting
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: Zach Bond and what the Eagles have with him, and
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: I can't wait to see what he's able to do
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: in year two because the upside is immense, and I
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: think what you're going to see is probably some more
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: big plays in coverage from a player like Jahide Campbell
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: number two. This was really tough, but I want with
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: Davonte Smith here. I could have went Davante with a
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: number one, but for me and I understand that Davonte
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: last season very productive, seventy seven catches on a largely
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: static offense. He had over a thousand yards. He's been
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: a steady player throughout his career and continues to improve,
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: and now he's stepping into the top receiver role. But
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: I'm not expecting the Eagles to suddenly become a high
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: volume passing attack. And I'm not here to say that
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: that's not going to DeVante's not going to have a
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: big role, none of that. But within the context of
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: this offense, I think it's all going to revolve around
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: sat Quon Barkley. Davante is going to take the lion's
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: share of the targets as in terms of the passing game,
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: but how often are the Eagles going to be dropping
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: back thirty thirty five times and things like that. Davante
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: is going to be effective when he gets the ball,
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: and I think you could see him for Pro Bowl
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: recognition this year. He's a number one on a lot
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: of teams and the Eagles were fortunate last season to
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: have a one and a one a at wide receiver,
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: but just solely based on this offense and what I'm expecting.
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: I don't think they're suddenly going to morph into the
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: greatest show on turf where all of a sudden the
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: passing game becomes the predominant aspect of the offense.
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: But he'll get his.
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: But there's another player that I think is even more
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: important and more critical to the success of the twenty
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: twenty six Eagles, and that's left guard Landon Dickerson.
• 13:38
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  Speaker 2: Landon Dickerson last season battled through a ton and I
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: think the more time has passed, the more that that's
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: recognized that he went to great lengths to get himself available,
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: to make himself available for Sundays. But let's not forget
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: who Landon Dickerson is when fully healthy or close to
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: full streng because he's battled so many injuries in his
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: career that at this stage he's never going.
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: To be one hundred percent.
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: But if you can get the version of Landon Dickerson
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: that you had in twenty twenty four, which is one
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: of the better guards in football on an offense that
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: I'm expecting to adopt.
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: A run heavy approach, Landon.
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: Dickerson is going to be hugely, hugely critical to the
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: success of the twenty twenty six Eagles.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: I think this.
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: New offense and run design with offensive line coach Chris
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: Cooper and Sean Maddin, of course, is going to maybe
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: cater to the strengths of the offensive line where their
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: athleticism and moving laterally and getting to the second level
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: and sort of taking away some of that pressure of
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: that grinding nature where they're moving forward. There's a lot
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: of wear and tear when you play that style, and
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: I think this new philosophy might.
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: Lengthen or help preserve them for the stretch, if you will.
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: And I think if you look at all the offensive linemen,
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: maybe Landon would be best suited for the previous philosophy
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: that inside.
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: Zone mauling downhill.
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: And just really driving defenders off the ball. But I
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: think he's equipped to handle any system, to be clear,
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: and this is a three time pro bowler. He kickstarts
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: a lot of things with regard to the run game.
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: And I'm forecasting a big year for Saquon Barkley and
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: I think the Eagles offensive identity.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: Will revolve around the run game.
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: And as I mentioned before, it doesn't matter how brilliant
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: Sean Mannion is, it doesn't matter how much Jalen Hurts
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: really embraces and immerses himself within this offense and really
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: takes to it. If you don't have the when healthy,
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: the NFL's top offensive line in front of you, protecting
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: and paving the way, it doesn't much matter because then
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: you're forced to become one dimension and then suddenly you
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: have the offensive last year or a version of that
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: offense where you become very predictable, you fall behind the
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: sticks and you're forced to do something. You're forced to
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: tap into something and really lean into the passing game,
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: and you're probably not as equipped to do that. So
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: landon Dickerson for me was after some consideration. It became
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: an easy choice when I started to really take a
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: step back and look at what I'm expecting this offense
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: to look like and his role within it.
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: Well, that was a fun exercise.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: Maybe we'll try that with the Georgia players, though that's
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: a little easier to do than this exercise was, at
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: least from one through three.
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: But we'll see where we go from here.
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: But the offensive, I should say, the offseason content continues
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: on Withinside the Birds.
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: That's going to do it.
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: For this episode of The check O Daily, I'm Andrew
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: Decheco and I'll catch sho all on the next one.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: Oka