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The DiCecco Daily: Previewing Significant Players On Defense Headed Into Training Camp · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Hey, what's up everyone? Welcome into another episode of the
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: check O Deily Andrew Dcheco here Eagles beat reporter for
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: insidethebirds dot Com, and today I want to take a
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: look at some of the defensive players that I'm most
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: looking forward to watching when Eagles training camp kicks off
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: next week. I went through the offense yesterday, but the defense,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: they have a lot of names that I could make
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: a case for. But we'll kind of go all three levels.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: We'll start with the defensive line and that player would
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: be Moro Jomo And that probably isn't much of a
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: surprise if you've been following along. I'm very bullish on
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: a Jomo the player and his twenty twenty six prospects. Look,
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: this is a player who has a lot to go,
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: a lot to play for this season. Entering the final
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: year of his rookie deal. He's coming off a career
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: best season in which he produced six sacks, led the
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: Eagles defensive lineman with seven hundred and forty snaps. He
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: provided a ton of pressure up the middle. It seems
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: like he's starting to turn the corner and becoming the
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: player that glimpses once you know that were once only glimpses,
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: you're starting to see it come to fruition. And if
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: he's able to replicate that success, folks, there is a
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: world in which he stands to make a lot of
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: money on the free agent market next offseason and price
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: himself out of the Eagles budget. But I look at
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: a Jomo and he's someone that in practice, I do
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: believe that his skill set, the arm length, the quickness,
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: the twitchiness, his use of leverage, those qualities really lend
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: itself to him being able to replicate the success that
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: he had last summer, which should be able to be
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: parlayed into regular season success. I think he's always scratching
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: the surface in terms of his ability, and that pass
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: right prowess is something that I'm expecting to be I
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: guess sort of mirrored. It is fair to say, I don't.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: I mean, six seven sacks this year wouldn't be have
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: the rum with possibility. I think that he could do
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: something pretty special here for an encore, especially when he
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: knows what's at stake. This is someone that has really
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: taken to Vic Fangio's defense. He thrives from playing, you know,
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: playing beside Jordan Davis and Jaywen Carter, and so I
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: look at a Joemo entering this season and I have
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: very high expectations for him at the second level. I'm
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: going to say at the second level, I'm gonna say
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Jehad Campbell, and Jehid Campbell to me, is someone that
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: he's stepping into a starting role in year two. He's
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: reclaiming that position, really, But he was a player that
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: I thought did some pretty good things as a rookie.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: There were moments that I'm sure he'd like to have
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: back that reminded everyone that he was a rookie, and
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: mistakes will be made. There will be some lapses. He's
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: not na Kobe Dean there, but he does give you
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: tremendous athleticism at the second level. I worry about the shoulders.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: He's someone who's missed the past two springs with shoulder injuries,
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: so you have to be mindful of that. But all
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: things being equal, Campbell gives you more athleticism there. He
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: gives you good length, he can cover tight ends and
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: running backs and compliment. Ideally, I believe Zach baughan at
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: the egles second level. Now, where I do think he
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: may give up something is in the run game where
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: Nikobe Dean was such an effective player attacking the line
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: of scrimmage, setting the tone, eating up blockers, and we'll
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: have to see if Johand Campbell can do that. But
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: from an athletic profile, he stands to really benefit from
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: a second you're in the system with a more expanded workload.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: I just do have some questions when it comes to
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: run support, because that's something that I believe was probably
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: taken for granted a little bit with Nikobe Dean. But
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: in terms of just coverage and being a fundamentally sound player,
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: I think he'll be able to do all of those things.
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: It just comes down to run support and also availability.
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  Speaker 1: I mentioned the shoulders injuries that have kept him sideline
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: for the past couple of springs. That's something that it
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: will be worth monitoring, but it does seem like he's
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: going to like it's not going to affect him moving
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: forward here, at least in the realm of training camp
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: at Edge Rusher, I will say jay loox Hunt and
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: jay loox Hunt to me is primed for a standout
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: campaign in year three. Six and a half sacks last year,
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: but you can see the twitchiness, the athleticism and that's
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: now complimenting a refined approach when it comes to his
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: plan as a pass rusher, his attention to detail. He's
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: become a two way player. Even in the spring where
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: you're not really able to fairly gauge the impact of
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  Speaker 1: a pass rusher because the setting doesn't allow it, you
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: can see his anticipation off the snap. He found himself
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: in the backfield. He's stormed back there, and there are
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: plays that in the summer and training camp those are
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: those are losses, and I just think that his real
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: feel and understanding of what the offense is looking to do. Offenses,
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: he just is playing with a lot more confidence, a
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: lot more anticipation, and not necessarily feeling his way out.
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  Speaker 1: He's relying on his understanding and discipline within the system,
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: and his natural athletic ability is sort of able to
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: benefit from that, if that makes sense. But when you
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: have an understanding and you're able to really find your
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: footing and you're not thinking as much, you're able to
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: let your natural athleticism take over. And that's something that
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: I've really observed with day Loix Hunt and I think
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: is going to carry over into the twenty twenty six season.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: Playing opposite Grenard. That should help him really unlock another
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: facet of his game. I would like to see him
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: get to the quarterback pick up some sacks early on
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  Speaker 1: because last year, if you remember, his production was really
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: scarce early and it wasn't really until Jay when Phillips
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: got there, that he was unleashed and he piled up
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  Speaker 1: five and a half sacks during that time from Week
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  Speaker 1: ten onward. But when you watch him out there, you
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: see how he moves. He's filled out his frame pretty significantly,
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: and you just listen to him talk at the podium,
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: He's a much more confident player. He knows who he is,
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: The Eagles know who he is, and I think because
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: of that, he is going to be a player that
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: you should absolutely be keeping an eye on this summer,
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: both in training camp and the preseason. Let's look at
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: the safety position, and this one feels pretty logical to me.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: I'm going with Drew mccuba and I'm watching him because
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: last summer he was a rookie and there was a
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: lot of responsibility that was placed on his shoulders in
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: a complex defense, and there were moments where that really
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: was evident. But he also missed some time last summer
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: and you didn't get the full picture of Macuba because
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: it was broken up into parts. He had a couple
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: of different injuries, I think, and then when you get
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: into the regular season, he played in eleven games, started
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: to ten, had the fractured ankle, returned for spring practices
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: and was moving around well. But now that he's taking
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: on a much more prominent role as the top safety
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: in the Eagles, you know, in the Eagles room in
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty six, you want to see notable signs of
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: progression in practice. How is he from a communications standpoint?
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: Does it look like he's thinking or swimming too much?
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: Or is he playing a little bit more freely than
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: he was last summer? Can he stay healthy and is
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: he able to make plays on the back end? Does
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: he make some instinctual plays now that maybe he isn't
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: thinking as much, But make no mistake about it. Drew
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: mccouba is a player that, at least to my eye,
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: looked to become becoming more comfortable within the system. Prior
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: to the injury, he was playing faster and drew a
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: red blanket ship wasn't having to do as much. I'm
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: not going to say babysitting, because that's not a fair characterization.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: But maybe he won't have to be as cognizant to
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: where Macuba is or what his assignments are. And I
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: thought that he had to be more cognizant at that time,
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: But now I believe that Macouba will be in a
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  Speaker 1: position where as the quote unquote Reblankchip type of role.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: He's not going to have to do a whole lot
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: of thinking with a potentially a Marcus Aps next to him,
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: or maybe it's a Michael Carter who has played a
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: lot of snaps in the NFL, but not at safety.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: I just think he'll be able to do a little
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: bit more things. Vic Vanrew can get more creative with
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: how they deploy Drew mccuba, and I will certainly be
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: keeping an eye on mccuba to see how he fares
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: in his first extended sample size in replacing Reed Blanketschip,
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: who of course now is with the Houston Texans. But
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: make no mistake about it, the Eagles are extremely optimistic
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: about the prospects of Macuba. They're excited about him, and
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: they believe that he's ready to hit the ground running
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: this season at cornerback. It's Rike Wollen, and so Rieke
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: Wollen was the standout of spring practices. He made plays
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: on the football. He has really rare length and size,
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: and that really stands out when you watch him move
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: out there, because sometimes you'll see bigger body corners, whether
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: it's a Richard German who I believe was six foot three,
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: Brandon Browner, Sean Smith, if you can remember back to
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: the days with the Dolphins, so there have been some
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: bigger corners. There's not as many of them, they're not
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: as prevalent around the league, but they also don't typically
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: typically move as well as someone like Rieke Wollen does.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: But I do believe that a lot of the defensive upside,
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: how the potential they can reach, is ultimately going to
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: be determined based off of how Rake Wohen takes to
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: this defense. And what I mean by that is if
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: he's not able to be a steady and consistent force,
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: if there's injuries, if he has to toggle, if Vic
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: Vangel has to toggle between two players to atone for
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: maybe some inconsistencies like he had to do last year
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: with a Dori Jackson and Keelee Ringo.
• 10:51
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  Speaker 1: When you have questions at safety, you have a new
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: linebacker who's going to have to take on a larger
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: role in Jahad Campbell. He started last year, but this
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: is a much more or there's gonna be more of
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: a spotlight on him this year. There's more questions at
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: certain areas that now, if you add cornerback to that situation,
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: that complicates things a little bit and makes you a
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: little bit more vulnerable on the back end. However, if
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: you're looking at it from the other point of view,
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: he's coming into Philadelphia with I would imagine a lot
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: of motivation signing the one year twelve one year deal
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: worth up to twelve million dollars. He can make quite
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: a bit of money when he returns to the negotiating
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: table next offseason, so naturally that should instill a little
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: bit of motivation, but also the fresh start. It probably
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: didn't end the way that he envisioned in terms of
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: playing time. He ended as a Super Bowl champion with
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: the Seattle Seahawks, but he wasn't as prominent of a
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: contributor as he'd been earlier in his career. And so
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: in Philadelphia, where you're gonna have a lot of opportunities,
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: you can't run and hide, nor do I think that
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: he will, and he's not going to. At six foot four,
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: he's going to see a ton of targets. So that
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: should indicate that he'll have some plays to be made
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: out there, and so I look at Rake Wohen, it's
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: all going to be about how does he take to
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: the system. Can he be disciplined, Can he be assignment sound?
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: Can he be a dependable player week in and week out?
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Because of what we've learned from Vic Vangio that if
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: you're a high variance type of player, he can't use you.
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: There's not going to be much use for you, regardless
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: of your athletic profile or what your potential would appear
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: to indicate. So it's going to be imperative that Rake
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: Wollen is able to carry over his spring success into
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: training camp and continue to build off of that, because
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: if he is, there's not much of a case that
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: needs to be made that the Eagles would have the
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: top three corners in the NFL in Quinna, Mitchell Cooper
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: Dejane two, twenty twenty five All pros, and then Rake Wohen,
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: who I think has immense upside that still can be
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: reached even at this stage of his career at twenty
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: seven years old. So those are the players on the
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: defensive side that I will be particularly keen in on,
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: and that is going to do it for this episode
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: of the checko daily. I'm Andrew to CHECKO. Have a
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: great weekend. I'll catch you all on the next one.